This article details the verses that testify to the deity of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, and also those that have all the three Persons, that is, the Trinitarian verses. This, added to the article that details the deity of Jesus in the New Testament, and given the undisputed deity of the Father, then forms the entire argument for the Holy Trinity in the New Testament.

The Holy Spirit and the Trinity

How the Three act in Concert

In the Gospels

We see the Father, Son and Spirit in in concert in various acts, for example in baptizing (baptismal formula, Mt.28:19), in theophany Jesus’ baptism, Mt.3:16, Lk.3:22), in acting among humans: “But if I [Jesus] cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God (the Father) has come upon you.” (Mt.12:28). The Son gives thanks to the Father, rejoicing “in the Holy Spirit” (“in the spirit” in some variants): “at that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you Father…” (Lk.10:21). Finally in the Lukan Birth of Jesus narrative the angel uses Trinitarian language to describe the course of the Incarnation. We can see also that the angel effectively equates the Holy Spirit with “Power of the Most High”, because were the Holy Spirit not the very Power of God, then his coming upon Mary would be superfluous. Thus this verse then has Father, Son and Spirit of God: “The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” (1:35)

The Father and the Son in-dwell each other, and also together in-dwell in the human believer (Jn.14:10,11,20,23), and yet we are told that the Holy Spirit also indwells the faithful in the very same passage (14:17). That the three in-dwell the faithful can only mean that they are one and the same God.

That the Spirit is transcendent is also evident in that it is present with the faithful forever and that the world does not see it in its invisibility, nor know it, implying also its omniscience (14:16), also implied by the title “spirit of truth”.

We also see the concerted action of the three in revelation in the Johanine passages. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, but is sent by Jesus. The very title “Spirit of Truth” (15:26) imputes revelatory origin and agency, but the act of revelation as we can see, involves all three in concert: The Spirit comes in Jesus’ name (14:26), testifies on Jesus’ behalf (15:26), and glorifying Jesus (16:14). The Holy Spirit will guide the faithful into “all truth” (16:13), yet will speak “not on his own” but “whatever he hears, taking what is mine (Jesus’)” and “declaring” it (16:13,14), reminding them all Jesus that said (14:26). However all that the Father has is Jesus’ and this is precisely what the Holy Spirit takes, that is, that which belongs to Jesus (16:15). This is the three persons sharing in the same onmiscience, that is the “truth”, “all the Father has”, belong to and is accessible to the three.

Further, the Holy Spirit shares Jesus’ agency of advocacy/support/comfort for the faithful “another paraklete”. “…(Jn.14:7) is the first of five passages that speak of this other paraclete (14:16-17, 25; 15:26; 16:7-11, 12-15)…up to this point in the Gospel there has been no reference to any paraclete. However in 1 John 2:1, Jesus is referred to as a paraklete before the Father” (JBC21C p.1427).

Finally, Jesus send forth the disciples in the manner he himself was sent forth, that is, by the Father, and in the strength of the Holy Spirit, “…As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”…” (Jn.20:21-23, cf. Lk.4:1,14 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, filled with the power of the Spirit)

In Acts and the Epistles

In Acts and the Epistles we see the same themes continued:

“Gathering them together, He [Jesus] commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me . . .” (Acts 1:4)

“Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He [Jesus] has poured forth this which you both see and hear.” (Acts 2:33)

“But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:55)

“..Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38)

“Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28)

Here the Greek is “dia tou haimatos tou idiou”- through/with his own blood. The NRSV adds in the implied “of his own Son”, since it is obvious whose blood is being spoken of here. But even without that, clearly we have a trinitarian verse with God, the Holy Spirit and the Blood, which can only refer to Christ, and yet is called his own, clearly with the reference to God’s own blood, since Christ is not even mentioned in the verse nor even in the preceding verses.

Romans- 1, 5 & 8

Romans 1

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus (we could not possibly be called “servants” of mere humans, nor would a believer identify themselves as such), …called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ² which he promised beforehand (the Father, since it speaks of “beforehand” and goes on to specify “his Son”)…through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ³ the gospel concerning his Son (God’s Good News is Related to Jesus), …who was descended from David according to the flesh (this is clearly implying that Jesus’ origin is more than just “according to the flesh)⁴ and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness (the Third Person of the Holy Trinity) …by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our LORD, ⁵ through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for the sake of his NAME (there is no getting around the fact that referring to the “Name” is always a reference to God himself) ⁶ including you who are called to BELONG to Jesus Christ,” (Romans 1:1-6)

Romans 5

The Jerome commentiing on Romans 5, states: “The Triadic presentation of God (ho Theos) as pouring out divine love “through the Spirit” (5:5) and now manifested in Christ’s death provides a Pauline starting point for later Trinitarial dogma” (p1552). Prior to this the Jerome has described how the love of God for man in Christ is “gratuitous and voluntary”, thus again exemplifying the divine. It is worth reflecting upon this mediation of Christ, if only for the purpose of appreciating the fact that it is not a creaturely mediation. The Jerome notes “Paul makes frequent use of this phrase dia Christou (through Christ) in Romans (eg.5:2,9,11,17,21;cf.1:5, 2:16) to express the mediation of Christ in God;s salvific plan, past and present (…_)…(5:2). the shalom experienced by believers derives from being introduced into the shpere of divine favor by Christ who leads them into the royal audience chamber and the divine presence (…) we boast of our afflictions (5:3-4) not because of some sort of masochism that views suffering that views suffering as good in itself, or “good for you”, but because because Christ’s love breaks through even in those experiences of oppression and suffering…” (p.1551) and goes on to note that Christ gave us his love “while we were still helpless (Gr. asthenia) (5:6) (…) to prove his point, Paul argues a fortiori. He argues that possibly, fro a really good person, a benefactos, one might give up one’s life; yet that was not our status when Christ dies for us (…) (5:10) a repetition and intensification of the claim in 5:8; sinners are not just “weak” or “ungodly” but actually “enemies” of God (…) the whole context stresses the gratutuitous, voluntary character of that death (…) we boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ (5:11). This is the third climactic boast (fillowing on the boasts of hope and affliction in 5:2-3), a boast not in any human identification but of God-in-Christ…” (p.1552, I’ve the the liberty of rearraraging the passages separated by (…))

“Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God (FIRST PERSON) through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (THIRD PERSON) that has been given to us.⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly (the love of God which is the “through the Holy Spirit that is given to us” is being shown us in Christ’s loving Sacrifice). ⁸ But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us (again God’s Love which is the Holy Spirit is being referenced as manifesting in Christ’s dying for us) We are reconciled to God through the death of his Son, and saved through the Life of his Son: ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.“

Romans 8

This is the interpretative key here: It is God’ own Law (v.3) “weakened by the flesh” that “could not do” what “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ” (v.2) could. It was the latter that “set (us) free from the law of sin and death. God supersedes his own Law, “by sending his own Son”, not a Son who is mere flesh, rather “in the likeness of flesh”; “to deal with sin” and “condemn (sin)” (v.3). God’s “Law of the Spirit of life in Christ” (Christ who we are also told is no mere human), accomplishes what the initial form of God’s own Law against sin could not accomplish against sin. We can see that it is impossible that that which accomplished what God’s own Torah (Law) did not accomplish could be anything but God himself. This is strong affirmation of the divinity of Christ. Second, we observe that the new Law has a trinitarian formulation if we note that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are not collapsible into the same entity, for were it so, then it would not be clear how the change was wrought from the situation of the Old Law.

Romans 8:9-27

The Spirit of God is seemingly used synonymously with “Spirit of Christ” (v.9 cf.Acts 16:6,7 “Spirit of Jesus”, of J.C. Phil 1:19), which is an indication of Christ’s being identical with “Spirit of God”, because it is subsequently also said “Christ is in you” (v.10) and also that the Spirit of God which “raised Christ from the dead” also “dwells in you” (v.11). Surely we can see here that Christ and God are one and the same Spiritual Being with the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit teaches us to pray, since “we don’t know to pray as we ought” and “intercedes” for us with God (v.26), (Christ too, “at the right hand of God…intercedes for us” [v.34]). God “knows what is the mind of the Spirit”, here what is being spoken of is the “Spirit who intercedes”, and it does so “according to the will of God” (v.27), necessitating that the Spirit be perfectly cognizant of the divine Will. These are closely related to two verses from 1Corinthians which are perhaps the clearest statements of the Spirit’s distinct personhood:

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1Cor.2:10,11)

In the above verse the Spirit’s personhood is asserted in that he “searches”, and along with it his divine personhood in that he knows “even the deep things of God”. In the same manner that a man’s spirit knows his deepest things. Yet that in God it is a distinct Person, unlike in us, is witnessed to in this verse, after our own spirits do not “search” inside us or intercede with us, since there is no distinction between ourselves and our spirits. The Spirit itself “searches everything” (1Cor2:10), which means it knows our hearts, while Romans 8 states it is God the Father himself who “searches the heart” (v.27). The Spirit in fact has the ultimate knowledge, which is of “even the deep things of God” (1Cor2:11) and “no one (but it), comprehends what is truly God’s” (1Cor2:12).

That will of God is none other that we “be conformed to the image of his Son” (v.29) as (adoptive) “firstborn” (v.29). Thus the work of the Spirit is to enable us to be taken up into the trinitarian life itself, in the model of the Spirit knowing also our minds, conforming them to Gods will through his direct action in us, and thus making us fully in union with the Father just as the Son is also, and himself too as the Third.

Romans 15

Paul interchanges “Gospel of God” (15:16, 7 NT occ.) with “Gospel of Christ in 15:19, a phrase we find 5 other times in the NT:1Cor.9:12, 2Cor9:13, Gal1:7, Phil1:27, 1Thess3:2)”. Next, if we trace the theme of works in the passage- Paul call himself a worker/ minister “leitourgon” for Christ, but doing priestly work (hierourgounta) for God’s Gospel (which as we have seen is synonymous with Christ’s Gospel). Further, it is Christ accomplishing that work in him, rather than he doing it by himself (v.18 kateirgasato), and that “word and work” (logos kai ergon) is truly Godly in the Power of the Holy Spirit (v.19), consisting of divine signs and wonders (semeion kai teraton). Clearly the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are working miracles in Paul, according to him the vocation of a priest of the Holy Trinity.

“…I have written to you…because of the grace given me by God (16) to be a minister (leitourgon- laos [people]+ ergon{work]. 5occ., Rom13:6; Phil.2:25; Heb.1:7,8:2) of Christ Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service (hierourgounta, 1occ., from hieros [priest] + ergon [work]) of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the gentiles may be acceptable (euprosdektos, 5occ.), sanctified by the Holy Spirit (hegiasmene in pneumati hagio) ¹⁷ In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God (ta pros ton theon). ¹⁸ For I will not be so bold as to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me (kateirgasato di’ emou) to win obedience from the gentiles, by word and deed (logo kai ergo) ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit (en dynamei pneumatos theou), so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” (15:15-19)

Indeed Paul can say that he will “come to you…in the fulness of the blessing of Christ (en pleromati eulogias Christou)” (v.29) and “I appeal…by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Holy Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God…” (v.30), again, a tinitarian theme: Paul makes his appeal by the love of God, and “our Lord Jesus Christ” that the Christians pray for him to God. Who else can we appeal to people’s help in the love of if not in the love of God?

Indeed Paul’s gospel itself is the proclamation of Christ, and who does scripture proclaim but God? But Paul proclaims Christ (16:25) finishing with “to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever (v.17), although a textual variant lacks “to whom”. All of Paul’s personal greetings from vv.16:1-16 are to his fellow workers “in Christ”, or “in the Lord”, for Christ, finally with “serve our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.18) and in the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.20).

1&2 Corinthians

(2Cor.1:21,22) “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal (sphragismenos) on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment (arrabona 3occ. 2Cor5:5, Eph.1:14- guarantee/pledge)”

(1Cor.6:11)”Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.“

With reference to the following verse, Fr. Thomas White, OP writes:

“the Spirit accomplishes the saving work of God, and he does so in concord with the saving activity of the Lord Jesus. God alone can save us, but according to Paul it is the Father who saves us through the activity of the Son and the Spirit. Therefore the Son and the Spirit each partake truly of the activity of God.”

