Chapter 17 — That the Holy Spirit is true God

It can be clearly shown by the authority of Sacred Scripture that the Holy Spirit is God. No temple is consecrated save to God alone; hence it is said: The Lord is in his holy temple (Ps 11:4[10:5]). Now, temples are dedicated to the Holy Spirit, for the Apostle says: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you? (1 Cor 6:19). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. This argument is enhanced by the fact that our members, which the Apostle declares to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, are also the members of Christ. For he had already said: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? (1 Cor 6:15). And it would be unfitting, since Christ is true God (as we have proved above), if Christ’s members were the temple of the Holy Spirit, unless the Holy Spirit were God also.

Again. The service of latria is given by the saints to God alone, for it is said: You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him alone (Deut 6:13). Now the saints serve the Holy Spirit: for the Apostle says: We are the true circumcision, who worship the divine Spirit (Phil 3:3); and although some codices read: who worship in the spirit of the Lord, the Greek and older Latin codices have: who worship the divine Spirit. Also, from the Greek, (οἱ πνεύματι θεῷ λατρεύοντες.) it is plain that the text refers to service of latria, which is due to God alone. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is true God, and the worship of latria is due to him.

Further. The sanctification of man is a work belonging exclusively to God: for it is said: I am the Lord who sanctify you (Lev 22:32). Now, it is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies: for the Apostle says: But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (1 Cor 6:11); and: God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth (2 Thess 2:13). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.

Again. As the body derives natural life from the soul, so does the soul derive the righteous life from God; hence our Lord says: As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me (John 6:57). Now, this latter life comes to us through the Holy Spirit. Hence it is added: It is the Spirit that gives life (John 6:63); and the Apostle says: If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live (Rom 8:13). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is of divine nature.

Also. In order to prove his divinity against the Jews, who could not bear that he should make himself equal to God, our Lord claimed the power of raising the dead to life. Here are his words: As the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will (John 5:21). Now the power of raising the dead to life belongs to the Holy Spirit: for the Apostle says: If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit who dwells in you (Rom 8:11). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is of divine nature.

Again. Creation is the work of God alone, as we have proved above. (Bk. 2, ch. 21.) Now creation belongs to the Holy Spirit, for it is said: When you send forth your Spirit, they are created (Ps 104[103]:30); and: The spirit of God has made me (Job 33:4). Also, it is said of God that The Lord himself created her, namely, wisdom, in the Holy Spirit (Sir 1:9). Therefore, the nature of the Holy Spirit is divine.

Further. The Apostle says: For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (1 Cor 2:10–11). Now, no creature is able to comprehend all the depths of God. This is manifest from the words of our Lord: No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son (Matt 11:27). It is also said in the person of God: My secret to myself (Isa 24:16). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not a creature.

Also. According to the foregoing comparison of the Apostle, the Holy Spirit is to God as the spirit of man is to man. Now man’s spirit is within him, and is not of a different nature from him, but is a part of him. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not of a different nature from God.

Moreover. If we compare the above words of the Apostle with the words of the prophet Isaias, we shall see clearly that the Holy Spirit is God. For it is said: The eye has not seen, O God, besides you, what things you have prepared for them that wait for you (Isa 64:4). Now, the Apostle after quoting these words says, as quoted above, that the Spirit searches . . . even the depths of God (1 Cor 2:10). Hence it is evident that the Holy Spirit knows those depths of God, which God has prepared for them that wait for him. Therefore, if none but God hath seen these things, as Isaias says, it is clear that the Holy Spirit is God.

Again. It is said: I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’ And he said, ‘Go, and say to this people: Hear and hear, but do not understand’ (Isa 6:8–9). Now, Paul ascribes these words to the Holy Spirit. Hence it is related that Paul said to the Jews: The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: ‘Go to this people, and say, You shall indeed hear but never understand’ (Acts 28:25–26). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is manifestly God.

Further. It is clear from the Sacred Scriptures that God spoke through the prophets, for it is declared by God himself: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision, I speak with him in a dream (Num 12:6). It is also said: Let me hear what God the Lord will speak in me (Ps 85:8[84:9]). Now it is quite evident that it was the Holy Spirit who spoke through the prophets: for it is said: The scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David (Acts 1:16). Again, our Lord says: How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand’? (Matt 22:43–44). Again, it is said: No prophecy ever came by the impulse of man, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Pet 1:21). Therefore, it is clearly proved from Sacred Scripture that the Holy Spirit is God.

