The Holy Spirit - God's Spirit
E-book and Audio series
PART 1 - The Being and Nature of the Holy Spirit
Chapter 6 - The Trinity
Summary: The term "Trinity" is an accurate one, but God's being and nature are certainly not limited to the boundaries of the "Trinity" concept. These things are discussed here, as well as how they especially pertain to the Holy Spirit.
| |||
Study Notes (Some of these issues are discussed in greater detail in the audio message.)
In the previous study, we considered some other names for the Holy Spirit. Out of all the references to God’s Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, about two-thirds do not use the exact phrase “Holy Spirit”. Some of the other phrases are terms like: Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, My Spirit, His Spirit, and “the” Spirit.
In this study, we will focus more on the term “Trinity”. This is an area of some controversy. Some of what is contained in this study may be new to you, so please keep an open mind, and let us be taught from the Scriptures.
READ 2 Cor 13:14 – This is a famous verse often used to support the idea that God is a “trinity” of persons.
A wonderful sentiment in this verse – but does it encompass all that is God?
Let me begin by plainly stating some of my beliefs about these things, and then attempt to show why from the Scriptures.
- I believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s spirit, fully representative of God. The previous two studies have been spent affirming that the Holy Spirit is equated with being God.
- I believe in God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Spirit. If that is the definition of the Trinity, then I believe it.
- However, I don’t believe that these three faces of God (aspects, persons, manifestations) encapsulate all that is God. God is bigger than our concept of the Trinity – He is infinite, beyond finite descriptions and our comprehension.
READ Job 26:14 - What has been revealed seems to be but the “mere edges”
The Scriptures are a limited revelation of God – they do not give us a complete revelation of God. This doesn’t mean we have to make up a lot things about God’s being and nature. There comes a point in our study of these weighty themes when it is entirely appropriate to step back and admit that we do not know everything there is about God. It is quite alright to embrace what we can affirm with certainty about God … and just leave it at that.
"Trinity"
The term “Trinity” does not appear in the Scriptures. This does not, in itself, necessarily make the concept unscriptural or untrue, but it is good for us to know where the word came from, because it will help us understand the background to why it became such an important word in the church.
The term “Trinity” was coined in the second century AD, and is first recorded as being used by a Christian theologian, Tertullian, about 180.AD. Tertullian wrote in the midst of a strong movement in the church that was beginning to question Christ’s deity. In his work “Against Praxeas”, he wrote about how, not only was Christ God in the flesh, but that there were actually three who we know to be God – the Father, the Son, The Holy Spirit. Tertullian said of these three that they were a “trinity” – based on a Latin word (Trinitas) meaning three, or a triad.
The English word Trinity is derived from Latin Trinitas, meaning "the number three, a triad".
Many of the early church theologians were greatly influenced by the Hellenistic thinking of the time; to have "an answer for everything” was often seen as a necessity. However, the Scriptures, which should be our final authority, do not tell us “everything”, and we should be careful to observe what is actually written in its pages … and what is not. Referring back to Job 26, Job was able to stand in awe and wonder of the greatness of God, but also admit that what he knew of God was really only “the mere edges”, and not His being in entirety.
There are only a handful of passages in the New Testament (e.g. Galatians 4:4-7; Matthew 28:19,20) that speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together. Such passages highlight a definite unity between each one, whilst showing there is also distinction – I have no problem attributing the title of “God” to each of these. However, if we think this is a full and complete picture of God’s Being, then that I would disagree with.
For example, I affirm that Christ is God, and so also the Holy Spirit, and the Father ... but where does the one revealed in the OT as “Jehovah” fit into the Trinity model? There are some difficulties in this area. Consider the following
- Whilst being a manifestation of God, Jehovah not always invisible, as the Father is.
(READ John 5:36,37; 6:46 also John 1:18 cp, Ex 3:16; 33:11; also Gen 12:7
- Jehovah was not “born”, and did not grow, or age, or die, or have a resurrected body, as Jesus Christ the Son. READ Luke 2:5,21,42,52; 3:23 …. cp Isaiah 40:28; 42:5; 45:11,12 – Ps 90:1,2…13….emphasising the fact that Jehovah was always in existence.
(in some mystical way, Christ has also always been in existence, creation being attributed to Him as well – Col 1:16 – but this was performed BEFORE He had the body which was born at Bethlehem, grew, etc – things that “Jehovah” in the OT never did.)
- In OT – “the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary” (Isaiah 40:28) (but sometimes the Lord Jesus in NT times was tired)
- Jehovah is never spoken of as dying, but the Lord Jesus did.
- Jehovah not always intangible, as the Holy Spirit is – Luke 24:37-39 cp. Gen 3:8; Gen 32:22-30.
I believe that the term “Trinity” is an accurate description to a point (i.e. Father, Son, Spirit - all being God), but we should also acknowledge that it is a limited description that does not deal with every facet of God.
Questions
And now, some questions that I’ll stick my neck out and suggest answers to…
• Is the Holy Spirit equated with being God?
o I would say yes.
• Is the Holy Spirit part of the Trinity?
o I would say that the Spirit is certainly part of the Being we know as God, but that God is bigger and more complex than the rather limiting concept of the Trinity. The term Trinity is not inaccurate, but it is not all-encompassing either.
So, in responding to the question, “Is the Holy Spirit the Third Person of the Trinity?” I would say that the basic answer is “yes” in terms of the Spirit’s deity, BUT … that the term “trinity” is not all-encompassing, and we need a number of other terms as well to help us build a more accurate picture of the Holy Spirit’s place in the Godhead.
And why is this important?
- Through our consideration of these things, through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment of them, we will know our God better.
- Our contemplation should also give us a better appreciation for the greatness and mystique of God; that He is fathomless, and beyond our ability to fully comprehend Him. This second idea helps to put in perspective how much greater God is compared with us.
