God The Holy Spirit

Living Water: Personality Plus

Chuck Smith

God's Special Agent

The Holy Spirit is God Himself, a Person with whom you can enjoy a personal relationship. He is not merely an impersonal force or power or essence within the universe, but He is rather a Person who can speak to you and to whom you can speak. He is a Person who can guide you, who can help you, who can strengthen you, who can teach you the truth of God. The Holy Spirit is the agent through whom God works today in the world, within the church and in individual believers. That is why we need to become well acquainted with the Holy Spirit, for He is the One whom the Lord has placed over the church to guide, direct, and empower its activities. When Jesus told His disciples, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16), He was encouraging His men to prepare for a new way in which God would thereafter be relating to them. A new way, but not a totally foreign way. In Greek, the word another in the phrase "another Comforter" is allos, which means "of the same kind or equal quality; another of the same order." A second Greek word, heteros, can also be translated "another," but it means "of a different quality." For example, suppose you were going to rent a car from Hertz. When you approach the counter, they say, "We're sorry, sir. You reserved a little compact Geo, but we happen to be out of that model right now. We can give you another car, a Lincoln Town Car, for the same price. Would that be acceptable?" That another in Greek would be the term heteros. It isn't the same or of the same quality. On the other hand, suppose you had reserved the Town Car and they said, "I'm sorry, we can't give you the Town Car, but we'll give you a Cadillac instead." That would be another vehicle of more or less the same quality as the one you reserved (allos). So when Jesus says the Holy Spirit is of the same quality as Himself, He means the Spirit possesses the same essential qualities that He Himself does, especially those of divinity and personality. In essence He tells His men, "I have been with you, but now I am going away. But I will not leave you alone. I will ask the Father to give you another Comforter - allos, of the same quality, the same kind, as Myself. Just as I was with you and took care of every situation for you, so now the Holy Spirit will be with you and will take care of every situation for you."

Is the Spirit a Person?

There are certain things we need to know about the Holy Spirit in order to fully appreciate and understand Him and His work. The first thing is that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person, and we need to recognize this if we are to have a personal relationship with Him. If you think of the Holy Spirit as only an essence, as only a force, as only a power, you will find it impossible to have a personal relationship with Him. You cannot have a meaningful relationship with an essence or a force. Have you ever tried to get personal with an electric socket? How about with a steam turbine? An automobile engine? Of course you haven't. The thought is absurd. And it's equally absurd to think of the Holy Spirit as an essence or a force or an impersonal power that permeates the universe, and yet hope to call upon Him in your time of need. No, the Holy Spirit is a Person who has been sent by the Father at the request of Jesus to come alongside of you to help you. Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper... the Spirit of truth."

Attacks on the Holy Spirit

Many cults attack the personality of the Spirit, just as they attack the deity of Jesus. The Jehovah's Witnesses are one such cultic group. The leaders of the Watchtower teach that the Holy Spirit is not a Person at all, but is merely an essence or an influence. These men say the Holy Spirit is not really a "He," but rather an "it." According to them, we shouldn't speak of the Holy Spirit, but of a holy spirit - an influence or power emanating from God, no more personal than a breeze flowing from a fan. This is the same error as the early church heresy known as Arianism, so called because its chief exponent was named Arius, a priest of Alexandria (A.D. 256-326). Arius taught that the Father alone was truly God; both the Son and the Spirit were inferior and created. Neither possessed by nature or by right any of the divine qualities of immortality, sovereignty, perfect wisdom, goodness, or purity. The Jehovah's Witnesses have borrowed much of their heresy from this early Arian abomination. Thankfully, all of their arguments were anticipated and answered more than 16 centuries ago. More importantly, the Scriptures plainly declare and reveal that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person. Another group, called the Jesus Only sect, doesn't deny the personality of the Spirit but does deny He is a distinct Person within the Godhead. This sect is quite strong in the southern part of the United States and has spread as far west as Arizona. Its heresy is not Arianism but Sabellianism, which denies the separate persons of the Godhead. The Jesus Living Only sect insists that Jesus is the only God; He is the Father, He is the Son, and He is the Holy Spirit. It teaches that the three "personalities" of God are in reality only three masks that the one God wears. But the Bible will have none of this. It clearly and firmly teaches that the Holy Spirit is a Person, the same in essence as the Father and the Son, yet separate in personality from them both.

