The Personality of the Holy Spirit

The Three Pillars of Trinitarianism

Well, welcome back to our series on the doctrine of the Trinity some of you have The note page, but I know that some of you who haven't been here might not so I'm going to ask Cody if you'll pass those back and make sure everyone who would like one has one and I want to Clear up a little confusion.

Pat and I were talking earlier. There's a little bit of confusion. This sheet is Actually was supposed to be one lesson, but it's now like four. So if you've been confused on how the notes are going The number one is The the three pillars upon which Trinitarianism rests and those three pillars are that there is one God.

There are three persons who are called God. And these three persons are co-equal Co-eternal and distinct. That's the that's the three pillars that are taught in Scripture the three foundation stones of Trinitarianism and again if you deny any one of those Then you've denied something that the Bible clearly teaches again.

God is one. There are three persons who are called God and these three are co-equal co-eternal and distinct. The second blank is Scripture that supports the oneness of God and There is a plethora of Scripture that declares the oneness of God.

But if you would like just one for the notes sake Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 through 6, which is the shema the the testimony of Israel here Oh Israel the Lord thy God the Lord is one Lord and That's the prayer of Israel.

It's the statement of faith of Israel if you will and There are certainly others there are times when that same prayer is repeated in the New Testament when Jesus is asked What's the greatest commandment?

He says, you know the hero Israel Lord that God is one Lord and you should love the Lord your God with all your heart Your soul your mind and strength. So the idea that God is one is an Old Testament Teaching which is carried over into the New Testament.

Never you think or never should you think that Christianity is in any way polytheistic we do not teach a.

A.

Division in in the Godhead neither do we teach a Separation in the Godhead. We believe in complete Oneness not oneness. Theology. Let me let me back up complete unity tri unity within the Godhead and that God is one.

The third is on the deity of Christ. Now I gave you Some eight or nine different scriptures and that's what we looked at last week.

I.

Would be happy to give those again. Maybe after class, but if you want to just write down a couple of very important ones John 1 1 through 3 John 8 and 58 Hebrews 1 8 and Colossians 2 9. Those are fairly easily understood passages if you go there and look them up.

And if you again would like the rest of those I would be happy to provide them to you at another time. As I do want to move tonight to scripture that supports the personality of the Holy Spirit. Anytime a study of Trinitarianism is brought before the people of God.

Unfortunately, the Holy Spirit often gets the lesser of the attention. Almost always there is a lion's share of the attention given to proving the deity of Jesus Christ. Which is kind of interesting historically because within the first few centuries of the church The argument was not so much about the deity of Christ as it was about his humanity.

Wasn't was he divine the question was was he really a man was that a true? Human being or was he some sort of divine? apparition or some sort of divine spiritual being who was simply in the form of a man, but the Bible teaches that Jesus Christ was fully God and Fully man and what we call the hypostatic union.

The union of natures the two natures in one person where God is three persons in one God Jesus is two natures in one person and so a lot of times Jesus and the study of Jesus becomes the sort of the cornerstone of Trinitarianism and almost the whole debate when you have a Jehovah Witness come to your door.

And they want to talk to you and you bring up the doctrine of the Trinity or perhaps they bring up the doctrine of the Trinity the issue almost always will fall to the person in the nature of the work of Jesus Christ however, the Holy Spirit Rarely is the focal point of argument.

But he does come up at times and one of the things that you will hear regarding the Holy Spirit if you Engage someone from the Jehovah Witness movement or any area in movement. One that would deny the Trinity any type of false teaching in that regard.

You will hear this the Holy Spirit is Not a person the Holy Spirit is a force that is the argument that is often made and Unfortunately, the church has not done a very good job of denying that in their language because oftentimes the way we talk about the Holy Spirit is.

Impersonal as.

If he were a force how many of you. And I don't. You don't have to have a show of hands. But I'll just look for maybe a slight nod. How many of you have been? Conversating about the Holy Spirit referred to him as it.

Right. And what are we saying if we say it? We're saying a Thing not a person. We're saying a force or an energy or or something not a not a he. It's a what or an it not a he and. So we have in our own language sort of miscommunicated and misunderstood the Person of the Holy Spirit and that's why you'll say you'll notice that when I'm in the notes it says the supports the oneness of God the deity of Christ and the Personality of the Holy Spirit because that's the key because nobody really argues that the Holy Spirit isn't divine.

He's the Holy Spirit.

Yeah.

He was there in the beginning. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was formless and void and Darkness was over the face of the waters and the Spirit of God right right there.

