God has always known His plan for the ages and He has revealed His plan in a form His created beings could comprehend. The theological term for God’s plan for mankind is called the divine decree. The decree is defined as God’s eternal, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending simultaneously all things that ever were or will be, in their causes, courses, conditions, successions, and relations, and determining their certain futurition. (Ps. 148:6).
In eternity past—prior to the creation of the heavens, earth, and mankind—the members of the Trinity formulated Their decree. The decree included the creation of a perfect man as a free moral agent even though, from His omniscience, God knew that the first man would use his volition to sin and disobey Him. The original sin of Adam brought condemnation on himself and subsequently on the entire human race (Rom. 5:12).18 Now spiritually dead, mankind would be incapable of having a relationship with God. Nevertheless, from eternity past God still loved undeserving mankind with impersonal love, desired to bless mankind, and wanted to share with mankind His eternal life.
Therefore, God decreed that sin and the resultant spiritual death of mankind would not terminate His plan. A way of salvation would be provided by which undeserving man could be brought back into eternal relationship and temporal fellowship with God without compromising divine essence.19 God’s grace is the key. Under His policy of grace, God alone accomplishes the work and man receives the benefit totally apart from his own merit or ability.20
The work God accomplishes on our behalf occurs in three phases: phase one is salvation; phase two is the Christian way of life; and phase three is eternity. All three members of the Trinity contribute to make salvation a reality: God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, agreed to be sent by God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, into the world by means of the virgin birth, to become true humanity, and to pay the penalty for sin (John 3:16; 6:38). The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, would be the agent of the Son’s conception (Luke 1:35) and sustain Him throughout His life on earth (Matt. 12:18, 28; Luke 4:1, 14, 18; John 3:34; Acts 10:38).21
The virgin pregnancy resulted in the birth of the unique person of the universe; Jesus Christ is God and man in one person forever (Luke 2:11). Different from God, Jesus Christ is true humanity; different from humanity, Jesus Christ is undiminished deity. Because of the virgin pregnancy, the humanity of Jesus Christ was born perfect, without a sin nature.
Throughout His earthly ministry, the Son executed the will of the Father (John 8:29; Heb. 10:9). In His humanity He was tempted far beyond anything we can imagine, yet He remained sinless. As the only perfect member of the human race, He was qualified to pay the penalty for the sins of all mankind.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)
As Jesus hung on the cross and was judged by the Father for our sins, the Holy Spirit faithfully continued to sustain Him. When Christ said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), our salvation was accomplished. All three members of the Trinity contributed to our salvation.
Our acceptance of this magnificent gift from the grace of God is all that remains. How do we accept God’s unspeakable gift?
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved.” (Acts 16:31b)
Entrance into phase one, salvation, is by the nonmeritorious system of faith. In faith, the object, Jesus Christ, has all the merit. Salvation is not by works, but by faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9).
Salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone (John 3:16; 20:31). The moment we believe in Christ, we enter into an eternal relationship and temporal fellowship with God.
Phase two begins at the moment of salvation and continues throughout the believer’s life on earth. The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life. Fulfillment depends on the enabling power of the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine resident in the believer’s soul. God’s purpose is to provide phenomenal blessings for each believer in time.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Eph. 1:3)
Such blessings can only come to the believer who grows in the grace and knowledge of the Savior, Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18), by means of the teaching and filling ministries of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).22
The filling of the Holy Spirit, the power for the Christian life and the key to temporal fellowship with God, is maintained by the rebound procedure—private confession or acknowledgment of sins to God. When we sin, we lose the filling of the Spirit and temporal fellowship with God. But,
If we confess [acknowledge] our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [wrongdoing]. (1 John 1:9)
Private confession is simply naming known sins to the Father who then cleanses the believer from all sins, including the unknown and forgotten ones.23 Rebound results in the filling of the Holy Spirit and restoration to temporal fellowship with God. The filling of the Holy Spirit enables us to learn and understand Bible doctrine and to grow spiritually from learning, thinking, and applying doctrine.
Phase three is God’s plan for the believer in eternity. This ultimate promotion begins at the point of physical death.24 God also provides phenomenal blessings for every believer in eternity.
