Q. I have some friends that do not believe in the Trinity or they say that the Father and the Son are God but not the Holy Spirit. Part 2

This week I want to continue with the question that was raised about the Holy Spirit and whether He is God or just a “force” or “power.” The Father ,the Son and the Holy Spirit are divine and unique beings, coequal and co-eternal. The Lord has chosen to reveal this doctrine carefully and gradually. It is a guarded revelation due to our limitations. Wrong ideas have produced heresies and threatened the faith at times. There are many examples of this concept. For instance the mind is made up of the intellect, emotions and conscience. In nature, a tree has branches, a root and a trunk. In fact the tree has been used in scripture to illustrate the union of the Lord with his people as one entity. An egg has whites, yolk and shell. Light is one, yet has distinct colors. Time is past, present and future and to the Lord there is no distinction, He transcends it. Space has length, breadth, height. Matter has the atom with its parts, and so on. I think you get the idea. In other words, the Lord has put within nature examples of His essence to illustrate it for us. Titles for the Lord like “elohim” (gods, judges) is a collective title and plural. YHVH ( made up of the Hebrew letters “yod, heh, vav, heh “) is singular, but it can be used for the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit individually. The Father (Deut 32.6), the Son (Rom 8.14) and the Holy Spirit (Jn 3.1-8) represent their individual roles for us in order to help us understand the relationship and functions of the three divine beings. These roles should not be pushed beyond their clear and intended “relationships.” For instance, “son” does not mean subordinate in essence to the Father. The “spirit” is not an inanimate wind or force. Father is a position of authority, the Son is the intercessor and the Holy Spirit is a comforter, or helper. These terms are used to help us understand the Lord and what their roles are in relation to the redemption and should not be pushed beyond that. I hope this helps you reconcile your question somewhat. Remember, there are certain things we will never understand fully in this life and trying to explain the essence of the Godhead is one of them, but the Bible is very clear about what the Lord says about Himself and this should always be where we find out the answers to our questions. This, of course, is only my opinion on the subject but I hope it helps.