The Holy Spirit

See Got Questions for a more complete coverage of this subject.       https://www.gotquestions.org/questions_Holy-Spirit.html

Question: Is the Holy Spirit a person?

Answer: There are many misconceptions about the identity of the Holy Spirit. Some view the Holy Spirit as a mystical force. Others believe that the Holy Spirit is the impersonal power that God makes available to followers of Christ. But what does the Bible say about the identity of the Holy Spirit? Simply put, the Bible declares that the Holy Spirit is God. He is the third person of the Trinity. ( Matthew 28:19) Being a divine person, the Holy Spirit has a mind, emotions, and a will.

The Bible provides many ways to help us understand that the Holy Spirit is truly a person. First, every pronoun used in reference to the Spirit is “he” not “it.” The original Greek language of the New Testament is explicit in confirming the person of the Holy Spirit. The word for “spirit” (pneuma) is neuter and would naturally take neuter pronouns to have grammatical agreement. Yet, in many cases, masculine pronouns are found (e.g., John 15:26; 16:13–14). Grammatically, there is no other way to understand the pronouns of the New Testament related to the Holy Spirit—He is referred to as a “He,” as a person.

Matthew 28:19 teaches us to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a collective reference to one triune God. Also, we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit can be sinned against (Isaiah 63:10) and lied to (Acts 5:3). We are to obey Him (Acts 10:19–21) and honor Him (Psalm 51:11).

The personhood of the Holy Spirit is also affirmed by His many works. He was personally involved in creation (Genesis 1:2), empowers God’s people (Zechariah 4:6), guides (Romans 8:14), comforts (John 14:26), convicts (John 16:8), teaches (John 16:13), restrains sin (Isaiah 59:19), and gives commands (Acts 8:29). Each of these works requires the involvement of a person rather than a mere force, thing, or idea.

The Holy Spirit’s attributes also point to His personality. The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8:2), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). A mere force could not possess all of these attributes, but the Holy Spirit does.

And the personhood of the Holy Spirit is affirmed by His role as the third person of the Godhead. Only a Being who is equal to God (Matthew 28:19) and possesses the attributes of omniscience, omnipresence, and eternality could be defined as God.

In Acts 5:3–4, Peter referred to the Holy Spirit as God, stating, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” Paul likewise referred to the Holy Spirit as God in 2 Corinthians 3:17–18, stating, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit is a person, as Scripture makes clear. As such, He is to be revered as God and serves in perfect unity with Father and Son to lead us in our spiritual lives.

Question: Is the Holy Spirit a “He,” “She,” or “It” (male, female, or neuter)?

Answer: Linguistically, masculine theistic terminology dominates the Scriptures. Throughout both Testaments, references to God use masculine pronouns. Specific names for God (e.g., Yahweh, Elohim, Adonai, Kurios, Theos, etc.) are all in the masculine gender. God is never given a feminine name or referred to using feminine pronouns. The same applies to the Holy Spirit.  He is always referred to in the masculine throughout the New Testament, although the word for “spirit” by itself (pneuma) is gender-neutral, and the Hebrew word for “spirit” (ruach) is feminine in Genesis 1:2. But the grammatical gender of a word in Greek or Hebrew has nothing to do with actual gender identity.

Since the Holy Spirit is also God, we can infer some truths about Him from more general statements about God. God is spirit, as opposed to being physical or material; He is incorporeal (John 4:24; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17). This is one reason why God forbade material representations of Himself (Exodus 20:4). If gender is an attribute of the body, then a spirit does not have gender. God, in His essence, has no gender.

  In some places, the Bible uses feminine examples to illustrate a divine trait. God likens Himself to a mother in Isaiah. (Isaiah 66:13)  Jesus likens Himself to a mother hen in Matthew 23: 37.  These word pictures are meant to illustrate a particular quality of God.  Analogies should not be stretched too far. Saying someone is “as busy as a bee” does not mean that person is insect-like in all areas; neither does saying God is “as tender as a mother” mean that God is a woman.

In Genesis 1:26–27 God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,” and then “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Thus, the image of God was reflected in both male and female—not simply one or the other. The image of God is the same in every person, regardless of physical gender.  Likewise, the Holy Spirit is neither male nor female in His essence; He transcends gender. But He is properly referred to in masculine terms by virtue of biblical revelation.

Question: What are the names and titles of the Holy Spirit?

Answer: The Holy Spirit is known by many names and titles, most of which denote some function or aspect of His ministry. Below are some of the names and descriptions the Bible uses for the Holy Spirit:

Author of Scripture: (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16)—The Bible is inspired, literally “God-breathed,” by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. The Spirit moved the authors of all 66 books to record exactly what He breathed into their hearts and minds. As a ship is moved through the water by wind in its sails, so the biblical writers were borne along by the Spirit’s impulse.