It says it. Genesis chapter 1 Tells us the Spirit was there. He was present. It was over the face of the deep so there's really no doubt of the divinity of the Spirit, but the question becomes what quality of.

Being is.

The Spirit. I Have a family member. He is a distal distant relative rather not really family for me, but he's related to My stepfather's family and he is a Jehovah's Witness. You know nice enough man, he's he's you know, but he certainly disagrees with me on this.

He finds me rather repugnant to talk to because I always bring these things up, but. But on this issue He has made the point. He said just like this was the argument he made he said just like. Electricity flows from the light pole through the wire and into the The fuse box of your home and from there is spread throughout the home by virtue of wires that you can't see That are hidden within the beams of your of your walls the studs of the walls and and and and it outlets into those little Pig nose things that stick out of the wall.

We call outlets if you think about it looks like a little pigs nose. No. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, that's how he describes the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is not a person But he is simply a force which emanates from a source Who is God much like the light pole the powers coming from the pole Down through the wire and into the house that being you and he gives you power To do whatever it is.

You do that was the way he described.

The.

The Holy Spirit.

So in such a case We cannot worship the Spirit. Because you don't worship a force. You don't worship an energy or some type of.

Power.

You worship where it came from right. You worship the source not the power itself. And so when we talk about worshiping God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as three in one and one in three They would say no.

No. Only Jehovah is to be worshipped. Jesus is a divine creature so he is not to be worshipped because he's a creature and the Holy Spirit is not to be worshipped because he is a force from the Father.

So there is lies the argument against the personality of the Holy Spirit.

So.

Tonight I want to make the Scriptural argument for the personality of the Holy Spirit from several passages of Scripture. And we're going to go back to the gospel of John interestingly enough John's gospel.

Is.

Where we often begin in our conversation about the Trinity because each one of the Gospels Gives us a little bit different information about the person of Jesus Christ. But if you've ever read the Gospels all four together, you'll notice that the first three Are called the synoptic Gospels for a reason because they tend to tell the same stories in a little different way.

Synonymous or synoptic meaning they have a similar nature. But when you come to the gospel of John John's gospel, which most writers understand had was written later Than the first three Gospels and and by the way, what orders were the Gospels written in?

Yeah, we don't know for certain but many would argue for Mark and supremacy. Some argue for Matthew and supremacy. But it is either mark or Matthew most likely mark. And then who comes next. Well, I'm saying after those two.

So one of those two is first and then Luke and Luke makes the point that he's a historian. If you read the first few Verses says he comes in as a historian having researched and gotten eyewitness testimony about these things.

He comes in as a historian likely speaking also having ministered with Paul. So having Pauline authority over his writing. But then you have the gospel of John written much later. And what is the gospel of John called the a topic gospel because it's so different.

Not that it paints a different picture of Jesus. Because it's the same Jesus. But it provides a fill of information and a fuller understanding of who Jesus is and Particularly his work and his divinity and the divinity of the Spirit.

So if you go to John 15 and Verse 26 John 15 and 26 you will see there Jesus talking about Someone called the comforter. Now if you have an ESV, which is our pulpit translation here at Sovereign Grace.

It doesn't say comforter. It says helper. But how many of you have the King James Bible?

Anyone.

Know how many of you have you would you do have or you have new King James, right? Or is it? Okay, does it say comforter? What does it say? Does it really that's interesting because I love the word comforter and we're going to talk about that in a moment.

I'm really sad. Because as much as I do believe in the use of more modern translations and I certainly believe in the reason for things like the textual critical studies and Understanding where you know the difficulties in the King James In the need for updates I do think that there are certain words that become so part of the vernacular that would almost be easier to just left those words.

In.

Rather than having to it's sort of like when I read Psalm 23 at a funeral. I read Psalm 23 from the King James because most people are used to he leadeth me Beside the still waters rather than he walks with me beside the roaring brook or something, you know, you know, it's never yeah.

You know, it's it's not the same and it doesn't sound or feel the same but but this word particular word. Comes from the Greek word Paracletus. Paracletus is the Greek word which underlines if you want in English Paracletus.

This particular Greek word is the word that we translate helper or comforter in. The Greek language it is a compound word just like in English we have compound words where you combine a prefix and a suffix to make a word and the prefix here is And I use different color to kind of help this out.

The prefix is Para which means to come to be beside. Okay, and you think of like parallel? That's to be beside and clay toss is.

The.

It comes from the root Kaleo and Kaleo means to call All right. So think of when we talk about.

The word.

Ecclesiology or Ecclesiastic it's the where we get the word ecclesia from the church. Ecclesia means out of like exit means to come out and Kaleo to call. So ecclesia to call out. It means to create an assembly.

