HOLY SPIRIT: A DIVINE PERSON!

Text
“ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”                     Acts 1:8 (KJV)

Aim
To prove the personality of the Holy Spirit to the Church Of God, disabusing the Christian’s mind from the erroneous belief that HE is just a force or an influence.

Introduction & Clarification

Who is a Person?
A person is a living being who has an identity, character and consciousness of his or her existence.  A person is also an intelligent entity (having the ability to think or meditate); and voluntary entity
(having a will, able to decide) whose personal properties (the power to feel, act or speak) may be asserted.

Every person has an intellect, will and emotion… However, the person may or may not possess a physical body or visible flesh (for instance, GOD is a spirit and so are angels.  They are not known to possess visible flesh, yet we agree that they are PERSONS).

Who Is The Holy Spirit?
The invisible, invincible and highly creative breath of God which manifests God’s power by executing the will and word of God… By duty, He reveals God’s Holy nature and will to mankind.  He also executes the commands of God the Father and God the Son (being the Spirit of Christ, John 20:22).

He is the THIRD personality of the trinity – the Godhead.  He is also GOD – for He is God’s Spirit (1Cor.3: 16).  He has God’s very nature of omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence.

Personality Of The Holy Spirit

Holy Spirit is not just an influence, a force, a dove, a tongue of fire, an anointing, or just one’s conscience! He is a being with all the qualities of a PERSON… He has power and love (Rom. 15:13,30). He has a mind and he stands in the gap, praying for believers (Rom. 8:26,27).  And, he has an intellect, will emotion, personal actions and identifiable character.

Intellect
1 Cor. 2:10 –He searches deep things of God.
Eph. 1:13 – As Spirit of Promise, He fulfils God’s promises to mankind.
John 16:13 – He guides us into all truth.
Acts 16:6 – He chooses believers’ field of operation.
Dan. 5:12, 6:3 – He is the Spirit of excellence.

Will
1 Cor. 14:12 – He is the Spirit to go forward.
1 Cor. 12:11 – According to His will, he gives gifts
John 16:7,8 – He convicts the world of sin.
2 Cor. 3:6 –He gives life.

Emotion
Acts 7:51 – He can be resisted
1 Thes. 5:19 – He can be put off (Quenched)
Acts 5:9 – He can be tempted
Heb. 10:16-29 – He can be insulted
Matt. 12:30-31 – He can be sinned against
Acts 5:3 – He can be lied against.
Eph. 4:30-31 – He can be grieved
Isaiah 63:10 – People vexed him and he became their enemy
Rom. 5:5 – He fills our hearts with love
Rom. 15:30 – He can be loved.

Personal Actions
1 Tim 4:1 – He speaks expressly
Acts 16:6 – He forbids some believers from preaching in a particular place.
Acts 13:2 – He gives divine call.
Rev. 2:7 – He speaks to the Church
Luke 12:12 – He teaches to inspire us
John 14:26 – The comforter teaches
Rom. 8:26 –He helps during our weaknesses
John 15:26 – He testifies of Jesus Christ.

Personal Character
Rom. 8:16 – He bears witness with our spirit
Heb. 10:15-17 – He is a witness of the new covenant to us.
1 Cor. 6:11 – He sanctifies and justifies
Neh. 9:20, 1 John 2:27 – He teaches
Eph. 4:32 – There are things he approves

Questions For Discourse
1.     Is the Holy Spirit a Person? Prove your stand.
2.     What do you find so special about the Holy Spirit?
3.     Who is the Holy Spirit?  What is his duty?
4.     If the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God the father, then, what is the name of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
5.     Prove that the Holy Spirit has qualities of a person, having intellect (1                 Cor. 2:10, Eph. 1:13).
6.     Prove that the Holy Spirit has will as a person. (1 Cor. 12:11).
7.      Describe the show of emotion, personal actions, or any character of a person as you have personally noted of the Holy Spirit.
8. Describe the proof of a living being expressed by the Holy Spirit in the Bible.

Conclusion
The first edition, we studied about the BASIS OF CHRISTIANITY… Soon, we hope to conclude the study on the HOLY SPIRIT. We shall study about why believers need the Baptism in the Holy Ghost, How to receive Holy Spirit Baptism and what hinders us from receiving Holy Spirit Baptism.

Coming Up, NEXT, in two weeks…
3RD BIBLE STUDY –
THE REAL CHRISTIAN!