We see again the close connection between God (the Father), the Lord Jesus, and the work of the Holy Spirit in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 where the role of the Spirit in the sanctification of believers is especially emphasized by Paul:

“But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord (Jesus), because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”

The Son and the Spirit perform salvific acts proper to God conjointly with the Father. Fourth, Paul indicates that the Son, too, plays a role in the sending of the Spirit. He does this especially insofar as he maintains that the Spirit the Father sends is the Spirit of his Son (in italics). Accordingly, we see the close connection between Christ and the mission of the Spirit in Galatians 4:6: “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying “Abba, Father”” Thus for St. Paul, the Spirit of God who is sent is the Spirit of both the Father and the Son (thus we get a trinitarian association- my addition). In Romans 8:9-10, St. Paul reiterates his emphasis that the Spirit is Christ’s own Spirit “…”

(p.93, The Trinity, on the Nature and Mystery of the one true God- TNM)

Then, we have the passage in (1Cor.12:4-6) which we discuss under the gifts of the Spirit.

Just as our own bodies have many members, so also in the one Spirit we (the many) were baptized into Christ’s body. Through drinking of the Spirit, we are incorporated into the body of Christ himself:

1Cor.12:12,13 “For just as the body is one and has many members (…) so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into (Christ’s) one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit”

In verses like the following, we see God, Christ and the Spirit are being spoken of literally “in the same breath”, as carrying out the same salvific action by acting in concert:

(2Cor.1:21,22) “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, who has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.”

Here the knowledge of the Father, Son and Spirit seem to be equated:

(2Cor.7-16 ) “God’s secret wisdom (v.7)…the Spirit searches…even the deep things of God (v.10) and knows what is truly God’s (just as) a human spirit that is within a human person knows what is truly human (v.11). But we can know these things since “to know the mind of the Lord” is to “have the mind of Christ” (v.16)

here we see “doxological” unity that is, co-equality in glory:

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

Galatians 4:4-6

Chapter has two passages that speak of the work of the Spirit, which convey the Spirit’s omnipresence: God “supplies” us with the Spirit (v.4), sent into our hearts (4:6), which is “received” by us (v.3). One entity cannot be received simultaneously by multiple entities, and at the same time it is the “Spirit if the Son” (4:6), thus all three are divine.

The Son is pre-existent in this verse since he pre-exists the his own birth. He is not subject to the Law as humans are, rather he is born into their manner of subjection. It is only by the action of the Divine Son in creation that we can even be called God’s children. This is the reason we are “adopted” whereas He is God’s “natural” Son. He pre-exists whatever kinship humanity might have with God. Note that v.6 is also trinitarian in that the Father sent the Holy Spirit “of” the Son into the hearts of humanity as a whole:

“(4) But when the fullness of time had come, God sent (ἐξαποστέλλω- send forth) his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (5) in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. (6) And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir through God.”

Ephesians 1,2,4

Ephesians 2:18 “For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 2:22 “In whom [Jesus] you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” (Eph 4:4-6)

This one’s weaker than the rest, but still worth mentioning:

Ephesians 1:17 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ (it does not say “our Lord” ,thus there is implied exclusivity to Jesus), the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

We see here the same schema used in the OT, with the Angel of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord sent from God. The Father sends the Spirit, the Spirit comes from the Father, all the prepositions indicate a personal distinction.

Titus 3:6 “Whom [the Holy Spirit] He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Hebrews 9:14 “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

(1 Peter 1:2) “To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood”

Of course, there are more passages that mention all three Trinity members (1 Co.12:4–6; Eph 1:13–14; 4:4–6; Jude 20–21), and many more that describe the relationships between the three persons of the Trinity which we quote when we describe the Nature of the Holy Trinity itself in the article of that name.

I Peter

“If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.” (1Pet.4:14)

Revelations

In the book of Revelations it is seen that the words of God/ Jesus/ the Spirit are all somewhat interchangeable, and are coveyed sometimes through an angel (s) and sometimes by God or Jesus. An example of such interchangeability is in chapter 2 when it is first introduced as the words of Jesus , who in turn is portrayed as God in the previous chapter “These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands…” (v.1), but then it ends with the Spirit speaking as God “Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.” (v.7).

Describing the Divinity of the Holy Spirit

In writing this article apart from the references I mention, I include a synopsis of over three hundred verses for the word “spirit” in the New Testament.

Omnipotence of the Spirit

Titles like “Holy” and “Spirit of Truth” belong intrinsically to God alone:

Holiness is a mark of omnipotence:

..the first and most proper title for the Holy Spirit is, in fact, Holy Spirit since no other name is more appropriate for a being which is incorporeal, immaterial and indivisible. For this reason the Lord informed the Samaritan woman that one must worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). She had believed that God must be worshipped only in certain places. He revealed to her, however, that an incorporeal being cannot be circumscribed…The Holy Spirit is called holy, as is the Father and the Son. Creatures receive holiness from the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is intrinsically holy. He is not sanctified but sanctifies…“

“God is Spirit”, “Spirit of the Father/Christ” worshipped in every place, his effects are wrought in every place. Further, All the varity of divine gifts are bestowed upon men by the same one Spirit, as we shall see. What else can bestow every coneivable divine blessing but God? And yet we are told that our unity before God is in the same on Spirit, which dwells in the hearts of all the believers at once and yet in m any places all over the world, into whose hearts the Spirit is “poured” and given “without measure. What else is “without measure” but God?

God is Spirit” (Jn 4:24) is only seen once in the Bible, and it is in the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, and in that passage Jesus is conveying to her that God is not localized to any place, as he is also explaining in the discussion with Nicodemus. Urban Wahlde comments in the Jerome:

“Jesus, in a play on the meaning of the Greek word pneuma and the Hebrew word ruah, says that the pneuma/ ruah “blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes, so is it with everyone that is born of the spirit”. Jesus thus gives a remarkeable compariseon with the action of the Spirit. ust as we do not see the actual wind, but only its effects, so it is with the Spirit, which can only be seen in its effects…” (Jerome 1393)

Omniscience of the Spirit

We’ve already seen this as evidence of the omniscience of the three Persons. In Jn 16:13-15,we see that the Spirit guides persons into “ALL truth” (omniscience), that this is “whatever he hears” (from the Father) (v.13), it’s what belongs to Jesus (Jesus’ omniscience) (v.14), ALL that the Father has is Jesus’ (Jesus’ omniscience) and it is what the Holy Spirit “takes” (Holy Spirits too has ALL) (v.15).

