That the Holy Spirit is one of three equally powerful, equally important deities comprising the Biblical Godhead has been accepted as fact since the fourth century when the Catholic Church, bowing to her heathen “converts,” concocted a trinity of personages who changed over time. As this posting will reveal, the theory supporting a three-in-one Godhead has no Scriptural basis. A thorough study of the Holy Bible will provide no proof that the Holy Spirit is an actual being capable of independent acts, speech or thought. The Scriptures normally used by Trinitarians in an attempt to prove their case for a three-membered Godhead will be addressed.

But before determining what the Holy Spirit is not, it will be beneficial to the Truth-seeker to determine exactly what is the Holy Spirit. This series of postings consists of Scriptural proof that the Holy Spirit is not an equal partner in the Divine Godhead, but is in fact the impersonal power or force shared by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us put first things first. To determine the identity of the Holy Spirit we must first answer the question: WHO IS THE FATHER OF JESUS CHRIST? Once this question has been answered, all other considerations will fall into place.

In Matthew 1:20 an angel is speaking to Joseph concerning Mary: “… for that which is conceived in her IS OF THE HOLY GHOST.” This seems to show that Jesus was BEGOTTEN BY THE HOLY GHOST. We then read what the archangel Gabriel told Mary in Luke 1:30,31,35 concerning her soon-coming pregnancy: “… fear not Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shall call His name Jesus.” Mary then asks the question that highlights this discussion–how all this was to take place in that she was a virgin? “And the angel answered and said unto her ‘THE HOLY (SPIRIT) shall come upon thee, and (even) the POWER OF GOD shall overshadow (come upon) thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the SON OF GOD.'” Note that Gabriel did not call Jesus the Son of the Holy Spirit, but rather the “SON OF GOD.” This statement has led the masses to assume that the Holy Spirit is a God. Note in Psalm 2:1-7 Whom David recognized as “the” Lord. “The Lord (God) said to my (David’s) Lord (the Word who would become Jesus Christ), ‘… thou art My Son, this day I have begotten THEE.'” If “the Lord” Who begat Jesus as noted in Psalms 2 is the Holy Spirit, then the Holy Spirit is Jesus’ Father. Is this true? Or did the Lord God beget Jesus as His Son using the power of the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit is an equal member of a three-membered Godhead, then the Holy Spirit is in fact the Father of Jesus Christ and all saints in that both Jesus and the saints all have the same Father. Nowhere does God say that the Holy Spirit is the father of Jesus or His saints. For if this were so then Jesus was praying to the Holy Spirit when He said, “… O My Father” (Mat. 26:39). He was not; He was praying to “Our Father in heaven” (Mat. 6:9), the same Father in heaven to whom He told His disciples to pray, Who was also their Father. Nowhere are we told to pray to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is no one’s father. That Jesus’ brethren have the same Father as does He is proved by John 20:17. Here Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb expecting to be allowed inside to care for Jesus’ body. She was met at the tomb by Jesus Who said to her “… touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to MY FATHER AND YOUR FATHER, MY GOD AND YOUR GOD.” Here Jesus is telling true saints that He and they have the same Father/God. Saints must acknowledge this in prayer. Nowhere is the saint told that the Holy Spirit is our God, our Father, our Savior, the object of their prayers or the answerer of their prayers. We are told to worship God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not told to worship the Holy Spirit because it is not a God.

As a man, Jesus was called “good” by an admirer. Jesus corrected him, telling him that He, a man, was not “good,” that ONLY GOD (not Gods) IS (not are) GOOD.” The word “God” used in this instance is the Greek word “theos”–in this case referring to a singular deity Who IS (not are) good. Jesus was saying that only A SINGULAR GOD–THEOS– WAS GOOD. If the Holy Spirit is a Theos equal to the other Theos, Jesus would have acknowledged that both were good. Notice that in their salutations to individuals and churches the apostles mention only Father and Son, never the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit were an equal God, they would have acknowledged as much.

In John 10:30 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” If the Holy Spirit was an equal God, Jesus would have said, “I and the Gods are one.” If the Spirit was His Father, He would have said, “I, the Father and God are one.”

Philip, who was looking at Jesus, said, “Lord, show us THE (ONE) FATHER.” Did he not want to see the Holy Spirit also? When Jesus replied, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (Jn. 14:9). Would not Philip have seen the Holy Spirit also? No in answer to both questions in that there was no other God. To be continued.