改革宗信仰基础06：圣灵的位格与工作Basics of the Reformed Faith:The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

作者: Kim Riddlebarger  译者: 王一

https://www.wscal.edu/blog/basics-of-the-reformed-faith-the-person-and-work-of-the-holy-spirit

http://www.reformedbeginner.net/basics-06-holy-spirit/

我们经常听到人们把圣灵说成“它”而不是“他”。圣灵的工作是荣耀基督，而不是他自己。巴刻（J. I. Packer）称圣灵是“三位一体里害羞的那一位。”但是圣灵谦虚的角色不代表他是非位格，也不意味着他不是上帝。圣灵与三位一体中其他两位一样，拥有相同的上帝属性。就像我们说父是上帝，子是上帝，同样，我们必须宣告圣灵是上帝。他是神圣三位一体中的第三位。

与有关耶稣神性的经文相比，有关圣灵神性的经文似乎没有那么多，但这些经文却清晰明确。我们先来看圣经直接宣告圣灵是上帝本身。在《使徒行传》5:3-4，我们读到亚拿尼亚和他妻子撒非拉的故事，他们诡诈欺骗了圣灵。而他们被定的罪是“你这不是欺骗人，而是欺骗上帝。”欺骗圣灵就是欺骗上帝。在《哥林多前书》3:16里，保罗告诉我们，我们里面的灵是上帝的灵，我们是上帝的殿。而在同一卷书6:19里他说了同样意思的话，而他说我们是圣灵的殿。至少，保罗这两处的话间接指出了圣灵的神性。

在旧约圣经里也有许多很重要的关于圣灵神性的证据。在《以赛亚书》63:10里，以赛亚先知说上帝的灵呼应了《诗篇》95:9。而《希伯来书》3:7-9把在《诗篇》95篇里说话的上帝称为圣灵：所以，就像圣灵所说的：“如果你们今天听从他的声音，就不要硬着心，好象在旷野惹他发怒、试探他的日子一样；在那里，你们的祖先以试验来试探我，观看我的作为有四十年之久。”旧约先知归于上帝的，希伯来书作者将其归于圣灵。

纵观正本圣经，圣灵都被描绘成拥有上帝的属性。在《创世记》1:1-2里，我们读到“上帝的灵运行在水面上。”约翰和保罗把创造之工归给圣子（他是真的永生的上帝），而摩西把创造之工归给圣灵。在《诗篇》33:6里，诗人说圣灵（上帝之气）创造了万有。就像圣子是永恒的，同样圣灵也是，他也是在万物受造以先，与上帝同在。

在《约伯记》33:4里，我们读到：“神的灵创造了我，全能者的气使我存活。”就像圣父和圣子赐生命给我们，同样圣灵也赐生命给我们。然而， 圣灵不但给我们生命气息，他还给我们新生，而这只有上帝才能做到（《约翰福音》3:5）。我们只有被上帝的灵赐予永生，才能进入上帝的国。

此外，我们发现将整个上帝属性都应该归给圣灵。他是全知的。在《哥林多前书》2:11，保罗说圣灵测透万事，甚至上帝深奥之事也测透了。上帝是无处不在的，圣灵是无处不在的。《诗篇》139:7-10，诗人说圣灵无处不在。圣经说圣灵是全能的。在《以赛亚书》11:2里，圣灵被描述成拥有上帝独有的能力。他实际上就是全能的，因为上帝是全能的。

圣经还提到圣灵的其他上帝属性。圣灵是我们成圣的作者（《彼得前书》1:2），他印了我们直到得赎之日（《以弗所书》1:13-14），他保证上帝在我们里面开始的工能够完成（《以弗所书》4:30）。先知和使徒们是透过圣灵来说话（《彼得前书》1:21）。最后，圣经说圣灵使信徒与基督联合，使他们能够坦然无惧来到上帝面前。保罗说圣灵是祷告的灵（《罗马书》8:15-16）。圣灵把我们与基督联合，使我们可以向上帝呼求。是圣灵使基督的救恩称为我们的。

圣经有着如此丰富的经文，但我们今天对上帝理解的混乱。圣灵是与圣父和圣子同为上帝，因此我们必须敬拜那位独一且是三位的上帝。上帝是一，但却启示自己为三个独特的位格，每一个位格都是上帝。

