BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT EXPLAINED

Matthew 12:1-37

What is blaspheming the Holy Spirit? I’ve heard several explanations and theories on this subject. Some say the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is rejecting him over and over or grieving the Spirit, or rejecting Jesus as Lord. The best way to understand the Bible is to let the Bible explain itself. By searching the Bible, and comparing scriptures, we can find the answers to help us understand any subject. But, in this case, the answer is found in the same chapter as the subject.

First, there is a misconception concerning grieving the Holy Spirit. That term is only found once in the Bible, in Ephesians 4:30. It says,

Ephesians 4:30

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Some people ADD the word AWAY when quoting this verse and subtly change the meaning. They say “Grieving AWAY the Holy Spirit is rejecting him over and over again, and that is Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”

In this verse, the word grieve means to cause grief or sorrow or to make sad. Sure, blaspheming the Holy Spirit would make him sad, but the surrounding verses explain what Paul is saying here, and he is not saying that grieving the Holy Spirit is rejecting him, and he is not saying that grieving the Holy Spirit is blasphemy. He’s giving the Ephesians instruction on how to be “truly holy.” (verse 24)

Grieving the Holy Spirit, and Blaspheming the Holy Spirit are not the same thing. You won’t find that anywhere in the Bible, and there is no passage that says anything about Grieving “AWAY” the Holy Spirit. With that in mind, let’s see what the Bible does say.

In the book of Matthew, chapter twelve, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees because his disciples ate without washing their hands, then again for healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, and again for casting a demon out of a man on the Sabbath. Here’s what the Pharisees said then…

Matthew 12:24-37

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This fellow casts out demons, only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.”

25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand:

26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?

27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? So they will be your judges.

28 But if I CAST OUT DEMONS BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

29 Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, unless he binds the strong man first, and then spoils his house?

30 He that is not with me is AGAINST me, and he that gathers not with me scatters abroad.

31 So I say to you, All manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven unto men.

32 And whosoever SPEAKS a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him, but whosoever SPEAKS against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come.

33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, SPEAK good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth SPEAKS.

35 A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, brings forth good things: and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, brings forth evil things.

36 But I say to you, That every idle WORD that men SPEAK, they will give an account of in the day of judgment.

37 For by your WORDS, you will be justified, and by your WORDS, you will be condemned.

There you have it. Blaspheming AGAINST the Holy Spirit is done by SPEAKING WORDS against him. Nothing else. In the case of the Pharisees, they attributed the Work of the Holy Spirit to Satan.

Mark shares this same story in his gospel, and at the end, he tells us exactly why Jesus said all this.

Mark 3:30

30 Because they SAID, He has an unclean spirit.

On a different occasion, Jesus was talking to his disciples; not the Pharisees. Look what he said about this to his disciples.

Luke 12:10

10 And whosoever SPEAKS a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him: but to him that BLASPHEMES against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven.

Jesus said to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to SPEAK against Him. According to Strong’s Concordance, the meaning of blasphemy in both the old, and new Testaments is “TO CURSE, VILIFY, or SPEAK EVIL OF.”

Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is not just an act that only the Pharisees could commit, as some have suggested. Remember, Jesus was not just talking to the Pharisees in the book of Matthew. He said MEN, and that word means MANKIND, or PEOPLE. Then, there in Luke chapter 12, he was talking to his disciples. Don’t miss that.

For most Christians, it’s hard to imagine any situation where we would blaspheme the Holy Spirit, but we have example after example of people throughout the Bible who were following God, but slipped, fell, and even turned away from God. Adam and Eve, King David, Lucifer, King Saul, and Judas, just to name a few. By the way, the last three on that list turned away from God, and as far as we know, they are all lost.

Hebrews 3:12

12 So examine yourselves, brothers and sisters, in case any evil thoughts of unbelief develop in you to cause you to walk away from the living God.

13 But encourage each other every day, while it is called “Today,” so that none of you become stubborn through the delusions of sin.

