Who is the Holy Spirit?
“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”
– 1 Corinthians 2:12-13
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church is actually a response letter to both reports that he received and a letter with questions from the Corinthian believers. It is also part of a larger pattern of correspondence between Paul and this group (5:9). 1 Corinthians is not the first letter that they received from Paul, and it was clear that they had been struggling for a while now. What were they struggling with? Growing into mature faith and obedience to Christ. Paul will make that clear in chapter three, where he tells them that they are still on “spiritual milk” when they should be eating solids. Nothing like a good food reference to tell them that they are acting like babies and need to grow up! Before he makes that statement, he will teach them about the Holy Spirit. That is the Spirit of God that actually helps them grow. This is good news for them and us! Growing into maturity is tough work, and God doesn’t require us to do it on our own. So, who Is the Holy Spirit? Here is a helpful excerpt from Evangelical Convictions to help answer that question.
“The subject of the Holy Spirit has often been shrouded in mystery, and the old translation of the King James version of the Bible as Holy Ghost hardly helps. Unlike God the Father or the Son, God the Spirit is hard to imagine in a personal way, and many conceive of the Spirit as some impersonal power at work in the world, not unlike gravity or electricity.
Certainly power is one of the primary characteristics associated with the Holy Spirit. Frequently, we read in the Old Testament of the Spirit of the Lord coming upon a person in power, enabling the fulfillment of some God-given task. The Spirit was active in creation (Gen. 1:2), in the revelation of God’s word to the prophets (Ezek. 2:2; cf. 8:3; 11:1,24), and in the empowering for craftsmanship and administration in Israel (Exod. 31:3-5; Zech. 4:6; Num. 11:25; Deut. 34:9). The Old Testament prophets also looked forward to a future age when the ministry of the Spirit would be more complete. That age would be led by one anointed by the Spirit (Isa. 11:1-5; Isa. 42:1-4; Isa. 61:1-3) who would usher in a new covenant in which the Spirit would be poured out on all God’s people (Ezek. 36:25-27 [cf. Jer. 31:31-34]; Joel 2:28-32).
This emphasis on the power of the Holy Spirit continues in the New Testament. Jesus’ conception in the womb of a virgin is attributed to the Spirit’s power (Luke 1:35), and at Jesus’ baptism by John, the Spirit visibly descended upon him, empowering him in his ministry (Luke 4:14; Acts 10:38). Jesus announced himself as one anointed by the Spirit (Luke 4:17-21, citing Isa. 61:1-2). It was “by the Spirit of God” that Jesus drove out demons (Matt. 12:28). In a final act, the Spirit’s power raised him from the dead (Rom. 1:4). Before his ascension to the Father, Jesus promised his disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). On the Day of Pentecost the Spirit did come in power, and the apostles performed many miraculous deeds. All believers were promised the Spirit’s power at work within them (Eph. 3:16; Rom. 8:11; Rom. 15:13).
The Holy Spirit is powerful, but it is important to recognize that the Spirit is also personal. In his farewell discourse (John 14-16), Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Advocate.” The Greek word paraklêtos used here refers to one who comes alongside another to act on their behalf. However the word is translated, it refers to a person and not a thing, one who helps, guides, advises, and encourages.
The personhood of the Spirit is reinforced when Jesus speaks of giving his disciples “another advocate” to be with them (John 14:16). As Alice observed at the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, you cannot be offered more tea unless you have drunk some already. So Jesus’ promise implies that his disciples already had a Counselor, and the assumption is that Jesus himself is that advocate. The Spirit is as personal as Jesus, and the Holy Spirit has been personal in Christian experience. Elsewhere in the New Testament, the Spirit acts in very personal ways: he can be grieved (Eph. 4:30), he acts with volition (1 Cor. 12:11), and he has affections (Acts 15:28). This advocate, the Holy Spirit, is not an impersonal force but a person.
In fact, the Holy Spirit is a divine Person. Several lines of evidence support this. First, references to the Holy Spirit are sometimes interchangeable with references to God. Most notably, in Acts 5:3-4, Peter accuses Ananias of lying to the Holy Spirit, and then, in repeating that accusation, he says that Ananias has not lied to men but to God.250 The Holy Spirit also possesses the attributes of God, such as omniscience (1 Cor. 2:10-11; cf. John 16:13) and eternality (Heb. 9:14), and he performs acts commonly ascribed to God, such as creation (Gen. 1:2) and resurrection (Rom. 8:11). Finally, the Holy Spirit is set alongside the Father and the Son in a way that assumes their equality (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 1 Pet. 1:2). He is fully God, one of the three Persons of the divine Trinity.”[1]
[1] EFCA. Evangelical Convictions, 2nd Edition (pp. 167-169). (Function). Kindle Edition.