The Person and Nature of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete in the original Greek, which literally means “one called alongside to help.” He is here for you—and He wants to do a wonderful work in your life (see John 14:16–18). He wants to seal, guide, empower, and fill you, time and time again. Yet, there is a great deal of misunderstanding concerning His role and working in the lives of both believers and nonbelievers.
Some have wrongly assumed that the Spirit is more of a spirit than a person. That is probably due in part to descriptions of Him in Scripture as being like the wind or a fire, or as coming on Jesus in the form of a dove. Yet, this must be balanced with the rest of Scripture.
In the New Testament, Jesus referred to Himself as “the Bread of Life” and “the Door.” The Bible also refers to God as “a Refuge” and “a Consuming Fire,” as well as one who will protect us “under His wings.” Does that mean that Jesus is a loaf of bread or a door? Does that imply that God the Father is a pile of rocks, a blast furnace, or a giant bird in Heaven? Of course not! In the same way, those descriptions of the Holy Spirit do not mean that He is simply some sort of force or power. In order to be considered a person, a being must possess three characteristics: intelligence, will, and emotion. The Holy Spirit displays all three.
The Holy Spirit has intelligence.
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10–11).
Paul tells us that the Spirit “knows the things of God.” Only a person with intelligence can actually know things. A fire does not know things, nor does a plant or a tree. But the Holy Spirit does.
The Holy Spirit has a will.
“But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing [gifts] to each one individually as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). It is the Holy Spirit who decides what kind of spiritual gifts each believer should receive.
Other Scriptural evidences of the Holy Spirit’s will include Acts 15:28, when the apostles prefaced their judgment on a question of church doctrine by saying, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit.” In addition, the Holy Spirit has shown His will in setting apart people for the Lord’s service (Acts 13:2). Only persons with a will are able to communicate this way.
The Holy Spirit has emotion.
“But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? … You have not lied to men but to God'” (Acts 5:3–4).
Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit can be grieved, quenched, resisted, blasphemed, and—as this passage attests—even lied to. This passage, found in the account of Ananias and Saphira in Acts 5:1–11, also clearly states that the Holy Spirit is God.
