The Holy Spirit is one of the most argued figures in the entire Bible. Most “Christian” religions claim him but most of them contradict each other. Jehovah’s Witnesses belief that He is nothing more than a force, Charismatic’s teach that His main ministry is gift’s giving, etc. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, with a distinct personality and many duties. The Bible has a whole lot of stuff to say about the Holy Spirit but the big problem is that you cannot simply go to one passage to learn about who the Holy Spirit is. Teachings of the Holy Spirit are mentioned a verse here and a chapter there throughout the Old and New Testament that it actually requires us to study deeply and compare Scripture with Scripture; this is why there are so many false teachings about the Holy Spirit, people aren’t willing to study deeply. It is important that one draws his conclusions of the Holy Spirit from Biblical teachings. In this paper, I will strive to show that the Holy Spirit is God from Scriptures.
One way that we can see that the Holy Spirit is God is that there are places in the Bible that say that he is God. Acts 5:3-4 says, “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” In this passage we see that Peter interchangeably uses the Holy Spirit and God, as if they are the same. The reason is, is that they are the same. Another passage where we see that God and the Holy Spirit are interchangeable is in 1st Corinthians. Chapter 3:16 says that we are the temple of God but 6:19 says that we are the temple of the Holy Ghost. This argument, that the Bible equates God and the Holy Spirit, is probably the strongest that there is on the Holy Spirit’s deity.
Another great argument for the deity of the Holy Spirit is that the Bible associates the Holy Spirit with the other members of the Trinity. Of course, we know that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity but for those who don’t know, the Bible makes it very clear. Some would argue that there are times that the Bible puts God the Father and the Son together and exclude the Holy Spirit and this is true; but when the Trinity is mentioned, it never says, the Father, the Son, and Gabriel” or any other name. The third member of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit, there is no one else who fills in that spot. One passage in particular where this occurs is in Matt 28:19 which says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” Another passage that one should note is 1st John 5:7, “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” Of course, there are other times where the Holy Spirit is said to be part of the Trinity but will not be discussed for sake of paper space.
Another way that we can see that the Holy Spirit is God is by His attributes and actions. This argument takes up a lot of Scripture and a whole lot is to be said about the Holy Spirit’s attributes and actions. There are several attributes given to the Holy Spirit that are divine. For instance, Hebrews 9:14 calls the Holy Spirit eternal, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Eternality is an attribute that is only given to God because although us human beings will live forever either in Heaven or Hell that is not what eternality is. Eternality is eternally past and eternally future. So we see from this passage that the Holy Spirit had no beginning; the Holy Spirit was present during creation, he existed before creation, he always has been and he always will be. Another attribute that ascribes deity to the Holy Spirit is His holiness. The attribute of the Holy Spirit being holy is his greatest attribute. He is not called the Love Spirit or the Joy Spirit, he is called the Holy Spirit. In fact, the term “Holy Spirit” or “Holy Ghost” is used in the Bible 90 times. To be holy means to be set apart from sin and iniquity. The word “holy” literally means to be physically pure and morally blameless. Sinlessness is an attribute that only God can have. Another attribute that is given to the Holy Spirit is omnipresence. Psalm 139:7 says, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” So we see that the psalmist asks where he can be where the Holy Spirit is not at but then answers his own question and says that the Holy Spirit is everywhere. Another passage that should comfort every Christians heart concerning the omnipresence of the Holy Spirit is John 14:17 which says that the Holy Spirit will dwell in us. If the Holy Spirit can dwell in me, here in the United States and in a missionary in China all at the same time, it is not a great stretch to say that he is everywhere. After all, one cannot be in two places at the same time unless he were everywhere at the same time. The omniscience of the Holy Spirit is another great attribute that he possesses. First Corinthians 2:10-11 says, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” For the Holy Spirit to know the “deep things of God” he would have to be God. God’s ways are not understood by anyone less than God (Isaiah 55:8) So we see, if God knows all things, and the Holy Spirit knows all things of God, then the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is also omnipotent, which means that he has the power to do anything that his will and nature allows Him to do. Zechariah 4:6 shows the contrast between the limitation of man and the limitlessness of the Holy Spirit. It says, “Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” So we see that if the Holy Spirit is making up for our lack of capability with his unlimited amount of power than he must be God.[1] Another interesting attribute that the Holy Spirit claims is being truth. First John 5:6 says that the Spirit is truth. This is important because not only does the Spirit claim to be truth but so does Christ. We see in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” This paper is not to prove the deity of Christ, which we easily could but we know that Jesus is God and that he is a member of the Trinity. If Jesus is truth and the Holy Spirit is truth then they are one and the same which shows that the Holy Spirit is God. So we see through a handful of the Holy Spirit’s attributes that he is God.
Next let’s look at the actions of the Holy Spirit. Of course, there are times when the Holy Spirit’s attributes go hand in hand with his actions but his actions have a great significance in showing that he is God. First we see that the Holy Spirit created all things. The second verse in the entire Bible attests to the fact that the Holy Spirit created all things. Gen 1:2 says, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” So we become aware that not only was the Holy Spirit present for creation but that he was involved. Psalm 104:30 also says, “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.” Another great act we see, which we hold in our hands today is the inspiration of the Word of God. 2nd Peter 1:21 says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” So we see that the Holy Spirit gave the prophets of old to say. If you compare that to 2nd Timothy 3:16 you see that God inspired the Scriptures. So since they are used interchangeably we know that the Holy Spirit is God. 2nd Samuel 23:2 also says, “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” So we see the work of inspiration was an act of the Holy Spirit.[2] Another action of the Holy Spirit which proves his deity is that he is the giver of life. John 6:63 says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” The word quickeneth means “to make alive”. Life giving is an action of God. So we see that if the Holy Spirit gives life then he is God. Along those lines we see that Christ was conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:20 says, “But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” I can’t begin to explain how this happened or how it worked but it is an act of God nonetheless. It is good for us to remember that God did say that his ways are not our ways. We cannot understand everything that God does but we can see that it was a divine work and miracle anyway. Another work that the Holy Spirit does is the act of regeneration. John 3 talks about Jesus and Nicodemus sitting and talking about being “born again” and then in verse eight he mentions being born of the Spirit. It does not need to be argued that our salvation has nothing to do with us but it has everything to do with God. The Holy Spirit does the action of regeneration when we get saved.[3] So we can see through these actions and others that are not in this paper that the Holy Spirit is God.
In conclusion, I believe that to argue that the Holy Spirit is not God is a very uneducated belief. One cannot objectively search the Scriptures without seeing the deity of the Holy Spirit throughout. Let’s never forget that the very Bible that we hold in our hand and the simple fact that we are saved is a proof that the Holy Spirit is God. What an amazing truth!
