OFFICES/ROLES/MODES/FUNCTIONS FULFILLED BY ONE GOD

The Holy Ghost

• The terms "Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" are interchangeable, meaning identically the same. These two terms in the KJV are translated from the one Greek word pneuma; therefore, there is absolutely no distinction between the terms.
• The Holy Spirit is simply God. God is holy (Leviticus 11:44; I Peter 1:16). In fact, He alone is holy in Himself. God is also Spirit (John 4:24), and there is only one Spirit of God (I Corinthians 12:11; Ephesians 4:4). Therefore, "Holy Spirit" is another term for the one God.
• That the Holy Ghost is God is evident from a comparison of Acts 5:3 with 5:4 and from a comparison of I Corinthians 3:16 with 6:19. These passages identify the Holy Ghost with God Himself.
• We cannot limit the terms "Holy Ghost," "Holy Spirit," or "Spirit of God" to the New Testament, nor can we so limit the role or manifestation of God they describe. We find the Spirit mentioned throughout the Old Testament beginning with Genesis 1:2.
• Peter tells us that the prophets of old were moved by the Holy Ghost (II Peter 1:21).
• If the Holy Spirit is simply God, why is there a need for this term? The reason is that it emphasizes a particular aspect of God. It emphasizes that He who is a holy, omnipresent, and invisible Spirit works among all men everywhere and can fill the hearts of men. When we speak of the Holy Spirit, we are reminding ourselves of God's invisible work among men and of His ability to anoint, baptize, fill, and indwell human lives.
• The term speaks of God in activity: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). It refers to God working among mankind to regenerate man's fallen nature and enable him to do the supernatural will of God in the world. We note that the Spirit is the agent in the new birth (John 3:5; Titus 3:5).
• Since the Holy Spirit is God Himself, we properly use the pronouns He and Him to refer to the Spirit. We often use "Holy Ghost" and "Holy Spirit" as abbreviated forms of "the baptism (or gift) of the Holy Ghost," and in such cases it is proper to use the pronoun it as a substitute. When we do this, however, we should always remember that the Holy Ghost is God and not merely an unintelligent force or fluid. The following verses of Scripture reveal that the Holy Ghost is not an unintelligent force but is in fact God: Acts 5:3-4, 9; 20:23, 28; 21:11.
• The Spirit is revealed and received through the name Jesus. He is not a separate person with a separate identity who comes in another name. Jesus said, "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name…" (John 14:26). So the Holy Ghost comes in the name of Jesus.
• The one God is Father of all, is holy, and is a Spirit. Therefore, the titles Father and Holy Spirit describe the same being. To put it another way, the one God can and does fill simultaneously the two roles of Father and Holy Spirit.

These scriptures bears out this statement of fact:

• John 3:16 says God is the Father of Jesus Christ and Jesus referred to the Father as His own Father many times (John 5:17-18). Yet Matthew 1:18-20 and Luke 1:35 plainly reveal that the Holy Ghost is the Father of Jesus Christ. According to these verses of Scripture, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost and was born the Son of God as a result. The one who causes conception to take place is the father. Since all verses of Scripture in reference to the conception or begetting of the Son of God speak of the Holy Ghost as the agent of conception, it is evident that the father of the human body is the Spirit; it is only reasonable to conclude that the Holy Ghost is the Father of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
• Joel 2:27-29 records the words of Jehovah God: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh." Peter applied this verse of Scripture to the baptism of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4,16-18). Thus the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the one Jehovah God of the Old Testament. Since there is only one Spirit, obviously the Spirit of Jehovah must be the Holy Spirit.
• The Bible calls the Holy Spirit the "Spirit of the LORD" (Isaiah 40:13), the Spirit of God (Genesis 1:2), and the Spirit of the Father (Matthew 10:20). Since there is only one Spirit, all these phrases must refer to the same being. The Holy Spirit is none other than Jehovah God and none other than the Father.