“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I [Jesus Christ] would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)
We are not told the full extent of the blessings and provisions of eternity. Beyond the grasp of our finite minds, eternity is described in terms of negatives:
“There shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:4b)
Because the divine decree is grace, man’s entrance into and fulfillment of the plan of God must be compatible with grace. God is perfect; His plan is perfect. The good works of imperfect man will always fall short of the perfect standards of God.
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy [grace in action], by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)
Two events, one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament, vividly demonstrate to us the reality of the Trinity. When God called Isaiah to be His servant, the prophet was shown a rare vision of heaven.
In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his faced, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isa. 6:1-3)
Why did these angelic beings repeat the word “Holy” three times? Their praise was addressed to the Trinity. Notice, they did not say, “Holy, Holy, Holy are the Lords of hosts.” God is three persons, but one in essence.
Jesus Christ is the only visible member of the Trinity. Isaiah saw Him seated upon His throne as the sovereign of heaven and earth. So glorious was the sight of the Lord’s holiness, or integrity, that Isaiah came face to face with his own unworthiness (Isa. 6:5). Though saved, how could Isaiah or any sinner, including ourselves, stand before holy God and continue to live? When we see ourselves as we really are, we know that it is because of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Thy faithfulness. (Lam. 3:22b-23)
At one point in history, the Trinity was uniquely manifested on earth. This occasion was the baptism of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist had been announcing the first advent of Christ and baptizing believers in the Jordan River to identify them with the coming Kingdom. Then, Jesus appeared on the scene and asked John to baptize Him. At first John refused, protesting his unworthiness. Only after the Lord explained that He must be baptized to identify Himself with the Father’s plan did John agree to perform the baptism.
But Jesus answering said to him [John], “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. (Matt. 3:15)
Jesus Christ’s baptism foreshadowed the cross where “all righteousness” would be fulfilled. That is, God the Father would be satisfied, or propitiated, with the righteousness of the Son. This biblical statement also involves the doctrine of redemption which requires that the Savior be perfect righteousness in order to purchase the freedom of the human race from the slave market of sin.25
Of the various baptisms mentioned in Scripture, the baptism of Jesus Christ was unique.26 This baptism demonstrated the Son’s complete obedience to the Father’s will. The sinless One was willing to identify Himself with sinners by being judged on the cross as our substitute.27
During the baptism ritual, the extraordinary manifestation of the Trinity occurred.
And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the [Holy] Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon Him. (Matt. 3:16)
Water represented the will of the Father for the Son during the First Advent. Under the water, Christ was identified with the Father’s plan for man’s salvation. As Jesus emerged from the water, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, descended upon Him “in bodily form like a dove” (Luke 3:22). By this sign, John and everyone present undoubtedly knew that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity (John 1:33-34).
And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I [the Father] am well-pleased.” (Matt. 3:17)
The voice of approval was from God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity. Therefore, at Christ’s baptism, the beginning of His earthly ministry, the three members of the Trinity worked in concert to confirm the identity of the God-man. Three years later, before His ascension to heaven, Jesus Christ commissioned believers to represent Him on earth. The formal words of the appointment again bring the Trinity into focus.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:19, italics added)
Believers are baptized in the “name”—not names—of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “Name” in the singular parallels “Lord” in Isaiah 6:3, affirming that God is one in essence but three persons. While the emphasis in Isaiah 6:3 is on the Three-in-One, in Matthew it is on the One-in-Three.
HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND THE PERSONS OF GOD?
How can the infinite personalities of the Godhead be described to our finite minds? What vocabulary, what means of communication can best explain to man that which is normally incomprehensible? One method of revelation the Holy Spirit has chosen to use is language of accommodation, which utilizes anthropomorphisms and anthropopathisms. God uses these analogies to human characteristics and behavior which He does not actually possess to give us insight into His divine character and policy. Anthropomorphisms ascribe to God portions of human anatomy to explain His modus operandi, and anthropopathisms ascribe to God human feelings, passions, and thoughts to explain divine policies, actions, and decisions in terms of our human frame of reference.
