7- Jesus Sending the Holy Spirit

With Respect to Him Sending the Holy Spirit

This proof consists of the following points:

(A) God is Spirit

(B) God is the One who pours out and sends His Spirit (C)

The Lord Jesus Christ pours out, sends and breathes the Spirit of God

(D) Conclusion: Christ is God

(A) God Is Spirit

This is clear from the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (Jn.4:24), and also from the Apostle's words: "Now the Lord is the Spirit" (2 Cor. 3:17).

 

(B) God Is the One Who Pours out His Spirit

St-Takla.org Image: The dove of the Holy Spirit, made not out of stained glass, but of transparent alabaster - details 2 from Chair of Saint Peter (Cathedra Petri, Throne of Saint Peter: relic), gilt bronze sculpture by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (between 1647–1653) - St. Peter's Basilica: The Papal Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican: Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano, Rome, Italy. Completed on 18 November 1626 - Photograph by Michael Ghaly for St-Takla.org, September 22, 2014 صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: الروح القدس في هيئة حمامة، مصنوعة من المرمر الشفاف (الألابستر) وليس من الزجاج المعشق - تفاصيل 2 من كرسي القديس بطرس الرسول، نحت برونزي مُذْهَب للفنان جان لورينزو برنيبني (في الفترة ما بين 1647–1653) - صور كاتدرائية القديس بطرس الرسول، الفاتيكان، روما، إيطاليا. انتهى العمل بها في 18 نوفمبر 1626 م. - تصوير مايكل غالي لموقع الأنبا تكلاهيمانوت، 22 سبتمبر 2014

This is clear from the Lord's words in the Book of Joel: "I am the Lord your God and there is no other... And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams" (Joel 2:27-29).

God Sends His Spirit to the World

The Psalm says: "You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth" (Ps. 104:30). The Lord says in the Book of Ezekiel: "I will put My Spirit within you" (Ez. 36:27). And in the Book of Numbers the Lord says: "Oh, that all the LORD'S people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!" (Num. 11:29) St. Paul the Apostle says:

"God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit" (1 Thes. 4:8).

 

(C) The Lord Jesus Christ Pours out God's Spirit on His Disciples

This is obvious from the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verse 33. This point to Jehovah's Witnesses does not need any proving. They confess in their book Let God Be True that "the Spirit of God was poured out on the disciples by the hand of Jesus on the Day of Pentecost."

The Lord Jesus Christ Sends God's Spirit

This is clear from the Gospel according to St. John, where the Lord said to His disciples: "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me" (Jn. 15:26), and: "For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you" (Jn. 16:7).

The Lord Jesus Christ Breathes God's Spirit

This is clear from the Gospel according to St. John, in which we read: "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit' " (Jn. 20:22).

 

(D) Conclusion: Christ Is God

(a) Who can pour out the Spirit of God, send the Spirit of God and breath the Spirit of God on people, except God Himself? And if the Lord Jesus Christ did these, is He not God, then?

(b) God says in the Book of Joel: "I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh." And St. Peter the Apostle uses this verse as a testimony on the Day of Pentecost at the descent of the Holy Spirit, saying: "'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh"' (Acts 2:16,17), and we have discussed this issue before here on st-takla.org in other pages. Moreover he says in the same chapter that the Lord Jesus, "being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). Then who is the Lord Jesus Christ who pours out the Spirit of God on people, but God Himself?

(c) We cannot imagine, nor can Jehovah's Witnesses, that there is a power other than God who can send the Spirit of God or pour out the Spirit of God.