# Is the Holy Spirit God?

> The Nicene confession that the Holy Spirit is God, in Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal texts, and what those texts say about praying to the Spirit.

- Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-the-holy-spirit-god
- Religions: Christianity
- Denominations: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal
- Beliefs: none
- Tags: trinity, holy-spirit, prayer
- Updated: 2026-10-11
- Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul))


Yes. The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity, not a force and not a second god. The [381 creed, as the Orthodox Church in America page quotes it](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed) [(1)](#ref-1), calls the Holy Spirit the Lord and the Giver of Life, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.

## Key Points

- [Matthew 28:19](/bible/matthew/28/19) [(11)](#ref-11) names one baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) is that confession. [Does the Trinity Depend on 1 John 5:7?](/christianity/does-the-trinity-depend-on-1-john-5-7) says the confession does not rest on that one verse.
- [Acts 5:3–4](/bible/acts/5) [(12)](#ref-12) says Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost, and Peter says he has not lied unto men but unto God.
- [Catechism 689](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_three/article_8/i_the_joint_mission_of_the_son_and_the_spirit.html) [(2)](#ref-2) says the Spirit of the Son, sent into our hearts, is truly God, consubstantial with the Father and the Son.
- [Augsburg I](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_i/) [(3)](#ref-3) says the three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are of the same essence and power. [Westminster 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html) [(4)](#ref-4) says God the Holy Ghost is of one substance, power, and eternity with the Father and the Son.
- [Baptist Faith and Message II.C](https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/) [(5)](#ref-5) says, “The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine.” Methodist [Article IV](https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion) [(6)](#ref-6) says the Holy Ghost is “very and eternal God.”
- The [Assemblies of God statement](https://ag.org/-/media/AGORG/Beliefs/Fundamental-Truths/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths.pdf) [(8)](#ref-8) says the one Lord may be spoken of as a Trinity or as one Being of three persons, and that the Holy Spirit is the one proceeding from the Father and the Son.
- [Catechism 2670](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_four/section_one/chapter_two/article_2/the_way_of_prayer.html) [(9)](#ref-9) asks how the Church could not pray to the Spirit. The [Larger Catechism, Q. 178–179](https://opc.org/lc.html) [(10)](#ref-10), says prayer is offered to God, by the help of his Spirit, and to God only.

## What the Creed Says

The [OCA page](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed) [(1)](#ref-1) quotes the creed of Nicaea and then the addition from the Council of Constantinople in 381. The addition, in the wording printed on that page:

> And [we believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

The page is a catechism, not the minutes of the council. It says the Spirit is worshipped and glorified with the Father and the Son, and it says the Spirit proceeds from the Father. It does not add “and the Son.” [Westminster 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html) [(4)](#ref-4) and Methodist [Article IV](https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion) [(6)](#ref-6) do say the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. [What Happened at the Council of Nicaea?](/christianity/council-of-nicaea) is the 325 council. This page does not decide the procession clause. It records both wordings. [What Does the Eastern Orthodox Church Believe?](/christianity/what-does-the-eastern-orthodox-church-believe) is the wider Orthodox confession. The [Eastern Orthodox](/eastern-orthodox) hub lists that church’s pages.

## What the Confessions Say

[Catechism 689](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_three/article_8/i_the_joint_mission_of_the_son_and_the_spirit.html) [(2)](#ref-2) says the one whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God, consubstantial with the Father and the Son, inseparable from them in the inner life of the Trinity and in his gift of love for the world. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. The [Catholic](/catholic) hub lists the Catechism. [What Do Catholics Believe?](/christianity/what-do-catholics-believe) stays on that confession.

[Augsburg I](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_i/) [(3)](#ref-3) says the churches teach that the decree of the Council of Nicaea about the unity of the divine essence and the three persons is true. God is one divine essence. “Yet there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are of the same essence and power.” The [Lutheran](/lutheran) hub lists the confession.

[Westminster 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html) [(4)](#ref-4): “In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.” The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. “The Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.” The [Reformed](/reformed) hub lists the confession.

[Baptist Faith and Message II](https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/) [(5)](#ref-5) says there is one and only one living and true God, and it speaks of the eternal triune God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Article II.C says the Holy Spirit is fully divine. The [Baptist](/baptist) hub lists the statement.

Methodist [Article IV](https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion) [(6)](#ref-6): “The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.” The [Confession of Faith, Article I](https://www.umc.org/en/content/confession-of-faith) [(7)](#ref-7), says the one God reveals himself as the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, “distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.” Article III says the Holy Spirit “proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son.” The [Methodist](/methodist) hub lists both.

