THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD!

JOHN 14:16-27                                                                   Pastor Rick Jackson

3 things before we get to the main part of the message

1. THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD [Dt. 4:35] Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him

Dt. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

Is. 43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.

Is. 44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Mk. 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

2. THIS ONE GOD IS IN THREE PERSONS

The word "one" in these verses speaks of a compound unity (more than one in the one). Sometimes people come to the Scriptures with preconceived ideas and they try to bend the Scriptures (or "wrest" them as Peter says) to fit their ideas. We should always be open to the Scriptures and let them mold our thoughts and ideas. People sometimes get upset with the teacher or preacher for not following their little narrow view when the truth is right there in the Scriptures. Let me give you some examples of the number one being a compound unity at times.

Gn. 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Gn. 11:6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Jn. 17:22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

Gal. 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

3. GOD IS ESSENTIALLY ONE AND ALSO IS THREE - God often uses plural pronouns or designations about Himself.

Gn. 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Is. 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?

Jn. 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

Jn. 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

-God is infinite and we are finite. He is not limited as we are.

-He has given us the physical example of water (vapor, liquid, solid) to help illustrate the truth of 3 in 1 and 1 in 3 (Father, Son & Holy Spirit).

That brings us to the EMPHASIS of this message, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD!

If the Holy Spirit is God (and He is) then it goes without saying that He is a person, not a thing. You can grieve the Holy Spirit because He is a person. A "force" or "thing" cannot be grieved.

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS DIVINE ATTRIBUTES

1. He is Eternal [Heb. 9:14 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?]

2. He is Omnipresent [Ps. 139:7-10]

3. He is Omnipotent [Lk. 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, 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.]

4. He is Omniscient [Jn. 14:26, 16:13; I Cor. 2:10-11 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.]

II. THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES DIVINE WORK

1. He was active in Creation [Gn. 1:2]

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Job 33:4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

2. He was active in Christ's Resurrection [Rm. 8:11]

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

3. He Gave the Word of God [2 Sam. 23:2-3]

The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.

2 Peter 1:21 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.

III. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS CALLED GOD & MENTIONED AS AN EQUAL WITH THE FATHER & THE SON

Acts 5:3-4 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.

1. In the Great Commission [Mt. 28:19]

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2. In the Benediction [2 Cor. 13:14]

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

3. In the Declaration of Unity [Eph. 4:3-6]

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.