In Paul’s letters to the churches he routinely greeted the people in the name of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Why did he slight the Holy Spirit if it was an equal God? The Holy Spirit is the entity by which Father and Son are everywhere, including in the churches, at all times. Paul and the other apostles greeted the churches in the name of the two Gods that were not in the churches, but were in fact in heaven as numerous verses prove.

That the Godhead (Father and Son) is everywhere at all times by way of the entity known as the Holy Spirit is nowhere more graphically brought out than in Psalms 139:7-13. Here David notes that there was no place on, under or above the earth where his God (“Thou”) could not be found at all times. Notice, however, that God said through His prophets and apostles that both He and His Son were/are in heaven on their respective thrones. How can they be in a specific location in the northern heavens and, at the same time, be everywhere in the universe? Jesus explained how this is possible during a conversation He had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. Here He told the confused man that a spirit is like the wind–both everywhere and invisible but all-powerful in terms of making things happen anywhere and everywhere. He gave the wind as an illustration–everywhere and unseen, but able to make things happen (Jn. 3). Jesus’ Words to Nicodemus mesh perfectly with David’s words to God when he said that no matter where he was– heaven, hell, the sea–God “Thou” was everywhere at all times, “leading” and “holding” David. That same “Thou” had “covered” David while in his mother’s womb. In verse seven David said: “Whither shall I go (to get away) from thy SPIRIT? Or whether shall I flee from thy “PRESENCE?”–panim (faces). The word “presence” is used 67 times in the plural in the Scriptures. Examples are found in Genesis 16:12 where the angel told Hagar that her son Ishmael would “… dwell in the presence (panim-faces) of his brethren, and in 25:18 where it is said that Ishmael died “… in the presence (panim) of his brethren.” Ishmael lived and died among his brethren. The “FACES” David was referring to were the faces of God the Father and His Son the Word (Jn. 1:1-4,14). The Holy Spirit has no face or bodily presence. The Spirit is the omnipresent power of the Godhead that is everywhere at all times. God and Jesus are in one place at a time; They are everywhere through their Holy Spirit. God is on His throne and Jesus is at His right hand, as the Scriptures proclaim. The two members are present in one place at a time while Their Spirit is everywhere at all times. Notice that the Holy Spirit is called “the Spirit OF the Lord” (Acts 5:9), “the Spirit OF God” (Mat. 3:16), and “the Spirit OF Jesus” (Rom. 8:9). Nowhere in Scripture is Jesus called the Son of the Holy Spirit, nor is God called either the Father or the God of the Holy Spirit. Yet Jesus is called the Son of God and God is called both the Father and God of Jesus (Jn. 20:17). Jesus is never called the Christ of the Spirit, yet He is called the Christ of God (Acts 4:26). The Holy Spirit serves the two members of the Godhead as Their power by which they do what they do and say what they say. That God views His Spirit and His power as one is clearly brought out in Acts 10:38 where it is written that God anointed Jesus with the HOLY SPIRIT and with POWER by which He “… went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for GOD WAS WITH HIM (in the presence of His Holy Spirit). Notice that Jesus could do what He did only because of the presence of God’s Spirit/power. Until God sent His Spirit to Him, Jesus had done nothing in terms of ministry. It is that same Spirit that empowers God’s ministers to preach the Truth, heal the sick, cast out demons, etc.  The Holy Spirit fills the universe while Father and Son are on their thrones in heaven (Heb. 8:1/Acts 2:32-34). Following His resurrection, Jesus told the apostles that the Spirit was with them and would be in them, but that He would return to the Father. In John 20:21,22 we find that Jesus has appeared to His apostles following His resurrection. He told them that He is sending them into the world exactly as the Father had sent Him. Then He anointed them with the same power with which God anointed Him at the beginning of His ministry: “… He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive ye the Holy Spirit.'” They, as Jesus was as a man, would have been powerless without the Holy Spirit–God’s Power.

God’s firstfruits (the New Covenant Church) are begotten in the same way that Mary was impregnated– by an act of God using His Holy Spirit/power. The angel told her that God’s “POWER” would “COME UPON HER” and “OVERSHADOW HER”–cause her to conceive. Her Offspring would be called the SON OF GOD, not the Son of the Holy Spirit. The true Christian is begotten when he is spiritually “impregnated” by the Holy Spirit entering his/her heart/mind and taking up residence. In the same way that Mary carried Jesus to term at which time He was born into the world, following conversion the Holy Spirit “carries” (leads-Rom. 8:14) the believer to term (Christ’s return), at which time he/she will be “born” into the Kingdom of God (born again).

Notice Ephesians 1:13: “… in Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of (which will lead you to) your salvation, in Whom also, after that ye believed, ye were SEALED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE.” GOD seals the true convert WITH the Holy Spirit. In Second Cor- inthians 1:21,22 the same writer says that it is “… GOD who also SEALED US by GIVING US … THE SPIRIT IN OUR HEARTS.” God seals His saints by giving them His Spirit in their hearts/minds. He also speaks, acts, bades, etc. through His Spirit. No one has ever heard the voice of God the Father or seen His form (Jn. 5:37), therefore He must communicate with man by His Spirit.  One of those men was Jesus of Nazareth Who knew that, as a man, He was dependent on God’s Spirit for everything He had and did. We are to do likewise. Nowhere does God devalue His Spirit; He values it as He values His Son. This is proven by the fact that one can blaspheme both Father and Son and receive forgiveness. Not so with the Holy Spirit, proving that the Godhead holds Their Power in highest esteem. To be continued.