The Trinity in the NT, part 2: The Holy Spirit – His Personhood

Those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5) and in whom the Holy Spirit lives (1 Cor 6:19), know that He is a person, and that He is God. However, some others deny the personality and the deity of this third person of the Trinity. For instance, Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is God's impersonal "active force" somewhat like electricity. The Way International teaches the same thing. And Christian Science and the Unity School of Christianity both teach that the Holy Spirit is a "thing" rather than a personal being. Obviously, these groups also deny that the Holy Spirit is divine.

These groups teach that "Holy Spirit" is really just another way of saying "the power of God", but this view makes gobbledygook out of passages that show the Holy Spirit and God's power to be separate. One such passage, Luke 4:14, reads "And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit…". If the Holy Spirit were nothing more than God's power then this verse actually says "And Jesus returned in the power of the power of God". Clearly this is nonsense. (Also see: Acts 10:38; Rom 15:13, 19; 1 Cor 2:4; and 2 Tim 1:7.)

The Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit is more than God's power. The Holy Spirit strives with men (Gen 6:3), teaches (Luke 12:12), gives spiritual birth to sinners (John 3:8), convicts of sin, righteousness, judgment (John 16:8), gives God's people words to say (Acts 2:4), speaks to/intercedes for believers (Acts 8:29,10:19-20, 13:2), forbids certain actions (Acts 17:6-7), gives resurrection life (Rom 8:11), helps us in our weakness/intercedes for us (Rom 8:26-27), searches and understands God's innermost thoughts (I Cor 2:11), gives power (Rom 15:19), distributes gifts according to His own will (1 Cor 12:8-11), witnesses to the resurrection (Acts 5:32). In addition, the Holy Spirit can be rebelled against (Is 63:10), sinned against (Mt 12:31), lied to/tested (Acts 5:3-4, 9), resisted (Acts 7:51), and grieved (Is 63:10; Eph 4:30). A force like electricity cannot do any of these things, nor can it be hurt in these ways. These passages, and many others, show that the Holy Spirit is a person, and not an impersonal active force. Next week, we will look what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit being divine.

-Chuck-