By T. W. Parker

The Holy Spirit is one of the essential teachings in all of Christendom; without Him, neither Jesus Christ nor the Church would fulfill their purpose. The Person of the Holy Spirit played a significant role in events through His attributes/works such as creation, the eternal purpose of God, divine revelation/methods to (OT) saints, the ministry of Christ, and the Church’s ministry. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit is so vital to the history of the Christian faith that it would be impossible for occurrences such as the Holy Spirit in Salvation, Regeneration, Baptism into the body of Christ, the indwelling of the Spirit, Spiritual gifts for believers, and the Holy Spirit in end times would all be meaningless if it were not for His deity.  

The Holy Spirit throughout history and His divinity have been challenged first in the Ante-Nicene Period, Nicene Period, Post-Nicene Period, Middle Ages, Pre-Reformation Period, Protestant Reformation, Post-Reformation, and modern times. One question that perplexes many is concerning His relationship with the Father and Son. “Two error phases arose, the first being Sabellianism and its earlier forms, the second being Arianism. Sabellianism denied that God is in three persons, affirming that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are merely modes of manifestation. On the other hand, while affirming the Son’s distinct personality, Arianism followed the early errors of Gnosticism, which gave the Son and the Spirit the place of created beings” (Walvoord 1991, 240).

The Deity of the Holy Spirit:

His attributes affirm His personality as in His indwelling with the believer; Jesus said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him because it neither sees nor knows Him. However, you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” (John. 14:16-17, NIV). The Geek word (parakletos) is translated (“advocate” in vs. 26; 15:26; 16:7) hence some call Him the “Paraclete” a counselor who helps those in trouble with the law. He is the Spirit of truth when He communicates the truth about Jesus who is “the truth” (vs. 6). God was with believers under the old covenant, not least by dwelling among them in the temple, sometimes appearing in a pillar of cloud or fire, and coming upon individuals by His Spirit.    

His works affirm His Personality by teaching, reminding, and convicting believers of sin. He is a source of revelation, wisdom, and power. He guides believers to all truth, including what is to come. He gives spiritual gifts to believers; He is a seal in the lives of believers. He helps the believers when they are weak and sick. He intercedes for them. He makes the believer new and gives them eternal life. He sanctifies and enables them to bear good fruit. “The most tangible and conclusive evidence for the personality of the Holy Spirit is found in His works” (Walvoord 1991, 6).

The Holy Spirit in Creation:

His creative work, the biblical account of creation, presents the one God as the Creator of all. The opening chapters of Genesis contain two complementary descriptions of creation: one panoramic and one close-up. The first creation account (1:1-2:3) describes God as the Creator of the universe and all life. The second account (2:4-25) focuses on God’s creation of man and woman and their home. The Bible tells us that the Spirit hovers over all potential threats as God prepares to create life. Moreover, “we notice that the Spirit is God’s agent in creation (e.g., Gen.1:1; Ps. 33:6; 104:30). For animals (Isa. 34:16) and human beings (Job 27:3) alike (cf. Isa. 42:5), created life is the work of the Holy Spirit” (Douglas and Tenney 2011, 617).

The nature of His work in creation allows for four things to be noted: His part in the order of creation, the design of creation, the life of creation, and creation designed for God’s glory. “A fine distinction may be made between the design itself and the creation of the heavens in this design. The First Person is commonly regarded as the Designer in the original sense, the Second Person as the one who furthers and assists in the execution of the design, and the Third Person as the one who finishes and brings to the conclusion the work of God in point” (Walvoord 1991, 41).

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament:

The word wind” is used in both the (OT) and (NT). God’s Spirit appears in this first act of creation. It is found again at the beginning of the tremendous creative and redemptive acts of God through history: the turning of the dangerous floodwaters (“wind,” 8:1), at the “birth” of Israel in the crossing the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21; 15:8,10) the coming of the day of the Lord (Joel 2:28-29) the conception of Jesus (Matt. 1:18,20; Luke. 1:35), the act of coming to God the Father (John. 3:5,8) and the advent of the church at Pentecost (Acts. 2:1-4,16-21). “The Spirit was involved in the work of leaders like Moses (Num. 11:17), artisans like Bezalel (Exod. 31:1-5), judges like Gideon (judge. 6:34), prophets like Elijah (1 Kings 18:12), and Kings like David (Ps.51:11)” (Treier and Elwell 2017, 396).

His methods of revelation come in the form of His (1) spoken word, (2) dreams, (3) visions (4) trances. “Such were the methods of revelation used in the Old Testament. As in the case of all supernatural acts, human reason cannot fathom all the details, and human experience cannot rise to the understanding of all that took place. Suffice it to say that God effectively, in His way, brought His message to men. His methods were suited to the age in which they were used” (Walvoord 1991, 52). For example, Isaiah received a vision from God during a time of crisis after the death of King Uzziah at the beginning of the sixth chapter.         

The Holy Spirit in the New Testament:

The Holy Spirit in Christ, as in John 3:34-35, Christ is the faithful witness who speaks the words of God. Jesus Christ has received the fullness of God’s Spirit (not the Spirit by measure). It is implied that all believers receive the fullness of God’s Spirit. Beyond the fullness of God’s Spirit, Christ has received all things because of the love relationship between the Father and the Son. In the Gospel of John, “He associates the Spirit with the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and with the beginning of the spiritual life of believers. He links the gift of the Spirit with the declaration of forgiveness and retention of sins (20:22–23)” (Morris 1989, 145). Furthermore, “As the person of Christ was ever holy and without sin, there was nothing to hinder the full ministry of the Spirit.

The purpose of God being so great in Christ, and the filling of the Holy Spirit being so evidently in keeping with His person, the reasonable conclusion may be reached that Christ always possessed the fullness of the Holy Spirit” (Walvoord 1991, 92-93). The Holy Spirit in the Church began at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2; the New Testament Pentecost witnessed the saving of some three thousand souls. The Spirit is “another helping presence” similar to Jesus. He will teach and guide Jesus’s followers and convict the world of its sin of unbelief in Jesus through them” (Köstenberger 2013, 30).

Conclusion:

The Holy Spirit is the one who pours into the heart of the believer a sense of God’s love for them. Not only did the Holy Spirit come to us at salvation, communicating God’s love for us, but the Scripture says, “He is given unto us.” The verb “is given” (Greek. didomi) means to grant, impart, or put into the heart. The clear implication is that we received the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself at the moment of salvation. A justified believer need not anxiously look to the future when he/she will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to us at the moment of justification. Then Christ’s righteousness is ours, God’s love is ours, and the Holy Spirit’s presence is ours. They are inextricably bound together in a package we call salvation, which would not be possible without the Person of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!

Bibliography 

Douglas, J. D., and Merrill C. Tenney. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 2011.

Köstenberger, Andreas. Encountering John. Nashville: Lifeway, 2013.

Morris, Leon. Jesus Is the Christ: Studies in the Theology of John. Nashville: Lifeway, 1989.

Treier, Daniel J., and Walter A. Elwell, Editors. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Third Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017. 

Walvoord, John F. The Holy Spirit: A Comprehensive study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Pub, 1991.