As a person the Holy Spirit has a will, emotion, and intelligence. It took hundreds of years for this doctrine to develop!) The personhood of the Holy Spirit is something many Christians assume. Christians teach that the Holy Spirit is a person, but what is a person? Seeing the Invisible. Unfortunately, that argument likely doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. • The Holy Spirit is the one who leads us into all … Is the Holy Spirit Really a Person? Thus three distinct persons are still of one substance (una substantia in Latin). A person is a living, intelligent being, with a mind, feelings, and emotions. The Holy Spirit as a person is conspicuously absent from Christ's teaching in general. The Holy Spirit Exhibits Attributes of a Person As we read through the New Testament, it is clearly evident that the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotion, and will. One potential argument that the Holy Spirit is a person is to look at the Greek words in John 14:26, 15:26, and 16:13-14. The New World Encyclopedia notes, “Tertullian started to use the expression of ‘three persons’ (tres personae in Latin). Seeing the holy spirit for what it is —God’s powerful active force— can give you confidence that Jehovah will fulfill his promises. All rights reserved. First, we need to notice that the Holy Spirit is a unique person and not simply a power or an influence. This Doctrinal Report concerns the Spirit of God. Never miss a post! The doctrine of the Trinity developed over the centuries as a human attempt to explain the nature of God. John 16:14, “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity–equal with the Father and Son in essence. “The Holy Spirit is a person, for He beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God.” (Ev 616) “Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the Godhead” (DA 671) One of the most fundamental errors regarding the Holy Spirit is the tendency of some cults to deny his very personality. He mentions the Father and the Son (Jesus Christ) in his greetings but consistently omits the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-2; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 1:3). As God, the Holy Spirit can truly function as the Comforter and Counselor that Jesus promised He would be (John 14:16, 26, 15:26). Get the latest blog posts from Life, Hope & Truth straight to your inbox. “Live Not By Lies” – Whether Right or Left, 7 Ways to Kill the Thanksgiving Impulse in Your Life, Life and Books and Everything: John Piper Talks Books, We Must Find a Better Way to Talk About Race. Amen. no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”, 8. Why Those Who Mourn Are Blessed in God’s Kingdom, The Self-Pity and Irresponsibility of President Trump, A Simple Explanation of Divine Simplicity, What Does It Mean to Be Human? The question implies that the holy spirit is never spoken of as an impersonal, active force. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. As the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is a Person and … Recommended Resource: The Holy Spirit by Charles Ryrie And there are three that bear witness on earth” were not a part of the original text that the apostle John wrote, but were instead added much later (perhaps in an attempt to buttress the doctrine of the Trinity). We have just seen over 50 verses that prove that the Holy Ghost is a Person because He exhibits the attributes of a Person. Even so … Many places in Scripture the holy spirit is referred to as “God’s spirit” – the apostrophe “s” denoting ownership, meaning that the spirit belongs to God. Does the Bible teach that the holy spirit is a person? We believe in the Holy Spirit, that He is active and alive in our world and our hearts. If the Holy Spirit is a person, why is the Holy Spirit not included when Paul, Peter and John sent greetings to the churches? A more fruitful approach is first to ask a question almost no one asks: how do we know that the Father is a person? Recommended Resource: The Holy Spirit by Charles Ryrie More insights from your Bible study - Get Started with Logos Bible Software for Free! Again, these are matters of grammar and translation, not of biblical theology. Why is the Trinity doctrine not taught in the Bible? They share a common Spirit and nature (Ephesians 4:4; John 10:30). Seeing the Invisible. The word spirit is rendered as רוּחַ (ruach) in Hebrew-language parts of the Old Testament. This is a vitally important concept. 1 Corinthians 2:13, “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force. Yet some other things attributed to God’s spirit … The Bible provides many ways to help us understand that the Holy Spirit is truly a person—that is, He is a personal being, rather than an impersonal thing. But what does the true source of all right doctrine tell us about the nature of the Holy Spirit? Is the Holy Spirit Really a Person? How does the Holy Spirit fare up under this criteria? They are grammatically either feminine or masculine or neuter, whether or not they refer to living things that are female or male. 12. All of these characteristics or This is a vitally important concept. THE holy spirit can be grieved and can speak, teach, bear witness, act as a remembrancer and serve as a helper. The marks of a genuine person are knowledge, feeling, and will. The Spirit glorifies Christ, takes what is Christ, and declares it to believers. So the Holy Spirit is a person and He is God. Ephesians 4:30, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”, 4. