THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Dr. James Woods, Sr.

Because the Holy Spirit is a member of the triune Godhead the special study of His person and work could not be more important.

Being a person is simply defined as possessing intellect, emotions, and will. By demonstrating that the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotions, and will shows that He is a person. The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as “it” or a “thing” or an influence. This study will demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is not an influence but a Person, having the characteristics of a person.

His Attributes Confirm His Being A Person

Intellect. The Holy Spirit has intellect in view of the fact that “the Spirit searches all things” (1 Cor. 2:10 “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God”). “Search” means to examine or investigate a matter. The Holy Spirit examines the deep things of God and reveals them to believers. Christ used same the word in John 5:39 where He states, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Knowledge. No human being is awareness of or has knowledge of the thoughts of God, but the Holy Spirit understands the mind of God (1 Cor. 2:11 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God”).

Mind. Even as the Holy Spirit knows the mind of the Father, so the Father knows the mind of the Spirit (Rom. 8:27 “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God”). The Greek word for mind means “way of thinking, mind-set, aim, aspiration, striving” and thus clearly shows that the Holy Spirit has intellect.

Emotions. Emotions or sensibility means to have feelings, to have an awareness and an ability to respond to something. Ephesians 4:30 commands, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” The following verses (Ephesians 4:25-28” emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is grieved when a believer sins by lying (v. 25), being angry (v. 26), by stealing or being lazy (v. 28), or speaking unkind words (v. 29). It is a Person who is grieved; an influence cannot be grieved.

Will. The Holy Spirit has a will, indicating He has the power of sovereign choice and decision. The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts just as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. ⁷ But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal…¹¹ But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will”). The phrase “He will” refers to “decisions of the will after deliberation.” Sovereign choice is evident in this statement. By way of analogy, the same word “will” is used to describe the will of God the Father (James 1:17-18 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. ¹⁸ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures”). Just as the Father has a will, so the Holy Spirit has a will. In Acts 16:6 the Holy Spirit exercised His will in forbidding Paul to preach in Asia and directing Paul to ministry in Europe: (i.e. “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…”).

The foregoing Scripture passages clearly teach that the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotion, and will as part of being a genuine person.