Why Does it Matter that the Holy Spirit is Both a Person and Divine?

It seems easy to label the Holy Spirit as divine. “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God” (ESV Acts 5:3-4). In this citation of the scriptures, we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit is labeled by Paul as God, giving the Holy Spirit equality with Him.

The Spirit’s divinity is not limited to something that doesn’t seem simple enough to derive this concept; In verse 19 of Matthew chapter twenty eight, one can clearly see that Jesus, one of the members of the Trinity, as well as one who is divine, commands us to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son [Jesus Himself] and the Holy Spirit. There are three separate persons here who have the same authority (to be baptized in the name of). Obviously, The Holy Spirit is, and should be labeled, divine.

The question of the person of the Holy Spirit, though, is not quite as clear to some. “Pneuma” in Koine Greek can either mean “wind” or “breath,” but is translated as “Spirit,” as in the Holy Spirit of God. “Acts 15:28. ‘For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us.’ Shall we say, ‘It seemed good to the wind and to us?’ It would be absurd. 10:38—‘How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.’ Shall we read, ‘Anointed … with power and power?’ Rom. 15:13—‘That ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.’ Shall we read, ‘That ye may abound in hope through the power of the power?’ See also Luke 4:14. Would not these passages rebel against such tautological and meaningless usage?” (Evans and Coder 110; emphasis mine).

“In John 14:16 the Holy Spirit, as the Paraclete, is to take the place of a person—Christ Himself, and to personally guide the disciples just as Jesus had been doing. No one but a person can take the place of a person; certainly no mere influence could take the place of Jesus Christ, the greatest personality that ever lived” (Ibid. 109; emphasis mine). Logically, one can plainly see that only a person can take the place of a person. Take a look at marriage; if one of the two dies or leaves, the other wouldn’t be replaced by a dog. A dog would be incapable of fulfilling their needs (even though bitterness or brokenness might temporarily push one to believe otherwise).

It matters that the Holy Spirit is both divine and person because we need to understand that God did not leave us, and never gave us a reason to believe in deism. In fact, the mere existence of the Holy Spirit defies deism in this sense. An individual can look at his or her life, examine it, and see the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her life. If one cannot see that the Holy Spirit is in fact divine, then that person believes in something that is not Biblical.

Works Cited

William Evans and S. Maxwell Coder: The Great Doctrines of the Bible, Enl. ed. (Chicago: Moody Press, 1998, c1974).

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001).

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