Should We Worship the Holy Spirit?
A topic that has been discussed throughout church history is the doctrine of the Trinity — the idea that God is of one essence who shows Himself in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The mystery of how One can be Three is one that cannot be fully explained in human terms.
While the word ‘trinity’ is not explicitly stated in Scripture in reference to Father, Son, and Spirit, various passages support the doctrine of a triune God (Gen. 1;26, Isa. 6:8, Matt. 28:19, etc.). Historically, Southern Baptists have included elements in worship that exalt the Father and Son but have not made the worship of the Holy Spirit a high priority. A brief look through some of our most recent hymnals (the Baptist Hymnal 2008, 1991, 1975, 1958, and the Broadman Hymnal) show the lack of emphasis on Spirit worship. In the BH 2008, songs about God the Father and Jesus the Son fill more than three pages (each triple columned) of the topical index. Songs about the Holy Spirit comprise less than half of a single column (for a total of less than 20 songs).
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 ascribes divinity to the three members of the Trinity, relating attributes that make each of them worthy of our worship. Its statement about the Holy Spirit relates “The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine (emphasis mine) …He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. …He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.”
So, if we accept all Three members of the Trinity as God, why the de-emphasis on the Holy Spirit? Various reasons have been offered — i.e., Scripture has more to say about the workings of God the Father and Jesus, or the emphasis by other denominations on the giftings of the Spirit (e.g. — speaking in tongues, healing, and prophecy) has made many Baptists reluctant to talk about Him lest they are seen as being ‘pentecostal.’
With our belief of one God in three Persons, how then should Southern Baptists approach worship of the Holy Spirit? A few things to consider:
1. All members of the Trinity are fully God.
2. All three are co-equal; there is no ranking or priority among the Three (an idea that proponents of gradational authority hold).
3. All three are eternal and have existed together since before time. The Son and the Spirit were not ‘created’ by the Father (as postulated by followers of Arius in the 4th century).
4. The Holy Spirit is not impersonal, as some intimate when they refer to Him as ‘it.’ New Testament authors use a masculine pronoun when referring to Him (e.g. John 16:7–8), and also ascribe Him personality traits (1 Cor. 12:11, Rom. 8:26–27).
5. Athanasius (an early church father) noted that the Holy Spirit was afforded the same status as the Father and Son in early church writings such as trinitarian doxologies, apostolic benedictions, and baptismal formulas. He also noted that for salvation theology to be true, both Jesus and the Holy Spirit needed to be considered divine.
Since the Holy Spirit is God, and Scripture relates that God is worthy of our worship (e.g. — Ps. 145, Ps. 96:4, Rev. 4:11), then worship of the Spirit as one of the Persons of God should be a foregone conclusion. It is appropriate to both praise Him and pray to Him, as we do the Father and the Son. The form of our prayers may be different for each (i.e. — thanking the Father for His providence and provision, expressing gratitude to Jesus for His atoning work, and asking the Spirit for His continued work in the world), but each One deserves an equal share of our praise.
