Talk Tuesday-The HOLY SPIRIT Series; GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON & GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

Who is the HOLY SPIRIT? Why do we speak of GOD as One Being yet speak of GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON & GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The Shema, the central prayer in the Jewish prayer book, begins with the following, “4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one,” Deuteronomy 6:4, NIV. Yet, in the creation narrative the Spirit is mentioned, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters,” Gen. 1:2, NKJV. The plural was used when man was created, “26 God said, 'Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves,'” Gen. 1:26, NJB.

The Gospel of John states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made,” John 1:1-3, NIV. “14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:14, NIV. JESUS says, “30 The Father and I are one,” John 10:30, NJB.

In the Old Testament, in the book of Malachi, it is asked, “10 Is there not one Father of us all? Did not one God create us?” Malachi 2:10, NJB. In the New Testament we read that, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth,” John 4:24, NKJV. Finally, the Great Commission begins with, “19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19, NKJV.

Excerpts from the The Nicene Creed explain that:

“We believe in one God,  the Father, the Almighty, Maker of all that is, seen and unseen.  We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial of one Being with the Father...We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.  With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.” (http://www.catholic.org)

The ontological nature of GOD, which looks at the nature of His Being, is captured in the reality of Trinity. His Triune nature also reflects the way in which He interacts with us. It is a mystery both divine and beautiful, just as The Nicene Creed explains it; that JESUS is of the same substance (consubstantial) with the Father, 'he is begotten not made', and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from them both. Only GOD can create ex nihilo (out of nothing), and the verses we listed highlighted GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON and GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT in Creation. So, when we speak of GOD, we know that He is ONE.

Next week we will look at the roles of the HOLY SPIRIT.