WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

October 2023

“Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
—Acts 13:1-2 

It is essential that every believer have a proper understanding as to who the Holy Spirit is and His role in our lives. As it regards who He is, the text that I have used gives us insight. The Holy Spirit is God, the third member of the Godhead. As well, He is a person, as shown to us in verse two by use of the pronouns “I” and “Me.” When one studies the Bible, especially the New Testament, we see the attributes of a person (not a physical person but a spirit being) ascribed to Him. In my text, the Holy Spirit spoke regarding His will for Barnabas and Saul (whether by tongues and interpretation or one of the other vocal gifts). In John14:16, He is called, “Comforter,” which, in the Greek, is Parakletos and means “one called alongside of another to help.” So He speaks, and He helps the believer to know and understand the Word of God and helps in our daily living.  

John 16:13 tells us the Holy Spirit will guide us, or direct us, and He will show us things to come. He creates, for it was by the power of the Holy Spirit that the universe was created (Gen. 1:2, Job 26:13, Ps. 33:6, Ps: 104:30).  

In his book Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible, Myer Pearlman quotes Dr. Denio as saying, “The Holy Spirit as deity immanent (abiding) in all creation manifests His presence by what we call the laws of nature. He is the principle of order and life, the organizing power in created nature. All the forces of nature are but evidences of the presence and operation of the Spirit of God. Mechanical forces, chemical action, organic life in plant and animal, energy connected with nervous action, intelligence, and moral conduct are but tokens of the immanence of God of which the Holy Spirit is the agent.”1 

The Holy Spirit is not only creator of the universe but He is also the creator and sustainer of humanity (Gen. 2:7, Job 33:4). Pearlman says of this, “Man owes his being to the ‘two hands of God,’ the Word (John 1:1-3) and the Spirit, for it was to these that the words ‘Let us make man’ were spoken.”2 

The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Eph. 4:30), meaning “to be sorrowful,” or “to offend.” 

The Holy Spirit “acts.” This is shown to us throughout the book of Acts by the many works such as Acts 4:31 and Acts 16:26. 

The Holy Spirit convicts (John 16:8), just as a physical person points out one’s wrongs, so the Holy Spirit points out sin in our lives. 

The Holy Spirit anoints or empowers (Luke 4:18). 

Acts 11:12 states, “And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man’s house.” As well, in Acts 16:6-7 we read, “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.” 

All that I have written shows us that the Holy Spirit is a person, albeit a Spirit being with a Spirit body. 

The Holy Spirit is not only a person but also deity. He is the third person of the Godhead—the Trinity. This does not mean that He is one of three gods, for God is one God (Deut. 6:4), yet He is eternally self-existing in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is fully God, yet each is an individual person within Himself. All three members of the Trinity are equal in omniscience (knowledge of everything) and have three minds that act as one. They are a unity, or one could say, Trinity! 

Pearlman states, “The Divine Unity is a compound unity, and that in this unity there are really three distinct Persons, every One of whom is the Godhead, and yet is supremely conscious of the other Two …. Not that there are three Gods, all of whom are independent and self-existing. The three cooperate with one mind and purpose, so that in the truest sense of the word they are ‘one.’ The Father creates; the Son redeems; and the Holy Spirit sanctifies; and yet in each operation the Three are present. The Father is pre-eminently Creator; yet the Son and the Spirit are described as co-operating in that work. The Son is preeminently the Redeemer, yet God the Father and the Spirit are described as sending the Son to redeem. The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier, yet the Father and the Son co-operate in that work.”3 

In the book, Systematic Theology, Kerry D. McRoberts writing on the chapter that deals with the Holy Spirit, says, “Jesus places the three members of the Godhead on the same divine plane in commanding His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”3 (Matt. 28:19). 

William Menzies and Stanley Horton in their book, Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective, closes out the chapter on the Trinity with this statement, “We worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and recognize their personalities in what we see in the Bible; therefore, we humbly acknowledge that they are one in fellowship, purpose and substance.”4 

In Part II of this article series, “Who Is the Holy Spirit?” we will deal with the names and symbols of the Holy Spirit. 

Sources: 

1Myer Pearlman. Knowing the Doctrines of the Bible. Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1981. 
Ibid. 
Ibid. 
William Menzies, Stanley Horton. Bible Doctrines: A Pentecostal Perspective. Springfield, Missouri: Gospel Publishing House, 1993.