Is the Holy Spirit.... God?

Last week we looked at the scriptures that deal with the Spirit having a personality, that is traits that make Him a "person". (not a human, but an individual) These established that the Spirit is an individual being that possesses individual characteristics. The question for us to pursue this week is what kind of person is He? The answer to that is found in the Bible and can be discovered through some study. I will not attempt to fully dive into this subject in a short blog.

The Spirit is a "divine being", that is He is deity. His personal attributes demonstrate His divine nature. The Spirit is "omniscient", that is that He knows everything! These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Cor 2:10-11) The Spirit searches all things and knows all things because He knows the thoughts of God!

The Spirit is "omnipresent", that is He is everywhere! Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in sheol, you 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) The Psalmist makes it clear that we cannot escape His presence. The Spirit of God is everywhere, all the time!

He is "eternal" in nature. How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14) The Spirit has existed from the beginning and exists through eternity. (read Genesis 1)

His "works" demonstrate His divine nature as well. The Spirit was involved in the "creation" of the world. 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. (Gen 1:2) When God was busy creating the world, the Spirit was there doing His part. Creating worlds surely falls under the purview of Deity.

He was involved in the working of "miracles". But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. (Matt 12:28) When challenged by the religious elite of His day, Jesus gave the Spirit of God credit for the miracles that He worked while on Earth. Undoubtedly, if the Spirit is the power behind Jesus' miracles, He must be divine. 

He was involved in the "redemption" of man.  How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. I don't claim to understand how all that works, but Jesus offered Himself for us... through the Spirit. The Spirit was at work in the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Our redemption through Jesus must include the work of the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, He is involved in our "regeneration", our becoming a new creation, a new person before our God. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 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 the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-6) He saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit; sounds a lot like Acts 2:38 and John 3:1-9. Somehow, someway the Spirit makes us new before God. We stand cleansed and new, without spot or blemish through the working of the Holy Spirit. Good news? Great news!

In our class this Wednesday night, we will explore this in depth and even get into the different concepts of God. Should be exciting! See you there.