The [Assemblies of God](https://ag.org/-/media/AGORG/Beliefs/Fundamental-Truths/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths.pdf) [(8)](#ref-8) say the one true God has revealed himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that “we therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God, who is One Lord, as a Trinity or as one Being of three persons.” The Holy Spirit “is the One proceeding from the Father and the Son.” [What Do Pentecostals Believe?](/christianity/what-do-pentecostals-believe) quotes more of that statement. The [Pentecostal](/pentecostal) hub lists it.

## What the Bible Says in the Passages These Churches Cite

[Genesis 1:2](/bible/genesis/1/2) [(13)](#ref-13) says the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, in the account of creation, before any later sending at Pentecost. [Luke 1:35](/bible/luke/1/35) [(15)](#ref-15) says the Holy Ghost shall come upon Mary, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow her, so that the child will be called the Son of God. [Luke 1:41](/bible/luke/1/41) says Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost when she heard Mary’s greeting. The verses do not say which of those was first.

[John 14:16–17](/bible/john/14) [(14)](#ref-14) has Jesus say he will ask the Father, who will give another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, to abide for ever. [John 14:26](/bible/john/14/26) says the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in Jesus’ name, will teach and bring to remembrance. [John 15:26](/bible/john/15/26) says the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, proceeds from the Father and will testify of Jesus. [John 16:13](/bible/john/16/13) says the Spirit of truth will guide into all truth and will not speak of himself.

[Acts 5:3–4](/bible/acts/5) [(12)](#ref-12) is Peter’s charge. Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost about the price of the land. Peter says the lie was not unto men but unto God. [Who Was at Jesus' Baptism?](/christianity/who-was-at-jesus-baptism) is the Jordan, where the Spirit descends and the voice from heaven speaks. [What Is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit?](/christianity/what-is-blasphemy-against-the-holy-spirit) is the saying that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven.

Jehovah’s Witnesses say the holy spirit is not a person and is not God. That reading, in their own publications, is [Is the Holy Spirit a Person or an Impersonal Force?](/jehovahs-witnesses/is-the-holy-spirit-a-person). This page does not repeat it. [What Is the Deity of Christ?](/christianity/deity-of-christ) is the related confession that Jesus is God.

## Can You Pray to the Holy Spirit?

[Catechism 2670](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_four/section_one/chapter_two/article_2/the_way_of_prayer.html) [(9)](#ref-9) says no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit, and that every time a person begins to pray to Jesus it is the Holy Spirit who draws that person by prevenient grace. It then asks: since he teaches us to pray by recalling Christ, how could we not pray to the Spirit too? It quotes a line that if the Spirit should not be worshiped, he cannot divinize through baptism, and if he should be worshiped, he should be the object of adoration.

[2671](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_four/section_one/chapter_two/article_2/the_way_of_prayer.html) [(9)](#ref-9) says the traditional form of petition is to invoke the Father through Christ our Lord to give the Consoler Spirit. It also says the simplest and most direct prayer is traditional:

> Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.

The same paragraph prints the “Heavenly King, Consoler Spirit” prayer. [2672](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_four/section_one/chapter_two/article_2/the_way_of_prayer.html) [(9)](#ref-9) calls the Spirit the interior Master of Christian prayer.

The [Larger Catechism, Q. 178](https://opc.org/lc.html) [(10)](#ref-10), says prayer is “an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit,” with confession of sin and thankful acknowledgement of mercies. Q. 179 asks whether prayer is unto God only. The answer says God only is able to search the hearts, hear the requests, pardon the sins, and fulfill the desires of all, and that prayer “is to be made by all to him alone, and to none other.” [Westminster 21.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html) [(4)](#ref-4), on the same site’s confession page, says prayer is made in the name of the Son, by the help of his Spirit. Those sentences say prayer is to God, and that the Spirit helps prayer. They do not quote “Come, Holy Spirit,” and they do not add a separate ban on addressing the Spirit by name. The Catechism does address the Spirit. The two texts sit side by side here without a verdict pasted over them. [What Does the Bible Say About Speaking in Tongues?](/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-speaking-in-tongues) is a different question about the Spirit’s gifts.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is the Holy Spirit a Person?

The confessions above say yes: a person of the Godhead, fully divine, worshipped with the Father and the Son. [Is the Holy Spirit a Person or an Impersonal Force?](/jehovahs-witnesses/is-the-holy-spirit-a-person) is the Jehovah’s Witness account, which denies that.

### What Did Jesus Call the Spirit?

In [John 14:16–17](/bible/john/14) [(14)](#ref-14) and [John 14:26](/bible/john/14/26), the Comforter and the Spirit of truth, identified as the Holy Ghost. [John 15:26](/bible/john/15/26) and [John 16:13](/bible/john/16/13) use Spirit of truth again.