既然圣灵是三位一体的第三位，他是真的永生的上帝，那么我们就必须呼求他，敬拜他，服侍他，称颂他，就像我们对圣父和圣子那样。毕竟，我们领受洗礼是奉父、子、圣灵的名（太28:9）。使徒祝福也是奉父、子、圣灵的名。因此，我们必须把一切荣耀、尊贵归给圣灵，就像我们归给圣父和圣子一样。

Basics of the Reformed Faith: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

By Kim Riddlebarger

Far too often we hear people speak of the Holy Spirit as an “it,” not a “who.” One reason why this is the case is that the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work is to bring glory to Jesus Christ, not to himself. This is why J. I. Packer calls the Holy Spirit the “shy member of the Trinity.” But this self-effacing role of the Spirit does not mean that the Holy Spirit is impersonal and not God. The Spirit possesses the same divine attributes as do the other members of the Trinity. Even as we speak of the Father as God, the Son as God, so too we must speak of the Holy Spirit as God. He is the third person of the Holy Trinity.

While there is not as much biblical evidence for the deity of the Holy Spirit as there is for the deity of Jesus, it would be a mistake to conclude that the evidence is neither clear nor decisive. We start with the Bible’s direct assertion that the Holy Spirit is God. In Acts 5:3-4, we read the story of Ananias and Saphirra, specifically of their deceit and the charge brought against them. “You have not lied to men but to God.” To lie to the Holy Spirit (as they did) is to lie to God. In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul tells us that the Spirit who indwells us, is God’s Spirit. He makes the same point in 1 Corinthians 6:19. At the very least, both of Paul’s comments are indirect assertions of the deity of the Holy Spirit.

There is significant evidence for the deity of the Holy Spirit found in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 63:10, Isaiah speaks of the Spirit of God, as does the Psalmist in Psalm 95:9. In Hebrews 3:7-9 the author of Hebrews attributes the words spoken by God in Psalm 95 to the Holy Spirit. “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test . . . for forty years.” What the Old Testament prophets attributed to God, the author of Hebrews attributes to the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is said to possess divine attributes. In Genesis 1:1-2 we read that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Even as John and Paul attribute the work of creation to the Son (who is true and eternal God), so too, Moses assigns the work of creation to the Holy Spirit. In Psalm 33:6, the Psalmist states that the Holy Spirit (the Ruach, the breath of God) creates all things. As the Son is eternal, so too, is the Holy Spirit, who was with God before all things were created.

In Job 33:4, we read, “the Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” As the Father and the Son are said to give us life, so too does the Holy Spirit. But not only does the Holy Spirit grant us life and breath, he also gives the new birth, something only God can do (John 3:5). We cannot enter God’s kingdom until God’s Spirit gives us eternal life.

Then we have a whole catalog of divine attributes applied to the Spirit. He is omniscient (in Psalm 139:7-10, the Psalmist says that the Holy Spirit is everywhere present). In 1 Corinthians 2:11, Paul says the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. God is omnipresent. The Holy Spirit is omnipresent. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God. The Scriptures also teach that the Holy Spirit is omnipotent. In Isaiah 11:2, the Holy Spirit is described as possessing the power which God alone possesses. He is, in fact, all-powerful, because God is all-powerful.

The Scriptures mention other divine attributes of the Holy Spirit as well. The Holy Spirit is the author of our sanctification (1 Peter 1:2), he seals us unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14), ensuring that the work God has begun in us will reach completion (Ephesians 4:30). It is through the Holy Spirit that the prophets and apostles spoke (1 Peter 1:11). And Peter proclaims “[that] prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (1 Peter 1:21). Finally, there are those verses which speak of the work of the Spirit in uniting believers to Jesus Christ, enabling them to approach God without fear. The Holy Spirit is described by Paul as the “Spirit of prayer” (Romans 8:15-16). It is the Spirit who unites us to Christ and enables us to cry out to God. It is the Spirit’s work to ensure that the saving benefits of Christ become ours.

Given this vast amount of biblical data and the great confusion of our age regarding the God of the Bible, it is vital that since the Holy Spirit is God (with the Father and the Son), we worship God in unity and the Godhead in Tri-unity. For God is one, yet revealed in three distinct persons who are each God.

Since the Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity and is true and eternal God, then we must invoke, worship, and serve the blessed Holy Spirit, even as we do the Father and the Son. After all, we are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:9). The apostolic benediction is given in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must ascribe all glory, majesty and honor to the Holy Spirit, even as we do so to the other members of the Godhead. We pray to the Holy Spirit, we worship the Holy Spirit, we invoke the blessed Holy Spirit.