Why is the Holy Spirit is also God?

[jersen05]

my friend asked me, “ok, i will for the time being consider that Jesus is God. But how about the Holy Spirit? i remember that the holy spirit is also divided into 7 other spirit. you have a total of 9 Gods.”. (then he laugh…)

why is the holy spirit God?

 

[adstrinity]

Because He is. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd Person of the Trinity. He has always been. He has never been devided into 7 other spirits. There are not 9 gods. There is One God, comprised of three People.

 

[grace_singh]

well, because the Holy Spirit is how God sanctifies, inspires, guides, and speaks through His people.

the Spirit is basically Him, come through Himself and from Himself, to us, as Christians.

the Holy Spirit is also called the “Spirit of God”, and is that aspect or person of the Godhead who guides, indwells, makes holy, and sanctifies the believer.

 

[Fidelis]

my friend asked me, "ok, i will for the time being consider that Jesus is God. But how about the Holy Spirit? Why is the holy spirit God?

The INC is similar to Jehovah’s Witnesses in what they believe about the Trinity. This is from a Catholic Answers tract about the JW’s:

All this is about Christ. What about the Holy Spirit? The Jehovah’s Witnesses **[and the INC] **are actually Unitarians, not Trinitarians. They don’t believe in three divine persons, but in one, Jehovah (the Father). The Son isn’t God, but a creature. The Holy Spirit isn’t God either—in fact, he isn’t a person at all, but “Jehovah’s active force,” something comparable to electricity. In the NWT we find his name given in lower-case: “the holy spirit.”

To support this belief, the Witnesses rely on their rendering of passages such as Acts 2:1-4: “Now while the day of the [festival of] Pentecost was in progress . . . they all became filled with holy spirit.” Written this way, it almost makes sense. But Christ spoke of the Holy Spirit as a person in several places, such as John 14:26: “But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, that one will teach you all things and bring back to your minds all the things I have told you.” How can an impersonal force teach anyone anything? Does the wind teach? Do gravity or electromagnetism teach? Of course not. This verse makes sense only if “the holy spirit” is really “the Holy Spirit,” a divine person. Moreover, the New Testament is replete with examples of the Spirit’s personal attributes, such as thinking, speaking, guiding, hearing, loving, and willing, to name a few.

When speaking with a Witness [and INC] about this passage, turn to Acts 5:1-11, the story of Ananias and Sapphira. In verse 3, Peter asks, “Why has Satan emboldened you to play false to the holy spirit and to hold back secretly some of the price of the field?” The one that was defrauded was “the holy spirit.” In verse 4, Peter says, “You have played false, not to men, but to God.” So it was God that was defrauded. The conclusion? That “the holy spirit” must be God, a conclusion drawn from the Witnesses’ own NWT.

i remember that the holy spirit is also divided into 7 other spirit. you have a total of 9 Gods.". (then he laugh…)

Your friend is profoundly ignorant about the Catholic teaching he is trying to argue against. He seems to be mixing up the seven GIFTS of the Holy Spirit with the Holy Spirit himself.

 

[Solo1959]

…Your friend is profoundly ignorant about the Catholic teaching he is trying to argue against. He seems to be mixing up the seven GIFTS of the Holy Spirit with the Holy Spirit himself.

Because He is. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd Person of the Trinity. He has always been. He has never been devided into 7 other spirits…

This question does come up, and the references to it are from The Book of the Revelation:

Apocalypse Chapter 3 - Douay-Rheims Bible
1 And to the angel of the church of Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know thy works, and that thou hast the name of being alive. And thou art dead.

Revalation 3 - KJV
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

 

[Fidelis]

This question does come up, and the references to it are from The Book of the Revelation:

Apocalypse Chapter 3 - Douay-Rheims Bible
1 And to the angel of the church of Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know thy works, and that thou hast the name of being alive. And thou art dead.

Revalation 3 - KJV
1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

Good point; I didn’t know there are are people who draw the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is divided into 7 based on this passage.