And that's what the church. The word the church means assembly. So Beside to call doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it does in this regard if I were struggling.

And.

I needed assistance and I called for help. You would come by my side to provide support. It's actually one of the words that was used for the attorney or the Lawyer, he was one who came to your side in Your time of need.

He you called him to your side.

Right.

So with that in mind, let's read the text Jesus says. But when the helper or the comforter comes who I will send to you from the father The spirit of truth who proceeds from the father he will bear witness about me and you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the Beginning.

What is he saying there? He's saying I'm going to send you.

The spirit.

I'm sending you The helper I'm sending you one to be your Aid, you're the one to be beside you and I've always liked this the word comforter. Oftentimes we like. We think of a modern use of the term and if you think of comforter today You might think of someone to sort of strokes your head or hold you whenever you're hurting.

Right. Sometimes you think of a comforter is that thing which goes over your bedspread, you know the comforters that you know. But the word in the Latin which is where the English comes from here means come as a prefix.

Which means with and then forte means strength. You think about in music if you've ever played music You'll see a little Latin term forte or fortissimo. That means really strong when you're singing. Ah, it's With strength with power fortissimo or forte, right?

Well, this is the same idea that in Latin the idea that they got from perical a toss was one who brought strength. He came beside to lift you up to give you power to to in.

Courage you.

Right.

And I think that's a that's why I like that word comforter because it allows me to sort of address what the the ancient Writers translated it. And when they translated into Latin and then of course that became the English they were seeing the Holy Spirit as One who brought with him strength for the need.

If we look over at chapter 16, we see this. Jesus says in verse 13. He says when the spirit of truth comes He will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority. But whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

He will glorify me for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. This is an interesting passage because you say now wait a minute. The spirits not speaking of his own authority.

No.

Because there is an active submission that the Spirit is making just like Christ made an active submission and coming into the world as Son of God in the person of Jesus Christ the Spirit also makes an active submission in that role as being our comforter and He does not seek to glorify himself.

This is one of the reasons why I take great issue with churches that overemphasize the Spirit in The in the degradation of the Father and the Son and I don't know if you know what churches I'm talking about.

But there are churches that make such a to-do about the Spirit and really reference very little the work of the Son or the work Of the Father but the scripture tells us this the Spirit's purpose in coming is to point people to Christ.

And the purpose of Christ is to create a bridge to the Father. So the Spirit didn't come to glorify himself. The Spirit came to glorify the Father through the pointing of people to Christ. So the Spirit has in that sense a Submissive role but not in a divine sense where he is lesser than the Father of the Son.

But just like the Son says I do nothing of my own accord. But I do you know the same as said here of the Spirit. There is an economical relationship within the Trinity and That economical relationship is the Father elects the Son redeems and the Spirit regenerates and in regeneration points people back to the Son who creates the way to the Father and Thus there is this continuing relationship.

There is a passage and I don't have it here and perhaps someone Not not if you don't know it's okay Richard, but I'm going to ask which Scripture does Jesus say and I should know it in my head. I can't write off I can quote it but I don't where he says I will pray the Father and he will send you another Comforter does anybody remember right off because it's in John.

It's right around here, and I just don't have it written down. Sorry that I don't remember that it's one of those ones that you you know because that's an important passage as well because again, I love that that particular I thought that was the one I had my notes, but I didn't and I could stop and go look it up, but I don't really want to do that.

But but the reason for that one is the term all us all us in the Greek when Jesus says I will pray the Father and he will send you all us percolators. Allah's is another. Percolators is the same word that we have here and the term for another Means in the Greek another of the same kind.

We're like if I were to say the word another in English. I can mean another of a different kind like if you hand me a Piece of food or piece of fruit, and it's a apple, and I didn't want the apple I handed back said give me another piece of fruit meaning a different piece of fruit.

But if you hand me an apple that has a bite taken out of it I might say no, I don't want this one on another one one like this, but not this one. Right. Well in this in English, we sort of can go either way with that word another but in Greek There was two different ways of saying it and the way that this particular word Another is used when Jesus says I will pray the Father.

He will send you another comforter. It's another of the same kind. It's it's and so he speaks of the Spirit in Fulfilling the ministry Spiritually that he fulfilled physically when Jesus was here. He was the percolators.

He was the one who was beside his Disciples he walked with them. He talked with them. You know as this as the song goes he walks with me. He talks with me. He was the one but when he went away he now sits at the right hand of the father.

Who is it that indwells us? The Holy Spirit Indwells us oftentimes people talk about Jesus being in our heart and there's even a hymn or a song when Jesus came into my heart. And we talk about that and I understand and I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong.

