Who Is the Holy Spirit?

Introduction

We cannot fully understand God. Say whatever you would like to say about God but our words are inadequate to fully describe the nature and character of God. We attempt to use words that make sense to us but those words are inadequate. There are times that we want to describe something but we cannot get the right phrase. We end up saying something that is accurate on several different levels—I can’t describe it, you will just have to see it for yourself. Such words have been used to describe the Grand Canyon, Alaska, and any number of other places. How can we fully understand the holiness of God? We can’t. We try to describe God’s holiness and never approach the fullness of his nature.

But we are quick to point out that what God has revealed about himself is sufficient for our understanding and faith. In other words, it isn’t necessary for us to know everything about God in order for us to trust him. How many of you have heard of Bernoulli’s Theorem? First derived (1738) by the Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli, the theorem states, in effect, that the total mechanical energy of the flowing fluid, comprising the energy associated with fluid pressure, the gravitational potential energy of elevation, and the kinetic energy of fluid motion, remains constant. Bernoulli’s theorem is the principle of energy conservation for ideal fluids in steady, or streamline, flow and is the basis for many engineering applications. But if you have ever flown on an airplane, this theorem is at work. Even though you may not understand it, you trust it enough to get on an airplane.

When we come to the subject of the Holy Spirit, God has not revealed everything to us but he has revealed enough to be sufficient for us to trust. The Spirit is often perceived as mysterious. I would propose that He is as mysterious as God. Part of the mystery about the Spirit is that we have avoided the subject to our detriment. God has not left us in the dark about the person and work of the Spirit. Rather than being mysterious, God’s intent seems to be that we understand the nature and work of the Spirit so that we can appreciate even more how God is interested in our lives.

A couple of disclaimers first. Too often the mere mention of the Holy Spirit causes some to automatically think about the miraculous. As we will see, the Holy Spirit indeed was part of the miraculous in scripture, but there is more to his work than just miracles. Second, to speak of the Spirit and his work, nature, and personality is not intended to trivialize anymore than speaking of God’s work, nature and personality. In fact, the nature of the Spirit is directly linked to the nature of God as we will see. Third, I welcome your questions and will be glad to discuss anything that you want to discuss. I do not promise to have all the answers or even that my answer will be what you want, but we can discuss. Fourth, while the Bible will be the main source for these lessons, Harvey Floyd’s book Is the Holy Spirit for Me? will serve as an additional resource especially as it pertains to the direction of thought.

The Nature of God

As we begin our study we begin with a simple explanation about the nature of God. The Holy Spirit and God are linked. We cannot speak of the Spirit’s work unless we understand the nature of God. According to a number of texts, God is one. That is, there is only one God. Texts such as Mark 12:29, James 2:19, and Romans 3:30 establish that God is one. [Read Deuteronomy 6:4]. This text is highly revered among our Jewish friends and it needs to be equally revered among us as Christians. It establishes that fact that there is only one God.

But just as there is one God there are other texts which demonstrate that within the oneness of God are three persons. According to Matthew 28:19, at our baptism a relationship is established between us and God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This text says that there is diversity within the unity of God. There is God the father, God the son, and God the Spirit. If this is not the case then we have God and two creatures operating together in baptism. Either the son and the Spirit are God or they are creatures.

In 2 Corinthians 13:14, Paul ends this second letter to the church at Corinth with these words—“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Again, there is either diversity within the unity of God or there is God working in concert with two other creatures.

John 1:1 establishes that God and Jesus are one. Both God and Jesus are affirmed to be different persons yet both are said to be God. Then in John 14:16 Jesus says something which further affirms this truth—“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another counselor to help you and be with you forever.” Pay attention to the word “another.” One like him but different from him will be sent. And the fact that Jesus prays to the Father expresses a difference in person as well. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are not the same person; yet, they are all God.

This is seen at the baptism of Jesus in which three distinct persons are present and interacting with each other. Notice Matthew 3:16-17 that God speaks, Jesus, of course, is baptized, and the Spirit descends as a dove as further witness of God’s care and presence. God in three distinct persons.