Holy Scripture refers to the Holy Spirit as Lord (2 Cor 3:14-18, 2 Thess 3:5). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father (Jn 15:26).” This phrase “Spirit of Truth” is also repeated in Jn 14:17, 16:13 and 1 Jn 4:6. “

Omniscience: The Spirit is incomprehensible just like the Father and Son

“…like (the Father and Son), the Holy Spirit is incomprehensible (Jn 14:17 “the world does not know him”, referring to the Spirit, cf. 17:25 the world does not know the Father, none know the Son or the Father Matt.11:27- commentary is my addition). The world, which is bound by the carnal life, cannot receive the Holy Spirit. But as the disciples were cleansed by the teaching of Christ and given the ability to see Spiritually (Jn 15:3- you are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you), so also can holy men can contemplate Him in purity of heart…“

-Adult Patristics Study – St. Basil the Great “On the Holy Spirit” Presented by: Brian Ephrem Fitzgerald, Ph.D. At St. Philip’s Antiochian Orthodox Church, Souderton, PA 16, 23, & 30 November 20

The Holy Spirit acting In and Through Jesus’ Own Divinity

The birth of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, and as acting in Jesus himself:

If jesus is God, it is hard to see how the Holy Spirit working so powerfully through Jesus can be anything but God himself. Neither do we need to presums tthe deity of Jesus to see the deity of the Spirit in these actions which are only fit for the Divine:

The miraculous birth of Jesus being “from the Holy Spirit” (Matt.1;18,20; Lk1:35,41). We see the action of Holy Spirit in Jesus himself: What else might “descend from Heaven”, but God? In none of the passages are we told that the Holy Spirit is “sent” rather it “descends” as of its own choosing. The HS “descends” upon Jesus “from Heaven”, “like a dove” (Jn 1:32,33, Lk and Mt have “descended”, and the Father’s voice came from Heaven); Jesus himself baptizes “with the Holy Spirit and fire”(Matt.3:11, Mk.1:8; Lk 3:16, Jn 1:33; Act 1:5;11:16); and is “led by the Spirit” (Mt.4:1; Mk.1:12); the Father’s Spirit is “upon” Jesus (Mt.12:18, Lk 4:18) who is “filled with” (LK 4:1) of whom he is “filled with the power of “(Lk 4:14); and “rejoiced in” (Lk 10:21), gives instructions through (Act 1:2); pours out (Act 2:33) is himself vindicated in (or by) (1 Thes 3:16); Jesus anointed with the HS “and with power” (Act 10:38), declares “Jesus as Son of God with power” (Rom 1:4). As the Jerome records with regards to the Gospel of Luke, “Jesus’ whole life was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:35; 3:22; 4:14, 18; 23:46)..” (p.1451).

The Holy Spirit as the Power of God in the Believers

Jesus’ followers filled with the Spirit

John “filled with the H.S” (Lk 1:15) so is Zechariah (Lk1:67), the spirit rests upon Simeon (Lk 2:25); upon the aspostles (Act 1:8); filled the apostles (Act 2:4; 4:31) poured out on all flesh (Act 2:17,18), on Peter (Act 4:8), men for ministry (Act 6:3); filled Stephen (Act 6:5; 7:55), received by new believers (Act 8:15,16,17,18,19; 10:44, 45, 47; 11:15. 15:8; 19:2,6), fills Paul (Act 9:17, 13:9); Barnabas (Act 11;24); disciples (Act 13:52), I…have the Spirit of God (1 Cor 7:40) followers receive (2 Cor 11:14, Gal 3:2,3; 6:1) Paul tells us to “be filled with” (Eph 5:18) “the spirit of glory (or “and of power”), which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you” (1Pet4:14)

Gives Scripture, prophecy, divine wisdom

David by the Spirit confesses to the deity of Christ “(Mt 22;43, Mk 12:36), Jesus instructs the disciples “through the Holy Spirit”:“until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” “Will testify on my (Jesus’) behalf” (Jn 15:26); “will guide you into all the truth… will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (Jn16:13); (Acts 1:2) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8); gives Scripture confessing the deity of Christ (Act1:16), David prophesied (Act 4:25), witnesses to the Scriptural events (Act 5:32; 15:8); gives Scripture (Act 28:25); all of 1 Cor 211-15 “no one but the Spirit of God comprehends what is truly God’s”, by him we understand, interpret, speak, discern spiritual gifts; “no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by” (1 Cor 12:13); “a letter of Christ…written with the Spirit of the living God…on… human hearts” (2 Cor 3:3); “new covenant…of spirit” (2 Cor 3:6); “mystery (of Christ) revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by…”(Eph.3:5); “the message of the Gospel came to you…in the Holy Spirit” (1Thes1:5); “you received the Word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit ” (1 Thes 1:6); Spirit gives prophecy about later times (1Tim 4:1); quoting OT Scripture (Heb 3:7, 9:8; 10:15) “the Spirit of Christ within (the prophets)… testified in advance to the sufferings destined for Christ and the subsequent glory.” (2 Pet 1:11) the Holy Spirit “revealed to (the prophets) that they were serving not themselves but you, in regard to the things that have now been announced to you through those who brought you good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look!” (1Pet1:12) “no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Pet 1:21); “Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.” (2 Tim 1:14); Gives divine power and authority when Holy Spirit makes overseers (Act 20:28), the power in Paul’s ministry of “wonders and signs” and in “proclaiming” the word of God (Rom15:19); Paul here equates the “demonstration of the Spirit and of power” with the “power of God”:”speech and my proclamation were… a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,…the power of God” (1Cor 2:4); “ministry of the Spirit… in glory” (2 Cor 3:8); “Word of God is the Sword of…” (Eph 6:17)

Gives Birth to the Church and Inspires its Mission in Acts

The Jerome records the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church and its Mission in Acts:

The period of the Church is the age of the Spirit. The disciples dared not begin withiut it, they had to wait (1:4), and pray (1:14; 2:1) fuor it.” (p1456)…”The promise of a baptism by a new Spirit filled with “power from on high” (Lk.24:29) is alluded tp in severa; prophetic texts (Joel 2:28-32; Isa 32:15; 44:3; Ezek 36:25-26)…” (p1457)

