You can despise him, think little of him. You can impact him in that way. And we'll talk about some of those in another study, but just noting tonight that again, we're thinking about the Holy Spirit as a person. He has emotions, he has feelings. So then we've already looked at this verse, but in Hebrews, in Romans 8, 26 and 27, the Spirit makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. He prays for us. So, is the Holy Spirit a person? Yes. How do you know that? Because the Bible attributes to him things that are true of a person that would not be true of a force. And so he cannot be a force. Now, next question, is the spirit equal with God? Is the spirit equal with God? Yes, the answer is yes, he is equal with God, he is God. Again, we believe there's one God existing in three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, they're equal. Our in nature attributes worthy of the same worship How do you know that the Spirit is equal with God? If somebody came up to you and said, I believe in the Holy Spirit, but I don't think he's God, what would you say? You're wrong? Somebody would say, you're wrong? Yeah, yeah, you're wrong. Well, I think I'm right. How can you say I'm wrong? Yeah, I don't believe in Trinity, so. I'm not saying this literally, I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I do believe in Trinity. Huh? Well, now you've insulted me. You have grieved me. Okay. All right. So the general answer to that question is, how do you know that he is equal with God? The general answer to that question is, the Bible says so. Now, where does the Bible say so? All right, so turn to Acts chapter five. Acts chapter five. Now, when you get there, I want you to read silently the first four verses. Acts 5, verses 1 through 4. Now in that, in those verses, the Holy Spirit is equated with God. How do you see that? What is it that tells you the Spirit and God are the same, one and the same? Yep. So verse three, he lied to the Holy Spirit and I mean, Yes, and then verse four, you lied unto God. So he's not saying you lied to the Holy Spirit and you lied unto God, but the Holy Spirit is God. He's saying, you know, you told the lie to the Spirit, who is God. So they're equal there. Now, this is also kind of interesting. And again, I'm going to divide you up. I want this half of the room to turn to Isaiah 6, and this half of the room to turn to Acts 28. Okay, just turn to Isaiah 6 and Acts 28. Isaiah 6. Now, in just a second, I want somebody in Isaiah 6 to read verses 8, 9, and 10. And what I want you to tell me is, who was it that spoke in that passage? You guys, in Acts 28, verses 25 and 26, I want you to listen, I want you to look at that text and listen to them read Isaiah. 6, they're gonna tell us who speaks in Isaiah 6, and then I want you to tell us who is said to be speaking what they're reading. Paul equated, Paul said who was speaking. So anyway, somebody read verses 8, 9, and 10 of Isaiah 6, and then tell me who it is that's speaking there. Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me. And he said, go and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert. Okay, who is speaking? Yeah, in verse 10, or eight, it says, the voice of the Lord, verse nine, he said, the Lord said. Okay, now, somebody read verses 25 and 26 of Acts 28. And when they agreed not to mourn and sow, he departed. After that, Paul said unto them, Well, say to the Lord this what I say. He brought them into a garden, saying, Okay, they said that that quote of Isaiah was that the Lord said that, who does Paul say said it? Holy Spirit, so therefore the Holy Spirit and the Lord are one, they're the same. You know, Paul is speaking under inspiration. It's Scripture. It's under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So when Paul attributes that statement, Isaiah 6, to the Holy Spirit, and Isaiah says it was the Lord, he's just saying that the Lord and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. Now, we understand the Trinity, one God in three persons. but that the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son. All right, so let's do one other one like that. You guys turn to Jeremiah 31, and you guys turn to Hebrews 10. Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 10. All right, so in just a second, somebody over here read Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34. And again, tell me who is speaking. And you guys on this side, as they read, you look at what Hebrews 10, 15, 16, and 17. Notice the similarities. And then you're gonna tell us who does the writer of Hebrews say was speaking in Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34. So Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34, somebody over here. And they said, no more. And they said, no more. And they said, no more. And they said, no more. And they said, no more. OK, who's speaking in that passage? The Lord. Alright, you guys are in Hebrews 10. The writer of Hebrews quotes. That this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says sayeth the Lord. I'll put my law into their hearts and in their minds while I write them and their sins and iniquities. I'll remember no more, but who is it that the writer of Hebrews attributes that to? the Holy Ghost, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us after he had said before, and then he quotes Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34, parts of it. So the writer of Hebrews quoting what Jeremiah said is from the Lord, says it is the Holy Ghost. And simply, again, just saying that the Holy Ghost is God, just as the Father is God, or Christ is God. Because when you see Lord in the Old Testament, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital V, it's Jehovah, and Jesus is equated with Jehovah of the Old Testament. But the point is, those verses are equating God and the Spirit, so this just indicated the Spirit is God. Can anybody quote Matthew 28, 19? It's