So what is all the fuss about the Trinity’s most elusive member? Is it more intriguing to discover the life is in the breath, all breath, all life, or is it more mind-blowing to embrace his eternal essence? He was, He is, and He is to come? While we may attempt to embrace Him, words fail to define Him in full. King David wrote about this ever abiding, always interceding spirit in the Old Testament (Psalm 139:7). In the New Testament, this divine essence gets a new residence under the New Covenant. He comes to live inside every believer (Matthew 28:19 NIV).

The temple of the Lord is now one of flesh, not mortar. Each body is a dwelling place and the body politic, the bride of Christ. Throughout the book of Acts, we read many accounts of people coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit, the Comforter promised by the Lord Jesus Christ. The redeemed began to preach and teach the Word with boldness, aided by the Holy Spirit’s presence. All along we see the Holy Spirit pursuing, interceding, filling, and abiding in the body of Christ according to promise (Matthew 28:20b NIV states, “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."). Believers are born of the Spirit and bear witness to the power of a thrice holy God.

He is Omnipresent (Psalm 139:7)

Jeremiah, like David, knew the awesome power of this invisible force in our lives. In Jeremiah 23:24 NLT he writes, “Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth? Says the Lord.” No one can run and hide from the Holy Spirit; His essence permeates all that we do, who we are, and where we go in this life. True freedom is found outside of fear; there is no fear in perfect peace but what does the Lord promise the believer? The prophet Isaiah wrote, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you (Isa. 26:3 NIV).” In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth he writes, “Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, and live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Corinthians 13:11 NIV).” The Comforter is the God of peace; these passages affirm two truths: the deity of the Holy Spirit and the absolute guarantee of peace to those who meditate on the Lord.

There are times in life when peace is something sought for and unable to be found. In those times, the Christian is guilty of forgetting the Father, not leaning on God, and leaning unto human understanding to solve problems when they should lean on Him. The prophet Isaiah declared, “What sorrow awaits those who try to hide their plans from the Lord?” Who do their evil deeds in the dark? The Lord can’t see us they say “He doesn’t know what’s going on!” How foolish can you be? He is the potter and He is certainly greater than you, the clay (Isa. 29:15-16 NLT).”

He is Omniscient (I Corinthians 2:10, 11)

“…but God hath revealed them to us by His Spirit…”

The Holy Spirit searches all things, knows all things including the very deep things of God. In Proverbs 20:27 NLT we read, “The Lord’s light penetrates the human spirit exposing every hidden motive.” In the NIV this same passage reads, “The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being. “ The KJV translates this proclamation as, “The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”

How can the Holy Spirit search your soul unless He also is God? He cannot. In the book of John, we read of the discourse between Jesus and Zaccheus concerning the marvelous work He performs in us: spiritual regeneration or salvation. Zaccheus, the wee little man, wanted to know if he would have to enter his mother’s womb a second time.

”⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. ⁸The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. ⁹Nicodemus answered and said unto him, how can these things be? (John 3:5-9 NIV).”

He is omnipotent

“…of the Water and of the Spirit…”

In obedience to His command and regenerated by the Holy Ghost; this is salvation as promised through the shed blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit could not meet your need, could not fill your soul, and provide saving grace except He also be God. Even Christ affirmed the deity of the Holy Spirit. We should acknowledge also that the same Spirit present before and at the foundations of the world (Genesis 1:1,2) is the same God who breathed life into the human being and made man a living soul. It is this same Spirit that David refers to as the one who renews the face of the Earth (Psalm 104:30). The same God that the prophet Isaiah confirmed as the Creator of all, the Lord of all, and there was no other (Isa. 45:18).

He is eternal

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14 KJV).”

The prophet Ezekiel called upon the work of the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel 37:9 NIV,

⁹Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.”

In Hebrew, this same Spirit is ruwach which translates as “breath of life”. From where does this Spirit hail but the four winds of Heaven also mentioned in Revelation.

^“1And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.

²And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

³Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads (Revelation 7:1-2 NIV).”

He is God

“But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not thin own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why has thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou has not lied unto men, but unto God (Acts 5:3,4 KJV).”

In Job 38:1 we read, “¹Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,” and in Ezekiel 1:4, “And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.”

Affirming the deity of the Spirit once more “…and a fire infolding itself…” the reader learns of the One who is so powerful He is considered a consuming fire. Note each reference and how it relates to the deity of the Holy Spirit, verifying his power and rightful place within the Godhead.

Exodus 24:17 “To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.”

Deuteronomy 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Judges 6:21 With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared.

II Samuel 22:9 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

Psalm 18:8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it.

Isaiah 30:27 See, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire.

Isaiah 30:30 The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.

Isaiah 33:14 The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

Joel 2:5 With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

Hebrews 12:29 For our "God is a consuming fire."

The Holy Spirit may be invisible to us today but His works are made known to us but not altogether visible or audible as they were in the days of the prophets. A clap of thunder does not signal an announcement from above as it did to Moses. The Lord is not breathing life into physically long dead armies that He might be glorified before our very eyes. His work is silent yet nonetheless magnificent as He changes the world, for all eternity, one saved soul at a time.

He is equal with the Father and the Son

While the Holy Spirit does play a submissive role in the Godhead He is by no means less than the Father or Son. He is an equal and possesses the same attributes. His equality is demonstrated in these New Testament events.

The Baptism of Christ

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:16,17).”

The Temptation of Christ

¹Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

²And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

³And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

⁴But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

⁵Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,

⁶And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

⁷Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:1-7).”

The Upper Room, declaration by Jesus

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (John 14:16).”

Paul’s Declaration(s)

“For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father (Ephesians 2:18).”

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen (II Corinthians 13:14).”

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: (Romans 8:2,3).”

Peter’s Declaration(s)

“Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied (I Peter 1:2).”

“If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified (I Peter 4:14).”

In the book of Acts

“Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear (Acts 2:33).”

By Jesus, the Mount of Olives

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matthew 28:19,20).”

Commentary is welcome.

Next Lesson: The Names and Titles of the Holy Spirit

Be blessed!