“Just as Jesus’ whole life was “filled with the Spirit” (see earlier), Luke -in Acts continues to show that it was the same Spirit that gave birth to the Church (2:1-4), inspired a community of believers to “share all things in common” (2:44), and united them “in one heart and mind” (4: 32). Furthermore, it is through the empowerment of the Spirit that the apostles, as well as other women and children were able to boldly give witness to the risen Christ as the Messiah (2:14 – 41; 3: 11-26; 4: 8-12; 7: 2-53; 10: 34-43; 13: 16-41; 17: 22-31). More importantly, Luke takes special interest to show that the mission to the gentiles was directly initiated and guided by the Holy Spirit. It was through the action of the Spirit that Philip was led away from Jerusalem to initiate the Samaritan mission (8: 5), which Peter and John verified (8: 14-15). The same Spirit guided Philip to her southern desert road of Gaza to encounter and convert the Ethiopian eunuch who probably brought the message of Jesus Christ to the southernmost end of the earth (8: 26-39 ). But it was through Peter- a leading pillar of the Jerusalem church- the gentile mission was officially recognised. Luke masterfully shows that the Spirit carefully guided Peter to go to the House of the gentile Cornelius to preach, baptise and have table fellowship. This watershed conversion, which was also known as the “gentile Pentecost” because the Holy Spirit was poured out on the gentiles in a way similar to that for the Jewish disciples in the upper room, help validate the legitimacy of the gentile mission at the Jerusalem council (15: 7-11; See also 11:1-18 ). Thus the stage was set for Paul to carry the message of salvation to the ends of the earth. Acts shows that the Spirit intervenes directly in the life of Paul and the mission of the church. The Spirits sends Paul and his companions on missionary journeys (13: 4; 16: 9), causes decisions to be taken (15: 28; 19: 21), disrupted plans (16: 6, 7), testified before kings and rulers (20: 21; 23: 11; 24: 10-21; 27: 23-24) and even appointed leaders ( 20: 28 )…” (p1451)

Giving speech and guiding the heart:

The disciples not fear what words they are to say, but will be given them by the Spirit (Mt.10:20; Mk 13:11, Lk 12:11,12); who “reveals” to and “guides” Simeon (Lk 2:26,27), Peter speaks by (Act 4:8, 10:19, 11:12), disciples speak by (Acts 4:31); spoke through Stephen (Act 6:10), through Philip (Act 8:29), Agabus (Act 11:28); instructing and sending the apostles (Act 13:2,4; 15:28; 16:6,7- “Spirit of Jesus”, 21:4, 21:11), instructs and directs Paul (Act 19:21; 20:22,23), confirms Pauls conscience (Rom 9:1); “live by” (Gal 5:16); “are led by ” (Gal 5:18) “led by…be guided by” (Gal 5:25) “All who obey his commandments abide in (Jesus), and he abides in them. And by this we know that (Jesus) abides in us, by the Spirit that (God) has given us.” (1Jn 3:24) “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,” (1Jn 4:2,3) “spirit of truth (enables to know God)” (1Jn4:6) “by this we know that we abide in (God) and he in us, because (God) has given us of his Spirit.” (1Jn 4:13) “…the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth…there are three that testify, the Spirit…” (1Jn 5:6,7,8); “the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Rev 2:7,11,17, 29; 3:6,13, 22) “the Spirit and the bride say ‘come!'” (Rev 22:17).

As “gift” that is “given” by the Father

HS is “given” by the Father (Lk 11:13; 1John3:24). What else can be “without measure, but God”, yet the Father “gives the Spirit without measure” (Jn 3:34); it is gifted to us (Act 2:38); Paul prays “God supply you with…” (Gal 3:5) God “sent the Spirit of his Son (Gal 4:6) “gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thes 4:8), “pours out on us richly” (Tit 3:6)

The Spirit Sanctifies

“our offering “sanctified and made acceptable” by (Romans 15:16); sanctifies, justifies in the name of (1 Cor 6:11) “sanctification by” (2 Thes 2:13, 1 Pet 1:2); Baptismal renewal by (Titus 3:5)

The Spirit giving Divine Gifts and Divine Help

The Holy Spirit comforts (Act 9:31), and act which is attributed to the God, the “Father of all consolation” (2 Cor1:3-4); gives the power to prophesy (Acts 2:17,18), speak in tongues (Act 2:4), Philip is carried away by (Act 8:39), is God’s love that is poured into our hearts (Rom 5:5); “the Kingdom of God….is righteousness and peace and Joy in the Spirit ” (Rom.14:17) The Deity is called God of Hope, yet hope is through the Spirit’s power: “the God of hope… abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom.15:13) and we are “strengthened in your inner being with power through” (Eph 3:16); Fruits of the Spirit…” (Gal 5:22) “God (gave us)… a spirit of…power and of love and of self-discipline” (2Tim.1:7), as Advocate (Jn 14:26; 15:26); as helping (Phil 1:19); (Heb 2:4); we “speak mysteries in”.

Unity of the Spirit in us, through the diverse Gifts

The passage from 1 Corinthians 12 asserts the oneness of the Spirit through the giving of all the divine gifts by him. We are baptised into the one Spirit, while Romans 6 states that we are baptised into Christ. There are “varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit” (12:4), and “each is given a manifestation (phanerosis) of the Spirit” (12:7), both implying omnipresence, while the giving of divine gifts itself belongs to omnipotence. The passage goes further along these lines “Wisdom, knowledge…in the same spirit (en to auto pneumati)” (12:8) “faith…same Spirit…healing…in the one Spirit (en to heni Pneumati)” (12:9) “other gifts” listed (12:10) “all by same spirit…” (12:11). Paul says that according the gifts of God to humans beings are of the Spirits’s choosing (bouletai, v.11) “gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his (God’s) will.” (kata ten autou thelesin Heb.2:4). Further we can further concerrence of God and Spirit in this passage: While the gifts corresponds to “same Spirit” (v.2), the services and activities correspond to God/Lord (v.5,6). Finally the gifts are “actived” (energei, v.11) by the Spirit, and also by the Father (energon, v.6).

