The Father is clearly presented as God in the Scriptures. No one doubts this. He is distinct from the Son, who is also God. The two divine Persons comprise the one Godhead. The Holy Spirit, however, is not presented in Scripture as a third and distinct Person of the Godhead. The Spirit is personified on occasion, but is generally described as the power and presence of the transcendent God in the natural world.

David said, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7). Here, “Your Spirit” is synonymous with “Your presence,” showing that the Spirit of God is the spiritual presence of the supernatural God in the natural world.

Speaking of the conception and birth of Jesus, the angel Gabriel said to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). Here, “Holy Spirit” is synonymous with “power of the Highest,” showing that the Spirit of God is the power of God.

A comparison of the parallel accounts of Luke 11:19,20 and Matthew 12:28 shows that “Spirit of God” is synonymous with “finger of God.” This describes God’s “reaching down” and “touching” the lives of human beings. It is simply another way of describing the presence and activity of the invisible God in the natural world. The description of the Spirit as the “finger of God” does not fit the belief that the Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead.

Many point to John 14–16, where Jesus describes the Spirit as “another Helper” (or “Comforter”) having personal attributes. However, this description is consistent with Jewish and biblical metaphors for the divine attributes—the personification of “Wisdom,” for example (see Proverbs 8). Further, this section of John’s Gospel is filled with metaphorical descriptions. Jesus Himself said it clearly: “These things I have spoken to you in figurative language…” (John 16:25).

The many passages that mention the Father and the Son, but make no reference to the Spirit, reflect the New Testament writers’ view of the Holy Spirit. Check Matthew 11:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2,3; Galatians 1:3,4; Ephesians 1:2,3; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2,3; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3; James 1:1; 1 John 1:3; 2:24; 5:20; 2 John 1:3,9; Jude 1:1; Revelation 21:22,23; 22:3.