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PHARAOH DROWNED IN THE RED SEA

There are at least three movies called The Ten Commandments, and countless other movies, and TV shows about Moses and the exodus from Egypt. Most of us have probably heard or seen the story in one form or another, but do we really know what happened? I’ve been watching “Bible movies” all my life, and I’ve never seen one that was 100% accurate. There may be some out there because I’m sure I haven’t seen them all, but in the ones I have seen, there’s always something that doesn’t go along with what the Bible says. In everything I have seen about this particular story, Pharaoh usually lives and goes back to Egypt a broken man, to rule a broken kingdom, but, that’s NOT what happened. God’s word says that Pharaoh died in the Red Sea along with his army. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says.

Exodus 14: 5-6
5. And the king of Egypt was told that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and the hearts of his servants were turned against the people, and they said, “Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?” 
6. And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:

Pharaoh himself went after Moses and the Hebrews, and he took his people with him.

Exodus 14: 9-10 
9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, ALL the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, AND his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. 
10. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid, and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

Notice who all went with Pharaoh: ALL the Horses and Chariots, AND his Horsemen AND his Army. Then God spoke to Moses…

Exodus 14:18 
18. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I have gotten myself honor upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.

Exodus 14:21-23
21. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 
22. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. 
23. And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea. All Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

Exodus 14:28
28. And the waters returned and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. There remained not so much as one of them.

Notice, they ALL went into the sea. This is reaffirmed in Exodus chapter 15, and in the book of Psalms.

Psalm 106:9-11
9. He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up. So he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness. 
10. And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. 
11. And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left.

There was Not One Left. None of them. They ALL drowned.

Exodus 15:19 
19. For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea,…

Would Pharaoh’s horse go into the sea without Pharaoh? Maybe. But the next verse shows Pharaoh went in, too.

Psalm 136:15
15. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea.

There it is in plain English.

1. Pharaoh Followed the Hebrews (Exod. 14:6-10).
2. Pharaoh took ALL the Horses and Chariots, AND his Horsemen AND his Army with him (Exod. 14:9, 23).
3. Pharaoh and All his horses, his chariots, and his horsemen went into the Red Sea (Exod. 14:23, 15:19).
4. Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea with his army (Ps. 136:15, 106:9-11, Exod. 14:18, 28).

The Bible is clear about it. We should trust God’s word, no matter what Science and History may say. Time and time again, archaeology has proven the events recorded in the Bible are true, though Science and History said for years that it was wrong. I would like to suggest that we believe the Bible, and stop trying to make God’s word fit into the mold of what men say happened in history. When we have a question, we need to ask ourselves, What Does The Bible Say?

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6 DAYS OF CREATION OR 6000 YEARS?

“In the beginning, GOD created the heaven and the earth.” That’s the introduction line to the creation story from Genesis, the first book in the Holy Bible. In the article titled *IN THE BEGINNING, we saw what the Bible means by “In The Beginning.” It refers to the time when God created our solar system, with the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the planets, including the earth, and everything in it. In the article called *IS THE BIBLE REALLY GOD’S WORD? We also established that the Bible really was prepared for us by God, and has been preserved for us for about six thousand years. The men who wrote the Bible were inspired to do so by the Holy Spirit of God, and he inspired them with what to write (2 Timothy 3:16 & 2 Peter 1:21).

For this study, we’ll look at the Six Days of Creation. There are several beliefs about the beginning of our world. You’ve probably heard all of them that I have, but only one of them can be true. I believe God created everything just like the Bible says, so I reject the Evolution Theory, and that’s all it is; a theory. If you believe in Evolution, please stay with me. I want you to see that the Bible can be trusted, and so can God. By the way, I once believed in Evolution, but God led me to the truth through his word.