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit (to de auto Pneuma); and there are varieties of service (diakonion), but the same Lord (ho autos kurios); and there are varieties of activities (energematon), but it is the same God (ho de autos Theos) who empowers/activates (ho energon) them all in everyone.  To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit (phanerosis tou pneumatos) for the common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another the working of powerful deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are activated (energei) by one and the same Spirit (to hen kai to auto pneuma), who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.“

Further, we have a “unity of the Spirit” (Eph 4:3); we are “standing firm in one spirit” (Phil 1:17); “sharing in the Spirit “(Phil 2:1); “love in the Spirit” (Col.1:8), while the Spirit is “shared in” by us (Heb 6:4). (1Cor 14:2); and “in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (12:13); “communion of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor13:13).

Gives Life and Freedom

We are given “new life of the spirit” that supercedes the “written code” (Rom 7:6), ” the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set (us) free from the law of sin and of death.” (Rom 8:2), “the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk… according to the Spirit. ” (Rom 8:4); we live according to the Spirit (Rom 8:5); for us, to “set the mind on the Spirt” is “life and peace”(Rom 8:6); “But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Rom 8:10); the “Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6) “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17); “born according to” (Gal 4:29) and “reap eternal life from” the Spirit (Gal 6:8)

The first discussion about the Holy Spirit in John is introduced by Jesus himself in the 3rd chapter, where he says “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” (3:5), clearly indicating that the Spirit gives life “what is born of SPirit is spirit ” (3:6). Again we see: “…come to me, and…drink…living water…about the Spirit…to receive”. Thus the Spirit comes from Jesus to be with the believers, and to give life: “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive, for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)

The Holy Spirit Dwells in us

We are “in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in (us). Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Rom 8:9); “the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you”(Rom 8:11); ” if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Rom 8:13); “the Holy Spirit living in us” (1Tim1:14) “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’ (James 4:5)

“Temple of God”

In the Gospels, we have Jesus referring to his own Body as the New Temple of God (Mk.14:58, Jn.2:19,20). The theme of the believers as Temples of the Holy Spirit and of God is prominent in St Paul’s letters to the Corinthians.

First we have him saying: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1Cor.3:16)

and then: “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in you ὸ σῶμα ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν Ἁγίου Πνεύματός ἐστιν” (1Cor 6:19)

In the same chapter, we have: “the (believer’s) body is meant (…) for the Lord (Jesus) and the Lord for the body (v.13)…your bodies are members of Christ (v.15)…(as) one spirit (united) with him (v.17)…a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you (v.19)…therefore glorify God in your body (doxasate ton Theon en to somati hymon-v.20)” (1Cor 6:13-20).

Clearly, God and the Spirit are equated here, since only the presence of God could make a place fit to be called “Temple”. Indeed Paul says elsewhere “we are the Temple of the Living God  (ἡμεῖς γὰρ ναὸς Θεοῦ ἐσμεν ζῶντος)” (2Cor6:16) once again, making this direct equivalency between God and the Spirit.

Taken along with the assertion of Jesus in the Gospels as himself as that Temple, we once again have a strong Trinitarian implication when we combine these verses. Jesus does not say that he is the Temple inside which God lives, rather he himself is God-in-his-Temple at which the new believers will worship.

Makes us Children of God, Sealing, Guaranteeing

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Rom 8:14b); “…you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba!^* Father!’” (Rom 8:15b); “…it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Rom 8:16); “we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom 8:23); “putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment” (2 Cor 1:22); “God…has given us…as a guarantee” (2 Cor 5:5); “receive the promise of” (Gal 3:14)we wait for the hope of righteousness through (Gal 5:5) “you were marked with the seal of…” (Eph 1:13) “through him (we) have access in one Spirit to the Father.” (Eph 2:18)

Helps us to pray and intercedes for us

“the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Rom 8:26); “And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:27) “by the love of the Spirit to join me (Paul)in earnest prayer” (Rom 15:30); These are related to praying in tongues: “pray with…sing praise with” (1 Cor 14;15); “say a blessing with” (1 Cor 14:16); “Pray in the…” (Eph 6:18) “we…worship in the Spirit of God” (Phil 3:3) “pray in the spirit” (Jud1:20);

Opposing the Spirit of Love is a Primary Evil

Jesus is clear that the Holy Spirit is God, the one that categorically cannot be blasphemed against. Who else can be its object but God? “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Luke 12:10-12; 3:29, Mt 12:31,32). Again, neither is the Holy Spirit to be lied against (Act 5:3,9), and is the one that is opposed by evil persons (Act 7:51) who “quench the Spirit” (1Thes 5:19) and “outraged” the Spirit of grace” (Heb 10:29), being “devoid of the Spirit” (Jude 1:19). Thus evil is an act that is directly opposed to the Nature of the Spirit, because it is the divine Nature itself.

The Holy Spirit and Friendship with God- Aquinas in SCG

Herwi Rikhof comments on Aquinas’ SCG IV, ch. 20-22. I’ve spelt out the Scripture passages referred to for ease of use:

“…(Aquinas) discovers in contemplating the various texts about the Spirit from the gospels (mainly John) and the Epistles (mainly Paul) is that they can be best understood as texts about friendship. To put it differently, Aquinas proposes friendship as the model that makes sense of the biblical data about the Spirit. In both chapters he introduces elements that constitute friendship that are “proper” to friendship in order to show why in Scripture the working of the Spirit is presented as it is.

Of course, Aquinas does not invent that model in the sense that he introduces something completely new. He builds upon Scripture. The first quotation in chapter 21 is Rom. 5: 5 where Paul speaks about the caritas dei “that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us”. Aquinas, in his commentary on that passage, remarks that caritas dei can be understood in two ways: either the love with which God loves us, or the love with which we love God. The double meaning corresponds to the mutual relationship that is characteristic of friendship. Aquinas also quotes John 15:15, where the Lord says to his disciples that he no longer calls them servants but friends. In his commentary on that text Aquinas again remarks that “friend” has a double meaning: the one that loves and the one that is loved. In chapter 21 he adds that we are God’s friends through the Holy Spirit.