More about these aspects in the next study, particularly considering whether the Holy Spirit is a “person”.
In the previous study, we considered some other names for the Holy Spirit. Out of all the references to God’s Holy Spirit in the Scriptures, about two-thirds do not use the exact phrase “Holy Spirit”. Some of the other phrases are terms like: Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, My Spirit, His Spirit, and “the” Spirit.
In this study, we will focus more on the term “Trinity”. This is an area of some controversy. Some of what is contained in this study may be new to you, so please keep an open mind, and let us be taught from the Scriptures.
READ 2 Cor 13:14 – This is a famous verse often used to support the idea that God is a “trinity” of persons.
A wonderful sentiment in this verse – but does it encompass all that is God?
Let me begin by plainly stating some of my beliefs about these things, and then attempt to show why from the Scriptures.
- I believe that the Holy Spirit is God’s spirit, fully representative of God. The previous two studies have been spent affirming that the Holy Spirit is equated with being God.
- I believe in God the Father; God the Son; God the Holy Spirit. If that is the definition of the Trinity, then I believe it.
- However, I don’t believe that these three faces of God (aspects, persons, manifestations) encapsulate all that is God. God is bigger than our concept of the Trinity – He is infinite, beyond finite descriptions and our comprehension.
READ Job 26:14 - What has been revealed seems to be but the “mere edges”
The Scriptures are a limited revelation of God – they do not give us a complete revelation of God. This doesn’t mean we have to make up a lot things about God’s being and nature. There comes a point in our study of these weighty themes when it is entirely appropriate to step back and admit that we do not know everything there is about God. It is quite alright to embrace what we can affirm with certainty about God … and just leave it at that.
"Trinity"
The term “Trinity” does not appear in the Scriptures. This does not, in itself, necessarily make the concept unscriptural or untrue, but it is good for us to know where the word came from, because it will help us understand the background to why it became such an important word in the church.
The term “Trinity” was coined in the second century AD, and is first recorded as being used by a Christian theologian, Tertullian, about 180.AD. Tertullian wrote in the midst of a strong movement in the church that was beginning to question Christ’s deity. In his work “Against Praxeas”, he wrote about how, not only was Christ God in the flesh, but that there were actually three who we know to be God – the Father, the Son, The Holy Spirit. Tertullian said of these three that they were a “trinity” – based on a Latin word (Trinitas) meaning three, or a triad.
The English word Trinity is derived from Latin Trinitas, meaning "the number three, a triad".
Many of the early church theologians were greatly influenced by the Hellenistic thinking of the time; to have "an answer for everything” was often seen as a necessity. However, the Scriptures, which should be our final authority, do not tell us “everything”, and we should be careful to observe what is actually written in its pages … and what is not. Referring back to Job 26, Job was able to stand in awe and wonder of the greatness of God, but also admit that what he knew of God was really only “the mere edges”, and not His being in entirety.
There are only a handful of passages in the New Testament (e.g. Galatians 4:4-7; Matthew 28:19,20) that speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together. Such passages highlight a definite unity between each one, whilst showing there is also distinction – I have no problem attributing the title of “God” to each of these. However, if we think this is a full and complete picture of God’s Being, then that I would disagree with.
For example, I affirm that Christ is God, and so also the Holy Spirit, and the Father ... but where does the one revealed in the OT as “Jehovah” fit into the Trinity model? There are some difficulties in this area. Consider the following
- Whilst being a manifestation of God, Jehovah not always invisible, as the Father is.
(READ John 5:36,37; 6:46 also John 1:18 cp, Ex 3:16; 33:11; also Gen 12:7
- Jehovah was not “born”, and did not grow, or age, or die, or have a resurrected body, as Jesus Christ the Son. READ Luke 2:5,21,42,52; 3:23 …. cp Isaiah 40:28; 42:5; 45:11,12 – Ps 90:1,2…13….emphasising the fact that Jehovah was always in existence.
(in some mystical way, Christ has also always been in existence, creation being attributed to Him as well – Col 1:16 – but this was performed BEFORE He had the body which was born at Bethlehem, grew, etc – things that “Jehovah” in the OT never did.)
- In OT – “the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary” (Isaiah 40:28) (but sometimes the Lord Jesus in NT times was tired)
- Jehovah is never spoken of as dying, but the Lord Jesus did.
- Jehovah not always intangible, as the Holy Spirit is – Luke 24:37-39 cp. Gen 3:8; Gen 32:22-30.
I believe that the term “Trinity” is an accurate description to a point (i.e. Father, Son, Spirit - all being God), but we should also acknowledge that it is a limited description that does not deal with every facet of God.
Questions
And now, some questions that I’ll stick my neck out and suggest answers to…
• Is the Holy Spirit equated with being God?
o I would say yes.
• Is the Holy Spirit part of the Trinity?
o I would say that the Spirit is certainly part of the Being we know as God, but that God is bigger and more complex than the rather limiting concept of the Trinity. The term Trinity is not inaccurate, but it is not all-encompassing either.
So, in responding to the question, “Is the Holy Spirit the Third Person of the Trinity?” I would say that the basic answer is “yes” in terms of the Spirit’s deity, BUT … that the term “trinity” is not all-encompassing, and we need a number of other terms as well to help us build a more accurate picture of the Holy Spirit’s place in the Godhead.
And why is this important?
- Through our consideration of these things, through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment of them, we will know our God better.
- Our contemplation should also give us a better appreciation for the greatness and mystique of God; that He is fathomless, and beyond our ability to fully comprehend Him. This second idea helps to put in perspective how much greater God is compared with us.
More about these aspects in the next study, particularly considering whether the Holy Spirit is a “person”.