Other scriptures that identification of the Holy Ghost with the Father are:

1. God the Father raised Jesus from the dead (Acts 2:24; Ephesians 1:17-20), yet the Spirit raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11).
2. God the Father quickens (gives life to) the dead (Romans 4:17; I Timothy 6:13), yet the Spirit will do so (Romans 8:11).
3. The Spirit adopts us, which means He is our Father (Romans 8:15-16).
4. The Holy Spirit fills the life of a Christian (John 14:17; Acts 4:31), yet the Spirit of the Father fills hearts (Ephesians 3:14-16). It is the Father who lives in us (John 14:23).
5. The Holy Ghost is our Comforter (John 14:26, Greek parakletos), yet God the Father is the God of all comfort(paraklesis) who comforts (parakaleo) us in all our tribulation (II Corinthians 1:3-4).
6. The Spirit sanctifies us (I Peter 1:2), yet the Father sanctifies us (Jude 1).
7. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (II Timothy 3:16), yet the Old Testament prophets were moved by the Holy Ghost (II Peter 1:21).
8. Our bodies are temples of God (I Corinthians 3:16-17), yet they are temples of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19).
9. The Spirit of the Father will give us words to say in time of persecution (Matthew 10:20), but the Holy Ghost will do so (Mark 13:11).

From all these verses of Scripture we conclude that Father and Holy Ghost are simply two different descriptions of the one God. The two terms describe the same being but they emphasize or highlight different aspects, roles, or functions that He possesses.

• The Deity of Jesus Christ is the Holy Ghost.
• The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:19). and the Spirit of the Son (Galatians 4:6). Second Corinthians 3:17 says of the one Spirit, "Now the Lord is that Spirit." The NIV puts it even plainer, for it says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit," and "the Lord who is the Spirit" (verse 18).
• In short, the Spirit that is resident in Jesus Christ is none other than the Holy Spirit. The Spirit in the Son is the Holy Spirit.

Below are some parallel verses of Scripture which further reveal that the Spirit of Christ is the Holy Ghost.

1. The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets of old (I Peter 1:10-11), yet we know the Holy Ghost moved on them (II Peter 1:21).

2. Jesus will raise the believer from death (John 6:40), yet the Spirit will quicken (give life to) the dead (Romans 8:11).

3. The Spirit raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:9-11), yet Jesus said He would raise Himself from the dead (John 2:19-21).

4. John 14:16 says the Father would send another Comforter, namely the Holy Ghost, yet in John 14:18 Jesus said, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." In other words, the other Comforter is Jesus in another form – in the Spirit rather than the flesh. Jesus explained this in verse 17, saying that the Comforter was with the disciples already, but He would soon be in them. In other words, the Holy Ghost was with them in the person of Jesus Christ, but the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, soon would be in them. Jesus further explained this point in John 16:7, saying that He had to go away or else the Comforter would not come. Why? As long as Jesus was present with them in the flesh He would not he present spiritually in their hearts, but after He physically departed He would send back His own Spirit to he with them.

5. The Holy Ghost abides in the hearts of Christians (John 14:16), yet Jesus promised that He would abide with His followers to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). Similarly, believers are filled with the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4, 38), yet it is Christ who dwells in us (Colossians 1:27).

6. Ephesians 3:16-17 says that by having the Spirit in the inner man we have Christ in our hearts.

7. Christ sanctifies the Church (Ephesians 5:26), yet the Spirit does (I Peter 1:2).

8. The Holy Ghost is the promised parakletos in John 14:26 (Greek word translated "Comforter" by the KJV), yet

9. Jesus is our parakletos in I John 2:1 (same Greek word translated "advocate" in the KJV). We should note that the same human writer - the Apostle John - penned both of these verses, so presumably he was aware of the parallel.

10. The Spirit is our intercessor (Romans 8:26), yet Jesus is our intercessor (Hebrews 7:25).

11. The Holy Ghost will give us words to say in times of persecution (Mark 13:11), yet Jesus said He would do so (Luke 21:15).

12. In Acts 16:6-7, the RSV and NIV both equate the Holy Spirit with the Spirit of Jesus.