THE HOLY SPIRIT

Raphael Oye Taiwo

(Part Three)

THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Though the Holy Spirit is a Person separate and distinct from the Father and the Son, yet He is God. 

We know that the Holy Spirit is God because the bible says He is  equal with the Father and the Son

Mat 28:19 

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

  Note that Jesus did not say 'names'  But ‘name’.  The Name of only one God who manifests Himself through three distinct Persons.

We know the Holy Spirit is God because of the blessings of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit invoked in the apostolic benediction.

2Co 13:14 

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

We know the Holy Spirit is God because of what Jesus said in John 14:16.

Joh 14:16 

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever

Jesus had been the Comforter to His people when He was on earth as a human being. Now that He was leaving, He promised to pray the Father to send another Comforter, the Holy Spirit. 

The Greek word here translated 'another' is ‘allos’. It means another of the same kind. ‘Heteros’ is the Greek word for another of a different kind.  So, Jesus was saying to His disciples, “I will pray the Father and He will send you another Comforter of the same kind with Me.”

We know that the Holy Spirit is God because the Bible calls Him God.

Act 5:3-4 

3. 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? 

4. 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.

Peter said that Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, and by doing so sinned against God.

Act 19:11 

And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:

Rom 15:19 

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

In Act 19:11, it is reported that God enabled Paul to do wondrous works. In Roman 15:19, Paul declared that the wondrous  works he did was through the Holy Spirit

We know the Holy Spirit is God because He has the attributes of God the Father and God the Son possess

He is Omnipresent

Psa 139:7-10 

7.  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 

8.  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 

9.  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 

10.  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

He is Omniscient

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

He is Omnipotent

Luk 1:35  And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Read Rom.15:19.

He is eternal

Heb 9:14  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?

We know that the Holy Spirit is God because He does things only a Being not less than God could do

He created

Job 33:4 

The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

The Holy spirit took active part in the creation of everything that were created by the almighty hands of the Father. In Genesis, before the Father began to speak material things into existence, the Holy Spirit was seen playing a role that we don’t comprehend with our human mind, but which was very important in the creative works of the Father.

Gen 1:1-2

1.In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

2  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.

He causes a man to be born again

John 3:6 

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

          When a man comes to Jesus and accepts Him as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit causes the man to be born again so the man could inherit the nature of God and become a child of God. Jesus provides salvation for man. The Holy Spirit performs the divine action that activates the grace of salvation.

He inspires the people of God

2 Pe 1:21 

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.

He sanctifies God's people

Rom 15:16 

That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

1Co 6:11 

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God

1Pe 1:2 

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

He empowers God's people

Rom. 15:19. Our power comes from the Holy Spirit. For a child of God to perform exploits on the battle-field of faith, the Holy Spirit empowerment is a must.