### Was the Spirit Present at Creation?

[Genesis 1:2](/bible/genesis/1/2) [(13)](#ref-13) says the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [Catechism 1224](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_two/section_two/chapter_one/article_1/ii_baptism_in_the_economy_of_salvation.html), quoted on [Who Was at Jesus' Baptism?](/christianity/who-was-at-jesus-baptism), says the Spirit who hovered over the waters of the first creation descended on Christ at the Jordan.

## The Churches on This Site

- [Christianity](/christianity)
- [Catholic](/catholic)
- [Eastern Orthodox](/eastern-orthodox)
- [Lutheran](/lutheran)
- [Reformed](/reformed)
- [Baptist](/baptist)
- [Methodist](/methodist)
- [Pentecostal](/pentecostal)
- [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity)
- [Common Arguments](/common-arguments#is-the-holy-spirit-god)

## Passages Quoted on This Page

### Matthew 28:19

King James Version.

> Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

### Acts 5:3–4

King James Version.

> [5:3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? [5:4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

### Genesis 1:2

King James Version.

> And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

### Luke 1:35

King James Version.

> And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

### Luke 1:41

King James Version.

> And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

### John 14:16–17

King James Version.

> [14:16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [14:17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

### John 14:26

King James Version.

> But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

### John 15:26

King James Version.

> But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

### John 16:13

King James Version.

> Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

## Sources
Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site.

1. [Nicene Creed](https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-symbol-of-faith/nicene-creed) (The Orthodox Faith, on the Orthodox Church in America website. The page quotes the 325 creed and then the 381 addition on the Holy Spirit. A catechetical essay, not the synod’s own minutes.)
2. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 689](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_three/article_8/i_the_joint_mission_of_the_son_and_the_spirit.html) (Footnote markers were omitted.)
3. [Augsburg Confession, Article I](https://bookofconcord.cph.org/en/augsburg-confession/chief_articles/article_i/) (Book of Concord, Concordia Publishing House. Paragraph markers omitted.)
4. [Westminster Confession of Faith, 2.3](https://opc.org/wcf.html) (Published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Chapter 21.3, on prayer by the help of the Spirit, is on this page.)
5. [Baptist Faith and Message, Article II](https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/) (Baptist Faith and Message, 2000, Southern Baptist Convention. Article II.C is on this page.)
6. [Articles of Religion, Article IV, Of the Holy Ghost](https://www.umc.org/en/content/articles-of-religion) (The United Methodist Church.)
7. [Confession of Faith, Article I](https://www.umc.org/en/content/confession-of-faith) (Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren Church, as published by The United Methodist Church. Article III is on this page.)
8. [Statement of Fundamental Truths, 2, The One True God](https://ag.org/-/media/AGORG/Beliefs/Fundamental-Truths/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths.pdf) (Assemblies of God.)
9. [Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2670](https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_four/section_one/chapter_two/article_2/the_way_of_prayer.html) (Paragraphs 2671 and 2672 are on this page. Footnote markers were omitted.)
10. [Westminster Larger Catechism, Q. 178](https://opc.org/lc.html) (Published by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Q. 179 is on this page.)
11. [Gospel of Matthew, 28:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/matthew/28/19). King James Version
12. [Acts of the Apostles, 5:3–4](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/acts/5). King James Version
13. [Genesis, 1:2](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/genesis/1/2). King James Version
14. [Gospel of John, 14:16–17](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/14). King James Version
15. [Gospel of Luke, 1:35](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/luke/1/35). King James Version

## See Also
- [Can You Lose Your Salvation? What Each Church Teaches About "Once Saved, Always Saved"](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/once-saved-always-saved) — Can a Christian lose salvation? Official teaching from Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, and other churches, with the King James verses each side cites.
- [Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/is-baptism-necessary-for-salvation) — Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal texts on whether baptism is necessary for salvation, with Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21, and the thief on the cross.
- [What Does the Bible Say About Infant Baptism?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-infant-baptism) — Infant baptism and believer’s baptism in Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, and Pentecostal texts, with household baptisms and christening.
- [What Does the Bible Say About Speaking in Tongues?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-does-the-bible-say-about-speaking-in-tongues) — Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 12–14, with Pentecostal, Catholic, Baptist, Reformed, and Methodist texts on tongues, Spirit baptism, and whether every believer speaks in tongues.
- [What Do Protestants Believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/christianity/what-do-protestants-believe) — Protestant churches confess the Trinity and treat Scripture as the rule of faith. They are not one denomination, and they are not outside Christianity.

## History
[View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/is-the-holy-spirit-god.md)