Do You Know Him? Part 2

In part one we saw that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person. Most believers would not ever think to refer to the Father or Son as "It," yet so many in the church refer to the Holy Spirit as "It." Basically, this is due to a lack of knowing Him. In fact the Scriptures do not only reveal Him in the personal sense, but they also reveal the fact the He is God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son and yet He is a distinct Person. One example of this, is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are connected together as one in the baptism of a new believer. Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

This shows us that the Holy Spirit is not only co-equal with the Father and Son, but He is also co-eternal and one with Them also. Jesus clearly teaches us this, "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." (John 15:26)
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.  (John 16:13-15)

Though the Holy Spirit is One with the Father and the Son, again, He is a distinct person from the Father and Son, notice, "When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22) In John 15:26 (shown above) we also see that the Holy Spirit is sent to the believer from the Father through the Son.

Next, scripture reveals divine works attributed to the Holy Spirit in the same way various works are attributed to the Father and Son. This also gives witness to His deity. He was active in creation; "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) He was active in the inspiration of the scriptures, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,  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 1:20-21) He is also active in the regeneration of fallen man, "Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:3-7)

It should be evident that the person of Holy Spirit is revealed in scripture as God. All that the scriptures reveal concerning the attributes of God can be seen actively at work in and through the Holy Spirit. Although Christendom refers to Him as the third person of the eternal Godhead, it does not in any way infer that He is not co-eternal, co-equal and co-existent with the Father and Son. In fact the Bible reveals the Godhead existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, distinguishable yet indivisible.

In part three we will begin to explore what scripture reveals concerning the work of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Old Testaments.