The
Holy Spirit is God. He is equally God with the Father and the Son. He is the
Third Person of the Holy Trinity.
Only
once in the Holy Scriptures is the Holy Spirit explicitly and categorically
called God, as follows: "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie
to the Holy Spirit . . .? You have not lied to men but to God" (Acts,
5:3-4). What further proof does a Christian need to believe that the Holy
Spirit is truly God?
It
is demonstrated in many verses of the Old and New Testament that the Holy
Spirit has divine attributes. We shall give only two examples.
"The
Spirit of God moved upon the waters" (Genesis, 1:2). This means that the
Holy Spirit has divine attributes and authority to give form to and to perfect
the creation.
"May
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the
communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (II Corinthians, 13:13), St.
Paul says, thus placing the Holy Spirit in the same order and position as the
Father and the Son.
".
. . and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the
Father, Who, together with the Father and the Son, is worshipped and glorified,
Who spoke through the prophets" (The Creed of Faith, Article 8). This
Article of the Creed contains the entire teaching of our Church concerning the
Holy Spirit. He is Lord. He is life-giving; that is to say, He has the
attributes of the Father and the Son. The Lord--the Master--the Father; the
life-giving Son; the life-giving Holy Spirit. He is truly God. He proceeds from
the Father, just as the Son is born from the Father. The Father is the source
of divinity. The Holy
Spirit
eternally proceeds from the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person in the
order of divinity, and is equal to the other two Divine Persons. He is
co-worshipped and co-glorified with the Father and the Son. And He is the same
Spirit referred to in the Old Testament and Who spoke through the mouths of the
Prophets.
This
section of Article 8 of the Creed is exactly the way the Second Ecumenical
Council of 381 in Constantinople decreed and dogmatized it. The addition
"and from the Son" was made much later and is a falsification of the
original document and is unorthodox. That the Holy Spirit proceeds from the
Father is also proven from the passage, "But when the Comforter comes Whom
I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, Who proceeds
from the Father" (John, 15:26). The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father,
Who is the Godhead, and is sent by the Son, Who is the "creative and
joining force of the wisdom and power of the All Mighty God." Basil the
Great well describes the matter when he says, "the Godly source is One
(i.e., the Father), Who creates through the Son and completes it through the
Holy Spirit."
Our
Church places things in correct perspective when it chants, "We worship
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Trinity undivided, one in essence." One
triune God. Three persons, but one God, all of one essence.
"The
Holy Spirit is the Giver of all; He is the spring of the prophecies; He
perfects priests, teaches wisdom to the unlearned, elevates fishermen to
theologians, and holds together the institution of the Church," notes the
hymnographer. He abides in the Church. He guides it in all truth. He works
through the sacraments and sanctifies the faithful.
All
Christians must know the Holy Spirit and believe in Him, Who is true God, equal
with the Son and the Father, Who proceeds from the Father, is sent by the Son,
and holds together the institution of the Church and perfects everything.
"Heavenly King and
Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who are present everywhere and Who fill all things,
the treasury of all good and the giver of life, come into our lives and cleanse
us from all stain and, O Good One, save our souls."