Again. Scripture declares that the revelation of mysteries is a work peculiar to God; thus it is said: There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries (Dan 2:28). Now the revelation of mysteries is shown to be the work of the Holy Spirit, for it is said: God has revealed to us through the Spirit (1 Cor 2:10); and: The Spirit speaks mysteries (1 Cor 14:2). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.

Further. To teach inwardly is a work proper to God: for it is said of God: He who teaches men knowledge (Ps 94[93]:10); and: He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding (Dan 2:21). Now clearly this is the work of the Holy Spirit: for our Lord said: The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things (John 14:26). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is of divine nature.

Moreover. Those that have the same operation must have the same nature. Now the Son and the Holy Spirit have the same nature. For the Apostle declares that Christ speaks in the saints: Do you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me? (2 Cor 13:3). And clearly this is also the work of the Holy Spirit, for it is said: It is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you (Matt 10:20). Therefore, the Son and the Holy Spirit have the same nature, and consequently the Father also, since we have shown that the Father and Son have one nature. (Bk. 4, ch. 11.)

Moreover. It is proper to God to dwell in the souls of the saints; hence the Apostle says: You are the temple of the living God; as God said: ‘I will live in them’ (2 Cor 6:16). And the same Apostle ascribes this to the Holy Spirit: for he says: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.

Again. It is proper to God to be everywhere: for he says: Do I not fill heaven and earth? (Jer 23:24). And this also belongs to the Holy Spirit: for it is said: The Spirit of the Lord has filled the world (Wis 1:7); and: Whither shall I go from your Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there (Ps 139[138]:7–8). Also, our Lord said to his disciples: You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). Hence it follows that the Holy Spirit is everywhere, since he dwells in men in every part of the world. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.

Further. The name of God is expressly given to the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture. Thus Peter says: Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? And afterwards adds: You have not lied to men but to God (Acts 5:3–4). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.

Again. It is said: One who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, yet the Spirit speaks mysteries (Vulgate: By the Spirit he speaketh mysteries.) (1 Cor 14:2). Hence we are given to understand that the Spirit spoke in those who spoke in diverse tongues. And further on he says: By men of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord (1 Cor 14:21). Therefore, the Holy Spirit, who speaks mysteries in various lips and tongues, is God.

Again. The above text continues further on: If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you (1 Cor 14:24–25). Now, it is clear from what had been said previously—namely, that the Spirit speaks mysteries (1 Cor 14:2)—that the revelation of the secrets of the heart is the work of the Holy Spirit. And this is a sign proper to the divinity: for it is said: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and try the reins (Jer 17:9–10). Therefore, even an unbeliever is led by this sign to conclude that he who speaks these secrets of hearts is God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.

Again. Further on the text continues: The spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace (1 Cor 14:32–33). Now, the graces of the prophets, indicated by the spirits of the prophets, are from the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit who distributes these graces so that they cause not dissension but peace, is shown to be God, from the words: God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

Moreover. It is the work of God alone to adopt anyone as a son of God, for no spiritual creature is the son of God by nature, but only by the grace of adoption. Hence the Apostle ascribes this work to the Son of God, who is true God: God sent forth his Son . . . so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal 4:4–5). Now, the Holy Spirit is the cause of this adoption: for the Apostle says: You have received the spirit of sonship, when we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ (Rom 8:15). Therefore, the Holy Spirit is not a creature, but is God.

Again. If the Holy Spirit be not God, he must be a creature. Now, it is plain that he is neither a corporeal nor a spiritual creature. For no creature is infused into a spiritual creature, since it is impossible to participate in a creature, and rather it is the creature that participates. Now the Holy Spirit is infused into the souls of the saints, so that they participate in him as it were: for we read that Christ, (Isa 11:2–3.) and also the Apostles, (Acts 2:4.) were filled with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God, and not a creature.

If, however, anyone say that the aforesaid works which are proper to God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit not as though they were exercised by him authoritatively, as God, but ministerially, as a creature, we reply that this is clearly shown to be untrue, from the words of the Apostle: There are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one (1 Cor 12:6); and afterwards having enumerated the various divine gifts, he continues: All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills (1 Cor 12:11). In these words, he clearly indicates that the Holy Spirit is God, both by ascribing to him works which previously he had ascribed to God, and by stating that the Holy Spirit does those works according as he wills. Therefore, it is evident that the Holy Spirit is God.