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. How far-reaching is God’s holy spirit… Hence, so the argument goes, the Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit has the Attributes of a Person. 4:30). The Holy Spirit has a mind. In this video devo Dennis Pollock teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person, not a force or mere power, such as electricity or battery power. 1. . We believe in the Holy Spirit, that He is active and alive in our world and our hearts. Among the myths and the mistaken concepts that are shared, He has been described as a force, a ghost, and a second-class or replacement god. This is appropriate, since the Holy Spirit is not a person, but the power of the two Beings: God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is not simply “God’s active force,” as the cults suggest. While both the Father and Christ are worshipped as the two eternal Beings of the Godhead (John 4:23-24; John 20:28; Hebrews 1:6), there is no instance in the Bible of the Holy Spirit being worshipped. For example, in Spanish, a door is la puerta. The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8:2), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). He has taught accounting and business courses at the university graduate level, and has served in the financial management of Church of God organizations. Answers to Major Questions About the Holy Spirit (Part 2) To properly understand the basis and perspective of this article, readers are requested to read first the primary article published earlier in this website titled, 12 Reasons Why the Holy Spirit Is Not A Person (Part 1). The translators of the King James Bible carried this grammatical arrangement over into the English in a number of places, such as John 14:16. Romans 8:26-27, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. All of these views have one thing in common: these groups reject the Spirit as a person and instead present Him as a thing. When we say that the Holy Spirit is a person some assume that He has eyes, feet, and hands. . It isn’t taught elsewhere in the Scriptures. The Spirit of God is not a different person from the Father. The Holy Spirit as a distinct person, however, is again absent—another inexplicable oversight if this Spirit is the third person of a triune God. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”, 7. The Holy Spirit Is a Person The fact that the Holy Spirit is a person can be observed in six ways. . There we see that the antecedent of the masculine ἐκεῖνος (a masculine word for “that person”) is πνεῦμα (a neuter word for “Spirit”). To many people, the Holy Spirit is an enigma. In fact, for centuries some of the most influential religions of Christendom have attributed personality to the holy spirit. This passage shows that the Spirit has a life. This is why Paul states in 1 Corinthians 8:6 1 Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. American King … Copyright © 2021 The Gospel Coalition, INC. All Rights Reserved. Something that does these personal things in relationship—like God, angels, and human beings—is a person. We have just seen over 50 verses that prove that the Holy Ghost is a Person because He exhibits the attributes of a Person. The Holy Spirit - A Person or Power? All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version (© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.). The Holy Spirit is included in the Trinity, which is made up of 3 distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is actually the name Judah. The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8:2), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). We believe that the Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son and is of the same essence. The Holy Spirit is identified as a Person by John, using in the Greek the masculine ekeinos in Jn.16:13. . The spirit of Elijah (Luke 1:17) is not a different person from Elijah. 4:30). Ephesians 4:30 (New International Version) says: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. —Genesis 1:2. Hello bro. Yet some other things attributed to God’s spirit … The Holy Spirit is spoken of in many ways that demonstrate that it is not a divine person. Yet He is also distinct from them. As soon as … And is the Holy Spirit a person—the third person of a trinitarian Godhead? . He most recently pastored two congregations of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, before his retirement in 2020. As simple of a thought as this may be (that the Holy Spirit is a Person), I still believe that it’s important to demonstrate it through scripture. He is not simply “God’s active force,” as the cults suggest. However, the Spirit is a spiritual person, while Jesus was a flesh and blood person. He can be angered, frustrated, grieved (Eph. However, these analogies do not of and by themselves prove or disprove that the Holy Spirit is not a person. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. He can also be pleased and satisfied (Acts 15:28–30). This passage only makes sense if the Holy Spirit is a person. From their perspectives, the Spirit is a “what” rather than a “who.” Used by permission. Misconception: The “Holy Ghost,” or holy spirit, is a person and is part of the Trinity, as stated at 1 John 5: 7, 8 in the King James version of the Bible. First, the fact that this nonbiblical addition is the only clear statement of the Trinity highlights the weakness of the Trinity doctrine. You can follow him on Twitter. Most modern English translations do not include these words. “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. The following verses give us a beautiful picture of the Trinity in the Bible: Matthew 3:16-17. How about the Son? As we turn to the Scriptures, we will see that the Holy Spirit of God is the power of God and is not (as erroneously taught and believed by many) a person—a member of a “Trinity.” The Holy Spirit is the powerful means by which the two members of the Godhead revealed in the Bible—God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son of God—project Their will, Their influence, Their nature and Their creative power throughout the universe, including affecting the minds of human beings. Please make sure all fields are filled out. The Spirit can be grieved. Jesus prayed to the Father (John 17:1), but His mother Mary was pregnant with Him as a result of the Holy Spirit: “She was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). An Anthropology of Embodiment, Happy New Year: “All Glory Be to Christ!”. o. John 14:22 Judas was a common name in the time of Jesus. There we see that the antecedent of the masculine ἐκεῖνος (a masculine word for “that person”) is πνεῦμα (a neuter word for “Spirit”). The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as a “gift” that God will “pour out” on people (Acts 2:38; Acts 2:17). The vast majority of places where the word “spirit” is used it is portrayed as simply a force, God’s power. Hebrews 10:29, “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has . The Latin word persona in the days of Tertullian never meant a self-conscious individual person, which is what is usually meant by the modern English word ‘person.’ In those days, it only meant legal ownership or a mask used at the theater. It is a supernatural act. In light of this, we should take note of two things. The Spirit searches everything and comprehends God’s thoughts. In Romans 8, Paul describes how the Holy Spirit intercedes (or prays) for believers.He says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. But here’s the most amazing part of all of this: The Father and Son in the person of the Holy Spirit dwells inside of every believer. A mere force could not possess all of these attributes, but the Holy Spirit does. The moment we confess our sin and ask Jesus to come into our lives, we are born again, become members of God’s family, and the Spirit immediately takes up residence inside of our bodies. THE holy spirit can be grieved and can speak, teach, bear witness, act as a remembrancer and serve as a helper. Look, if the Holy Spirit is a person alongside the Father and the Son, then he deserves to be worshipped alongside the Father and the Son. The apostles Peter and John also greeted the brethren in some of their epistles in the name of God the Father and Jesus Christ, similarly not mentioning the Holy Spirit—quite a disrespectful snub if the Holy Spirit is also a person (2 Peter 1:2; 2 John 1:3). Here’s another puzzle for someone who believes the Spirit is a person. But these are not the marks of a person. Mormons believe the Holy Spirit is a fully separate spiritual being from the Father and the Son. A similar situation exists in the Greek language—the language in which the New Testament was originally written. One potential argument that the Holy Spirit is a person is to look at the Greek words in John 14:26, 15:26, and 16:13-14. The Spirit helps us, intercedes for us, and has a mind. Invisible, perhaps, but real. The proof comes from many other scriptures in the Bible. Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases on Amazon.com. Tom Kirkpatrick holds a PhD in accounting from the University of North Texas, and is a retired CPA. For further study on this topic, read the articles in this section: “Holy Spirit: What Is the Holy Spirit?”. The fact that the Holy Spirit is a Person … Furthermore, these passages clearly demonstrate that the Holy Ghost is God. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent.” - Manuscript Release 14, p. 23 We see over and over thru the Spirit of Prophecy and in scripture that the Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit. Some see Him as an impersonal force or influence, some deny His very existence, and others are not certain who or what the Holy Spirit is. apportions [spiritual gifts] to each one individually as he wills.”, 9. the holy spirit is the active force of God. Is the Holy Spirit a Person? We know that these are the three attributes that describe a person. He has the characteristics of a person. The Spirit apportions spiritual gifts. Thus, in the English translation, the Holy Spirit is referred to as “He.” However, this is no more evidence that the Holy Spirit is a person than the use, in Spanish, of the feminine pronoun ella (she) to refer to a door is evidence that a door is a female person. 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