Theology: The Doctrine of God

How Do We Know That The Holy Spirit is God?

By Dr. Paul M. Elliott
Scripture clearly teaches the existence and deity of God the Holy Spirit.

From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

 

Scripture clearly teaches the existence and deity of God the Holy Spirit. Let us examine the evidence.

Scripture's Declarations

Scripture declares the Holy Spirit to be the Spirit of God (e.g., Genesis 1:2, Job 33:4, Romans 8:9-14, 2 Corinthians 2:11-14, Ephesians 4:30); the Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11); and the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9, Philippians 1:19, 1 Peter 1:11). The Holy Spirit is eternally existent (Hebrews 9:14). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son (Psalm 104:30, John 15:26). The tense of the verb translated "proceeds" in John 15:26 (ekporeuetai, a present middle deponent indicative) denotes that the procession of the Spirit is eternal.

The Spirit's Divine Attributes

Scripture declares that the Holy Spirit possesses divine attributes. These include omnipotence (e.g., Job 33:4); omnipresence (e.g., Psalm 139:7-10, John 14:17); holiness (e.g., Daniel 5:11, Romans 1:4); truth (e.g., John 14:17, 15:26); and life itself and the ability to give life (e.g., John 6:63; Romans 8:2 and 10; 2 Corinthians 3:6). In Acts 5:3-5, Peter equates lying to the Holy Spirit with lying to God.

The Spirit's Divine Works

The works of the Holy Spirit attributed to Him in the Bible are divine works. The Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of the universe (Genesis 1:2). The Holy Spirit brought about the supernatural conception of Christ by a virgin (Matthew 1:20). God the Holy Spirit has inspired all Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21). He regenerates the saved (John 3:6, Titus 3:5). He makes supernatural intercession for believers (Romans 8:26). He sanctifies believers (2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2).

"Another Paraclete"

In John 14:16-17, Jesus tells the disciples that He will soon be leaving the world and returning to Heaven, but "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth..." The Greek word translated "Helper" (NKJV) or "Comforter" (KJV) is parakletos, meaning "one who is called alongside to help." The word translated "another" is allos, which means "another of the same kind." God the Holy Spirit is "another Helper" of the same kind as God the Son. Parakletos is also used in 1 John 2:1 to describe the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus Christ: "If anyone sins, we have an Advocate (parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." God the Holy Spirit is the believer's Paraclete in the world, and God the Son is the believer's Paraclete at the Father's right hand.

dg0018


Copyright 1998-2024

TeachingtheWord Ministriesmmmmmwww.teachingtheword.org

All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced in its entirety only,
for non-commercial purposes, provided that this copyright notice is included.

We also suggest that you include a direct hyperlink to this article
for the convenience of your readers.

Copyright 1998-2024 TeachingTheWord Ministries