The term “Father,” for example, is an anthropopathism that draws upon our familiarity with the concept of a paternal relationship. Father not only describes the relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity, but also defines our family relationship with God the Father through regeneration (1 Cor. 11:3). Likewise, the names “Son” and “Holy Spirit” describe for us the roles of the other persons within the Godhead.
Author And Planner
In Scripture, the father is the head of the family (1 Cor. 11:3). God the Father is the epitome of fatherhood and is the supreme authority over all things (1 Cor. 8:6). The title “Father” emphasizes the absolute authority of the First Person as the author of the divine plan for humanity (John 14:24; Eph. 1).
One God and Father of all [believers] who is over all [sovereign] and through all [omnipresent] and in all [indwelling of the Father].28 (Eph. 4:6)
Yet God the Father does not surpass the other members of the Trinity in either quality or degree, but is coequal with the Son and the Holy Spirit.
In eternity past, the Father planned and designed all that was, is, or ever shall be (Gen. 1:1). He “marked out the foundations of the earth” (Prov. 8:29), prepared the elements (Job 28:25-27), and set the bounds for the seas (Job 38:11). The Father purposed to make man (Gen. 1:26) and to treat him in grace (Eph. 1:2, 4; 2:8-9). All planning and production of the Father are manifestations of His essence.
Father Of Jesus Christ
“The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” is one title of the First Person (2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Eph. 1:3; Col. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3). This title indicates the relationship between Christ and the Father. Christ is both the revelation of the Father and the focal point of His plan (John 1:14; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 3:11; Heb. 1:2).
No man has seen God [the Father] at any time; the only begotten [uniquely born] God [Jesus Christ], who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18)
The relationship of Father and Son has existed from eternity past in the divine decree (John 17:5, 24). Although eternally equal with the Father (Phil. 2:6), the Son functioned in a subordinate role to accomplish the redemptive will of the Father. Such phrases as “His only begotten [uniquely born] Son” (John 3:16) and “the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18) must be understood in the sense of the unique mission of the Second Person of the Trinity. Although eternal God, He proceeded from the Father to be manifest in the flesh (John 1:14; 8:42). Jesus Christ is the only one born into the world without a sin nature (1 Pet. 1:19) through the virgin birth (Ps. 2:7; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23) and the only one qualified to act as a substitute to be judged for the sins of all mankind (Isa. 53:4-6; Heb. 9:16b, 28a; 1 John 3:5).
Father Of All Believers
Since God the Father is the author of salvation, all believers are personally and eternally related to Him through the new birth (Eph. 1:5; 3:14-15; 4:6). We are called sons of God (John 1:12; Gal. 4:6-7). Contrary to the popular notion of the universal fatherhood of God, God is not the father of all mankind (John 8:42, 44) but the Father of all believers. Membership in the family of God is not automatic, but is the result of a simple act of faith in Jesus Christ.
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3:26)
As members of His family, we may address God as “Father” (Rom. 8:15).
Just like all loving fathers, God the heavenly Father provides what is best for His children (Matt. 7:11). All our needs were met and supplied in abundance in eternity past through the divine decree. As a guarantee of this eternal provision God the Father not only indwells every believer (John 14:23; Eph. 4:6), but is the personal grantor of these blessings. These grace blessings include all of the gifts bestowed on the believer in phase one, salvation;29 in phase two, including promises and Bible doctrine; and those bestowed in phase three, eternity:
An inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. (1 Pet. 1:4b)
Like all children we sin and disappoint our heavenly Father. We are then disciplined by the Father for our own good (Heb. 12:5-11). Yet our Father is always ready to receive His children back into fellowship as soon as we return to His plan by way of private, direct confession to Him (1 John 1:9).30
The Unique Person Of The Universe
Jesus Christ, the Second Person, is the only visible member of the Trinity (John 1:14, 18; 14:9). He is known as God the Son and the Lord Jesus Christ. His title, “Lord,” which is Κύριος (Kurios) in the Greek and Yahweh in the Hebrew, proclaims His deity. “Jesus,” which may be translated “Savior,” is the name of His humanity and signifies His redemptive work on our behalf (Matt. 1:21). The designation “Christ,” meaning “the Anointed One” or “Messiah,” indicates His offices of prophet, priest, and king to Israel.