Intelligence, Will, and Emotion

For a being to be considered a person, he or she must possess certain characteristics. First among these is intelligence; second is will; and third is emotion. All three are required if personality is to exist. Human beings possess all three and therefore can truly be considered persons. But rocks bicycles, flowers, oak trees, and even computers all lack personality; they may be useful and pleasant and highly desirable, but none of them can be considered persons. They do not have intelligence, will, and emotion. Yet when we consider what the Bible says of the Holy Spirit, it becomes clear very quickly that He is indeed a Person possessing intelligence, will, and emotion. Let's consider each of these attributes in turn. 1. Intelligence. In I Corinthians 2:10,11, the apostle Paul writes of the Spirit's intimate knowledge of the "deep things of God" - inarguably a description of intelligence. He writes: But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. All the way through this passage, divine intelligence is ascribed to the Spirit. Paul insists that the Holy Spirit "knows" the things of God. Only a person with intelligence can "know" something. And not only does He know these "deep things," Paul says the Spirit also "teaches" us, helping us to compare "spiritual things with spiritual" (I Corinthians 2:13). Don't miss what Paul says about the Holy Spirit here. First, God "reveals" things to us by the Spirit. Second, the Spirit "searches" all things, even "the deep things of God." The deep things of God that man does not know, the Spirit does know. Third, the Spirit of God "teaches" us of the things that God freely gives us by helping us to compare one spiritual thing with another. All of these activities manifestly require intelligence, one of the key components of personality. The Bible insists that the Holy Spirit possesses intelligence. 2. Will. The Holy Spirit is also said to have a will. In talking about the gifts of the Spirit in I Corinthians 12, Paul said that the Holy Spirit distributes "to each one individually as He wills" (verse 11). It is the Holy Spirit who decides what kind of spiritual gift each believer should receive. This act of choosing demands that He have a will. And in Acts 15:28, the apostles prefaced their judgment on a question of church doctrine by saying, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us." In so saying they ascribed to the Spirit the same kind of judgment-making ability which they themselves possessed. On some occasions, the Bible says the Spirit forbade His servants to visit certain areas, thus demonstrating His will: Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them (Acts 16:6,7). Only persons with a will are able to "forbid" men from taking a certain course of action or to disallow them from enacting another plan. Yet the Holy Spirit did both, making it clear He is a Person with a will. 3. Emotion. The Spirit has emotion. Paul warned the Ephesians, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God" (Ephesians 4:30). Likewise in the Old Testament, Isaiah wrote, "But they rebelled, and vexed his holy spirit; therefore, he was turned to be their enemy" (Isaiah 63:10 KJV). You can vex the Holy Spirit. Now, this would be impossible to say of a mere essence or a non-person. It would be ridiculous to say, "Please, don't grieve that plant," or "You have vexed that plant. He's angry with you." You cannot say this of anything other than a person. The Holy Spirit is a Person who loves you, who can be grieved and vexed by you. On the positive side, in the book of Romans, Paul speaks about the love of the Spirit (Romans 15:30). Now I wonder: Have you ever heard a sermon preached on the love of the Holy Spirit? I'm sure you've heard sermons on the love of Christ. Paul often talked about the love of Christ, and surely we've all heard many sermons on the love of God. But interestingly enough, the love of the Holy Spirit is seldom broached in sermons. Yet it is a biblical fact. Again, only a person can love. You may adore a certain plant or flower in your home, but it would be nonsense to say, "My, how that plant loves you. It's just passionate about you!" But it would make perfect sense to say, "The Holy Spirit loves you. In fact, He's passionate about you." Better yet, it is true.

Personal Pronouns Are for People

Personal pronouns are also used for the Holy Spirit. While the word spirit itself is in the neuter (and that's why many people speak of the Holy Spirit as an essence rather than a person), it is a fact that personal pronouns are used to refer to the Holy Spirit. Some 16 times in the New Testament the Greek pronoun for the Holy Spirit is echeinos, which means "he," a pronoun in the masculine gender. We find it in John 14:26, which says, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He [echeinos] will teach you all things." We find the same thing in John 15:26: "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He [echeinos] will testify of Me." And then again, in John 16:13: "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth." The same usage can be found in John 14:16,17 and 16:7-14. All of these personal pronouns used in reference to the Holy Spirit can mean only that He is indeed a Person. 

The Spirit Is Treated as a Person

Many personal treatments are accorded to the Holy Spirit. Allow me to give just three examples. The Spirit can be lied to, as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. Peter responded to these lies by saying, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land?" (Acts 5:3). The Spirit can be resisted. Stephen, in his defense recorded in Acts 7:51, said to his fellow Jews, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you." The Spirit can be blasphemed. Mark 3:28 records that Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation." Of course, it is impossible to lie to, resist, or blaspheme a non-person. And yet ungodly men do all three to the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit Acts as a Person

The Holy Spirit speaks. Again, it's hard to think of something other than a person speaking. Yet Acts 13:2 says, "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."' And in I Timothy 4:1, Paul writes, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith." Revelation 2:7 likewise says, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Second, the Spirit intercedes. Paul writes in Romans 8:26, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." And in John 15:26 Jesus tells us, "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." So the Spirit testifies of Jesus. Third, the Spirit of God teaches. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you," says John 14:26. And Nehemiah 9:20 tells us, "You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold Your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst." Fourth, the Spirit communes with us. Paul said, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen" (II Corinthians 13:14). Fifth, the Spirit strives with men. Genesis 6:3 says, "And the LORD said, 'My Spirit shall not strive with man forever."'  Sixth, the Spirit works miracles. Paul wrote that the gospel was proclaimed "in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ" (Romans 15:19). Last, the Holy Spirit guides us. What a wonderful, glorious truth this is! We can know for ourselves the divine guidance of the Spirit, even as Paul and his companions experienced it: "Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them" (Acts 16:6,7). Only a person could do all these things. But this is not a matter for mere intellectual speculation. Because the Holy Spirit is a Person, we can enjoy a relationship with Him graced with all of these loving, personal attentions!