Comforter/Counselor/Advocate: All three words are translations of the Greek parakletos, from which we get “Paraclete,” another name for the Holy Spirit. When Jesus announced His departure to heaven, His disciples were greatly distressed because they would lose His comforting presence. But He promised to send the Spirit to comfort, console, and guide those who belong to Christ. (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:7) The Spirit also “bears witness” with our spirits that we belong to Him and thereby assures us of salvation.  (Romans 8:16)

Guide:— (John 16:13) Just as the Spirit guided the writers of Scripture to record truth, so He promises to guide believers to know and understand that truth. He will not speak on His own, but only that which He hears from God. God’s truth is “foolishness” to the world, because it is “spiritually discerned” by those who believe (1 Corinthians 2:14). Those of us who belong to Christ have the indwelling Spirit who guides us into all we need to know in regard to spiritual matters. Those who do not belong to Christ have no “interpreter” to guide them to know and understand God’s Word.

Intercessor: (Romans 8:26)—One of the most encouraging and comforting aspects of the Holy Spirit is His ministry of intercession on behalf of those He inhabits. Because we often don’t know what or how to pray when we approach God, the Spirit intercedes and prays for us. He interprets our yearnings and articulates them for us, so that when we are oppressed and overwhelmed by trials and the cares of life, He comes alongside to lend assistance as He sustains us before the throne of grace.

Teacher: (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13)—Jesus promised that the Spirit would teach His disciples “all things” and bring to their remembrance the things He said while He was with them. The writers of the New Testament were moved by the Spirit to remember and understand the instructions Jesus gave for the building and organizing of the church, the doctrines regarding Himself, the directives for holy living, and the revelation of things to come.

Witness: (Romans 8:16; Hebrews 2:4; 10:15)—The Spirit is called “Witness” because He verifies and testifies that we are children of God, that Jesus and the apostles who performed miracles were sent by God, and that the books of the Bible are divinely inspired. Further, by giving the gifts of the Spirit to believers, He gives witness to us and the rest of the world that we belong to God.

Question: What is the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost?

Answer: Of the popular English translations of the Bible, it is only the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible that uses the term “Holy Ghost,” where it occurs 90 times. The term “Holy Spirit” occurs seven times in the KJV. There is no clear reason why the KJV translators used “Ghost” in most places and then “Spirit” in a few. The same Greek and Hebrew words are translated “ghost” and “spirit” in the KJV in different occurrences of the words. By “ghost,” the KJV translators did not intend to communicate the idea of the spirit of a deceased person. In 1611, when the KJV was originally translated, the word “ghost” primarily referred to an immaterial being.

With recent Scripture translations, “Spirit” has replaced “Ghost” in most instances. Some of this came about because words don’t always hold their meanings. In the days of Shakespeare or King James, “ghost” meant “the living essence of a person.” Looking back, we see that “breath” or “soul” was often used as a synonym for “ghost.” In the 17th century, “spirit” normally referred to the essence of a departed person or a demonic or paranormal apparition. As language evolved, people started saying “ghost” when speaking of the vision of a dead person, while “spirit” or “soul” became the standard term for “life” or “living essence.” With slight exceptions, “ghost” and “spirit” changed places over some 300 years.

Question: Should we worship the Holy Spirit?

Answer: We know that only God should be worshipped. Only God deserves worship. The question of whether we should worship the Holy Spirit is answered simply by determining whether the Spirit is God.

The Holy Spirit possesses the nature of deity; He shares the attributes of God. He is neither angelic nor human in essence. He is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). He is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7–10). The Spirit is omniscient, i.e., He knows “all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). He taught the apostles “all things” (John 14:26). He was involved in the creation process (Genesis 1:2). The Holy Spirit is spoken of in intimate association with both the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; John 14:16). As a person, He can be lied to (Acts 5:3–4) and grieved (Ephesians 4:30). Furthermore, some passages in the Old Testament that feature God are applied to the Spirit in the New Testament (see Isaiah 6:9–10 with Acts 28:25–27, and Exodus 16:6–7 with Hebrews 3:7–9).

A divine person is worthy of worship. God is “worthy of praise” (Psalm 18:3; 48:1). We are commanded to worship God (Matthew 4:10; Revelation 19:10; 22:9). If, then, the Spirit is deity, the third person of our triune God, He is worthy of worship. Philippians 3:3 tells us that true believers, those whose hearts have been circumcised, worship God by the Spirit and rejoice in Christ. This is a beautiful picture of worship of all three members of the Godhead.

How do we worship the Holy Spirit? We worship Him in the same way we worship the Father and the Son. Christian worship is spiritual, flowing from the inward workings of the Holy Spirit to which we respond by offering our lives to Him (Romans 12:1). We worship the Spirit by obedience to His commands. Referring to Christ, the apostle John explains that “those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us” (1 John 3:24). Here we see the link between obeying Christ and the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, convicting us of all things—especially of our need to worship through obedience—and empowering us to worship.