The Holy Spirit: The Person
Introduction:
Tonight we will begin our study of the Holy Spirit. It is interesting to note that the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit numerous times. However, despite the amount of information given about the Holy Spirit, there is still a great amount of misunderstanding and confusion concerning the Holy Spirit. James Needham, at the beginning of his book, says, “Our inability to speak knowledgably about the Holy Spirit (or any other Bible subject) is a manifestation of our lack of Bible study. There are three possible sources of this lack of knowledge: (1) Preachers have failed to teach on the subject, (2) Elders have neglected to teach or ask the preacher to teach on the subject, (3) Members have failed to study their Bible on their own. In reality our ignorance is the result of our own personal choice.” These are strong, powerful words, but very accurate of the situation. Because of misunderstanding and confusions, preachers have been unwilling to preach on the topic and members have to been too fearful to try. I hope we can change that trend beginning tonight. I am going to do a series of lessons on the Holy Spirit over the coming months. I challenge you to study the New Testament passages on the Holy Spirit so that you can teach yourself about these matters. Tonight’s lesson will begin with some very elementary principles, yet important principles, as we build a foundation for our learning about the Holy Spirit.
Before we begin, I also want to make a plea to everyone as we go through this series. First, there are many who already have their minds made up as to what exactly the Holy Spirit does and does not do. I hope you will open your hearts and minds and accept what the scriptures say on the matter. Second, let us not be like other religious groups who at the plain reading of the scriptures distort it to mean what they want it to mean. Just as we charge others for ignoring the plain reading of Acts 2:38 that repentance and baptism are needed for forgiveness of sins, let us not be charged with trying to tap dance our way out of the plain reading of scriptures concerning the Holy Spirit. We ought to take a reading of a scripture at face value unless that meaning would conflict with other plain teachings in God’s word.
Getting To Know the Holy Spirit
How can we know about the Holy Spirit?
There is only one way that we learn about the Holy Spirit. Divine revelation is the only way we are able to know about the Holy Spirit. If the Bible did not exist, we would not be able to know about the person and work of the Holy Spirit. This is important to realize because many people believe they are able to learn about the Holy Spirit through speculations, feelings, or so-called experiences. But without the scriptures, we would not even know that there was a Holy Spirit, nor that the Holy Spirit had a work within our lives.
The Holy Spirit described
As we begin our study it is also important for us to recognize the various names and descriptions of the Holy Spirit. First, there are some false ways that we are identifying the Holy Spirit as we read in our Bibles. Many times, if we see the “S” in spirit capitalized, we assume that this is referring to the Holy Spirit. However, this is the work of the translator. Most English versions for hundreds of years have taken it upon themselves to capitalize words that are ascribed to deity. Therefore, just because the “S” is capitalized or not should not sway us into thinking that one passage is speaking concerning the Holy Spirit while another is not. Also, we must ignore the issue of if there is a definite article in front of the description. Just because a passage does not have the word “the” in front of the word “spirit” does not mean that this is not a reference to the Holy Spirit. The simplest way for us to get a foundational understanding of the Spirit is to notice the names used to describe the Spirit. First, one of the most common names and the name that we will be using the most is the Holy Spirit. This tells us this Spirit is different from all other spirits on earth and in the heavenly places. This Spirit is holy. In fact, Romans 1:4 describes the Spirit as “the Spirit of holiness.” Therefore, the Holy Spirit is different from other spirits and we will notice those differences later in our study.
The Holy Spirit is also called “the Spirit of God” or “the Spirit of the Lord” 32 times in the New King James Version. This description identifies the deity of the Holy Spirit. Here is one of the distinctions of the Holy Spirit versus other spirits. The Holy Spirit is God. An easy proof of this point is found in Acts 5:3-4. Peter asks Ananias in verse 3 why he has lied to the Holy Spirit. Peter concludes his condemnation in verse 4 saying, “You have not lied to me but to God.” The association is clear that by lying to the Holy Spirit, he had lied to God. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God, just as the Father is God and the Word is God.
Three times the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:13). This describes a function of the Holy Spirit as a revealer of God’s law and God’s truths. We will speak more to this function later. Two times the Holy Spirit is described as “the Spirit of grace” (Zechariah 12:10; Hebrews 10:29). God is repeatedly described in the scriptures as being full of grace and offering grace to all humanity. This function of offering grace is not excluded from the work of the Holy Spirit. These are the sure descriptions we have concerning the Holy Spirit, which on the surface give us a slight insight into who the Spirit is.
The Holy Spirit Is A Person
“Another helper” not a force
Some religious groups, particularly the Jehovah’s Witnesses, teach that the Holy Spirit is simply an active force. These groups say that the Spirit is not deity and is not a person, but just a force that works in the world by God’s power. We have already noticed Acts 5:1-4 which shows the Holy Spirit to be God.
John 14:16 is an important description made by Jesus to show that the Holy Spirit is God and is a person. The passage reads, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.” The word “Helper” can also be translated “Advocate,” “Counselor,” or “Comforter.” It is the equivalent to an attorney who is called into defend another. This gives us the imagery of a person, and not a “force.”
Further, Jesus said “allos parakletos” which is translated “another Helper.” The word allos means “another of the same kind.” This is in contrast to the Greek word heteros which means “another of a different kind.” In other words, the Holy Spirit would be another Helper of the same kind as Jesus Himself. This describes the Holy Spirit as another person who is the same nature as the Word.