Linguistically. Yes. Jesus is in our heart as in as in our Savior, but Jesus in a economic sense is at the right hand of the father making intercession for the Saints and the Spirit of Christ as Romans 8 says dwells within us the Holy Spirit of God Dwells within us as the person of the Holy Spirit.

We are not indwelt by a force. We are indwelt by a Person and why that is key is because you will often hear people say I need more of the Holy Spirit. I Need more of the Holy Spirit. Well, if he's a person and you've got him He didn't come to you in chunks or sections.

Now you might say I need to be more Obedient to the Spirit or I need to be more active in my pursuit but when you say I need more of the Spirit again that looks at him as a.

Force.

Rather than as a person. If he's a person who came to live inside of you Then I think we need to change how we talk about him. He's here. And one of the one of the things one of my professors you we used to this question came up in seminary quite often.

I don't know why this particular question came up. The question of whether or not a Christian could be Indwelt by a demon. Can a Christian become demon-possessed. They may ever ask that question.

I've had.

Several times in seminary that question came up and one of my professors did have a little comical response. He said well if the Christian is indwelt with the Holy Spirit, he's not going to take a roommate.

Especially some crazy demon roommate, you know, so if you're indwelt with the Spirit you might be oppressed By a demon, but you won't be possessed By a demon because you're possessed by the Spirit. He is in you and He has set up residence in your heart So that just again goes back to him being a person not a power.

Yes John 14. Thank you. Thank you for finding that. I Knew I was near it and I and I should know it off the top of my head. But I'm not a concordance so I I don't know them all. John 14 verse 15. Jesus is speaking.

Of course. He says if you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he will give you another.

Helper.

And if you notice in the ESV it has a number six there or whatever the number is in yours. It jumps down to say advocate or counselor. To be with you forever. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.

Look at the personal pronouns for the spirit. You know him for he dwells with you and will be in you. That is the great promise of the New Covenant. That the Spirit will not dwell among his people but will dwell in his people, you know in the Old Covenant.

The Spirit of God dwelt in the temple of God and he dwelt among his people but he only in dwelt people for the purpose of certain tasks such as kings or or judges or soldiers warriors. But the promise of the New Covenant is that every person Who is in Christ? will be given the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter says. And on the day of Pentecost Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. And you.

Will.

Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It's not a promise given to the elect few I'm sorry the select few among the elect whole. But it's all of those who are in Christ. It's all of those who have come to faith in him.

Yes, sir. I know you want.

I.

Yeah, god bless you. Can Russian you're opening yourself up to demon possession so we say god bless you to avoid that. Well I'll keep that in mind. Don't want. Yeah, but but. And I've heard that before as well.

I I've actually heard it a different way. I heard one person say When you sneeze your heart stops for a second and and so people say god bless you say it keeps going. But I may but I like what you were saying.

The Holy Spirit as a Person, Not a Force

Let's look Now at the book of Acts because there is a statement in Acts chapter 5 That is often Overlooked in this argument and if you've ever had a conversation about the person of the Holy Spirit This passage may not even have come to your mind.

You might have immediately went to John 14 or 15 or 16 on the person of the work of the Holy Spirit. But but there's a passage here that it just sort of cursory. But it's important. Acts 5, you know the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

And and I oh by the way Ananias and Sapphira are not Social. It's a this is not a this is this passage does not teach socialism.

I.

Like to say that because people like to say well here you got people who didn't sell what they had and give it to the church and so they were. They Were killed for that reason. That is not the truth. Peter makes it clear.

What you had was yours to do with what you will you didn't have to sell it. You are being punished not because you didn't sell everything you had or not because you didn't give everything you sold but because you lied and Here's the key verse 3, but Peter said Ananias Why is Satan filled your heart to lie?

To who.

To the Holy Spirit. You can't lie to a force. I can't walk up to my electrical outlet and go. I Don't know I don't know I say it's a lie. I couldn't say a lie and it mattered because the the electricity wouldn't know any better.

But he says.

Why is Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold that it not remain your own and after it was sold was it not at your disposal.

Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to.

God.

So in verse 3, he says you've lied to the Holy Spirit and in verse 4 He says you have lied to God. So if you are making the argument of Linguistics He calls the Holy Spirit by name in verse 3. He references the same person in verse 4 and he calls that person God in verse 4.

So does he not? Linguistically call the Holy Spirit God. Yes, he does. So the argument is not only that he's personal but that he's a divine person and It's here clearly in the text. Another passage since we're in acts and we're doing sort of a survey of certain passages.

Just turn over to chapter 10 and verse 19. This is the story of.

