Before we look at the interrelationship of God, the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit, we have to quickly establish that the Holy Spirit is God. I think, if you could follow and accept the reasoning in the earlier parts, there should not be much of a problem to accept that the Holy SPIRIT can be God (who is spirit), when even Jesus, a human being can be God in the flesh.
Jesus could say "I and the Father are one" and by now we can understand that meant it to mean "The Father and I are the same one God". Yes, it also means one in purpose, one in opinion etc, but this would be too weak a representation of what the whole Gospel set out to show, namely that Jesus IS God.
So, to establish the Deity of the Holy Spirit, I will go a similar path and establish the "equality" between the Spirit and the other persons of the Godhead.
John 14:16-18
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another [and this word in Greek means: another of the same kind] Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
This is from Jesus' "fare well" discourse. And he tells his disciples that he will send another one to 'replace' him when he will be no longer physically among them. And it is no stranger. He already lives WITH them (He is Jesus - that is my interpretation of it and this is consistent with all I know from the Bible) and then will soon be in them (the Holy Spirit). And indeed in the last sentence he says "I will come to you". He is speaking of himself and the Spirit as having one identity.
In Luke 12 Jesus speaks to those who deliberately oppose Jesus and attribute his work to Satan:
10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
But you can only blaspheme against God, so it is clear from this that the Holy Spirit is God, not Gabriel or some other spirit sent by God, as some Muslims contend.
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord IS the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
So, again the Spirit and the Lord (Jesus, see context) are one in identity (one God, that is) but nevertheless, still somehow 'separate' since it is the 'Spirit OF the Lord'. This is the same principle of "sameness" and "distinctiveness" between Jesus and the Spirit as we have seen between Jesus and God the Father.
2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?
So, earlier Jesus was promising that the Spirit would come to dwell in them. Now the assumption is that it is Jesus who is in them.
And indeed, Jesus says the same thing in John 14:23
Jesus replied: "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.
In the context of all the other verses, the 'with' in the last line makes the best sense as 'within'. God is everywhere and that does not depend on our obedience. So, Jesus would not really say anything new or profound if it were not to mean that they will live 'in' the those who love and serve God.
Acts 5:3-4
But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? "While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
Lying to the Holy Spirit (verse 3) is lying to God (verse 4). So, it seems again, that the Spirit is God.
Just a short list of more verses to look up:
The Holy Spirit is God
1) the Spirit has the divine characteristics- omnipresence (especially: He lives in all believers) Ps 139:7-12; John 14:17-18 - omniscient 1 Cor 2:10 - grace Zechariah 12:10; Hebr. 10:29 - holiness, glory Romans 1:4; 1 Peter 4:14 - life Romans 8:2,10; 2 Cor 3:6 - love Romans 15:30; 2 Tim 1:7 - unsearchable greatness Isaiah 40:13 - truth John 14:17; 15:26: 16:13; 1 John 5:6 - where the Spirit is, there is power Acts 1:8; 2 Tim 1:7; Romans 15:13,19 - sovereignty John 3:8; 1 Cor 12:11
2) the Spirit has divine names
- Spirit of God Numbers 24:2; Rom. 8:9,14; 2 Chr. 15:1 - Spirit of the Lord Judges 3:10; 6:34; Is. 11:2; 2 Cor 3:17 - Spirit of the Father Matth. 10:20 - Spirit of Jesus Acts 16:7 - Spirit of Christ Romans 8:9 - Spirit of the Son Galatians 4:6 - paraclete, i.e. the advocate, John 14:16,26; 15:26 helper, counselor
Okay, let those be enough.
Result: By now we have established, that the person of Jesus Christ is equally God with God, the Father, and also the Holy Spirit is God as the other two persons are God. They share the same divine nature or character. The early Church fathers/leaders/bishops/theologians have formulated this in the following way: "God is one in essence (His nature) but three persons" who are distinct but act in complete harmony. There is no strife or 'competition' between them of any kind.
Continue to the next part
The Trinity
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