As the unique person of the universe, Jesus Christ possesses two natures that are inseparably united in hypostatic union without loss or mixture of separate identity, without loss or transfer of properties or attributes, the union being personal and eternal. He is undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever (Rom. 1:2-6; Phil. 2:6-8; 1 Tim. 3:16). He bears every attribute of deity and is eternally related to the other two members of the Trinity (Isa. 48:16; John 1:1-4; Heb. 5:5).
For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form. (Col. 2:9)
As deity, Christ has all authority (Matt. 28:18), possesses life in Himself (John 5:26), imparts eternal life (John 10:28), forgives sins (Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:7), and executes judgment (John 5:22). As the Son of God (Rom. 1:1-4), Christ is the “exact representation of His [the Father’s] nature” (Heb. 1:3). On the rare occasions when He referred to Himself as the “Son of God,” He was accused of blasphemy (John 10:33) and threatened with death (John 5:18). Many who heard His claim to being deity and Messiah violently rejected that claim.
As the “Son of Man” (Luke 19:10), Christ took on the “likeness” and “form” of man (Phil. 2:7). He stressed this title more often than any other title during His earthly ministry. Since His deity had always existed (John 1:1), He now focused on that which was new and which must also be understood—His humanity (Matt. 1:25). During His life on earth, Jesus experienced physical, intellectual, and spiritual growth (Luke 2:40, 52). He knew fatigue (John 4:6), hunger (Matt. 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), testing (Heb. 4:15), suffering (Heb. 2:18), and death (Luke 23:46).
When the God-man in hypostatic union spoke from His divine nature, Christ referred to God as His Father; when He spoke on the cross from His human nature, He referred to the Father as His God (Matt. 27:46; cf. John 20:17). Yet His humanity in no way diminishes or detracts from His deity nor from His equality with the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 5:23).
Jesus is clearly revealed in the Old Testament as:
The Creator (Gen. 2:7; cf. John 1:3, 10; Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:16-17),
The Angel of the Lord (Yahweh, Gen. 16:10; 22:11; Judg. 13:17-23; cf. John 1:18),31
The Messiah or Anointed One (Ps. 2:2; Dan. 9:25; cf. John 4:25-26). He is repeatedly declared to be Yahweh.
The New Testament records His ministry and greatly expands our understanding of His person and work.
His Incarnation
The Incarnation of the Son of God, His coming in the flesh, and His hypostatic union are the very foundation of Christianity. To provide salvation for mankind, the Son had to become a true member of the human race. As sovereign and eternal God, He is not subject to judgment or death on the cross. What an astounding endeavor for the Creator to lower Himself to the level of His own creation that He might lift us to His own sphere of glory! In the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4), Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Luke 1:31-35), “was revealed in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16) and “dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
During His ministry on earth, He displayed the glory and omniscience of God (Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:29-35; 2 Cor. 4:6), yet He came primarily to reveal the love of God (1 John 4:9-10). The supreme proof of that love was the cross.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)
Even His sinless, perfect life alone could not save us. His miracles, which presented His messianic credentials, only alleviated the suffering in the lives of a few. In order to provide salvation for all mankind, Jesus Christ had to become “flesh” to take our place and be judged for our sins. The perfect, sinless humanity of Jesus Christ had to pay the penalty for our sins.
The penalty God had declared for sin was spiritual death, separation from God under condemnation (Gen. 2:17; cf. Gen. 5:3-5; Rom. 5:12). To pay that penalty, Christ, as our substitute, had to bear the sins of the world in His humanity and be judged by the Father (Matt. 27:46; 1 Pet. 2:24). So excruciating was the suffering of Christ while He bore the sins of the world that the Father veiled His Son’s agony and shrouded the hill of Golgotha in total darkness (Luke 23:44). After God had judged every sin—past, present, and future—Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Jesus Christ had suffered spiritual death for all. The work of salvation was completed. Then, by an act of His own volition, Jesus gave up His physical life.
