Although they may reject the life-giving truths of the Bible, wicked men often abuse the words and concepts of the Scriptures. They strive to weaken the perceived character of God. In foolish pride, they argue that the Holy Spirit is not a person. The wickedness of their hearts moves them to slander the Divine Person of God. If humanity can be led to see the Holy Spirit as a weaker, lesser creature, the fullness of the Godhead can be falsely challenged. The Scriptures can be wrongly reformed. The ultimate goal is to cast doubt on the person of Jesus Christ as God in the flesh who came to redeem fallen humanity.
For the soul of your children as well as for yourselves, I beg you to understand that God is true, Jesus Christ is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is your guide to a correct understanding of these grave matters of life and death. Here then, in a nutshell, is evidence that the Holy Spirit is a person.
Scripture begins with the creation of the physical universe. It ends with the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. See both the beginning of the old (Gen. 1:2) and the beginning of the new (Rev. 22:17), the real, living presence of the Holy Spirit. As the Father and the Son, so also the Holy Spirit was a participant in the plan and the creation.
Is the Holy Spirit a Person?
Personality consists of emotion, intellect and will. The fact that the Holy Spirit has never assumed the physical body of a human being cannot invalidate personality characteristics. Otherwise, God the Father, who has also never been incarnated, must be denied the position of Divine Person through a false definition of personality.
In truth, three simple statements answer the question:
- The Holy Spirit has Emotions.
- The Holy Spirit has Intellect.
- The Holy Spirit has free will.
emotions
The Holy Spirit feels pain, sadness, love, hate and more. For example, the Holy Spirit is saddened by our refusal to walk in the will of God:
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Take away from yourselves all bitterness, wrath, wrath, clamor and slander, and all malice; and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ” (Ephesians 4:30-32).
Other passages speak of the outpouring of God’s love by the Holy Spirit, his work as a comforter and his desire to keep men from sin. You cannot share love if you do not know love. You can’t comfort if you can’t relate to the pain, grief, and shame. You cannot have the power of sin unless you are empathic with the pain that sin creates. No one hates sin more than God, because sin is the product of free will that separates the creature from the Creator.
Intellect
Within the finite limits of the human mind, there is no capacity to comprehend the infinite workings of an eternal God. The scriptures state that we do not even understand the totality of our prayers. We need an interpreter, one with the intellect to understand our inner being, and who can share our greatest needs with God the Father. Furthermore, we need someone who is able to understand all that the Father has to share with us, and who is willing to translate these matters into terms that we can understand. It’s written:
Things that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have risen in the heart of man, are what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them. to them us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of man, if not the spirit of man that is in him? so neither did anyone know the things of God, except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit that is of God; so that we know the things that God freely gives us” (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).
Will
The Holy Spirit is of the same nature and character as God the Father and God the Son. He teaches; he stirs up; He speaks. He loves; he he exists; he is always present. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and he is here yesterday, today, and forever. He is our helper, our wisdom and our strength. It is He who sanctifies and justifies the true believer:
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor those who abuse themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor Thieves will inherit the kingdom of God. And this was some of you: but you are already washed, but you are already sanctified, but you are already justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
critical understanding
You may be wondering why a correct understanding of the Holy Ghost is so critical to our life on this earth and to our eternal existence. Consider that Jesus Christ stands before God the Father as our advocate in heaven (1 John 2:1). So too is the Holy Spirit as our advocate on earth. When Jesus walked the earth, he was all in all to his disciples. He answered his questions, removed his fears, corrected his misunderstandings, supplied all his needs. But he also spoke of a day when he must leave.
Jesus has ascended back to the third heaven from which he came. There he now dwells with God the Father, but he has not left us unprotected. The Holy Spirit has come as a substitute. He will keep us during our absence from Christ.
But remember: the Comforter does not speak of himself. He comes to exalt the Son. He comes to conform the true believer to the likeness of the living Christ. He never seeks to make the Holy Spirit of God his personal magician. He is not here to satisfy our whims. He is here to strengthen, correct and maintain the bride of Christ.