Here’s what the Navarre Bible Commentary says about this:

The “seven spirits” stand for God’s power and omniscience and intervention in the events of history. In Zechariah 4:10 divine power is symbolized by the seven “eyes of the Lord, which range the whole earth”. Further on in the Apocalypse (5:6), St John tells us that the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth are the seven eyes of the Lamb, that is, Christ. This symbolism (also found in the Old Testament: cf. Is 11:2ff) is used to show that God the Father acts through his Spirit and that this Spirit has been communicated to Christ and by him to mankind. So, when St John wishes grace and peace from the seven spirits of God it is the same as saying “from the Holy Spirit”, who is sent to the Church after the death and resurrection of Christ. Patristic tradition has in fact interpreted the seven spirits as meaning the septiform Spirit with his seven gifts as described in Isaiah 11:1-2 in St Jerome’s translation, the Vulgate.

 

[jamil_joseph02]

The Holy Spirit is God and the bible tells us so.

2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Why not ask your friend, “If God is not made up of three persons as we Catholics believe, then how many?” If he answers God has only one person, then ask “where in the bible is God only one person?”. Let me see how he will respond to that.

 

[Solo1959]

Good point; I didn’t know there are are people who draw the conclusion that the Holy Spirit is divided into 7 based on this passage.

Here’s what the Navarre Bible Commentary: The “seven spirits” stand for God’s power and omniscience and intervention in the events of history. In Zechariah 4:10 divine power is symbolized by the seven “eyes of the Lord, which range the whole earth”. Further on in the Apocalypse (5:6), St John tells us that the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth are the seven eyes of the Lamb, that is, Christ. This symbolism (also found in the Old Testament: cf. Is 11:2ff) is used to show that God the Father acts through his Spirit and that this Spirit has been communicated to Christ and by him to mankind. So, when St John wishes grace and peace from the seven spirits of God it is the same as saying “from the Holy Spirit”, who is sent to the Church after the death and resurrection of Christ. Patristic tradition has in fact interpreted the seven spirits as meaning the septiform Spirit with his seven gifts as described in Isaiah 11:1-2 in St Jerome’s translation, the Vulgate. says about this:

Isaiah 11: 2+3
11:2. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.
11:3. And he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord,

So we learn here that the 7 spirits of the one “Spirit of the Lord” are:

1. Spirit of Wisdom
2. Spirit of Understanding
3. Spirit of Counsel
4. Spirit of Fortitude
5. Spirit of Knowledge
6. Spirit of Godliness
7. Spirit of Fear of the Lord

Interesting to note verse 1:
11:1. And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root.

I don’t think things could be much clearer than this: God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit

 

[Douglas_Kraeger]

I would like to add my thoughts, maybe they will help someone, maybe someone can help me.
My opinion is that one of the “most important, and least discussed Bible verse” is 2Thessalonians 2:10, “Many are perishing because they have not accepted the love of the truth.” What does it mean to “love the truth”, except to desire it, seek it, with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength? How sad it is when someone, especially a ‘believer’, says explicitly, “I do not care what God wants me to know or believe, I am to busy, I do not have time.” How sad it is when we implicitly show this same sad attitude by our actions. God wants us to love the truth and to honestly and humbly try and find out all we can about Him, by His grace, because in His infinite Goodness He wants to share Himself and knowledge of Himself with us; always knowing that there will be times (many?) where God will say it is better for us, for now, to not be given the whole answer we are seeking. When this appears to be the case, we should ask God, "Do you want me to keep butting my head against this wall, perseverance being a virtue, or do you want me to practice resignation and patience and wait for you to tell me when to try again?
On the issue of Three persons in One God; I try to remember to add the important word “divine” to the middle. When I consciously add this, I am less likely to attribute human qualities to God. God is infinite spirit, He must be the infinite perfection of every virtue. He must be, and is, infinite sharing. He must be indivisible, perfectly simple because it is not an infinite God if you have only part of Him. Starting from: Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Father, what must follow?
1. Because He is begotten, Jesus must have the same DIVINE nature. Therefore, He is infinite in all His attributes; indivisible, perfectly simple, All-Knowing, All-Loving, and All-Powerful, with one, single, infinite, eternally in the present tense, outside of time, and throughout time, thought.
2. God the Father and God the Son are eternally giving and receiving, in the eternally present tense, everything they posess, giving themselves completely and perfectly down to the “smallest” detail, sharing completely but not giving up their individual identities as only infinitely powerful, perfectly simple, spirits can, and this total giving and receiving is their infinite love for the other.
3. This Infinite gift of each to the other must be an infinite, divine person, The Holy Spirit, because (there is an infinite gift going back and forth and in this total giving of one infinite being to another infinite being, nothing else could describe it except another Divine Person), and because Jesus said that after He ascended to the Father, He would send another paraclete who would remind them of all things. The use of the word “who” proves that the Holy Spirit must be a person and divine because Jesus commanded the Apostles to baptise everyone in the Name (singular) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Three are One, because the Name name’s them, and that name must be “Jesus”. CCC 2666