The strange thing is, I believed in God as well as evolution, and I saw no conflict with believing in both. Then, I started studying the Bible, and it all made perfect sense. Today, many Christians, who love God, are embracing Evolution as a possible way for our world to have become populated. This lessens God’s role and really makes him just another god among many. Some have embraced the teaching that each day of the creation week lasted a thousand years. Others believe the six days were just extended periods of time, which could have been millions of years. Neither group believes these were six literal, twenty-four-hour days. These beliefs and teachings are destroying people’s faith in God and the Bible, and it’s being done from within the church as well as from without.

How do we fix this problem? Well, I truly believe the main problem is that people don’t read and study the Bible. Some may listen to a preacher speak once or twice a week, but never study to see if what they’re being told is true or not. This is happening more and more. The solution is for everyone to grab a Bible, and start reading and studying so we can all understand for ourselves what God has to say to us in his Holy Book.

The Apostle Paul said the people who lived in the town of Berea studied the scriptures daily to see if what they were being taught was true (Acts 17:11). That’s exactly what all of us need to be doing today. It’s the only way to avoid being deceived.

Using less than ten references from the Bible, we’ll see that the creation week WAS six literal days, and NOT six thousand years, or any extended period of time.

2 Peter 3:7-9
7. But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Psalms 90:2-4
2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or before you ever had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
3. You turn man to destruction; and say Return, you children of men.
4. For a thousand years in your sight are only as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

Neither of these scriptures says a thousand years IS a day.
The “thousand years are AS one day” simply means God is not restrained by time. God is everlasting, and has always existed and always will. In his scope of time, a thousand years is only a moment. That’s what these verses mean. The following verses show that the six days of creation week WERE literal 24-hour days.

Genesis 1:1
1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
2. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4. And God saw the light, and saw that it was good: and God separated the light from the darkness.
5. And God called the light Day, and he called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning was the first day.

8. ….And the evening and the morning was the second day.
13. And the evening and the morning was the third day.
19. And the evening and the morning was the fourth day.
23. And the evening and the morning was the fifth day.
31. And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning was the sixth day.

Evening and Morning = Night and Day = A literal day.

The next verses give even more proof.

Exodus 20:8-11
8. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work:
10. But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: in it, you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates:
11. Because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, and he rested the Seventh day: Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 31:16-18
16. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
17. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: because in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the Seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

When we obey God and keep the Sabbath every week, we’re not celebrating to commemorate the fact that God created everything in 6,000 years. No, these verses tell us that he created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them, in six literal days. Then he rested on the Seventh-day. This is where the seven-day week comes from. So we see from the Bible that God created the heavens and the earth, actually our solar system, in six literal days.

*IN THE BEGINNING

*IS THE BIBLE REALLY GOD’S WORD?

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ONE GOD

You’ve probably heard about many different gods from many different cultures around the world, but the bible says there is only ONE God (Mark 12:32, 1 Cor. 8:6, 1 Tim. 2:5, James 2:19). That simply means there’s only ONE TRUE God (John 17:3). He’s the only living God. There is only ONE GOD and there is no other (Mark 12:32, 1 Corinthians 8:4-6).

The word ONE is also used in the bible to show unity. The Bible says when a man and a woman marry they become ONE flesh (Genesis. 2:24). They don’t become the same person, but they are united as ONE.

In Genesis 11:6, God said, “The people is ONE…” ONE in unity. God uses this idea throughout the Bible.

The nation of Israel and other nations are referred to as He and Him in the Bible (Exodus 4:22, 1 Sam. 15:2). This shows the people are UNITED. They are all ONE. They are unified. United into ONE entity. We are all ONE in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Many members, but ONE body (Romans 12:5). Unity.

Paul said that he and Apollos were ONE (1 Corinthians. 3:6-9). Did he mean that he was Apollos? Were they the same person? No. They were two separate individuals. They were both in Christ, working toward the same goal, so he said they were ONE. We see this same unity in Acts 2:44, 46. They had all things in common and continued in ONE accord.

