What does the Bible teach about the Holy Spirit?

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, equal with God the Father and God the Son in nature, but separate in personality from them.

Is the Holy Spirit a person?

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, and as such, He has personality. The Holy Spirit has intellectual ability to know things (1 Cor. 2:11), emotional capacity to feel things (Rom. 15:30), and volitional power to make choices (1 Cor. 12:11).

Why is there so much more attention given to the Holy Spirit today than in the past?

Some have called the Holy Spirit the forgotten Member of the Trinity. However, with the publication and distribution of millions of copies of the Scofield Bible in the last century, those who read the Scofield Bible have talked about the amplified ministry of the Holy Spirit in this present dispensation. Also, many dispensational teachers have pointed out that we are living in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, that is, the church age. With the arrival of the gift of tongues at Azusa Street in 1907, and the subsequent planting and growth of many pentecostal denominations, there has been a growing emphasis on the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Then in the late 1950s when Roman Catholics and non-pentecostals began speaking in tongues, there arose a second wave, the charismatic movement, again giving attention to the Holy Spirit. In the past twenty years, the growing attention to practical service in the church connected to spiritual giftedness again has brought attention to the Holy Spirit.
In recent days other manifestations of the Spirit, such as being “slain in the Spirit,” the apostolic church movement, and others have brought more attention to the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Why is the Holy Spirit referred to as “It” several times in Scripture?

The Greek word for “spirit,” which is pneuma, is neuter in the Greek language (All Greek words are classified as either male, female, or neuter); therefore, a neuter pronoun would normally be used for “spirit.” Yet in other places in Scripture, masculine pronouns he or him are used for the Holy Spirit and are properly translated He. Also, the masculine pronoun ekeinos is used in the same passage where we find the neuter pneuma, as in John 14:17 and 16:13. While the Holy Spirit is referred to as “it” in some translations, “it” should have been rendered “He,” because of the context.

How is the Holy Spirit treated as a person?

The Holy Spirit can be obeyed (Acts 10:19), lied to (Acts 5:3), resisted (Acts 7:51), grieved (Eph. 4:30), reverenced (Ps. 51:11), blasphemed (Matt. 12:31), and spited (Heb. 10:29).

What proofs are there that the Holy Spirit is God?

First, the Holy Spirit does the work of God (Gen. 1:2; John 3:5). Second, He receives the honor only due to God. Third, He has the title of deity. Fourth, in the baptismal formula, He is identified with God (Matt. 28:19). And the words He speaks are ascribed to God (Ex. 16:4; Ps. 95:6–7; Heb. 3:7; Isa. 6:8; Acts 28:25).

How can Jesus give direction to the Holy Spirit, yet Jesus and the Holy Spirit remain equal?

“When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father . . .” (John 15:26). In this passage Jesus sends or directs the activities of the Holy Spirit. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are equal in nature, but the Holy Spirit is submissive in duties to Jesus, just as Jesus is submissive to the Father. The Father sent the Son to the world, so the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal in nature, separate in person, and submissive in duties.

What are some representations of the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is called or likened to a dove (Matt. 3:16), a seal (Eph. 1:13), anointed oil (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:27), fire (Matt. 3:11), wind (John 3:8), river (John 7:38), dew (Ps.133:3), water (John 3:5), and a down payment or earnest money (2 Cor. 1:22).

What is the conviction of the Holy Spirit?

The word to convict comes from Latin, and its root means “to cause to see, or to know the truth.” John 16:8 says, “When He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” When the Holy Spirit convicts, He will take away the blindness of Satan and cause people to see the nature and work of God.

What does the conviction of the Holy Spirit do?

Concerning the Holy Spirit, Jesus taught, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit today is actively reproving, or convicting, in the world. The terms reprove, convict, and illuminate all have similar meanings. These terms speak of the work of the Holy Spirit in setting forth the truth and causing a person to see it as such. This does not necessarily mean a person will respond positively to the gospel and accept the truth, but that the Holy Spirit will cause a person to see the truth.

Towns, Elmer. 2003. Bible Answers for Almost All Your Questions. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.