Pneumatology

Of all the Persons of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is perhaps the most misunderstood. While there is much more that should be said, the following truths are essential.

The Holy Spirit is God.

God exists eternally as One (Deut. 6:4), in three Persons who are equal in their eternality and essence. When God speaks at the time of creating mankind, He says, “Let us… (Gen. 1:26).

As God reveals more of Himself in Scripture, this first hint of the Trinity becomes a clear, sharp truth: God is One, but He exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit appears with the Father and the Son in the baptismal formula of Matthew 28:19 as well as the blessing spoken to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 13:14.

The nature of an eternal God is naturally beyond our ability to understand. Click To Tweet

The Holy Spirit is a Person.

The Holy Spirit is God, and also a Person in the Trinity. It is a common, serious mistake to believe that the Holy Spirit is some sort of impersonal energy. The Bible does not teach this. On the contrary, the Holy Spirit can be lied to, resisted and grieved. Acts 5:3-4 packs a lot of truth in a few words. When Ananias and Sapphira lied about their offering, they lied to the Holy Spirit, who is God. Energy and impersonal forces cannot be lied to; only persons can.

The Holy Spirit also can be resisted (Acts 7:51), and quenched (1 Thessalonians. 5:19). Most tellingly, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30.) While some may argue that “resist” and “quench” could be actions against an impersonal force, “grieving” is something that can only be done to another person. Gravity, for instance, can be resisted, but only another person can be “grieved” with us. 

These two truths tell us about the nature of the Holy Spirit. He is God, and He is a Person within the Holy Trinity. 

The Holy Spirit works.

Right after telling us that God created the heaven and the earth, the second verse of the Bible mentions the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2). The Holy Spirit, who is eternal, and who is God, has been at work from the very beginning.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon specially chosen leaders and endowed them with power (Numbers 11:17, 25). This was true even of Saul (1 Samuel 10:10). When David sinned, he anxiously prayed that the Holy Spirit would not be taken from him
(Psalm 51:11).

But Jesus changes everything.

In the New Testament, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit in His absence. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteous, and judgment (John 16:1-8). Jesus sends the Spirit from the Father and “proceeds from the Father.” He is the “Spirit of truth” and He “bears witness” about Jesus (John 15:26).

Unlike His work in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit now is in every Christian. In fact, if we do not have the Holy Spirit, we do not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9). Our responsibility now is not to get the Holy Spirit, but rather to be filled (controlled) by the Holy Spirit we were given (Ephesians 5:18). The Holy Spirit regenerated us (Titus 3:3-7) and sealed us (Ephesians 1:13) as part of our salvation. If you want to see the work of all three Persons of the Trinity in our salvation, read that passage in Titus 3.

Mistakes about the Holy Spirit.

Truth is a road with a ditch on either side. Some Christians focus on the Holy Spirit to the point that looks like an obsession, giving relatively little attention to the Father or the Son. Others and we are more likely to be in this camp, speak of the Spirit very little, and seem uncomfortable acknowledging His work in our lives. Here are some quick thoughts to help you walk by the Spirit and see His fruit in your life (Galatians 5:16-26).

Thank God in all of His Triune glory that He loves you, saves you, and guides you. Do not shy away from the doctrine of the Trinity because it is hard to understand. The nature of an eternal God is naturally beyond our ability to understand completely. But we can truly rest in the grace of Jesus and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We can know God and love Him, and one of the never-ending joys of heaven is that we will know Him better as the years go by!

Pay attention to the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Notice that those wonderful character traits are listed as “fruit” (singular). In other words, you don’t get to pick your favorites and say that the others “just aren’t you.” The fruit of the Spirit is what God desires to produce in the life of every one of His children. If it’s not happening, something is seriously wrong. You have a fruitful life ahead of you. Go live it.

Click here to read the Introduction to the series, Why Study Theology

Click here to read part one of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Bibliology

Click here to read part two of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Theology Proper (available October 29, 2019)

Click here to read part three of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Christology (available October 30, 2019)

Click here to read part five of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Angelology (available November 1, 2019)

Click here to read part six of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Ecclesiology (available November 4, 2019)

Click here to read part seven of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Anthropology (available November 5, 2019)

Click here to read part eight of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Hamartiology (available November 6, 2019)

Click here to read part nine of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Soteriology (available November 7, 2019)

Click here to read part ten of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Eschatology (available November 8, 2019)

Click here to read part eleven of Rooted: An Introduction to Systematic Theology, Dispensationalism (available November 8, 2019)