DAY 194
CHALLENGE
“The Bible does not teach that the Holy Spirit is God.”
DEFENSE
The Bible may not contain the words “The Holy Spirit is God,” but various passages in Scripture do imply this truth.
One of the most important passages in Scripture concerning the doctrine of the Trinity contains the formula that Jesus indicates is to be used in baptism: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). This passage places the Holy Spirit alongside the Father and the Son.
Other passages also associate the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spir- it (Matt. 3:16–17; John 14:16–17, 25–26; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2), but the trinitarian formula used in baptism is particularly clear, as it speaks of them directly, in sequence, in a simple formula.
Such passages indicate that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have something in common. The question is what.
It is universally acknowledged that the Father is God. Elsewhere we cover the fact that Jesus, the Son, also is God (see Day 137). But if the first two persons in the trinitarian formula are God then this strongly suggests that the Holy Spirit is God.
Further, as we observe elsewhere (see Day 28), the Holy Spirit is not an energy or force but a Person. The trinitarian formula thus indicates that, like the Father and the Son, he is a divine Person and thus God. This is what all three have in common.
The deity of the Holy Spirit is also indicated by the passage in Acts in which Ananias and Sapphira present a partial offering to the apostles and lie about it. Peter first asks Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5:3). He then tells him, “You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:4). The two statements, made in parallel, identify the Holy Spirit with God.
The divinity of the Holy Spirit is also indicated by the fact that he is said to be “the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11) and the fact that he is eternal (Heb. 9:14). God’s spirit can only be God, and only God is eternal.