 

[evidence]

Heres some scripture passages that prove that the Holy spirit is a person with a will, not just a force…I also included some passages that show Jesus as God as well…that Coupled with the verses that show there is only one God=trinity

Trinity- Holy Spirit is a person

Mt 28:19 - baptize in the name of Father, Son, & Holy Spirit - singular
Acts 2:18 - God says “I will pour out a portion of my spirit upon my servants.”
Acts 5:1-4 - lied to the Holy Spirit, God - personhood & divinity of Holy Spirit
Acts 13:2 - Holy Spirit speaks - an “active force” can’t speak
Jn 16:13 - He will guide you… - in this passage the Holy Spirit speaks, hears, & is referred to as “He”
Rm 8:26-27 - Holy Spirit interceeds - an impersonal, active force can’t plead on our behalf
1 Cor 12:4-11 - Spirit, Lord (Jesus), God all give the same gifts as he(singular )wishes
2 Cor 13:14 - “The Grace of the Lord Jesus, the Love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you”
2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Heb 9: 14 - Jesus offered through the eternal spirit.
Rm 8:9 - But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you
Rm 8:11 -But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you
1 Tm 4:1 - Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will renounce the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
2 Tm 1:14 -That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us
Jn 14:15-26 - Jesus promises that He will dwell in us with the Father and and Holy Spirit.
Rev 2+3 - …what the spirit says to the churches…

The Divinity of Christ

Is 9:5 - they name Him…Mighty God, Everlasting Father…
Jn 1:1-3 - In the beginning the word was God, All things were made through Him…
Jn 5:18-“He called God his own Father, making Himself equal to God.”
Jn 10:30-The Father and I are one.
Jn 12:45 and 14:8-11-He who sees me sees the one who sent me.
Jn 20:28-29 - Thomas called Jesus “My God” and Jesus accepted his worship.
Acts 20:28 - tend the church of God that was acquired with his own blood.
Col 1:15-20 - image of invisible God…all was created through Him…
Col 2:9 - In Him the fullness of deity dwells bodily…
Heb 1:6 - let all angels worship Him.
Phil 2:6-11 - He was in the form of God…at the name of Jesus every knee shall bend, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth. Quoted from Is45:23 and Ps 22:30, which refer to God alone.
Jn 8:58 - “before Abraham came to be I AM.” quoting from Ex 3:14 - “I AM sent me to you.” I Am was a name the Jews used for God - see also Jn 8:24+58, 13:19
Rev 1:7-8 and 22:12-13 - “I am the Alpha and the Omega” quotes from Is 44:6 and 48:12; The first and the last was a title only given to God; calls him the “almighty”
Tit 3:4-6 - God is the only savior from Is 43:11, yet Jesus is called the savior; savior of all, not just some
Rev 19:16 - king of kings lord of lords, quoted from Deut 10:17’s name for God *see verse 13 - the word of God in Jn 1

One God

Deut 6:4 - The lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Is 43:10 - before me no God was formed and after me there shall be none
Is 44:6 - there is no God but me
Is 45:5-6+12 - there is no other god besides me, I made the earth…heavens
Jn 17:3 - to know the only true God
1Cor 8:4-6 - there is no God but me
Eph 4:5-6 - one God and father of all
1Jn 5:20 - Jesus is the true God