What about the personality of the Spirit? We know something of the personality of God and of Jesus. Scattered throughout scripture are examples of God and Jesus demonstrating personality traits. In Ephesians 4:30 the readers are told not to “grieve” the Holy Spirit of God. They are not to make the Spirit sad or cause sorrow to the Holy Spirit by an improper Christian walk including such things as lying, harboring anger, stealing and showing bitterness or malice. This demonstrates that the Holy Spirit is personal. He can think, reason, feel, and know. According to 1 Corinthians 2:10,—“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God”; the Spirit has exhaustive knowledge even into the “depths” of God. And according to 1 Corinthians 12:11, the Spirit himself has purposes which he carries out—“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

To summarize, we know that there is one God but three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three work together to accomplish the divine will. All three persons think, reason, and purpose, but none do so without the knowledge and intent of the other two. There is harmony and unity between the three and yet each one is distinct in function.

Implications

What I am getting ready to say may seem a bit foreign. I am convinced these words will be foreign because we have too long misunderstood and underappreciated the work and person of the Holy Spirit. But if we can accept that the Holy Spirit is both a person and personal then these words make sense.

First, the Spirit is deity. Just as God and Jesus are deity so is the Spirit. This means he is God. The first time the Spirit is mentioned is in Genesis 1:2 in which he is described as moving upon the face of the earth. He was surveying the land. He was bringing his presence to bear on the earth. He, too, had a part in creation just as God the Father and God the Son. Because he is deity we can pray to him just as we do God and Jesus. As Jesus intercedes for us as High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-16) the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer as well (Romans 8:26-27).

Second, the Spirit is a person and because he is a person then it is possible to have a personal relationship with him. When speaking of the Spirit we should speak of him in personal ways just as we speak of God and Jesus in personal ways. The Spirit is a “he” not an “it.” Paul wrote a prayer in 2 Corinthians 13:14 that he prayed that the fellowship or communion with the Spirit be with his readers. This signals a personal relationship. In addition other texts speak of grieving the Spirit, that the Spirit comforts, guides, and teaches and that he searches and convicts. These are very personal terms demanding that we accept the Spirit as a very personal part of our lives.

Trinity

We use the word trinity to describe this relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. While holding tightly to the fact that God is one, we recognize that God has presented himself in three distinct persons. The word “trinity” is a human attempt to explain this diversity in unity. There are those who argue against using this term since it is not found in the Bible but then neither is the word “Bible” found in the Bible. It is an accommodative word. Come up with another word that will explain God in three persons who are in complete agreement but have different roles and we will try to use it.

There have been four different views given to explain the trinity. Three are either inadequate or unbiblical. Only one captures the essence of scripture. The first is what is called “Tritheism.” This view says that there are three gods. There is not one God, but three Gods. This view is held by the Mormon church. Mormon doctrine says that there is a multiplicity of gods. Mormonism truly endorses polytheism. In fact, part of their belief is that in time one can become a god as well. This view is completely unacceptable in light of Deuteronomy 6:4. There is one God. Tritheism reflects on the diversity but not the unity of God.

The second view is Arianism which gets its name from a fourth century advocate named Arius. Arius was an elder of the church in Alexandria, Egypt. Arius taught that John 3:16 translated in the KJV with the word “begotten” meant that Jesus had a beginning. God the Father existed from eternity; God the Son was created by the Father. The very fact that Jesus is called “son” and calls himself “son” demonstrates that he is not eternal and is less than the Father. The Holy Spirit is a creation of the Son. The Holy Spirit is a creature of a creature. This view is held by the Jehovah’s Witness group. The Jehovah’s Witness group goes a bit further by saying that the Holy Spirit is not personal. They refer to the Spirit as an “it.” The Spirit is sent from God to accomplish his purpose.

