Posted by Michael Bunker
editor@lazarusunbound.com
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” (2 Cor. 13:14)
The Holy Spirit, who authored the Holy Bible through select human instruments, sees fit on many occasions to notate the benefits of the Triune Godhead in Gods sovereign actions usward. We should carefully consider the importance of the doctrine of the Trinity when we notice that God has seen fit in so many cases to keep it ever before our eyes.
In this verse the Apostle commends the Triune Godhead to the beloved by emphasizing the particular offices God uses to shed benefits upon His Saints:
1) The Grace of the Son
2) The Love of the Father
3) The Communion of the Holy Ghost
We will delve into more detail on the specifics and the doctrinal statement of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the third part of this chapter, but for now we will comment further on the reality and importance of this doctrine in the life of the believer.
Any attempt to define the nature and the character of God (Truthfully, but not exhaustively) must answer for us those questions that naturally arise within us concerning our relationship with our maker. The attempts by humanists and scientists to explain the world and creation by starting with either, 1) an impersonal God, or 2) an impersonal creative force, does nothing to answer the lingering truth of human “personhood” or “personality”.
As I have said on several occasions, we cannot use finite “reason” to exhaustively discover that which is infinite. Reason is not a sufficient starting place from which to discover the nature and character of God. We confess that as part of the mystery of our beautiful infinite God, it must be known that unaided reason could never have created or conceived of this doctrine, and therefore unaided reason cannot be the launching pad for our study of the doctrine. However, once we find the doctrine plainly stated and exhibited throughout the Holy Scriptures and we see the nature of the doctrine evidenced in the self-portrait of God painted by the Holy Spirit in His Word, we can (and must) use reason to examine the truth of the doctrine, and we also find the doctrine to be “reasonable” or consistent with reason.
In the first section we examined the beauty and the “reasonableness” of the Trinity doctrine. In this section we will examine the necessity of the doctrine as it relates to US. This involves an examination of the PERSONALITY and the DEITY of the Holy Spirit, and how those two realities enable God’s saints to believe, glorify God, and persevere in this 3D created word.
We believe that as part of the creation, there exists in every true Christian the recognition that the Trinity doctrine is totally necessary to a right concept of God, and to the Christian’s ability to recognize God as their Creator, their Redeemer and their Sanctifier. Therefore, we find it necessary to our well-being that this doctrine is recognized and assimilated into our whole Christian worldview, because we find throughout scripture the united agency of the Triune Godhead in every aspect of the Creation, Salvation and Sanctification of the elect of God.
Theologians have long used the term “persons” to describe the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in God, and I have often struggled with that term, thinking on occasion that the word “person” must somehow limit or humanize God. I am no longer of that conviction. I now find that the term “person” helps me to understand and explain the personality found in each of the figures in the Godhead, and so, as we turn our attention to the benefits of the Trinity doctrine man-ward, we will focus on the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit, with the hope that by closely examining this attribute of God, we might better understand what God would have us to know about Himself and His divine character.
THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
It is evident that in the mind of most Christians, there is a “picture” or understanding of the personhood of God the Father, and of Jesus Christ. No matter how inaccurate this picture may be in most cases, the recognition of the unique personality of these two is present in most Christians. It is easy for us to see the Father as a person. We read of His love and of His justice, and we can very clearly see Him as a distinct personality within the Godhead. So it is with Jesus. We read of His life and exploits, His miracles and wonders, and we instinctively see Him in His personality. So when we speak of God the Father or God the Son, we quite often speak of their personality and of their individual characteristics. But in contrast, when we speak of the Holy Spirit, we most often speak of the results or the agency of the Holy Spirit in His graces or in His activity, rather than concentrating on the existence or personality involved. Because of this, we might neglect to know or recognize the personality of the Holy Spirit. This is a terrible mistake. Many true Christians have acquired from paganism the concept of the Holy Spirit as merely an emanation which comes from God, or as simply an exhibition of the power of the Father and the Son. This does horrible damage to a right view of God that is necessary for our peace and well-being. So we begin by examining the attributes of PERSONHOOD in the Holy Spirit.
· The Holy Spirit is referred to as HE (not as an “it” or an impersonal force):
John 14:16-17 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 16:7-8 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…”
The Trinity is made very evident in this example:
John
· The Holy Spirit speaks:
Matt
Acts
Acts
Heb 3:7 “…as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice…”
· The Holy Spirit has fellowship:
Phi 2:1-2 “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
· The Holy Spirit teaches:
Luke
John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”
· The Holy Spirit can be lied to:
Acts 5:3 “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?”
