The Holy Spirit as Part of YHWH I. Introduction A. How does the Holy Spirit relate to God? 1. A question that has been asked for thousands of years 2. There are fewer questions about the Father and Jesus 3. The Scriptures, however, nowhere directly call the Holy Spirit God 4. On the other hand, the Scriptures do not define the Holy Spirit as somehow separate from God, either! B. How, then, shall we view the Holy Spirit? C. Argument: the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead, demonstrated by the close association of the Holy Spirit with YHWH D. Demonstration of the argument 1. Understanding YHWH 2. God the Son as part of YHWH 3. Arguments for Holy Spirit as part of YHWH 4. Possible Arguments Raised II. Understanding YHWH A. YHWH: God's personal name 1. In the Scriptures, many terms used to describe God 2. e.g., El / Elohim , Adonai, El Shaddai, kurios 3. All of these terms, however, tend to be general terms that could refer to any god 4. consider English "God", "Lord" 5. YHWH, however, exclusively refers to the God of Israel-- His personal name (Exodus 3:13-14, 6:2-3) B. Meaning of YHWH 1. "YHWH" as normally transliterated "Yahweh" 2. Exodus 3:14: yihyeh, "I am who I am," or, "I will be what I will be" 3. Derives from the Hebrew verb "to be" 4. Possible extrapolated definition: "He who is" C. YHWH as one 1. Deuteronomy 6:4 2. YHWH is considered one-- not many gods, as pagan polytheism 3. On the other hand, Genesis 1:26 has God speaking within Himself in the plural 4. Recognition that God is one, yet consists of different entities D. How can we define the different entities? E. "God the Father" as part of YHWH 1. John 8:54 2. The One whom Jesus calls "the Father" is identified with the God of Israel F. Let us consider how Jesus is part of YHWH III. Jesus as Part of YHWH A. Jesus (God the Son) can be identified as part of YHWH B. Jesus as kurios 1. Jesus Christ given the title kurios, Lord, constantly (cf. Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, etc.) 2. Kurios is how YHWH is most often translated in the Greek Septuagint 3. Demonstrated in the NT quite often (e.g., Isaiah 40:3/Matthew 3:3, Deuteronomy 6:6/Matthew 4:7, etc.) 4. Jesus Himself takes the term for Himself (Matthew 7:21) 5. It would be hard to believe that Jesus and the Apostles would constantly use the same term that was associated with YHWH without believing that there was a direct association! 6. Kurios is both YHWH and Jesus; Jesus, then, part of YHWH C. John 20:28 1. Thomas' declaration: Jesus as Kurios and Theos 2. Jesus, therefore, part of YHWH D. John 8:58 1. While speaking with the Jews, Jesus establishes that before Abraham was, "I AM" 2. Explicit association with YHWH-- "I am who I am" 3. Jews understood it as much (v. 59) 4. Jesus associates Himself, therefore, with YHWH E. Such is how we can establish Jesus as part of YHWH F. Let us now consider the Holy Spirit IV. Holy Spirit as Part of YHWH A. We can attempt to show that the Spirit is part of YHWH by the following arguments B. Blurring of distinction between YHWH / Spirit of YHWH 1. Many times in the Old Testament, YHWH and the Spirit of YHWH seem to be used interchangeably 2. The "word of YHWH" as spoken through prophet, spoken through Spirit (cf. 2 Peter 1:21, etc.) 3. The Spirit speaks / YHWH speaks (Ezekiel 11:5) 4. Ezekiel 37:1: Hand of YHWH on Ezekiel, Ezekiel then in the Spirit C. YHWH, the Holy Spirit, and the Prophets 1. Perhaps the clearest identification of the Holy Spirit as part of YHWH is in terms of how the prophets are inspired 2. 2 Peter 1:21 a. statement, in and of itself, indicates association between Holy Spirit and God b. regardless, Peter identifies the Holy Spirit as the specific mover of men to speak 3. Therefore, we can be sure that when a prophet speaks, the prophet is being guided by the Holy Spirit 4. Matthew 2:15 a. the Lord (kurios) as speaking through prophet (Hosea, Hosea 11:1) b. Kurios as YHWH c. Holy Spirit spoke through Hosea (2 Peter 1:21) / YHWH spoke through Hosea (Matthew 2:15) d. Holy Spirit as part of YHWH 5. 2 Corinthians 6:17 a. a loose quotation of Isaiah 52:11 b. again, the Lord (kurios) speaks / Isaiah as inspired by Holy Spirit c. Holy Spirit as part of YHWH 6. Hebrews 10:15-17 a. the Hebrew author makes an even more clear connection b. Jeremiah 31:33-34 as declaration of Holy Spirit c. Statement declared, in passage, by YHWH d. Holy Spirit as part of YHWH D. From this explicit evidence, we see a direct association between the Holy Spirit and YHWH V. Possible Arguments Raised A. Blurring of lines not necessarily indicative of direct association 1. Angel / God as wrestling with Jacob (Genesis 32:27-30) 2. Angels are not part of YHWH B. God speaking through Holy Spirit not necessarily requires Holy Spirit as God 1. Holy Spirit as God's messenger perhaps, but not part of God 2. Divine, perhaps little higher than the angels, but not God C. In response, demonstration that Holy Spirit has unique role 1. Holy Spirit as indwelling people (Acts 2:4) 2. Holy Spirit as deliverer of divine messages (2 Peter 1:21) 3. Holy Spirit as having role in creation (Genesis 1:2) D. While occasionally some blurring may occur in some language, it gets nowhere near the constant direct association between YHWH and the Spirit E. Final demonstration: Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:16-17) 1. God the Son in the water 2. God the Father speaking from Heaven 3. God the Holy Spirit as dove from Heaven 4. Each expresses their particular role, presence of three demonstrates close association 5. No angels or other divine creatures present! VI. Conclusion A. Demonstration of Holy Spirit as part of YHWH 1. Constant association between YHWH / Spirit of YHWH / Word of YHWH 2. Direct connection between Holy Spirit speaking and YHWH speaking 3. Consistent testimony of Holy Spirit's important role and high status B. Holy Spirit, then, part of YHWH and fully divine and fully God C. God as Three in One or One in Three Discussion