Physical death separates the body from the soul and human spirit but never terminates the consciousness of the soul and spirit. During the three days and nights following the crucifixion, the body of Jesus Christ was entombed (Luke 23:50-53). His human soul went to Paradise (Luke 23:43).32 His human spirit went into the presence of the Father (Luke 23:46).
All three members of the Trinity had a part in Christ’s resurrection. After three days, the omnipotence of God the Father (Acts 2:24; Rom. 6:4; Eph. 1:20; Col. 2:12; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Pet. 1:21), the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit (Rom 1:4; 8:11; 1 Pet. 3:18), and the omnipotence of God the Son raised the humanity of Jesus Christ from the dead (John 2:18-21; 10:14-18). Jesus was “raised from the dead through the glory [power] of the Father” (Rom. 6:4) who returned His human spirit to His body in the grave. He was “made alive in the spirit” (1 Pet. 3:18) when the Holy Spirit returned His soul to His body. God the Son designed and created His own resurrection body (Col. 1:16). Jesus came forth from the grave (Matt. 28:6) with His soul and spirit reunited in a glorified, immortal resurrection body. He is the only human being ever to be resurrected. The resurrection of Christ with His glorified body guarantees the future resurrection and eternal life of all believers (1 Cor. 15:22-23, 54).33
During the Incarnation the humanity of Christ became lower than angels, but through resurrection, ascension, and session, His humanity became superior to angels (Heb. 1:4; 2:9). His crucifixion had to come before His glorification. The cross had to come before the crown.
His Glorification
Forty days after His resurrection—during which the Lord “presented Himself alive . . . by many convincing proofs”—He visibly departed from this earth and entered into heaven (Acts 1:2-3, 9-10). There Christ presented Himself, the first resurrected man in heaven, and was accepted by the Father as the perfect and only sacrifice for sinful humanity (Heb. 9:24-28). Upon entering heaven, the God-man “sat down [session] at the right hand of the Majesty [Father] on high” (Heb. 1:3). His session demonstrates His complete acceptability to God in His humanity (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:13). At the Father’s right hand, the place of honor, Christ continues His ministry as our intercessor, high priest, and advocate (Heb. 7:25; 8:1; 1 John 2:1).
As the visible person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, the Shekinah Glory, dwelt with Israel in the sacred Tabernacle or Temple. He was the God of Israel (Lev. 26:11-12) whose presence in the Holy of Holies was demonstrated by a brilliant cloud above the Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-38). During the Incarnation, the visible Christ ‘tabernacled’ or dwelt among men in the flesh (John 1:14). His transfigured glory was made visible to Peter, James, and John during His ministry on earth (Matt. 17:1-5). After His ascension, the sacred tabernacle for His indwelling was transferred to the body of the believer (John 14:20; 17:23, 26; Col. 1:27-29). Now, we share His glory both in time and eternity (2 Cor. 3:18).
His Return
In heaven Jesus Christ is preparing a place for Church Age believers variously called His bride (Rev. 19:7); the Church (John 14:1-3), the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-12), and the royal family of God (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10). On earth His royal family is being formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit who places each Church Age believer into union with Christ at the moment of faith in Him (Gal. 3:1-5, 14, 26-27; Eph. 4:4-5; 2 Thess. 2:13-14).
The moment His royal family is completed, Christ will descend from heaven and assemble all believers of the Church Age, dead and living, to meet Him in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17).34 As the royal family is gathered together to Him to be forever with Him, all the members will receive bodies like His glorified resurrection body (1 Cor. 15:51-53; Phil. 3:21). His veracity and immutability guarantee His promise. Therefore, the resurrection of the Church becomes the “blessed hope” of each believer (Titus 2:13).
Seven years after the resurrection or Rapture of the Church, Jesus Christ, accomplished by His bride, the Church (1 Thess. 3:13; Jude 14; Rev. 19:14), will return “as the lightning comes from the east, and flashes even to the west” (Matt. 24:27). At His first advent, He came in humility (Phil. 2:5-8) to be judged; at His second advent, He will appear in power and glory (Matt. 24:30; 26:64) to judge, to wage war, and to rule (Rev. 19:11, 15-16). Every eye will see the returning Sovereign of heaven and earth, His eyes “a flame of fire” and on His head many crowns (Rev. 1:7; 19:11-12).
