Page 4 - Pneumatology - A Study of the Holy Spirit

Person, with a mind, emotions, and will. The Holy Spirit is Jesus' "replacement" on earth (John 14:16-
26; 15:26; 16:7). The Holy Spirit is received at salvation (Romans 8:9) and is the permanent possession of
every believer in Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14). Pneumatology helps us to understand these issues and recognize
the Biblical roles of the Holy Spirit in our lives today.

The study of Pneumatology is of immense benefit to the Christian. In the pages of Scripture, we come face to
face with the third Person of the Trinity, God Himself in spirit, and we see His very personal and intimate
ministry to us. Through Him, we come to know God’s love for us “because the love of God has been poured
out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5). To understand the ministry of the
Holy Spirit is to find joy in His role as our Comforter (John 16:7; Acts 9:31) who not only helps and comforts
us, but who comes to our rescue when our hearts are so burdened we cannot even pray for relief (Romans
8:26). When we pursue the knowledge of the Holy Spirit we find, to our great delight, that He not only lives
within us, but He does so forever, never to leave or forsake us (John 14:16). All these truths are burned into
our hearts when we study Pneumatology.

A good summary verse for Pneumatology is John 16:8-11, "When He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convict
the world of guilt regarding sin and righteousness and judgment: regarding sin, because men do not believe
in me; regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and
regarding judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned."

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God.
The deity of the Holy Spirit is not as easily established as that of the Father and
the Son. It might be said that the deity of the Father is simply assumed in
Scripture, that of the Son is affirmed and argued, while that of the Holy Spirit
must be inferred from various indirect statements found in Scripture. There are,
however, several bases on which one may conclude that the Holy Spirit is God
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in the same fashion and to the same degree as are the Father and the Son.

The Holy Spirit is called God and identified as God in the Bible.

Here are several verses where the Holy Spirit is called God or identified as God in the Bible:

Acts 5:3-4 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the
Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? …What
made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”

2 Cor. 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his
likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Here are some verses where the Holy Spirit is associated by name with the Father and the Son:

Isa. 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to
the poor.

2 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, vol. 3, page 857

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