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Trinity part 3 - It's not the Force!

The Holy Spirit is a person

The Deity and Personhood of the Holy Spirit

Well, we've reached the third in our four part study in the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. A quick reminder would be that so far we have discovered:

> The Bible teaches there is only One God in all existence

> The Bible has more than one person called God inside the Unity of Persons that are that One God, and two of them are the Father and the Son - Jesus Christ.

In this article, we're going to investigate the claims to personhood regarding what the Bible calls, "The Holy Spirit", and then I am going to show that the Bible demonstrates He (not it) is God in His essence.

The Bible calls the Holy Spirit "God" (Acts 5:3-4), "Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18), "Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 3:16), "Spirit of Truth" (John 15:26) and the "Eternal Spirit" (Heb. 9:14), to give just a few. He has a will (1 Cor. 12:11), loves (Rom. 15:30), speaks (Acts 8:29, 13:2), can be quenched (1 Thess. 5:19), grieved (Eph. 4:30), lied to (Acts 5:3), insulted, (Heb. 10:29), resisted (Acts 7:51), and blasphemed (Matt. 12:31). He can lead (Rom. 8:14), teach (John 14:26), create (Job 33:4), convict (John 16:9,14) and inspire (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

It's pretty hard to do almost all of those things if all you are is an impersonal, all-present force with no personal desires or personality. All of those things are things that beings do, not things that forces do. Gravity does not teach; it does not lead, or speak, or love, or grieve, or inspire. It just makes you fall over when you lose balance, and can do little else. It doesn't will things, or forbid things, or conceive or create or sustain things.

I think that alone pretty much establishes everything this article is attempting to achieve.

So where are we at:

We've seen that there is only One God in all existence. No other exists, all others are false and idols that have no existence whatsoever. We have also seen that there are least three separate beings in the scripture referred to as God, in both Old and New Testaments. To prove they are separate by the way, you need only go to the baptism of Jesus - the Father, speaking from Heaven, the Son being baptized, the Spirit descending in the form of a Dove - all three, one place, One God, eternal union. Complicated? You bet. Glorious? Inconceivably weighty therein.

Thus, we arrive at the Christian Doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Three persons, each who can say to the others, "I", "You" and "We", but one Unified Godhead, One God in all existence, one in essence, three in person, forever. And to Him be glory, dominion and power evermore. Amen!

Next time, we'll be looking at the way this affects our Christian life. And then, we'll be moving on to some other series, that I've not yet received from the Lord. Who knows what may come down from our Triune God? Praise His Name.

Love in Christ,

Arron