· The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed:
Matthew
· The Holy Spirit has a mind:
Romans
· The Holy Spirit has a will:
1 Corinthians
· The Holy Spirit can be grieved:
Eph
· The Holy Spirit can TESTIFY:
John
And in this last element, that of TESTIMONY, we find the real truth about those that deny the personality of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit testifies of the work of the Father and of the Son. This is a primary element of God’s natural and spoken law. There must be two witnesses which testify in order for a truth to be established. In the next section, we will examine 1 John 5:7 in great detail, because this one verse destroys any belief system that denies the truth of the Trinity of God. But let us for a minute examine the beauty of this verse:
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1 John 5:7).
Anti-trinitarians inevitably must challenge or even erase this verse, because it destroys their view in every aspect. It proves the personhood of the Holy Spirit, and also states the plain teaching of all of scripture, that there are three persons in One God. Trinity in Unity. These Three are One. Testimony requires personality. Only persons may testify, and if the enemies of the Trinity doctrine are to diminish the personality of the Holy Spirit, then this verse requires that they diminish the personality of God. So once again, religious wordlings end up with an impersonal creation force, whereas true Christianity exists in and by a personal Creator God. There are three that bear record in heaven, and these three ARE one.
So having proven the personality of the Holy Spirit by showing the ample evidence of it in scripture, we now quickly move to the DEITY of the Holy Spirit.
THE DEITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
It is critically important to our understanding of the Godhood of God, that we do not slight the Holy Spirit by considering Him a “lesser God”, or less than God. The Holy Spirit is God, and the scripture speaks plainly of this fact:
The Holy Spirit is called 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? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:3-4)
Examine these two parallel scriptures out of the gospels of Matthew and Luke:
“But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you” (Matthew 12:28).
“But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you” (Luke 11:20).
Note that the Holy Spirit is called the Lord:
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:17-18).
So the entire Bible bears witness that the Holy Spirit has “personhood” and the Holy Spirit is fully and completely God.
SO HOW DOES THIS ALL APPLY TO ME!
Only now can I begin to understand the wonder and the glory of God’s Creation. I have personality, I think and I will because I was made in the image of God. The personhood of man bears witness to the personal Creator God, and testifies to the fact that God IS and that God communicates and has love in and for His Creation. Now the joy that is explained to me in scripture can make sense to me. Let us look at a great mystery…
Psalm 136 in verse 5 says that God made the heavens by the intermediate agency of WISDOM. Jeremiah 51:15 says that God established the world by His Wisdom. 1st Corinthians 1:30 says that JESUS is made unto us Wisdom!
Wisdom is spoken of in the 8th Chapter of Proverbs. Listen very closely, because if you belong to God, then these verses speak to you:
“I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures. The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him” (Proverbs 8:12-30)
AMEN! These verses tell us that before the Creation ever was, God was there, and He had communion and joy and fellowship. Before He laid the foundations of His Creation, He was full and complete in Himself. Rejoicing existed in the heavenlies before anything was ever made. This knowledge gives life and Creation purpose. God is not irrational or impersonal. He is a personal Creator God. We have shown in these first two sections that God IS and that He loves and He communicates. These attributes of God are elements of who He is. He has decreed that He will share this love and this communication with those who love Him. He has elected to bring into fellowship those that He has called and chosen. His Spirit engages in the act of effectively calling AND holding those whom the Father has chosen, and whom the Son has redeemed.
The Bible says that we are kept by the power of the Spirit of God (1 Peter 1:5). While Jesus was here, He kept His own sheep (John
Now note what the Spirit does for us in this transaction:
“…I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you” (John
Jesus, who is leaving the world to be with the Father, sends the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to guarantee the purchased price.
Psalm 139 allows me to understand the importance of the Deity and Personality of the Holy Spirit, and how the Triune God keeps and protects those that belong to Him. We have read this psalm a thousand times, but let us rejoice in it again… and this time, let’s listen closely to the agency of the Holy Spirit as He works His works usward:
“LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain. Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:1-24).
Through the Spirit, we are enabled to believe in God, and to praise Him and worship Him. Through the Spirit of God, we have fellowship with God and with one another. Through the Spirit of God we are enabled to glorify God.
The doctrine of the Trinity allows us to exist with reasonable answers as to why there is a world, why we exist in it, and why we are the way we are. The Trinity proves that God IS, that He is personal, that He has a purpose, and that He has spoken to us for our benefit. We love and have communication, because we are made in God’s image, and because God is Triune. No idea or theory of an impersonal non-Triune God can ever explain these things to our satisfaction. The Christian Worldview is built on the concept of a Trinity in God. The lack of preaching, teaching, study and prayer about the subject, has resulted in the shattering of the Christian consensus, and the enablement of a inferior and fallacious idea of God.
I am your servant in Christ Jesus,
Michael Bunker