I. What Is The Holy Spirit?

A.     The “Personality” of the Holy Spirit

While the Holy Spirit is spiritual and not fleshly, thus appearing beyond humanity and “personhood,” the Bible records the “personality” of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit, the pronoun “he” was used, indicating the existence of a “personality” (Jn 14:26, 15:26, 16:8). “Personality,” as used here, may refer to the characteristics of a person, which may be categorized into three: wisdom, emotion, and will.

1. The Holy Spirit can be characterized as having wisdom or intelligence. The Holy Spirit bears witness (Jn 15:26); he distinguishes between good and evil, which may lead to grieving over evil (cf. Eph 4:30); he creates all things (Gen 1:1, 2); he searches all things (1 Cor 2:10).
2. In terms of emotion: the Holy Spirit grieves (Eph 4:30), comforts people (Acts 9:31), and intercedes for believers (Rom 8:27).
3. In terms of will or determination: the Holy Spirit makes decisions (Acts 15:28), forbids disciples from preaching in certain areas in his guidance of the ministry (Acts 16:7), sends out holy workers (Acts 13:1–4), and distributes spiritual gifts to believers (1 Cor 12:11).

B.     Who Is the Holy Spirit?

In the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit is often called the Spirit of God, showing the Spirit and God are one and the same. They are
indivisible.

1. The Holy Spirit is the one true God.
2. God said, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances” (Ezek 36:27; cf. 37:14).
3. Jesus said, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:24).
4. Paul said, “There are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one” (1 Cor 12:6; cf. Phil 2:13).
5. Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit … you have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:3, 4).
6. John said, “We know that he abides in us, by the Spirit which he has given us” (1 Jn 3:24).
7. The Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ.
8. “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!  Father!’ ” (Gal 4:6).
9. “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17).
10. In Acts, the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot [i.e., the Ethiopian eunuch’s chariot]” (Acts 8:29). After Philip finished his work with the eunuch, the Spirit of the Lord (Jesus) caught Philip away (Acts 8:39). Thus, we see that the Spirit and the Spirit of the Lord are the same (Acts 8:29–39).
11. In Acts 16:6, Paul and the others were forbidden to preach in the Roman province of Asia. In Acts 16:7, some authoritative manuscripts read “the Spirit of Jesus” did not allow them to go intoBithynia.
12. “But the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that any one should teach you; as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him” (1 Jn 2:27). From this passage, we know that the “anointing” refers to the Holy Spirit or Holy One (1 Jn 2:20). Also, “the anointing which you received from him” may refer to the anointing by Jesus Christ (1 Jn 2:27).
13. “But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Rom 8:9).
    From this passage we learn that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ (Jesus) refers to the same Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit is God, for God is Spirit (Jn 4:24), and the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ, for in Jesus is the essence of God (Col 2:9).