In his analysis on friendship and of what is proper to friendship, Aquinas is clearly inspired by Aristotle. He mentions the following characteristics. It is proper to friendship to be one of heart, to be one of one affect, to reveal one’s secrets. That is why it is so appropriate for Scriptures say that the Spirit reveals to us God’s mysteries (1Cor 2:9-10 ““What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him”- God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God”; cf. 14:2 “those who speak in tongues…are speaking mysteries in the Spirit”), that under certain circumstances the Spirit will speak through us (Matt 10:20), and that men moved by the Spirit spoke of God (2 Pet 1:21; (…))

It is proper to friendship that a friend is an alter ego, so that friends share what they have, want the best for each other, do the best for each other. That is why it is so appropriate to say that all God’s gifts are given to us through the Spirit (1 Cor 12:8), that we, by the zeal of the Spirit, are configured to God (2 Cor 1:21-22 “ But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, who has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.“ ; Eph 1:13-14 you…were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit…the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people), and that, through the Spirit, become adoptive children of God (Rom 8:15).

It is proper to friendship that offences are removed, for offences and friendship are contrary. And since we are friends of God through the Spirit, it is appropriate to say that through the Spirit our sins are forgiven (Jn 20:22 “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive…”), that those who blaspheme against Spirit do not receive forgiveness (Mt.12: 31) and that the Spirit renews and cleans (Ps.103:30; Eph 4:23 “be renewed in the spirit of your minds…”- NRSV this is a rather difficult translation, but if it can be seen that the clause “spirit of your mind” does not really make sense, so spirit here should rather be taken as an agent itself “renewed of your mind…in the spirit” ananeousthai de twi pneumati tou noos hymon- my addition; Jam. 4:4,5 “God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”).

It is very proper to friends to converse with one another. Our conversation with God is by contemplating him. We contemplate God through the Spirit. That is why the apostle says that we behold the glory of God by the Spirit (2 Cor 3:18 “all of us with unveiled faces…are being transformed into the…image…this comes form the Lord, the Spirit”). It is property of friendship to enjoy your friend’s company and in anxiety to seek a friend’s support and comfort. That is why Scripture says that we, through the Spirit, enjoy God (Rom 4:17 (?); cf. Act 9:31 “…living in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers”), and why the Spirit is called the Paraclete, that is, Comforter (Jn 14: 26).

It is proper to friendship to consent to a friend’s will. To consent to God’s will is to fulfil his precepts, and we do that through the Spirit. Hence Paul says that whoever acts by the Spirit is a child of God (Rom 8: 14 “all who are led by the Spirit of God are the Children of God”). Aquinas adds a reminder: this acting by the Spirit does not entail force and violence but is done in such a way that we freely become children of God. That is why Paul says that we have not received a Spirit of slavery but of sonship (Rom 8:15).

By explaining the texts about the Spirit on the model of friendship, Aquinas indicates the proper way of dealing with God and of thinking about God should be characterised by surplus and surprise, by luxury and abundance, and not by demands and needs or by rights and rewards. To give in order to get might be a natural pattern of expectation in society, and it might also be the “natural” way of dealing with God and thinking about God, but it does not fit friendship and certainly not the divine friendship which is at the heart of our belief in the Trinity.”

(p.53,54, in The Theology of Thomas Aquinas, ed. Eric Van Nieuwenhove and Joseph Wawrikow, 2005 University of Notre Dame Press)

The Holy Spirit and the Fulfilment of Scripture- “Living Water”

We see a profusion of instances of the Holy Spirit acting in the Old Testament and I have a detailed analysis in the relevant article under the same name. Here we will attempt to summarize the scope of the Holy Spirit in the BIble, tying it in with its signification in the New Testament.

First, we see that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit (Ruach Elohim) is mentioned in the very second verse of the Bible right after God (Elohim) himself is mentioned in the first. Throughout the ancient texts, the Holy Spirit “comes upon” prophets, supplying to them the wisdom and strength of God himself. In one of the last books of the Old Testment we are told what role the Hoy Spirit is to play in the destiny of man, and we look at a short summary of that book here, that of Joel.

The entire Book of Joel is seemingly devoted to a description of the Last Day, the Day of the Lord, itself is profusely referenced in the Old Testament, and later even by Jesus himself in the Gospels. Famously, we are told therein that prior to these final events, something else will come to pass: God’s Holy Spirit will be poured upon “all flesh” (2:28,29), and by which wonderful and supernatural gifts will be bewtowed upon “everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord (2:32). Then on comes Judgement: we are told there will be “multitudes, multides in the valley of decision” (3:14), God will “gather all the nations” (v.3:2) and he will then “enter into judgement with them there” (3:2,12). This judgement is referred to God at the head of a “vast” and “numberless” army (2:11) bringing judgement upon sinners. He will “roar from Zion” (3:16), “truly the day of the Lord is great, who can endure it?” (2;11). Clearly the occasion is filled with heavenly portents that signify the end of things as we know them (2:30, 3:15).

However it is also clear that for the righteous, this is the defnitive favourable outcome they have been waiting for all through the ages. For that same terrible Day will be a refuge for those who hose who are his own (2:23,26,27; 3:16), who repent and turn to God with all their heart (2:12-14), and call upon his Name (2:32). We will now “know” that God dwells in Zion (2:17,27; 3:17,21, also several others like Ez 37:26-28), all of which is the fulfilment of the “new covenant” whereby God will write his law in people’s hearts so that none will have to depend on another for information about God “for they shall all know me” and God will “remember thier iniquity no more” (Jerermiah 31:31-34). The mention of the spirit being in the believers’ is seem again when God says “I will put my Spirit within you”, so that the people “will be clean form all your uncleanliness” through the act decribed “I will sprinkle clean water upon you” (Ezekiel 36:24-28) and again:

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass
like willows by flowing streams. This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s,’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.” (Is 44:3-6)

Thus already we are seeing the definitive action of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament for the Redemption of all humankind, which as being through the “sprinkling of clean water” by God (Ez 36:25). The water is described at the scene at the “entrance of the Temple”, “flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the Temple, south of the altar” (Ez 47:1), growing in dimensions until it was “a river that could not be crossed (47:5). These are the effects of that water:

“when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing” (Ez 47:8-12, cf. Ps 92:13-15, Is 44:3).