The third view is far more subtle and is not as easily seen in our culture. It goes by two names: Sabellianism or Modalism. This view began in the third century. This view says that there is one person in the Godhead not three. In essence it is said that God is one person and that God manifests himself to the world in three different ways or in three different roles. He cannot play these roles simultaneously but must play them successively. God presents himself as Creator at one moment. Then he presents himself as Redeemer and now he presents himself as the Spirit. God is not Father, Son, and Spirit at the same time. But he is only one person not three. This view is found in the United Pentecostal Church which is an offshoot of the mainline Pentecostal church.

The Doctrine of the Trinity Affirmed

There are basically three statements which we have to verify in order to understand and appreciate the biblical doctrine of the trinity. First, God is one. This is seen in Deuteronomy 6:4. Second, God the Son is fully God and yet is distinct from God the Father and God the Spirit. The Son possesses every quality and attribute of deity but he is a distinct person from the other two. Third, God the Spirit is fully God and yet is distinct from God the Father and God the Son. The Spirit possesses the same qualities and attributes of deity, but he is a distinct person from the other two.

Since the first statement was dealt with previously, let’s move to the second statement. There are numerous passages which speak of Jesus being separate and distinct from God. There are also passages which speak of Jesus as being God. John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the word was God.” The word existed before the beginning. Arianism insists that the word was created. John disagrees. When the world was being created, the word already existed.

The word was with God. Modalism is impossible by this statement. The word “with” implies direct communication. Literally it means “face to face toward God.” There was intimate communication with God. Both persons are present at the same time.

The word was God. This is contrary to Arianism. He was not a lesser god; He was God. He possessed all the qualities and attributes as God. God yet distinct from the Father. In John 17:5 as Jesus was getting ready to be crucified, he asked for God to glorify him in the way he was before the world began. In the beginning God the Son was with God the Father enjoying intimate communion and now he is about to return.

John 17:24, Jesus confirms that God has loved him before the beginning of the world. God was not isolated and lonely before creation. He had company. He had someone to talk with. He had someone to commune with. He didn’t need us to take away his loneliness. If that were true then our God would not be God at all. Jesus is God and yet as God he is distinct from the Father and from the Spirit, the other persons in the Godhead. He possessed the attributes and qualities of God, but he is distinct in mission and function.

We turn now to the Spirit. There is no passage which is as clear as John 1:1 in reference to the deity and distinctiveness of the Spirit. His very name, Holy Spirit, demonstrates that he is unblemished in nature. He is the Spirit of holiness. Jesus calls the Spirit, the Spirit of truth in John 14:17 which means that he has complete understanding and is not capable of mistakes or errors in judgment. He is also the Spirit of God; thus, he cannot be a creature. In Romans 8:26-27, he is said to be in a personal relationship with God. In Acts 5:3-4, Ananias lies to the Holy Spirit and this is equated with lying to God. In Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 the Spirit is associated with the Father and the Son as a Trinity. Romans 8:26-27 establishes that the Spirit and God are distinct. While John 14:16 establishes that the Spirit and Jesus are distinct. The same in nature, but different in their person.

What does all this mean?

First, it means that as Christians we have an extremely high view of God. We may have lost track of the fullness of God in the three persons. Too often we are confident of the personal relationship we can have with God the Father and God the Son but fail to realize the significance and fullness of relationship we can have with God the Spirit. Such a diminished view will create a void in our lives.

Second, we can appreciate the distinctiveness of mission which the Godhead has. The three persons of the Godhead are united in purpose, but each person of the Godhead has a different mission in carrying out that purpose. For instance, all three persons want salvation to be a part of the lives of creation. But each person has a different operation. God the Father initiates creation and redemption. God the Son redeems the creation. God the Spirit regenerates and sanctifies; thus, applying redemption to our lives.

Third, human analogies fall apart when discussing the Trinity. An analogy such as one man who is father, son, and husband fail to capture the nature of God. An analogy like an egg with shell, yoke, and white fails to capture the idea of personality.

Some things are not so much for our complete understanding as they are for us to demonstrate faith and confidence. We may never fully understand the nature of God, but he has not left us without some knowledge. He wants us to know that he has been and continues to be extremely active in this world. God the Spirit verifies this truth. Now we must live in faith of that truth.

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