II. THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY GHOST
A. “It” or “Him”?
1. “Yet to some the Spirit is still “it” rather than “He.”
(pg 11) The Holy Spirit and His Gifts J. Oswald Sanders
2. “It is of great importance that we believe in the divinity of the Holy Spirit and also His Personality.” pg 445 God’s Plan For Man Dake
3. Scriptures:
John 14:16 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”
John 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 15:26 “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 16:7 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”
John 16:8 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
“Various pronouns that clearly imply personality are repeatedly used of the Holy Spirit.” R. A. Torrey
“The use of these pronouns is remarkable considering that in the Greek language the word for "spirit" is a neuter noun, and according to Greek usage, the pronouns that refer to spirit should be neuter. Yet in numerous instances a masculine pronoun is used, thus bringing out very strikingly how the Bible idea of the personality of the Holy Spirit dominates grammatical construction. There are instances, of course, where the natural grammatical usage is followed and a neuter pronoun used (Romans 8:16, 26). But in many instances this construction is set aside and the masculine personal pronoun used to refer to the neuter noun.” What The Bible Teaches by R. A. Torrey
B. A Mysterious Influence or a Person
1. The Holy Spirit is thought by some to be an "essence" or "power" of God rather than a separate person, because "ruach", the Hebrew word for Spirit, also means breath, and "pneuma", the Greek word for Spirit, also means wind or air. We as Christians know He is a person. Chuck Smith
2. “He is not an “it,” not an influence, but He is a presence, a power, a person, the third Person of the Trinity.” pg 213 On The Holy Spirit Smith Wigglesworth
3. Christ will give the Holy Spirit that He (a person, not a thing) may abide in us permanently, not temporarily (as in the Old Testament). David Guzik
4. We are so much accustomed to talk about the influence of the Holy Ghost and his sacred operations and graces, that we are apt to forget that the Holy Spirit is truly and actually a person—that he is a subsistence—an existence; or, as we Trinitarians usually say, one person in the essence of the Godhead.
Charles Spurgeon The Personality of the Holy Ghost ,
A Sermon (No. 4) Delivered on Sabbath Morning, January 21, 1855
5. “It is only when we learn these truths that we can give Him the honor, worship, adoration, and personal respect that we give to God. We must learn that the Holy Spirit is not a mere power that we need to get hold of and use, but we must learn that He is a person who is infinitely wise, holy, just, and gracious, and who seeks to get hold of us and use us.” pg 445 God’s Plan For Man Dake
C. Points that Prove He is a real Person: (Dake)
1. Personal names are given to Him. (Later section.)
2. Personal pronouns are used of Him. (Discussed above.)
3. Personal attributes are ascribed to Him.
a. Eternal. Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
b. Omnipotence. Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the
Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
c. Knowledge is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. I Cor. 2:10- 11 “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (v. 11) For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”
d. Will is ascribed to the Spirit. I Cor. 12:11 "But all these worketh that one and the self:same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
e. Mind is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:27 "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
“The word here translated "mind" is a comprehensive word including the ideas of thought, feeling and purpose.” R. A. Torrey
4. Personal works are ascribed to Him. (Later section.)
5. Personal references are made concerning Him.
6. Personal treatment is ascribed to Him.
a. He can be resisted. Acts 7:51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.”
b. He can be grieved. Eph. 4:30 “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”
“Grief is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit thinks, feels, purposes, knows, wills, loves, grieves.” R. A. Torrey
c. He can be quenched. I Thes. 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit.”
d. He can be lied to. Acts 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?"
D. Jesus said “another Comforter.”
John 14:16-17 — "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 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."
1. Another is the Greek allen, meaning "another of the same kind" not another of a different kind. David Guzik
“another Comforter” would indicate a very close resemblance of characteristics to the Lord Himself. Derickson’s Notes
3875 parakletos {par-ak'-lay-tos}a root word;-5:800,782; n m-comforter 4, advocate 1; 5
1) summoned, called to one's side, esp. called to one's aid
1a) one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate
1b) one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor
1b1) of Christ in his exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins
1c) in the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant
1c1) of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom
2. “It is the office of the Holy Spirit to be "another Comforter" (or paraclete) to take the place of the absent Savior. Is it possible that Jesus Christ could use such language in speaking of an impersonal influence or power?” R. A. Torrey
This name should bring us to the realization that He wants to be a comfort to us in times of trouble — at all times for that matter, not just when we are in
trouble. We can receive comfort in good times as well as bad.
Derickson’s Notes
3. Helper translates the Greek parakletos: "a person summoned to one's aid," and may refer to an advisor, a legal defender, a mediator or an intercessor. David Guzik