Jesus prayed to the Father that His disciples would all be ONE in the same way that He and the Father are ONE (John 17:11). He also prayed for you and I, that we would be ONE in the same way that He and the Father are ONE (John 17:20-22). This ONEness that Jesus prayed for clearly is to be unified as ONE body of believers. Not to be ONE person or being. It means to be ONE in unity. ONE in thought, deed, and purpose.

Jesus talked to the Father, and about Him in such a way to let us know, without a doubt, that He and the Father and the Holy Spirit are three separate individuals. They are not the same person (John 17:3). “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are ONE” (1 John 5:7). They are ONE in thought, in action, and in purpose.

The English word God in the book of Genesis is translated from the Hebrew word Elohim, most of the time. It is used 2,555 times in the Old Testament. It is used 200 times just in the book of Genesis. This word is a plural word consisting of more than ONE being. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible).

The word Elohim reveals the Trinity (Matthew 28:19, 1 John 5:7). Every time this word is used all three are involved in whatever is happening. Mark 1:9-11 presents the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all three at the same time.

Colossians 2:9 says that all the fullness of the Godhead lives in the body of Jesus Christ. This verse does NOT say Jesus is the Father and/or the Spirit. It says, that the fullness of the Godhead is in Him (Hebrews 10:5).

Colossians 1:19 says it pleased the Father that Jesus should have all the power of the complete Godhead. He has all the attributes of God (Isaiah 9:6). He is equal with God (Philippians 2:6). He is the express image of God (Hebrews 1:1-3). He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

This is why Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). He wasn’t saying that He was the Father. He said no man has ever seen the Father. “NO MAN has seen God at any time…” The Son has revealed Him (John 1:18). “Not that any man has seen the Father” (John 6:46; 5:35; 1 John 4:12).

In these verses, Jesus declares that NO MAN has EVER seen the Father at ANY time. He NEVER said that He was the Father. He showed us the character of the Father while He lived on earth.

In Exodus 24:9-10, Moses, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel “saw the God of Israel and lived to eat and drink”. But if no man has ever seen the Father, as we previously saw, then how can this passage be explained? Simple. No man has ever seen the Father at any time (John 1:18, 6:4-6, 5:37, 4:12). This was Jesus, the Son, the second person in the Godhead. He went with the children of Israel through the wilderness (1 Corinthians 10:4). He talked to them (Deut. 5:4, 22-23; 9:10), and He talked to Moses, face to face (Ex. 33:11).

Numbers 20:16 says the LORD (Jehovah) “sent an angel and has brought us out of Egypt.” Exodus 14:19 says, “And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them. 1 Corinthians 10:4 says that angel was Jesus Christ. (The original Greek word, translated as “followed” in this verse, means accompanied He went with them.)

In Exodus 3:2 the angel of the LORD (Jehovah) appeared to Moses in a burning bush. In verse 4, God (Elohim) speaks to Moses. So here Jesus appeared to Moses, and Elohim speaks to him. Keeping intact our earlier discovery that No man has ever seen the Father at any time (John 1:18, 6:4-6, 5:37, 4:12). He told Moses to take off his shoes because the ground where he was standing was holy. In Joshua 5:13-15 the captain of the Lord’s host appeared unto Joshua and told him the same thing. The ground wasn’t holy in itself, the presence of God is what made it holy. This man, the Captain of the Lord’s host, was also Jesus.

Jesus was also the angel who wrestled with Jacob until the breaking of day (Gen. 32:24-30; 35:10-13; Hosea 12:2-5). Jesus is not a created being, though. The word angel simply means messenger.  (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

The word archangel means chief or leader; or captain, as he told Joshua. Jesus is the archangel. It is He, NOT Gabriel, who will shout with the voice of the archangel, when the last trumpet sounds, as He leads all the angels of heaven to the earth at the end of this world.

