Beloved, you can never begin to give the Holy Spirit the place that belongs to Him until you understand who He is. Once you can see who He is, you can appreciate what He does. Today, we are going to see from the Scriptures that “the Holy Spirit is God.” The Holy Spirit is one Person of the triune God, besides God the Father and God the Son.
- In Creation: In Genesis 1:1-3 the Scriptures say, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.”
In Genesis 1:26-27 God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”
Psalm 104:30 says, “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.”
- In baptism: In Matthew 28:19 Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...”
Luke 3:21-22 says, “When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the Heaven was opened. 22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from Heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
- In benediction: In 2 Corinthians 13:14 the Bible says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
- Apostle Peter calls the Holy Spirit God. In Acts 5:3-4 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? 4 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."
b) The Holy Spirit is God Almighty equal to God the Father and the Son in all respects: He is divine because He possesses all the divine attributes. Just as the Father (Jn. 6:27; Eph. 4:6) and the Son (Heb. 1:8) are divine, so is the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).
If the Holy Spirit is not divine, we will not find Him linked equally with the Father and the Son in the same Scripture as in Matthew 28:18-19 where Jesus said, “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Jesus came and told His disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
c) The Holy Spirit is God because:
1. He is eternal: He has no beginning, and He has no end. He lives forever. He is the same today, yesterday, and forever (Heb. 13:8; Mal 3:6).
Hebrews 9:13-15 says, “For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 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. 15 And for this cause He is the Mediator of the New Testament that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”
The New Living Translation puts it this way, “Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ritual defilement. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our hearts from deeds that lead to death so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why He is the one who mediates the New Covenant between God and people, so that all who are invited can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
2. He is omnipresent: He is present everywhere. Listen friend, you can never escape from the Spirit of God. You can never get away from His presence! If you go up to heaven, He is there! If you go down to hell, He is there! If you ride on the wings of the morning, if you dwell by the farthest oceans, even there His hand will guide you and His strength will support you.
Psalm 139:7-9 says, “Where can 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. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”
Satan is not everywhere. Lucifer has only one location at any point in time. He is not omnipresent. Archangel Michael can only be in one place at a time. Angels have specific locations; human beings have specific locations and demons also can only be in one place at a time. But only God is everywhere at the same time.
3. He is Omniscient: He knows everything. He is all-knowing. He has all knowledge. He has an infinite and an unlimited knowledge. He knows the past, the present and the future. He knows what will happen in the next one million years. The Holy Spirit knows what you did in your house today’s morning.
He searches the depth and magnitude of the Father’s plans and He shares that knowledge with us. The New International Version puts it this way, “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:11). He is therefore not only a Revealer of truth but also a being who Himself knows the truth.
In 1 Corinthians 2:9-11 the Bible says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
10 But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by His Spirit, and His Spirit searches out everything [in the mind of God the Father] and shows us even God’s deep secrets. 11 No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.”
No wonder the Bible says that the Scriptures [God’s thoughts] are inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”
You see, the Holy Spirit is the only one that knows the thoughts of God. 1 Corinthians 2:11 says, “… and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.”
Romans 8:27 says, “And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what the mind of the Spirit is…”
So, the Holy Spirit takes these thoughts and puts them into the mind of holy men of God who in turn puts them down in writing on the pages of the Bible or speaks as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. That’s how God the Father made His very thoughts [the Word of God] available to man.
2 Peter 1:19-21 says, “We have also a more sure Word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
Satan is not omniscient. He rather operates through the power of net-working. When he wants to know what you did in your house in the morning, he has to send demons called familiar spirits to your house in the morning to collect the information for him. Satan is a 419.
Satan took one third of God’s angels with him when he was cast out of heaven. That is the reason why it seems as though he is everywhere at the same time. He has many demonic angels working for him day and night. And since spirits do not need to sleep or rest, their times of operation are greatly multiplied.
4. He is omnipotent: He is all-powerful. His power has no boundary. He can do all things. Nothing is too hard for Him to do (Jer. 32:27). The Spirit of God can reverse the power of nature. He can raise the dead, cut off cancer, make what is not existent to appear. He can do anything.
He even impregnated Virgin Mary without a human sperm cell. Jesus was conceived in the fallopian tube of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In Luke 1:35 the angel answered and said unto Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and THE POWER OF THE HIGHEST shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Jesus lived and worked on this planet in the power of the Holy Spirit. In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus declared His mission statement saying, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed [empowered] Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Acts 10:38 says, “How God anointed [empowered] Jesus of Nazareth (1) with the Holy Ghost and (2) with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him.”
Jesus Christ rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:11). He ascended into heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit.
d) The Holy Spirit is God because He does things that only God can do. For instance, in salvation the Holy Spirit is the One that sanctifies and justifies us.
1 Corinthians 6:10-11 says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
In John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the [Holy] Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Why? Because that which is born of the flesh [man] is flesh [man], and that which is born of the [Holy] Spirit is spirit.”
But flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50). So you must be born of the Holy Spirit to inherit the Kingdom of God.
Not only is the Holy Spirit divine, He is also Lord. In 2 Corinthians 3:17 the Bible says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
Knowing the Person of the Holy Spirit is a must for everyone who wants to succeed in life. I challenge you to get to know Him better and make Him your senior partner and your life will never remain the same again.
Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!
- Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor) @ the HQ on 18.06. 2023
Promise of the week: “I shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God’s house; and God shall cause me to drink of the rivers of His pleasures” (Ps. 36:8).
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