Where Is He Leading You?

When you walk with the Spirit, develop in your relationship with Him, and respond to His work in you, it is very likely that you will begin to have all kinds of glorious, supernatural experiences. Sometimes there will be no response more appropriate than weeping. At other times there will be tremendous joy or overwhelming love. Many kinds of responses are possible as we walk in the Spirit and allow ourselves to be led by Him. It's always glorious to realize that God's hand is upon you, guiding you along the right route. Of course, at the time you may not always recognize His Spirit's guiding hand; but as the event begins to come together, it suddenly dawns on you: God is leading me! Several years ago I was called to visit a lady from Calvary Chapel who had broken her back in a serious car accident. I went to St. Joseph's Hospital to pray for her, and soon discovered that in her six-bed ward there were two other ladies also from our church. God had planned it so that I was able to minister to all three of them. I didn't know the other two were there, but when I walked in each of them got excited and thought I had come to visit her. (I prayed for them all.) As I was leaving the room and walking back to the elevator, I couldn't contain my excitement. "Lord, I love Your efficiency," I said. "I don't know how many rooms there are in St. Joseph's Hospital, but there are an awful lot. But You're so efficient, Lord - You put the three ladies from Calvary in the same room so that I could get all three with one visit! This is great, Lord. I love it." I got in the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor, but when the door opened and I looked out, I knew I was lost. I had arrived at the nurses' station, not the lobby. So I stepped back in, thinking someone else must have stopped the elevator on that floor. But when I looked up at the indicator light, the "G" for ground floor was lit up. I was really confused then. A nurse saw my confusion and said, "Are you looking for the lobby?" "Yes, what did they do with it?" I replied. "You took the service elevator," she said. I looked up, and there was the sign, as big as life: "Service Elevator, Employees Only." "Oh, I'm so sorry," I said. "I wasn't paying any attention upstairs." "That's all right," she reassured me. "Well ... how do I get to the lobby?" I asked. "It's very simple," she replied. "Just go down to the first hallway, turn right, and then you'll be right in the lobby." I thanked her, and as I walked away I thought, Oh, what a stupid mistake! As I turned down a short corridor, there was a girl, standing and weeping. She looked up, saw me, and screamed, "Chuck!" Immediately she came running up to me and began to sob almost hysterically When I finally got her calmed down sufficiently, I asked, "What's wrong? What can I do? Tell me - let's pray. What can we pray for?" "Chuck," she replied, "my dearest friend in the whole world - the man who led me to Jesus Christ - is this very moment having brain surgery. This man is such a wonderful Christian. He's been a missionary in Africa and was sent home to have this surgery. The doctors give him very little hope for being able to walk again. He has a brain tumor that they think has already affected his walking ability, and they feel that..." She broke off, in tears. "Chuck, I can't bear the thought of such a beautiful man of God being crippled. I'm just devastated." God enabled us to pray together. I gave her some Scripture and pointed her to Jesus. "I was so desperate," she told me after we had finished. "I was just here praying, 'God, I can't handle this. Please send someone along to help me, to pray with me."' She stopped for a moment, then continued. "And when I looked up, here you came walking down the hall." Right then the light went on for me. My mistake wasn't merely a stupid error. God had prepared the whole scenario. And I suddenly had the realization: God's hand is on me! He's leading me by the Spirit. Talk about a rush, about real excitement! I had been so excited about God's efficiency that on my way down to the lobby I hadn't paid any attention to the signs over the elevator. But God used my oversight to get me down a certain corridor. Had I used the main elevator, I would have walked through the lobby and been gone. But God's Spirit directed me to a certain corridor to meet the need of a certain young girl who in utter desperation was crying out to God for help. He will do the same thing for you. As you walk in the Spirit and continue in the things of the Spirit, you too will be blessed with exciting experiences that will thrill you to the core of your being. You'll see the power of God as you witness the various manifestations of the Spirit. It's always thrilling to be a part of what God is doing. As exciting as they are, however, they aren't what we are to look for. Ecstatic experiences can be wonderful, but they can never be our goal. Our goal - yours and mine - must always be to want more of God, and for Him to have more of us. That's what the Spirit wants, as well. He wants a personal relationship with you that is warm, intimate, and growing. He wants to know you and be known by you. So what do you say?