Before there was ever a man on the earth, and before there was even an earth, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed together (John 17:24; Genesis 1:2; Psalm 51:11; John 17:5). “In the beginning Elohim (the Trinity) made the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1-2, 26). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God at the beginning” (John 1:1-2). Jesus is the Word (John 1:14; Revelation 19:13).

Jesus is called God in John 1:1, but the same verse says He was with God. Verse 2 also says He was with God. He was not with Himself, but He was with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:1-2).

Although the name Jesus was given to him when he put on human flesh, Jesus did not have His beginning as a baby in a manger as many people believe (Ps. 2:7; Heb. 10:5). He has always existed. As a member of the Godhead, and as an individual (John 1:3, 10; Heb. 1:1). The prophet Agur said that God had a Son (Proverbs 30:4).

Jesus is the Word through which God created all things (John 1:1,14; 1 John 5:7; Rev. 19:13; 1 John 1:1-2; Eph. 3:9; Heb. 1:1-2; Heb. 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:5).

He spoke and it was done… (Ps. 33:9). God said, “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness” (Gen. 1:26).

After Adam sinned, God said, “The man has become as ONE of US to know good and evil” (Gen. 3:22). Then at the tower of Babel, the LORD God (Jehovah Elohim) said, “Let US go down and confuse their language…” (Genesis 11:7). Who was God talking to in these three passages? Certainly not Himself. He was talking to the other members of the Godhead.

The Bible continually speaks of the Father and the Son as two separate individuals (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3, 8:6; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2, 12-13, 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4, 2:13; James 1:1, 1 Peter 1:2-3; 2 Peter 1:1-2; 1 John 4:15, 5:5,7,9-13; Revelation 1:1, 11:15).

2 John 9 says, “He that abides in the doctrine of Christ (Messiah) has BOTH the Father AND the SON. It is clear that they are not the same person. Jesus is not the Father.

Jesus prayed to the Father many times. He said many things that prove He is not the Father. He said the Father was in heaven while He was here on earth (Matthew 5:16, 45, 48, 6:1,9, 10:32, 33). In Matthew 10:32 He said if we confess Him, He will confess us before the Father who is in Heaven. This text shows that He and the Father are two separate individuals. Mark 13:32 proves this without a doubt. Jesus made a distinguishing difference between Himself and the Father. Here are some more verses that show the teaching of Jesus on this subject (John 8:54, 17:18, and 14:10).

Jesus said His Father is greater than Him (John 14:28). He said “if anyone loves me they will keep my words, and my Father will love them and WE will come to them and make OUR home with them (John 14:23).

In John 15:1 Jesus tells a parable. He says He is the Vine and the Father is the gardener. Notice that the plant and the gardener are not the same. When Stephen was stoned he saw heaven open, and he saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55).

Jesus prayed to the Father that He wouldn’t have to die. But then He said, “not My will, but Your will be done (Mark 14:36). Then before He died on the cross He cried “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus was not talking to Himself. He could not forsake Himself.

“God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself” (2 Cor. 5:19). Sin can not exist in the presence of God. When Jesus bore our iniquities (Is. 53) and became sin for us, (2 Cor. 5:21) the Father had to leave Him. Jesus and the Father are clearly not the same person.

John 3:16 says He is the Son of God. Jesus said, “My doctrine is not mine but His who sent Me (John 7:16, 14:24). The Father judges no man but has committed all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). He said in John 8:54, “If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honors me.” Jesus didn’t honor nor glorify Himself (John 17:18, 8:54; Hebrews 5:5). The Father glorified the Son (Matt. 3:17; Acts 3:13). So, if Jesus and the Father were the same person, then when the Father honored and glorified the Son, He would be honoring and glorifying himself. Thus contradicting his own words.

Jesus gave a prophecy about the second coming and the end of the world. Then He said, “no man knows the day nor the hour, not the angels in heaven, neither the Son, only the Father” (Mrk. 13:32). Jesus said the Father knew something that He didn’t at the time. That would be impossible if they were the same person or being. They are not. There is ONE God and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Bible, from beginning to end, shows that there is only ONE God. ONE God, as opposed to many gods. But this God is Elohim (plural), with three persons working together, like a family.

