MORE PROOF FOR CHRIST’S ESSENTIAL DEITY
In this post I share another way in which the inspired Scriptures describe Jesus a YHWH God Almighty who became a human being.
THE SPIRIT OF YHWH GOD
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Holy Spirit is said to be the Spirit of YHWH God whom YHWH sent to speak to/through and empower the prophets and others to fulfill God’s will.
Here is a sampling of [O]ld [T]estament texts that affirm this point:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:1-2
“And Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?’” Genesis 41:38
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,” Exodus 31:3
“and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship,” Exodus 35:31
“And Balaam saw that it was good in the eyes of Yahweh to bless Israel, so he did not go as at other times to encounter omens, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his discourse and said, ‘The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is uncovered; The oracle of him who hears the words of God, Who beholds the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes opened,’” Numbers 24:1-4 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB)
“But the Spirit of Yahweh clothed Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him.” Judges 6:34 LSB
“Now the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon.” Judges 11:29
“‘Then the Spirit of Yahweh will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.’… Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. And they came to the hill there, and behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them. Now it happened that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, so the people said to one another, ‘What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?’”1 Samuel 10:6, 9-11 LSB
“Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, The man who was raised on high declares, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel, ‘The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me, “He who rules over men as a righteous one, Who rules in the fear of God,”’” 2 Samuel 23:1-3 LSB
“Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.” 2 Chronicles 15:1
“Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.” Nehemiah 9:30
“The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Job 33:4
“Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:11
“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” Psalm 139:7
“Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” Psalm 143:10
“Who has encompassed the Spirit of Yahweh, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He take counsel and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And made Him know the way of understanding?” Isaiah 40:13-14
“The Spirit of Lord Yahweh is upon me Because Yahweh has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim release to captives And freedom to prisoners,” Isaiah 61:1 LSB
“But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy; He fought against them. Then His people remembered the ancient days, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them… As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of Yahweh gave them rest. So You led Your people, To make for Yourself a glorious name.” Isaiah 63:10-11, 14 LSB
“There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers… I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.” Daniel 5:11, 14
“Is it being said, O house of Jacob: ‘Is the Spirit of Yahweh impatient? Are these His deeds?’ Do not My words do good To the one walking uprightly?” Micah 2:7 LSB
“On the other hand I am filled with power—With the Spirit of Yahweh—And with justice and might To declare to Jacob his transgression, Even to Israel his sin.” Micah 3:8 LSB
“According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!” Haggai 2:5
“Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, ‘This is the word of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, saying, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says Yahweh of hosts.’” Zechariah 4:6
“And they made their hearts diamond-hard so that they could not hear the law and the words which Yahweh of hosts had sent by His Spirit by the hand of the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from Yahweh of hosts.” Zechariah 7:12 LSB
It is important to keep in mind that the OT writings never identify the Holy Spirit as belonging to or being sent by an angelic creature and/or a mere human being.
CHRIST’S HOLY SPIRIT
Remarkably, the [N]ew [T]estament writings state that the Holy Spirit who inspired the OT prophetic writings,
“knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21
Was actually the Spirit of Christ!
“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST WHO WAS IN THEM was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:10-12
Note how Peter had no qualms stating that it was actually Christ’s Holy Spirit who enabled the prophets to foresee and foretell the sufferings that Christ would endure prior to his glorification.
Paul was another inspired writer who identifies the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus:
“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,” Philippians 1:19
Christ is further depicted as being the One who pours out the Holy Spirit from heaven upon all those who would believe in his name:
“And he preached, saying, ‘There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’” Mark 1:7-8
“‘This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear.’… Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 2:32-33, 37-38
What makes this text from Acts so remarkable is that Peter had just quoted the following OT prophecy,
“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Yahweh your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame. And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions. Even on the male slaves and female slaves I will in those days pour out My Spirit. And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes. And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.” Joel 2:27-32 LSB – Cf. Acts 2:17-21
To explain how Jesus’ followers were able to glorify God in all the various languages and dialects spoken by the Jews who had come to worship at the temple:
“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, ‘Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.’ So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘Whatever could this mean?’ Others mocking said, ‘They are full of new wine.’ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is onlythe third hour of the day.But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:’” Acts 2:1-16
The Apostle used this miracle to prove that Jesus had been raised to heaven where he then poured out the Holy Spirit while enthroned at the Father’s right hand, and that a person must acknowledge and confess Christ’s name for salvation.
