The Deity of
the Holy Spirit

The Divine Attributes of the Holy Spirit.

Christianity holds that four attributes distinguish a divine being from all else: (1) omniscience, (2) omnipotence, (3) omnipresence, and (4) eternalness. Each of the four distinctly Divine Attributes is ascribed to the Holy Spirit.

See The Nature of God
 

The Holy Spirit is eternal.

Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
 

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent.

Psalms 139:7-10 [7] Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? [8] If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. [9] If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, [10] even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
 

The Holy Spirit is omnipotent.

Luke 1:35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
 

The Holy Spirit is omniscient.

1 Corinthians 2:10-11 [10] but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. [11] For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
 

The Divine Works of the Holy Spirit

Three distinctively divine works are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
 

Creation is ascribed to the Holy Spirit.

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Psalms 104:30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.
 

The Holy Spirit imparts life.

John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
 

The Holy Spirit quickens mortal men; He makes them spiritually alive.

Note that there is a difference between "quickening" man and physical "life." To "quicken" means to give spiritual life.

Colossians 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,

Compare the following two passages:

Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Genesis 2:17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.

John 6:63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

In the following passage, note that Paul says the Spirit will give life, indicating a future action. The people he is talking to are already physically alive. Clearly, he is talking about spiritual life.

Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
 

The Holy Spirit is the author of divine prophecies.

2 Peter 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 Samuel 23:2-3 [2] The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. [3] The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: "When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, "
 

The Holy Spirit forgives sins.

John 20:22-23 [22] And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. [23] If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Verse 23 is a source of fundamental doctrinal disagreement between Protestants and Catholics. According to the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., at Pentecost Jesus expressly gave those present (or at least the Apostles) the power to forgive men's sins or to deny forgiveness. This is the verse the Catholic Church relies on in claiming that, as the successors to the Apostles, Catholic priests, and only Catholic priests have the power to forgive sins.

Protestants, on the other hand, interpret the two verses differently. In the first sentence, "Receive the Holy Spirit," Jesus is addressing those at Pentecost, e.g., the Apostles. In the second sentence, "If you forgive ...," Jesus is speaking to the Holy Spirit. He is speaking aloud so that those present will know the commission Jesus has given the Holy Spirit. He is also confirming that sins are not always forgiven—the Holy Spirit determines whether the sinner is truly repentant.

This is like an emcee saying to an audience "Folks, please welcome Jerry Seinfeld!  Why don't you tell us a few jokes?"  Would you expect each member of the audience to start telling jokes?

There is not even one verse in the entire New Testament where any apostle or disciple claimed to have the power to forgive sins.
 

The Holy Spirit refuses to forgive the sins of the unrepentant.

See the discussion of John 20:22-23 in the previous point.
 

Statements which refer to the Lord of Jehovah in the Old Testament that are applied to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Statements which in the Old Testament distinctively name the Lord, God, or Jehovah, as their subject are applied to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. That is, the Holy Spirit occupies the position of Deity in the New Testament thought.
 

Analogous passages between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Isaiah 6:8-10 [8] Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" [9] He said, "Go and tell this people: `Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' [10] Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Acts 28:25-27 [25] They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet: [26] `Go to this people and say, "You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving." [27] For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'"

This same passage is applied to Jesus Christ. May it be that in the threefold "Holy" of the seraphic cry:

Isaiah 6:3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."

We have a hint of the tri-personality of the Jehovah of Hosts and hence the propriety of the threefold application of the vision?

Exodus 16:7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?

Hebrews 3:7-9 [7] So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, [8] do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, [9] where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did."

Psalms 95:8-11 [8] do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the desert, [9] where your fathers tested and tried me, though they had seen what I did. [10] For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways." [11] So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest."
 

The way in which the Name of the Holy Spirit is coupled with that of God.

The name of the Holy Spirit is coupled with that of God in a way that it would be impossible for a reverent and thoughtful mind to couple the name of any finite being with that of the Deity.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 [4] There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. [5] There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. [6] There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Matthew 28:19-20 [19] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
 

The Holy Spirit is called God.

Acts 5:3-4 [3] Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? [4] Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."