The Holy Spirit acts
We also see in the scriptures the person of the Holy Spirit because of the actions He takes. We see that the Holy Spirit has intellectual activity (Romans 8:26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11). We see that the Holy Spirit has the ability to choose and decide (Acts 13:2; 15:28; 16:6-7; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 12:11). The scriptures reveal to us that the Holy Spirit speaks (John 16:13-14; Acts 8:29; 13:2; 1 Timothy 4:1). Further, we see that the Holy Spirit teaches (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:13). We also see the Holy Spirit having emotions, like grieving and loving (Romans 15:30; Ephesians 4:30; Isaiah 63:10). What we are simply proving is that the Holy Spirit is not merely an active force or influence. The Holy Spirit is described as having the characteristics of man, just as the Father and the Son are described.
The Holy Spirit is treated as a person
Further, we see in the scriptures that the Holy Spirit is treat as a person and not as a force. The Holy Spirit can be lied to (Acts 5:3), blasphemed (Matthew 12:31), insulted (Hebrews 10:29), and tested (Acts 5:9). These are simply further attributes that disprove a doctrine that would present the Holy Spirit as only a force. Instead, we learn that the Holy Spirit is an eternal being that is divine. The Holy Spirit is identified as God when the writer would speak of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (1 John 5:7; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Romans 15:16). Again, to deny the Godhood of the Holy Spirit and the person of the Holy Spirit is to deny the plain teaching of the scriptures. With the remainder of our time, I would like for us to study the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
Creator
We can see that the Holy Spirit was involved in the creation process. This can be proven not only by explicit passages which state such, but also by implication of the nature and person of the Holy Spirit. Genesis 1:2 says, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” This does not seem to state much to us. But chapter 1 of Genesis is the creation account of the heavens and the earth. Verse 1 tells us that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:26 continues to describe a plurality of workers in creation. Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….’” Who are the “us” in this text? It is revealed to us in John 1 that the Word was part of the creation process. But we see the Spirit of God working in verse 2 of Genesis 1, suggesting to us that the Spirit is also involved in the creation process.
As I said, we ought to be able to understand this implicitly. If the Holy Spirit is God, as we have proven at the beginning of this study, then it ought to seem obvious when we read in Genesis 1:1 that God created the heavens and the earth the Holy Spirit is included in that statement. Just as the Word is God and therefore was part of the creation process, as John argues in the first chapter of his gospel, the same logical applies to the Holy Spirit.
Job stated this explicitly in Job 33:4. “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” This is a parallel statement to the creation account where man and woman are created in the image of God, then God breathed into man the breath of life to become a living being (Genesis 2:7). Job explicitly states this fact. Many believe that this is all the Holy Spirit did in the Old Testament, and some even try to deny this. I have read some argue that the Holy Spirit was not doing anything until the New Testament. But that is not what the scriptures teach.
Revealer
In Numbers 11 God commands Moses to gather seventy men of the elders of Israel to help Moses in leading the people of Israel. In Numbers 11:25 we read, “Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again.” Here is a place where we see the Spirit of God given the ability to prophecy, revealing the words of God.
We see the Holy Spirit working to reveal God’s will in 1 Samuel 10:6, 10. “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.”
1 Samuel 19:20, “Then Saul sent messengers to take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.”
The Spirit revealed God’s words to David. 2 Samuel 23:2 says, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.” We could go on and on with these examples, but these are sufficient to show the work of the Holy Spirit as revealing the word of God to men and inspiring these people to speak as the mouthpiece of God.
Special gifts giver
Throughout the Old Testament we see that the Holy Spirit was giving special gifts to various people within Israel. Not everyone received gifts, but certain chosen people. One gift that we see in the Old Testament was the ability to build. Exodus 31:1-6 says, “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: See, I have called by name Bazaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded.” These particular individuals were given special gifts to be able to build the tabernacle the Lord had commanded.
Another gift we see the Holy Spirit giving is the gift of leadership. We see this gift of leadership given to many of the judges that ruled over Israel (Judges 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6; 14:19). This is more clearly seen as the Spirit of the Lord is removed from King Saul and given to future King David. 1 Samuel 16:13-14 records this event. “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.” This seems to be another gift the Holy Spirit gave to those who would lead the people of Israel.
Promise of the Holy Spirit
Despite all these works concerning the Holy Spirit, there was still a greater promise of blessings from the Holy Spirit to come. Isaiah 44:3 says, “For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessings on your offspring.” Isaiah begins to prophesy that the Lord would pour out the Holy Spirit upon His people.
Here are some more prophecies that look toward the same event. Ezekiel 39:29 says, “And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Lord.” Joel 2:28-29 says, “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Zechariah 12:10 says, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication;”
Something else was going to happen in the future. The work of the Holy Spirit was not completed in the Old Testament. There was more promised that the Holy Spirit would accomplish. This will be the subject of our future lessons. We will spend time looking at the New Testament passages and consider the work of the Holy Spirit in the first century and the work of the Holy Spirit today.
Conclusion:
The foundation we need to begin with is that the Holy Spirit is a person, not a force who possesses the attributes of deity. Further, we see the work of the Holy Spirit under the old covenant and there will be similarities to these works under the new covenant.