The Holy Spirit was there in the beginning with the Father and Jesus. Each person in the Godhead has separate individual works, as well as collective works as ONE God. The Holy Spirit did not have His beginning on the day of Pentecost as some teach (Gen. 1:2, 26). The Trinity, Elohim, the Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They were all three there at creation (Gen. 1:2, 26). They have always existed. That’s impossible for us humans to understand completely because in our minds everything has to have a beginning, but, this is what the Bible teaches. We don’t have to understand something for it to be true.

In Genesis chapter ONE, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, all working together, in unity and in ONE accord, created the world and everything in it (Genesis 1:1,2; John 1:1-14). We can see each ONE working separately, as individuals, and all together as ONE God throughout the Bible (Genesis 1:1,2; Psalm 51:11; Proverbs 30:4; Daniel 3:25; 1 John 5:7; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3).

The Spirit of God is mentioned throughout the Old Testament (Genesis 1:2, 41:38; Exodus 31:3, 35:31; Numbers 24:2; 1 Samuel 10:10, 11:16, 19:20,23; 2 Chronicles 15:1; Isaiah 61:1; Ezekiel 11:24). Sometimes He is called the Spirit of the Lord (Judges 3:10, 6:34, 11:29, 13:25, 15:14; 1 Samuel 10:6, 16:13-14; 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Kings 22:24; 2 Kings 2:16; 2 Chronicles 20:14; Isaiah 11:2, 40:13, 48:16, 59:19; Ezekiel 11:5; Micah 3:8). He is also called the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament as well as the new (Psalm 51:11; Isaiah 63:10-11).

Mark tells us that the Holy Ghost, in the new testament, is the same Holy Spirit that David refers to in Psalm 51:11 (Mark 12:36). Acts 7:51 confirms this also. The words “Ghost” and “Spirit” are translated from the same Greek word (Pneuma). Both names refer to the same being and either name is correct. He is the Comforter (John 14:16, 26, 15:26). Jesus referred to Him as a person not as “IT” (John 14:16, 26, 15:26).

Jesus said the Father would send the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, in Jesus’ name (John 14:26). Here we have all three mentioned at the same time and in such a manner as to distinguish them as three different beings. Isaiah 48:16 says “God and his Spirit has sent me”.

Throughout the Bible, God makes it a point to show us that there are three persons in the Godhead. Let’s look at the most conclusive Scripture first, that shows Jesus is not the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is not Jesus. In Matthew 12:32 and Luke 12:10 says “whoever shall speak a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him; but unto him, that blasphemes against the Holy Ghost, it shall NOT be forgiven him.” If Jesus and the Holy Spirit were the same individuals, this statement could not be true. To blaspheme the Holy Ghost would be to blaspheme Jesus. It is clear that they are not the same person with just different titles.

Jesus told his disciples that He was going back to heaven to his Father. Then He told them He would pray to the Father (not Himself) and the Father would give them another Comforter (not Himself) (John 14:16). ANOTHER means ANOTHER. Not the same with a different name. Jesus said, “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He shall hear that shall He speak” (John 16:13). Jesus is saying here that when the Holy Spirit comes, He will not speak His own words but the words He hears from GOD. This verse makes it clear that they are not the same person. Jesus makes this plain in verses 14 and 15. Jesus said the Holy Ghost would glorify Jesus, not Himself. “He will take of mine and show it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. That’s why I said, He will take of mine and will show it to you” (John. 14:14, 15).

This study shows without a doubt that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three different individuals. We see all three of them at Christ’s baptism (Mark. 1:9-11). We also see all three at creation (Genesis 1:2b, 26; Hebrews. 1:1) and throughout God’s holy word.

The Bible is clear. The Trinity is Biblical. While Jesus is God, He is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit. They are three separate persons that make up ONE GOD.

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