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Who is the Holy Spirit?
In the past two months we have asked the questions: ‘Who is God’ and ‘Who is Jesus Christ’? Now the question is ‘Who is the Holy Spirit’?
In John chapter 14 Jesus says “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate (v16) and later “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you (v 26).
Note the pronoun – ‘who is’ and not ‘what is’ in the question above. It is important to note that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity and as such is a person. The Holy Spirit has attributes that only a person could have. These can be found in verses across the New Testament: intelligence (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), feelings (Ephesians 4:30), and a will (1 Corinthians 12:11; Acts 16:6-12). The Holy Spirit prays (Romans 8:26) and performs miracles (Acts 8:39). Additionally, the Holy Spirit can be lied to (Acts 5:3) and can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29). Finally, the Holy Spirit teaches and directs (John 14:26; Acts 8:29; Romans 8:14).
The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to in the Bible with a symbol. Four such symbols that refer to the Holy Spirit are the dove, fire, wind and water. This does not mean that each time these symbols are used it is in reference to the Holy Spirit. It is also important to note that the Holy Spirit does not just occur in the New Testament.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit filled individuals for various kinds of service and in some cases this filling is explicitly seen as temporary. A good example of the temporary nature of the filling of the Spirit in the Old Testament occurred in the life of Israel’s first king, Saul. The record of it starts in the book of First Samuel: “Then the spirit of God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied among them” (1 Samuel 10:9). But later after Saul’s disobedience to God the Spirit of God departed from him: “Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14).
We are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit as Christians. In Acts, Peter states, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Of course, this is not a one-time only occurrence as the Bible teaches that we can be filled with the Holy Spirit at times after our initial acceptance of Christ as Saviour. This is reflected in our behaviour as seen in the gifts (fruits) of the spirit. Galatians 5 v22 and v23 “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, v23 gentleness, and self-control.”
Steve Beynon