Thus we can see that it is the Holy Spirit which is symbolized as “water”, as something that purifies, refreshes and is life-giving, flowing out from the very Temple of God as his intended gift to his Creation that brings the final and definitive fulfilment of the covenant promises of God to hsi people. Dwelling in the heart of the believer, it brings about the transformation whereby we may be united with God. Thus Jesus promises “the Holy Spirit, the Advocate whom the Father will send in my Name to teach you all things…” (Jn 14:26), “who will never leave you…who leads into all truth…who lives with you…will be in you” (Jn 14:17). In discussion with the Samaritan woman we already saw that Jesus is making it clear that because “God is Spirit” (4:24), we will no more require to worship at any geographical location, rather “in Spirit and in Truth” (4:23), and as God’s “Messiah” (4:25,26), he will give the “gift of God”, which is “living water” (4:10) which “will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (4:14). Thus Jesus is referring to the fulfilment the promises of the book of Joel.

“Living water” should certainly be taken for to mean the Holy Spirit, as Jesus makes clear in his dialogue with Nicodemus that those who are to live forever must be born “anew/from above” (gennethe anothen 13 occ., always “from above/the beginning”); “of water and the Spirit” (ex hydatos kai pneumatos) (3:3,5,7), and indeed he indicates that the two are nothing but synonymous when he says “what is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit” (3:6). After all, it is Jesus’ own words which are “spirit and life” (6:63). The author of John helps us along by clearly indicates this undersanding of Jesus’ saying: “ On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds: 

“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him…” (7:37-38).

Thus we can say that it is through Jesus words that we will receive the promised Spirit and in that Eternal Life with God and the fulfilment of all Scripture and God’s promises and covenant to us. The Jerome notes that what Jesus is doing here is pesher exegesis, that “the words of Jesus are not meant ot be an exact quote but rather an already re-interpreted text” (p.1411). The Jerome surmizes it might be a passage like Ps105.4 “he opened the rosck and water flowed out; it ran in dry places like a river” with with a resignification depitin the fulfilment of the text in Jesus, thus the “he” is not not Mose but Jesus, the rock is the side of Jesus and the water the Holy Spirit. A similar instance is 6:31 when the people say “he gave them bread from Heaven to eat”, a probably reference to Ex.16:4, Ps.78:24, Wis.16:20. Jesus repleis “it was not Moses that gave you the read from heaven but my father gives you true bread from Heaven” (6:32). Thus the Jerome notes (p.1406) that here again in this “pesher exegesis, the original quote is reworded in order to make the ciatation apply to something that is seen as the fulfilment of the original verse. In this case (…):1. God the Father, no Moses; 2. Not “gave (…) but “gives in the present time; 3. the “true bread” i.e., not the manna (…) but Jesus (…) will be the source of life for those who accept him”.

Indeed in the Old Testament (probably the passages Jesus is referencing in 7:38), we can point to three usages of the term: Twice God calls himself the “Fountain of Living Water” (Jer 2:13, 17:13), and in Zecheriah, in yet another reference to the Day of the Lord in a passage very similar to the one that we quoted from Joel, when:

“… the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there shall not be either cold or frost. And there shall be continuous day (it is known to the Lord), not day and not night, for at evening time there shall be light. On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter. And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” (Zech 14:5b-6).

This is also closely reflected and fulfilled in the very last chapter of the Bible Revelations 22:1-5 and Isaiah 44:3-5.

We end with a summary from the Jerome (p.1393) which details “In 7:37-39, Jesus will again offer the Spirit and we will read that the Spirit will not actually be given until the time of Jesus’ glorification. In the Farewell Discourses, Jesus will explain the various functions of the Spirit and on the eve of the Resurrection, he will actually bestow the Spirit upon his disciples”.

Appendix

Six entires for “Spirit of the Lord” in the Bible:

Isaiah 61:1; Wisdom 1:7; Luke 4:18 (cf. is.61:1); re: Ananias and lying “(Acts 5:9); Phillip snatched way by (Act 8:39); the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”(2 Cor 3:17) “the glory of the Lord (transforms us) this comes from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18)

“Spirit of God”- 26 entries in the Bible, of which 12 in the NT:

“descended upon him ilke a dove “(Mt 3:16)”I cast out spirits by” (Mt12:28); “dwells in you” (Rom8:9; 14) “comprehends what is truly God’s (1Cor2:11); “the spirit of glory (or “and of power”), which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you” (1Pet4:14); “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,” (1John4:2). I’ve been through the rest and there is no need to repeat them here.

Spirit of Truth: Jn 15:26, Jn 14:17, 16:13 and 1 Jn 4:6.

Spirit of Christ: Rom 8:9; 1 Pet 1:11

Spirit of Jesus: Acts 16:7; Phil. 1:19

Jerome’s description of the Holy Spirit in John as compared with the Synoptics

The Jerome commentary comments on how the John, of all the Gospels has a focus on the Spirit, and intensity of description which we see again only in the epistles:

“Jesus repeatedly promises the Spirit to those who believe in him (3:3-6; 4:10-15; 7:37-39, 19:30; 20:22)…this is a major difference from the synoptics. To be sure, all the Gospels speak of Jesus as the one who baptizes “in the Spirit” (Mk 1:8; Matt 3:11; Lk 3:16) but in the Synoptic Gospels there is no other place in his public ministry where Jesus speaks of giving his Spirit. It is in the Acts of the Apostles that we read that the spirit was bestowed on the aspotles fifty days after the Resurrection (2:1-21). According to John, Jesus bestows the Spirit on the evening of the Resurrection (10:22).” (Jerome, 1379,80).

The Jerome then goes on to give a synopsis of the discussion of the Spirit in John:

“…Verse 5 is arguably one of the most important verses of the Gospel. From here, near the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, to the very end of the Gospel, there will be a focus on the Spirit. Here Jesus focuses on the importance of rebirth from the Spirit.. in chapter 4 we will see his promise to the Samaritan woman that the Spirit will be like living waters bubbling up to eternal life. In 7:37-39, Jesus will again offer the Spirit and we will read that the Spirit will not actually be given until the time of Jesus’ glorification. In the Farewell Discourses Jesus wil explain the various functions of the Spirit, and on the evening of the Resurrection, he will actually bestow the Spirit upon the disciples…” (Jerome,1393).