Who is God? Part 5

The Deity of the Spirit 

     In this post I would like to take a further look at the Holy Spirit, and in particular His divinity.  

     First, He is called the Spirit of God (Rom 8:9), the Spirit of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2, Acts 5:9), and the Spirit of Christ (1Peter 1:11, Gal 4:6).  

     In the account of Annanias and Sapphira, Peter asked him why he lied to the Holy Spirit, and then tells him that he has not lied to men but to God (Acts 5:3-4).In Hebrews 3:7-11 we see the Holy Spirit was provoked by the Israelites in the wilderness. In Numbers 14 we read of the refusal to enter the promised land, and how the LORD was the one angered by this (Numbers 14:11), and His subsequent refusal to allow them to enter in. Compare also Isaiah 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27, where it is shown that the LORD in Isaiah's passage is the Spirit in the Acts quotation.  Likewise we read that the Scriptures are inspired by God, but we also see that it is the Holy Spirit who moved men in this process, equating the Spirit with God (2Tim 3:16, 2Peter 1:20-21). These accounts serve to show us that the Holy Spirit is indeed equated with God in the scriptures.

     As Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of the presence of God. This is true of us as individuals, and also corporately as the body of Christ when we come together. Who but God can claim a temple to be worshipped in? Likewise we believe that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, but in truth this is accomplished by the presence of the Holy Spirit filling the temple's of those who believe (1Cor 6:19, Eph 2:19-22, 2Tim 1:14) 1Peter 2:4-5, Eph 3:16-17). 

     As further proof of the Holy Spirit's divinity we see that He shares the attributes of God in that He is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscience (1Cor 2:9-16), omnipotence ( Luke 5:17, Eph 3:16-20, Romans 8:11), was at creation (Gen 1:2, Job 33:4), and is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). 

     And finally the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration or the new birth as seen in John 3:5-7, and Titus 3:4-7.

     

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Who Is God? Part 4

The Holy Spirit

     In previous posts we have explored God the Son, His pre-existance, His appearing in the Old Testament as the angel of the Lord, and His taking on flesh and dwelling among men. We also looked at God the Father. Now lets take a look at the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit.

     We first see record of the Spirit of God at creation, "And the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters" (Gen 1:2). Likewise the Biblical record closes with this invitation, "The Spirit and the bride say come" (Rev 22:17). In between we see the activity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, the promise of the Spirit in the New Covenant era, and the ultimate fulfillment of that promise in the book of Acts and onward.

      There is much to learn about God's Spirit, and for now I will take a rather broad look at this topic and elaborate more in future posts. 

     The Old Testament records numerous instances when the Holy Spirit came upon individuals and anointed them for a specific task. Exodus 31:2-4 records the Spirit's anointing in the making of the tabernacle. Likewise we see The Spirit of the LORD coming upon Sampson in Judges 14:6, 19, 15:14. When Saul was anointed king over Israel the Spirit came upon him and he was changed (1Sam 10:6-10). After Saul's disobedience the Spirit of the LORD departed from him as well (1Sam 16:14). David pleads that God would not remove the Holy Spirit from him as well, after his sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51:11).

     In Isaiah 63:10-14 we read that the Holy Spirit was in the midst of the Israelites as they left Egypt and journeyed towards the promised land. It was He who gave them rest, and it  was also the Holy Spirit who was grieved by the people's disobedience (Heb 3:7-11). So we see that the Holy Spirit can be resisted (Acts 7:51), He can be grieved (Eph 4:30), and quenched (1Thess 5:19). 

     While it is true that the Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament, yet He did not dwell within men. It was always God's desire to tabernacle (dwell) with mankind, but sin caused a separation that made this impossible. While God graciously forgave, yet he could not dwell within man to the extent that He desired. However we read of the New Covenant and the promise of the Spirit to come and inhabit His people. Lets take a look at these passages briefly. 

     We read in Ezekiel 36 of the New Covenant God would make with His people Israel. Part of that involved heartfelt obedience to His commands, something that we all struggle with as humans. "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

     "It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-29)

     In The gospel of John we have the words of Jesus as well, 

     "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17) 

     Jesus elaborates further in John 16:7-14 on the coming of the Holy Spirit, and His convicting work, and His teaching and guidance. Finally, we read in Luke 24:49, and Acts 1:8, of the Promise of the Father, and the power for witnessing that the Holy Spirit provides. 

     In a future post I would like to examine the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Jesus, and the fulfillment of the Promise as found in the New Testament, and How it effects us today.

     

     

     

     

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Who is God? Part 3

God the Father

For You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us and 

Israel does not recognize us. You O LORD, are our Father,

our Redeemer from of old is Your name.

Isaiah 63:16 NASB

     In Genesis 1:1 we read that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." We established the fact in a previous post, that the word used for God in this passage is Elohim, and in the plural. Not two God's, for God is one ( Deut 6:4), but there is a plurality hinted at. We also saw this with the angel of the LORD poring out fire and brimstone from the LORD upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19:24). We have established that the angel of the LORD is non other than the pre-incarnate son of God, Jesus Christ, who was with God at creation (John 1:1-3, Col 1:15-16). So what does this mean?

     Jesus Christ, the image of the invisible God. No one has seen God (the Father) at any time. It is Jesus who has revealed Him (John 1:18). We read in John 4:23-24 that God is spirit. When His disciples asked Him to show them the Father He replied that if they have seen Him, they have seen the Father (John 14:7-9). In fact He is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). 

     There are numerous verses throughout the New Testament that refer to God the Father. I will just highlight a few of them for this post. The first one is found in Matthew 3: 16-17. This was the occasion of Jesus' baptism. As He came up out of the water the Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven declared This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

     Again we see on the mount of transfiguration a similar thing when God the Father declares, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I an well -pleased; listen to Him" (Matt 17:5). Notice God the Father in heaven, Jesus on earth. We read of Jesus praying to His Father (Matt 6:9-15), teaching about His Father (Matt 5:45, 48). Notice that His Father is our heavenly Father, a concept that is not as clearly brought out in the Old Testament. 

     We again read of Jesus pleading with His Father in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt 26:39), and crying out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"  as He hung dying on the cross (Matt 27:46). 

     During His trial Jesus answers the high priest, declaring that He will sit at the right hand of power, and come with the clouds of heaven. This was an obvious reference to Daniel 7:13-14, and Psalm 110: 1, where Jesus is shown to be exalted by God the Father( see also Phil 2:9-11). 

     

     Some of the best references to the Father are found in John's gospel. Here are several of them.

John 5:19, 26, 37, 43, 6:37-46, 8:42, 54, 12:27-28, 14:16-24. These are just a few, there are many more that we could look at. What we see is that Jesus is God, and the Father is God. Jesus is not the Father, and the Father is not the Son. They are both God, yet not two God's, but one in unity and essence. 

     Read Paul's greeting in Colossians 1:1-3, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. Again note that the Father, and the Son, Jesus Christ are both mentioned in this greeting from Paul. This is common in his other epistles as well (Eph 1:1-3, Gal 1:1-3, Phil 1:1-2). 

     The Bible clearly teaches that God exists as the Father and also the Son. The Son was sent by the Father, and subjected Himself to the Father. He was obedient to the point of death, and has now been exalted by the Father. There is so much more that can be said, and I will save that for future posts.

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