With the defeat of all satanic forces, the millennial kingdom will be established on earth and Christ will begin his reign of everlasting righteousness. At the termination of the literal one thousand years of perfect environment, He will judge all unbelievers before His great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15) and sentence them to the lake of fire for rejecting His saving work on their behalf. Then, the present universe will be destroyed (2 Pet. 3:10), and the new heavens and new earth will be created. The Lord Jesus Christ will rule His eternal kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11) under the authority of the Father (Rev. 22:3) and in perfect union with Him (1 Cor. 15:28). “The whole earth [will] be filled with His glory” (Ps. 72:17-19). Truly our incomparable Christ, “the Lamb who has been slain” (Rev. 13:8), is “worthy . . . to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12).
The Person Of The Spirit
Some who reject the concept of the Trinity seek to reduce the Holy Spirit to nothing more than an influence, just as some view the Son as mere man. But the incorporeity, or lack of material form or substance, of the Spirit does not make Him any less a person than the Father, who is equally invisible. The term “ghost” is a misleading translation of πνεῦμα (pneuma), which means “spirit.” There is no word in the Greek for ghost. The closest word is φάντασμα (phantasma, Matt. 14:26), which means “apparition.” But this word is never used of the Third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is a true person in the same sense that the Father and the Son are persons (2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Pet. 1:2).
God the Holy Spirit’s many titles in both the Old and New Testaments indicate His deity and reveal His relationship to the other members of the Trinity. Regarding His attributes, He is called “Spirit of holiness” (Rom. 1:4), “Spirit of life” (Rom. 8:2), “spirit of knowledge” (Isa. 11:2), and “Spirit of truth” (John 14:17). Such titles as “Spirit of God” and “Spirit of our God” (Gen. 1:2; Matt. 3:16; 1 Cor. 6:11) and “Spirit of your Father” (Matt. 10:20) relate the Holy Spirit to the Father while “Spirit of Christ” and “Spirit of Jesus Christ” (Rom. 8:9; Phil. 1:19), “Spirit of His Son” (Gal. 4:6), and “Spirit of the Lord” (Acts 5:9) relate Him to the Son. These titles do not mean that He is merely an attribute of God. No attributes are designated by the personal pronouns “He,” “Him,” and “His.” Nor could an attribute “guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13-15) or restore and give life (Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4). These titles refer to the Holy Spirit as a separate and distinct person.
The term “Spirit” relates to the distinct role of His person, since the Father and Son are also spirit (John 4:24). The Holy Spirit is the unseen power of God, the person through whom divine power is conveyed. As such He reveals the plan of God on earth and is the agent for executing the Christian way of life.
The role of the Holy Spirit must not be confused with the other members of the Trinity.
Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor. 3:17)
The phrase “The Lord is the Spirit” refers to the Holy Spirit, not the Second Person of the Trinity. “The Lord is the Spirit” asserts the deity of the Third Person. The phrase never means that the Spirit supersedes the presence of the resurrected Christ indwelling the believer (Rom. 8:10; Gal. 2:20; Col. 1:27). The activity of One cannot be attributed to the Other. They are separate and distinct Persons, both of whom are equally present with and in the believer.
His Ministry To Mankind
The Old Testament credits the Holy Spirit with the renewal or restoration of the earth after the judgment and destruction of original creation (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:30).35 To keep humanity from returning the earth to chaos, the Holy Spirit, as the power of God, restrains sin (2 Thess. 2:6-7). This is one of God’s common grace benefits to all mankind. Another benefit of common grace occurs in evangelism. Since every human being born subsequent to the fall of Adam is born spiritually dead—without a human spirit, the Holy Spirit acts as the missing human spirit so that the spiritual information of the Gospel is comprehensible (1 Cor. 2:14b).36
When the spiritually dead person is willing to listen to the Gospel message, the convincing ministry of the Holy Spirit makes the message lucid (John 16:7-11). If that person responds positively through faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit acknowledges that faith and makes it effectual for salvation through His ministry of efficacious grace (Eph. 2:8).
