From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Part 10 of a series. Read part 9.

Mormon theology speaks of the "Holy Spirit" as an impersonal force, but according to Scripture the Third Person of the Trinity is a Divine Person.

In order to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1) of Mormon doctrine concerning the entity it calls the "Holy Spirit" we must have a firm grasp of what Scripture actually teaches concerning the Spirit of Truth. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is not a mere technicality but essential Christian truth. To believe in the God of the Bible is to believe in God the Holy Spirit as He is taught in the Bible.

The Truth About the Holy Spirit

Let us begin, then, at the Beginning. Scripture clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit exists, and that the Holy Spirit is God. Scripture declares the Holy Spirit to be the Spirit of God in the very first words of the book of Genesis:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)

Scripture declares that God the Holy Spirit is eternally existent. In Hebrews 9:14 He is spoken of as "the eternal Spirit." Once again, this is not a being who began as a man and became a god. God the Holy Spirit is now God, has always been God, and will always be God - unchanged and unchanging.

Notice also the great statement we find in Romans chapter eight, beginning at verse nine. Here the Spirit is spoken of as God. Furthermore, He is spoken of in relation to both the God the Father and the God Son, and also in His relationship to the believer:

But you [the believer in Jesus Christ] are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Therefore, brethren, we are debtors - not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:9-14)

The Spirit Possesses Divine Attributes

Scripture also declares that the Holy Spirit is God and is a person by demonstrating that the Holy Spirit possesses Divine attributes. Psalm 139 declares that God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. The psalmist says,

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You [God the Holy Spirit] are there; if I make my bed in Hell, behold, You [God the Holy Spirit] are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

Jesus spoke of this same attribute of the Holy Spirit when He promised the Spirit to believers in John chapter fourteen. Jesus said,

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him... (14:16)

Here we have the condemnation of Mormonism in Jesus' own words: They cannot receive the Spirit of truth because they neither see the true Spirit of God nor know Him. But, Jesus says,

You [the true believer in Christ] know Him, for He [God the Holy Spirit] dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

In Romans 1:4 Paul speaks of the third person of the Godhead as "the Spirit of holiness." This also is a key attribute of deity.

Scripture also declares to us that God the Holy Spirit is life itself, and possesses the ability to give life. "It is the Spirit who gives life..." (John 6:63). "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). "And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness" (Romans 8:10).

The Spirit Performs Divine Works

Furthermore, the works of the Holy Spirit that are attributed to Him in the Bible are divine works - works which only God can do. As we saw in Genesis chapter one, the Holy Spirit was involved in the creation of the universe. As we saw previously in the book of Matthew, chapter one, the Holy Spirit brought about the supernatural conception of Christ by the virgin Mary.

God the Holy Spirit has inspired all Scripture. "All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). "For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).

God the Holy Spirit regenerates those who are saved. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of [that is, by] the Holy Spirit..." (Titus 3:5).

God the Holy Spirit makes supernatural intercession for believers. "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered" (Romans 8:26).

God the Holy Spirit sanctifies believers. In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul writes this: "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth..." First Peter chapter one, verse two declares that those who are in Christ are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit..."

"Another Paraclete"

In John chapter fourteen, Jesus tells the disciples that He will soon be leaving the world and returning to Heaven. But, Jesus says, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth..." (14:16-17).

The Greek word that translated "Helper" (NKJV) or "Comforter" (KJV) in this verse is the word parakletos, meaning "one who is called alongside to help." The word that is translated "another" in this verse is allos, which means "another of the same kind." God the Holy Spirit is "another Helper" of the same kind as God the Son. The Holy Spirit is God just as Jesus is God.

The Greek word 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 (a parakletos) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." God the Holy Spirit is the believer's Paraclete or Advocate in the world, and God the Son, Jesus Christ, is the believer's Paraclete or Advocate at the Father's right hand.

The Holy Spirit Is A Masculine Personality

As we have seen, Mormonism teaches that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force. It is sad to say that in our time we even find that kind of false teaching among some who call themselves Evangelicals. But Scripture makes it unmistakably clear that God the Holy Spirit is a person. It is vital for Christians to understand this truth.

The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as masculine; as having the attributes of personality; as doing works of personality; and engaging in interactions of personality. To seek to reinvent the Holy Spirit as an impersonal force is to deny the plain meaning of the words of the Bible.

The very grammar of the Greek New Testament testifies to the personality of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for "spirit" in the New Testament is pneuma. The word pneuma in Greek is neuter in gender - neither masculine nor feminine. Normally, in Greek grammar, any word that is substituted for a neuter word would also be in the neuter form - neither masculine nor feminine. But the inspired writers of Scripture consistently violated this standard rule of Greek grammar. They always substituted masculine nouns and the masculine pronoun (He, Him, His) for the neuter pneuma, rather than substituting the neuter word "it." In other words, the Holy Spirit is not an "it". The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force. The Holy Spirit is "He" - a masculine pronoun. The Holy Spirit is a person.

The Holy Spirit Possesses the Attributes of Personality

Scripture declares the personality of the Holy Spirit in His attributes. Romans 8:27 shows us that God the Holy Spirit has a mind. First Corinthians chapter two shows us that the Holy Spirit is an intellect, and possesses all knowledge. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that God the Holy Spirit has sensibility - that He can be grieved.

Acts chapter sixteen tells us that the Holy Spirit possess a will. We read there that Paul and his associates wanted to go into certain regions of the Roman Empire to preach the Word of God, but "they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit... the Spirit did not permit them" (Acts 16:6-7).

We often see in the pages of Scripture that the Holy Spirit performs the works of a personality, such as teaching, testifying, guiding, convicting, comforting, commanding, and commissioning.

We also see the Holy Spirit having interactions with man that denote personality. The Holy Spirit can be sinned against, grieved, resisted, obeyed, blasphemed, and lied to. When Ananias and Sapphira conspired to lie about their gift to the church, Peter said to Ananias, "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?... You have not lied to men, but to God" (5:4).

Vital Doctrine

The Biblical doctrine of the Holy Spirit is essential Christian truth. There could be no Bible, no authentic Word of God, without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There is no salvation without regeneration by the Holy Spirit. There is no preparation for this life and for the life to come without sanctification by the Holy Spirit. There is no help for the Christian in this world without the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

To believe in the God of the Bible is to believe in God the Holy Spirit. To not believe in the Holy Spirit as He is declared in Scripture, is to not believe in the God of the Bible. This is serious business.

Any individual or church that denies or diminishes the person and work of the Holy Spirit teaches a doctrine of God that is contrary to Scripture, and substitutes a false god. That is exactly what Mormonism does. Bible-believing Christians can have no part in this.

As we continue, we are going to see that the same thing is true concerning the doctrine of the Trinity. Once again, this is essential Christian doctrine. And once again, we are going to see that Mormonism denies and distorts the doctrine of the Trinity by daring to redefine the terms.

Next: Mormonism vs. The Trinity

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