part of the Great Commission. Go. Yep. Go, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. They're all equal. We wouldn't be baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost if the Son and the Holy Ghost are not also God as the Father. We'd be blaspheming. to state that when we baptize somebody. Let me give you one other one like that. 2 Corinthians 13, 14 says, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen. Again, they're all three stated together essentially equally. So there are passages in which the Holy Spirit is equated with God. but he also has the attributes of God. He is the Holy Spirit. Now, that is his name, but it's not just his name, okay? When the Bible refers to him as the Holy Spirit, it's not just like holy is his first name and spirit is his last name. By the way, you understand that when you read Jesus Christ or the Lord Jesus Christ, it's not his first, middle and last name, that every one of those names have meaning. He is the Lord, He is Jesus, He is Messiah. It's not just a name, it is referring to something about Him. So when He's called the Holy Spirit, it is referencing the fact that He is holy as God is holy, and God is the only one who is holy. We are not absolutely holy, God is. By the way, He's called the Holy Spirit seven times in the Bible, three times in the King James, three times in the Old Testament, four times in the New Testament, or he's called the Holy Ghost 90 times, all in the New Testament. Now, here's an interesting thing, and I don't know why this is, but when the King James translators translated it, sometimes they translated it Holy Ghost, and sometimes they translate it Holy Spirit. The word spirit and ghost in the Greek is the same word, pneumatos. We get our word pneumatic, air, wind, and I don't know exactly why, and they chose Holy Ghost most often, 90 times, and Holy Spirit only four times in the New Testament. But when you read that, it's not like there's a Holy Ghost and there's a Holy Spirit. It's referring to the same one, and they just chose, I'm sure they had a reason, but I don't know what it was, why they chose to do it differently. So, but he possessed the attributes, he's holy. Now, all right, so let's, you guys over there, Hebrews 9, 14, you guys here, Psalm 139, one and seven, and you guys over here, Luke 1, 35 to 37. So Hebrews 9, 14, over there, Hebrews 9, 14, and then here in this section, Psalm 139, looking at verse one and verse seven, and on this side, Luke 1, 35 to 37. All right, so somebody read Hebrews 9.14 and then tell me what attribute of God is stated in that verse. Okay. What attribute of God is stated there? He's called the what? Eternal, he's the eternal spirit. God is eternal, the spirit is eternal. All right, so he has the same attribute, the spirit has the same attribute of eternality that the father has and the son has. All right, Psalm 139, just read verse one. Verse one gives us who it is that's speaking or who it's being spoke about. Verse seven then gives us the Holy Spirit. So read those verses one and seven. Okay, so what attribute of God is attributed to the Spirit? And he's also equated with the Lord in that text as well. Omnipresence, where am I gonna go from your Spirit? you know, where I can't get away from him. All right. And then Luke 1, 35 to 37. And so what would be the attribute given to the Holy Spirit there? Omnipotence, all power. Nothing is impossible with God. The Holy Spirit is going to do this. He is God, and nothing is impossible to Him. So if I asked you, a person or a force, you would say, and you would tell me, how would you How would you prove that to me? Okay. What scripture would you take me to? I know there's a bunch of them. Give me one. Okay. Okay. All right. Okay. If I were to say, you know, I don't believe the Holy Spirit's God, you would say, I'm wrong? and you would take me to the Bible, where would you take me? Just one, you know, huh? X5, okay, all right. What else, maybe? Okay, good. All right. So he is a person, and he is God, the spirit. And so that's the foundation of studying the spirit, is understanding that he's not just a form, a person. He is God. He is equal with God. He is God. So then we build from there. So any questions? Yes, sir? Yeah, if you go to the 14th chapter of John, And it opens up a lot between Christ and God and the Holy Spirit. And I will pray the following, and Jesus gives you another compliment, that he may abide with you forever, even in the spirit of truth. who the world cannot receive, but thou didst seeeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him, for he dwelleth within you and shall be in you. And interesting, the word another that he says, another comforter, another of the same kind. He's going to be the same kind of comforter that I am, which again equates the Spirit. Jesus is saying the Spirit is just like me. So he's, Jesus is affirming in that verse the deity of the Spirit. All right, we're gonna close in prayer, and then Rob's gonna lead us in a closing song. We're gonna sing the first and the third verse of Yield Not to Temptation. I was thinking about this one in reference to our Sunday morning message on the temptation of Christ, and so kind of a look back to Sunday morning, we'll sing the first and the last verse of Yield Not to Temptation, but let's pray. Father, thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit, as we'll look at in a later study and think about the presence of the Spirit in our lives. But we thank you for the Holy Spirit. We couldn't be or do anything apart from the working of your Spirit within us. And so we thank you for Him and help us to be settled in what we know about the Holy Spirit. And Lord, as we think about this, and maybe there's some new truth that we'll receive, but also, Father, that we will learn how to cooperate with the Spirit that our lives can bring glory to you. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.