Peter hammered this same point on another occasion after healing a paralytic in the name of Jesus Christ:
“Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.A man lame from birth was being carried, whom people placed daily at the gate of the temple called Beautiful to ask alms from those who entered the temple.Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms.Peter, gazing at him with John, said, ‘Look at us.’So he paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’He took him by the right hand and raised him up. Immediately his feet and ankles were strengthened.Jumping up, he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God.All the people saw him walking and praising God. They knew that it was he who sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what happened to him. As the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the entrance that is called Solomon’s Porch, greatly amazed. When Peter saw it, he answered the people: ‘Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Or why do you stare at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His Son Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,and you killed the Creator of Life, whom God has raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. And HIS NAME, by faith IN HIS NAME, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And faith which comes through Him has given him perfect health in your presence… God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to you first, to bless you in turning every one of you from your iniquities.’” Acts 3:1-16, 26 Modern English Version (MEV)
“And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ‘By what power or by what name have you done this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the “stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.” Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” Acts 4:5-14
The reason why this is remarkable is that the prophecy from Joel emphatically states that it is YHWH God who will pour out HIS Spirit upon all flesh and that it is HIS name that a person must call on and invoke in order to be saved!
And yet Peter claimed that it was actually the risen Jesus who poured forth the Holy Spirit upon his disciples and that his name alone saves.
The Spirit-filled Apostle made it emphatically clear that the gift of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sins are only granted to those who would believe on the name of Jesus Christ!
In complete agreement, Paul also quoted Joel 2:32 to hammer the point of salvation being given only to those persons who verbally confess that Jesus is the Lord whom God raised from the dead:
“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” Romans 10:9-13
In fact, the first Christians came to be known for and characterized by their practice of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, a devotional pattern which began with the Jews in Jerusalem!
“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ So the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.’ Then Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to YOUR saints in Jerusalem.And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on YOUR name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear MY name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for MY name’s sake.’ And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on THIS name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’” Acts 9:10-21
“To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:” 1 Corinthians 1:2
To call this astonishing would be a wild understatement since the OT is crystal clear that believers are those who call on the name of YHWH alone!
“And Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.” Genesis 21:33
“Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at the footstool of His feet; Holy is He. Moses and Aaron were among His priests, And Samuel was among those who called on His name; They would call upon Yahweh and He would answer them. He would speak to them in the pillar of cloud; They kept His testimonies And the statute that He gave them. O Yahweh our God, You answered them; You were a forgiving God to them, And yet an avenger of their evil deeds. Exalt Yahweh our God And worship at His holy mountain, For holy is Yahweh our God.” Psalm 99:5-9 LSB
“I love Yahweh, because He hears My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, So I shall call upon Him in all my days. The cords of death encompassed me And the distresses of Sheol found me; I found distress and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of Yahweh: ‘O Yahweh, I beseech You, provide my soul escape!’… I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of Yahweh… To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of Yahweh.” Psalm 116:1-4, 13, 17 LSB
“Yahweh is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.” Psalm 145:18 LSB
Hence, not only is the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Christ whom Jesus pours out from heaven, but the risen Son is also that very YHWH God who grants salvation to all those calling on his name in sincerity and truth!
THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER AND THE SON
The NT doesn’t stop there since it further presents the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of the Father and the Son!
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Galatians 4:6-7
“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you… For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:9-11, 14-17
Note the complexity and beauty of these passages.
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ the Son by whom believers become children of God, and therefore have the right to call God their own Father!
And to have the Spirit indwelling you is to have the Spirit of God and Christ within you, which is to have Christ himself in you!
We are further told that it is the Father and Son together who sent forth the Holy Spirit from the Father’s presence in Jesus’ name, meaning on behalf and for the sake of Christ:
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you… But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:16-17, 26
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:26
Moreover, the Spirit is not only sent to reveal what the Father and Son want Christ’s followers to know, but also for the express purpose of glorifying the Son by convincing Jesus’ disciples that he owns all that the Father possesses:
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:7-15
What all this shows is that both the Father and Son are being identified as YHWH God Almighty, since it is YHWH who possesses the Holy Spirit and sends him into the world.
Here is a summary of the points made in this article to help the readers see more clearly how this is a revealed truth of inspired Scripture:
- The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of YHWH.
- The Holy Spirit is sent and poured out by YHWH.
- The prophets spoke by the Spirit of YHWH.
- Salvation comes from calling on the name of YHWH.
- The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and of Christ.
- The Holy Spirit is sent and poured out by God and Christ.
- The prophets spoke by the Spirit of Christ who was in them.
- Salvation comes from calling on the name of the Lord Jesus.
Conclusion: The inspired Scriptures identify both Father and Son as the one true God YHWH, with the Son being also described as YHWH God that became a flesh and blood human being (Cf. Isaiah 7:14; 9:1-2, 6-7; Micah 5:1-4; Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-6; 4:12-16; Luke 1:26-35; 2:1-7; John 1:1-14; Acts 17:30-31; Romans 1:3-4; 8:3; 9:5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-20; 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 2:8; Hebrews 2:9-18; Revelation 22:16).
Unless stated otherwise, scriptural references taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Holy Bible.
FURTHER READING
WHO IS THE JEHOVAH THAT ONE CALLS UPON TO BE SAVED?
THE NWT TESTIFIES THAT THE TRINITY IS THE ETERNAL CREATOR!
Answering Islam Blog 