Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The Person of the Holy Spirit

Evidence of the Holy Spirit is found throughout Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. He is not simply a force, nor energy, nor is He merely the mind of God, nor the presence of God, but He is actually a Divine Person. So grab your Bible and let's have a look at this together today in God's Word.



Personal Attributes
The Holy Spirit has many personal attributes, as noted by "Got Questions". Consider the fact that He has insight (1 Corinthians 2:10-11). This means that He knows things. For example, He knows the thoughts of God. It requires intellect in order to know things. He has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11). He convicts of sin (John 16:8). He performs miracles (Acts 8:39). He guides (John 16:13). He intercedes between persons (Romans 8:26). He is to be obeyed (Acts 10:19-20). He can be lied to (Acts 5:3), resisted (Acts 7:51), grieved (Ephesians 4:30), blasphemed (Matthew 12:31), even insulted (Hebrews 10:29). He relates to the disciples of Christ (Acts 15:28), as well as to Jesus and the Heavenly Father (John 16:14; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). It's impossible to speak this way about an impersonal force. All of these attributes are evidence of His personal nature.

Names of the Holy Spirit
Amazingly, there are over a hundred names and emblems representing the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Here is a list of His names, titles and emblems, created by Elmer Towns:

The Anointing (1 John 2:27)
My Spirit and My Blessing (Isa. 44:3)
O Breath (Ezek. 37:9)
The Breath of the Almighty (Job 33:4)
The Breath of God (Job 27:3)
The Breath of Life (Rev. 11:11)
The Breath of the LORD (Isa. 40:7)
The Breath of Your Nostrils (Ps. 18:15)
A Deposit (2 Cor. 1:22)
Like the Dew to Israel (Hos. 14:5)
Divided Tongues, as of Fire (Acts 2:3)
The Eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14)
An Excellent Spirit (Dan. 5:12)
The Finger of God (Luke 11:20)
Floods on the Dry Ground (Isa. 44:3)
A Fountain of Water (John 4:14)
The Gift of God (John 4:10; Acts 8:20)
The Gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)
God (Acts 5:4)
Your Good Spirit (Neh. 9:20)
The Guarantee of Our Inheritance (Eph. 1:14; cf. 2 Cor. 5:5)
The Hand of God (2 Chron. 30:12)
The Hand of the LORD (Job 12:9; Isa. 41:20)
The Hand of the Lord GOD (Ezek. 8:1)
He/Himself (John 14:16,26)
Another Helper (John 14:16)
The Helper (John 14:26)
The Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13)
His Holy Spirit (Isa. 63:10)
Your Holy Spirit (Ps. 51:11)
The Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 4:30)
The Holy Spirit of Promise (Eph. 1:13)
The Holy Spirit Sent from Heaven (1 Pet. 1:12)
The Holy Spirit Who Is in You (1 Cor. 6:19)
The Holy Spirit Who Dwells in Us (2 Tim. 1:14)
The Lord (2 Cor. 3:17)
The Oil of Gladness (Ps. 45:7; Heb. 1:9)
One Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 2:18; 4:4)
The Promise (Acts 2:39)
The Promise of My Father (Luke 24:49)
The Promise of the Father (Acts 1:4)
The Promise of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33)
The Promise of the Spirit (Gal. 3:14)
Rivers of Living Water (John 7:38)
The Same Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4,8,9,11)
The Same Spirit of Faith (2 Cor. 4:13)
The Seal of God (Rev. 9:4)
The Seal of the Living God (Rev. 7:2)
Seven Eyes (Zech. 3:9; 4:10; Rev. 5:6)
Seven Horns (Rev. 5:6)
Seven Lamps of Fire Burning Before the Throne (Rev. 4:5)
The Seven Spirits Who Are Before His Throne (Rev. 1:4)
The Seven Spirits of God (Rev. 3:1; 4:5)
The Seven Spirits of God Sent Out into All the Earth (Rev. 5:6)
A Sound from Heaven, as of a Rushing Mighty Wind (Acts 2:2)
The Spirit (Num. 27:18)
The Spirit like a Dove (Mark 1:10)
His Spirit (Num. 11:29)
My Spirit (Gen. 6:3; Joel 2:28,29)
Your Spirit (Ps. 104:30)
The Spirit of...
His Spirit Who Dwells in You (Rom. 8:11)
The Spirit Who Is from God (1 Cor. 2:12)
The Spirit Whom He Has Given Us (1 John 3:24)
My Witness (Job 16:19; cf. Heb. 10:15; 1 John 5:7-10; Rom 8:16)

I hope you will take time to look up these verses in the Bible. I realize that some of these are emblems, symbols, or metaphors that represent or describe the Holy Spirit, such as wind, water, and oil. But many of these are actually His names or titles, which are usually intended to refer to the nature or work of a person. These are Scriptural evidence of the Personal-hood of the Holy Spirit. Each one reveals to us something about His personality. For example, He is eternal and He is God.

I have already explained in my blog on the Deity of Christ that He is God. Now we see that the Holy Spirit is also God. Though God is One Divine Being, He exists in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It's no wonder Jesus taught us, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Mat 28:18-19).

Putting it All Together
As we’ve seen, the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. He is not an impersonal force. He has many personal attributes and emotions. And there are over a hundred names given to Him in Scripture, which help us to better understand His ministry and know Him. There are no recorded instances in Scripture where the Holy Spirit ever brought glory to Himself. He always glorifies Jesus Christ.

If you are already a disciple of Christ, I encourage you to take a few moments to ask the Heavenly Father to fill you with His Spirit. Then wait upon the Holy Spirit to come with all His omnipotent and enabling power.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar, such as Baptized with the Spirit, Ten Divine Expressions for Spirit Baptism, and The Holy Spirit Speaks. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  The "Holy Spirit" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
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