Peter.

Receiving the call to go to see Cornelius the Gentile God-fearer. And in verse 19 It says while Peter was pondering the vision the Spirit Said to him behold three men are looking for you. He said well, what does that prove?

Well I believe it it proves. The personality because forces don't tend to speak. This is a reference to the Spirit.

Speaking.

Directly to Peter as a person. It would be one thing if it says the Father spoke by the Spirit or in the Spirit or through the Spirit. But it doesn't says the Spirit spoke. It says the Spirit said rather to him.

Behold one last Passage just just for because I didn't want to move on is 2nd Peter 1. This is one of the passages which we use when we're talking about.

The.

Scripture being divine in nature in 2nd Peter 1 and verse 20 and 21. By the way, if you ever want to if you're ever having a conversation or needing to Study the subject of the nature of Scripture 2nd Timothy 3 16 and 17 says all scriptures given by inspiration of God or by the breath of God in that passage which says where scripture comes from but first or 2nd Peter 120 and 21 tells us how it happened.

Because in 2nd Peter 1 20 it says know this first of all that no prophecy of Scripture Comes from someone's own interpretation. And now that one has been misunderstood nice just because we're here. I Like to clarify common misunderstandings the King James Version says It says know this that no prophecy of Scripture is open to personal interpretation and so what people often think that that means is that Individuals aren't allowed to interpret the scripture and even Rome has taken that to mean that you have to have the Authority of the Pope or the magisterium to interpret the scripture and individuals don't have the right or authority to interpret the scripture.

That's not what it's saying. This is talking about how the scripture came to be not how it's to be interpreted. Now I will say this if you are interpreting scripture on your own and you've come to an Interpretation that no one else has in the last 2 ,000 years.

You might be wrong. In fact, I'll say guarantee you're wrong. If you've nobody else has seen what you've seen Just be careful with that kind of personal interpretation but Looking here at verse 20 when it says no prophecy of Scripture comes From someone's own interpretation.

It's it's talking about the source the coming from. I say it didn't go out and say you know what? I Think God is like this and When I look at the moon and the stars and the Sun and all that I interpret this as God and so I'm gonna write.

That's not what happened, but that's what some people believe. You ask a modern.

Evangelical.

Where'd the Bible come from? Person who doesn't believe in the divine nature of the the testimony of the scripture. They'll say Oh, well, those are just writings of men. That was just how they understood God.

That was their interpretation of the world around them. I mean you ever heard that. I've heard many people say that's just their interpretation of the world. That's what this is saying. It's not. Is it saying no prophecy of Scripture?

Came from somebody just thinking up an interpretation of the world around them. That's not how Scripture came. Verse 21. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man. When Isaiah wrote. When Jeremiah wrote.

When Ezekiel wrote. When Paul wrote. When Luke wrote. They were not writing on their own will.

But.

Men spoke from God as They were carried along.

By.

The Holy.

Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the author of this book. Now he used the means and medium of men to write this book, but he is the ultimate author. Paul might be the writer. The Holy Spirit is the author and.

So.

He.

Not it is responsible for the scripture and Again, I you say well that didn't really prove it's a he I think it does speak to his nature though. He carried them along he was the power colitis he was he was there with them and He was ensuring the accuracy of what they said as the person the third person of The Trinity.

Sorry get a little excited take a breath. All right. Well that that is the last verse on Number four of your notes and since we have five minutes left. I want to speak to the fifth Line on your notes.

It says in the fifth line of your notes scripture that supports the three personalities Coexisting because we've already I believe proven the first Foundation. God is one. We've looked at the scriptures that say so we've proven the second foundation.

There's three persons who are called God. The father is obviously called God several passages. Jesus is called God in several passages and tonight we showed the Holy Spirit personal and divine shown in many passages of Scripture, but.

What about the Molinist? I'm sorry the Sabellian. Who would say well, yes. But they're all the same person the father is Jesus and Jesus is the Spirit and they're all one person. Is there scripture that supports the co-existent nature of three persons?

And I believe that there is and I want to share with you just a couple the first one. Find your way back with me to the gospel of Matthew and go to Matthew chapter 3. And the most of us are familiar with this story.

But says then Jesus came from Galilee to Jordan to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him saying I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him let it be so now for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

Then he consented and when Jesus was baptized immediately He went up from the water and behold the heavens were opened to him.

And.

He saw the Spirit of God Descending like a dove and coming to rest on him and behold a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son with whom I Am well pleased. This is one of the first and clearest places in Scripture where we see all three persons of the Godhead Clearly visible as distinct from one another and Interacting with one another.