The Doctrine of The Holy Spirit - Part Three

II. THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

By the Deity of the Holy Spirit is meant that the Holy Spirit is God. This fact is clearly set forth in the Scriptures, in a five-fold way:

1. DIVINE NAMES ARE GIVEN TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.

In Acts 5:4, the Spirit is called God. And this in opposition to man, to whom, alone, Ananias thought he was talking. Can any statement allege deity more clearly? In 2 Cor. 3:18 – “We….are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit” (R.V.). Here the Spirit is called the Lord. For the meaning of “Lord” see under the Deity of Christ, p.60.

2. THE HOLY SPIRIT POSSESSES DIVINE ATTRIBUTES.

He is eternal in his nature (Heb. 9:14, R.V.); omnipresent (Psa. 139:7-10); omnipotent (Luke 1:35); omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10, 11). For the meaning of these attributes, see under the Doctrine of God & Jesus Christ, pp. 28 and 63.

3. DIVINE WORKS ARE ASCRIBED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Creation (Gen. 1:2; Psa. 104:30, R.V.); Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” Regeneration (John 3:5-8); resurrection (Rom. 8:11).

4. THE NAME OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT OF
THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON.

See under Personality of the Spirit, p. 107. The same arguments which there prove the Personality of the Spirit may be used here to prove the Deity of the Spirit. It would be just as absurd to say, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of Moses,” – thus putting Moses on an equality with the Father and the Son – as it would be to say, “Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the wind.” – thus making the wind as personal as the Father and the Son. The Spirit is on an equality with the Father and the Son in the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-6).

5. PASSAGES WHICH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT REFER TO GOD
ARE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT MADE TO REFER TO THE HOLY
SPIRIT.

Compare Isa. 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27; and Exod. 16:7 with Heb. 3: 7-9.


III. THE NAMES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Just as the Father and the Son have certain names ascribed to them, setting forth their nature and work, so also does the Holy Spirit have names which indicate His character and work.

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Luke 11:13 – “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” Rom. 1:4 – “The Spirit of holiness.” In these passages it is the moral character of the Spirit that is set forth. Note the contrast: “Ye, being evil,” and “the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit is holy in Himself and produces holiness in others.

2. THE SPIRIT OF GRACE.

Heb. 10:29 – “And hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace.” As the executive of the Godhead, the Spirit confers grace. To resist the Spirit, therefore, is to shut off all hope of salvation. To resist His appeal is to insult the Godhead. That is why the punishment mentioned here is so awful.

3. THE SPIRIT OF BURNING.

Matt. 3:11, 12 – “He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” Isa. 4:4 – “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion….by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning.” Here is the searching, illuminating, refining, dross-consuming character of the Spirit. He burns up the dross in our lives when he enters and takes possession.

4. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH.

John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 5:6. As God is Love, so the Spirit is Truth. He possesses, reveals, confers, leads into, testifies to, and defends the truth. Thus He is opposed to the “spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).

5. THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.

Rom. 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” That which had been the actuating principle of life, namely, the flesh, is now deposed, and its controlling place taken by the Spirit. The Spirit is thus the dynamic of the believer’s experience that leads him into a life of liberty and power.

6. THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE.

That the references in Isa. 11:2; 61:1, 2 are to be understood as referring to the Spirit that abode upon the Messiah, is clear from Luke 4:18 where “Spirit” is capitalized. Christ’s wisdom and knowledge resulted, in one aspect of the case, from His being filled with the Spirit. “Wisdom and understanding” refer to intellectual and moral apprehension; “Counsel and might,” the power to scheme, originate, and carry out; “Knowledge and the fear of the Lord,” acquaintance with the true will of God, and the determination to carry it out at all costs. These graces are the result of the Spirit’s operations on the heart.

7. THE SPIRIT OF PROMISE.

Eph 1:13 – “Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.” The Spirit is the fulfillment of Christ’s promise to send the Comforter, and so He is the promised Spirit. The Spirit also confirms and seals the believer, and thus assures him, that all the promises made to him shall be completely fulfilled.

8. THE SPIRIT OF GLORY.

1 Pet. 4:14 – “The spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.” What is glory? Glory as used in the Scriptures means character. The Holy Spirit is the One who produces godlike character in the believer (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).

9. THE SPIRIT OF GOD, AND OF CHRIST.

1 Cor. 3:16 – “The Spirit of God dwelleth in you.” Rom. 8:9 – “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” The fact that the Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son, that He represents them, and is their executive, seems to be the thought conveyed here.

10. THE COMFORTER (p.109)