WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
The Holy Spirit is truly God and he has the distinguishing characteristics of personality.
The deity of the Holy Spirit is established by His characteristics, His relationships with other persons in the Trinity, the divine names that are given to Him, and the works which he performs.
THE PERSONALITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT –
The Essential Components of Personality
There are three (3) components of personality:
- Intellect ( the ability to think)
- Sensibility (the ability to feel) and
- Will (the ability to make decisions)
The Bible clearly speaks to us concerning the personality of the Holy Spirit. In his masterful discourse on life through the Spirit, the apostle Paul concludes by referring to the “mind of the Spirit” (Romans 8:27), which identifies the intellectual faculty of the Spirit. The apostle also ascribes sensibility to the Spirit (Romans 15:30). That is, he refers to the Spirit’s ability to feel- in this case, to feel love, and His ability to express feeling. Finally, the apostle speaks to Corinthians believers about the sovereign actions of the Holy Spirit as he demonstrates the faculty of will, giving gifts to believers as He determines or wills- (1 Corinthians 12:11). These Scriptures show that the Holy Spirit possesses the essential qualities of personality.
HIS CHARACTERISTICS OF DIVINE NATURE
The Holy Spirit possesses the characteristics of divine nature. For example, He is eternal- that which is without a beginning, or ending, or limitation- Hebrews 9:14.
The Holy Spirit also has the following characteristics:
- He is everywhere- present (omnipotent). The Psalmist David declared, “Where can I go from your Spirit?” “Where can I go from your presence?”- Psalm 139:7-10.
- He is all-knowing (omniscient)- Paul, in describing this divine characteristics to Corinthian believers, observes that “no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God”- 1 Corinthians 2:11. Moreover, He who knows the thoughts of God also knows the will of God and he enables us to pray according to the will of God- Romans 8:26-27.
- The Holy Spirit is all- powerful (omni-potent). That is, He has the power and ability to bring about everything God wills, without any limitations- Luke 1:35; Acts 1:8
THE HOLY SPIRIT: A WISE ADMINISTRATOR
Jesus said to His followers in John 16:7- “It is for your good that I am going away”. It was because He was limited in His humanity and could be in only one place at a time. However, He knew that when the Holy Spirit came to replace Him, there would be no limitations on the time He could stay or in the work that He could do.
Thus, through the Holy Spirit, God not only commissions the Church with works, but also stays with the Church and enables it to get the works done. More than this, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the Church and gives it guidance, fellowship, comfort, and enablement for all the spiritual needs.
