The Godhead and the Holy Spirit

How do we believe whether is He a person or a force?
In the Bible it is clearly stated that there is a 3rd Person in the Godhead. This is confirmed in the Spirit of prophecy. The first verse in the Bible states “In the beginning God” (Elohim), which means Diety is a plural noun meaning “strong one” or “Almighty”. The word God refers to the Godhead, but when this word was translated they just translated God; but the real meaning is Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit where all three are referred to by this word. There are five different names for God found in the Old Testament. The very first verse in the Bible states that all three persons or the Godhead were involved in the creation of this planet Earth. This same translation occurs 2500 times in the Old Testament.

Again before His ascension to heaven, Jesus confirmed them saying “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”. This indicates that all three are involved in the salvation of man. In Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even His eternal power and Godhead so that they are without excuse”. If people don’t want to accept this truth about the Godhead they cannot be excused or forgiven. “Again and again we shall be called to meet the influence of men who are studying sciences of satanic origin through which Satan is working to make a nonentity of God and Christ.

The Father and the Son each have a personality. Evan. p. 613. Because of falsehood and misrepresentation, Sis. White confirmed in the Spirit of prophecy stating, “I am instructed to say, the sentiments of those who are searching for advanced scientific ideas are not to be trusted. Such representations as the following are made: The Father is as the light invisible: the Son is as the light embodied; the Spirit is the light shed abroad. The Father is like the dew, invisible vapor; the Son is like the dew gathered in beauteous form; the Spirit is like the dew fallen to the seat of life. Another representation: The Father is like the invisible vapor; the Son is like the leaden cloud; the Spirit is rain fallen and working in refreshing power.

“All these spiritualistic representations are simply nothingness. They are imperfect, untrue. They weaken and diminish the Majesty, which no earthly likeness can be compared to. God cannot be compared with the things his hands have made, these are mere earthly things suffering under the curse of God because of the sins of man. The Father cannot be described by the things of earth. The Father is all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and is invisible to mortal sight.

“The Son is all the fullness of the Godhead manifested. The Word of God declares Him to be the express image of His person…
“The Comforter that Christ promised to send after He ascended to heaven is the Spirit, in all the fullness of the Godhead making manifest the power of divine grace to all who receive and believe in Christ as a personal Saviour. There are three living persons of the heavenly trio; in the name of these three great powers the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—those who receive Christ by living faith are baptized, and these powers will co-operate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in Christ.” Evan. 614, 615.

Some of the Christian churches believe, i.e. the Jehovah’s Witnesses that there is no trinity existing and that it all started after the counsel in Nicaea in 300 A.D. where Emperor Constantine constructed the theory of the Godhead. But the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy is clear that it did not occur in A.D. 300 but in the very first Bible verse that confirms the truth about the Godhead. Some of the Christian churches even believe that God created Christ. All these satanic theories only undermines the truth.

Now if we look further regarding the Holy Spirit, is He a person or a force? The very second verse in the Bible talks about His involvement in creating the earth. “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.” Gen. 1:2. When in creation there was nothingness in the earth and the surface matter was in a fluid state, the word “moved” is “merachepheth”, which can be more accurately translated. The real meaning “brooded or to tremble or to shake” is the right meaning. In Deut. 32:11 it is used to describe the fluttering of an eagle over its young. The eagle does not brood over the living young but hovers watchfully and protectingly over them. The work of God’s Spirit must have some connection with the activity that was presently to be initiated, an activity bringing order out of chaos. Thus is stated in the very beginning that the Spirit of God was involved in creation.

How do we imagine the Holy Spirit? How can we distinguish personality? In our earthly lives sometimes we encounter people who are born blind or without hands or feet but still some of them leave a legacy of a great life or a great personality. Then we come to a conclusion saying that personality doesn’t depend on physical characteristics. It is based on three basic elements 1) A mind capacity to think, ability to acquire knowledge, and the ability to reason. 2) Feeling or emotion. 3) The will = the power of decision.

Let us investigate the first element, the mind. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, HE will teach you all things. HE is called a teacher. To teach you need to have knowledge. In 1 Cor 2:10, 11, it states “for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. He is the One who goes and searches the mind of God. He looks deep inside the Father and the Son and reveals it to us. In Romans 8:26,27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. In this verse clearly we can see He is pleading with the Father on our behalf and praying for us. He is also an intercessor like Christ pleading in behalf of man. In this statement we can see He has a mind of His own in order to do this.

Now let us look at the second element, feeling and emotion. In Eph:4:30. “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. How can you grieve or hurt a person if he doesn’t have feelings or emotions?

The third element is the will. In iCor 12:11. “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame SPIRIT dividing to every man severally as He will.” In this statement He is the one who decides what part or role we have in salvation and in the work of God. He has His own will to do this.

So, now we can see clearly that the Holy Spirit has qualified or fallen into the criteria of a person. If any person or being has this qualification we call them a person. Now let us see what the Spirit of prophecy states. “We need to realize that the Holy Spirit who is much a person as God is a person, walking through these grounds. The Holy Spirit is a person for He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. When this witness is borne, it carries with it its own evidence. At such times we believe and are sure that we are the children of God. The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets, which lie hidden in the mind 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.'” Ev. 616,617. With these statements we come to the same conclusion like the Bible and the Spirit of prophecy, which proves the existence of the third Person of the Godhead even the Holy Spirit, a person.
AMEN.