What does it look like to think like God and think biblically? We continue looking at various fundamental aspects that contribute to a biblical worldview. If we are going to have a biblical worldview, we must understand what is true biblically concerning God. We have looked at the Father, we have looked at the Son, Jesus Christ, we have looked at the Scripture, and we have looked at salvation. Today I want us to look at the Holy Spirit.
In some circles the Holy Spirit is more complex and confusing and controversial to many than perhaps the other two members of the Trinity. Many people get confused about various aspects of His ministry and what He does. So, I want to take some time to look at who He is and what He does.
We will start with the fact of His personhood. Who is He? Before we can see what He does, we need to know who He is. Let’s start with the very fundamental teaching of Scriptures. The Holy Spirit is a person. He is not a force per say, He is a person, and He is a member of the Trinity itself. He is God. We find that in numerous places in Scripture and I want to look at the Great Commission.
In Matthew 28:19 it says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” I think we skip right through that verse, and we do not pause long enough to note that the word “name” is singular. It doesn’t say in the “names of” as if there are three, but it says in the “name of.” There is one God manifested in three persons in a way that is inexplicable to that. We know that we will never totally comprehend the nature of the Trinity. The One God in three persons. Nevertheless, this verse says it very clearly that there is One God, and we are baptized in the name of that One God and in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is important to note that the apostle Paul or Peter or anyone else has not been added to this list. We are not baptized in the name of a person or a church. We are baptized in the name of God and the Holy Spirit is part of that Trinity: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
A little later we see two individuals wanting to give money to the Lord’s works. Which was great except they were lying about how much they were giving. They didn’t have to give any, but when they did give, and they lied about what they gave it did not go well for Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5:3 says, “But Peter said, ‘Annanias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?’” Notice that he lied to whom? The Holy Spirit. Then in Acts 5:4 it says, “’While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’” Notice here in Acts 5:3 it says he lied to the Holy Spirit and in Acts 5:4 in the same conversation Peter said he lied to God. So, we find a very clear teaching here that the Holy Spirit is God, He is deity. When we think about the Spirit, we think about who He is as deity . . .
