Yes to Jesus: 04/24/12

The Holy Spirit is a personal being just as the Father and the Son. The Spirit is not an impersonal “it” or simply an influence. There is no personal name for the Third Person of the Godhead. The Bible does not give us His name. He is known variously as the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the LORD, the Comforter.
The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. For many of us, this is a difficult concept to grasp. The Bible declares that there is only one living God, yet we learn from scripture that He comprises three separate personages. One way to partially visualize this concept is to examine the nature of water (H2O). Water is a single compound that can exist in three states – liquid, ice and vapor. An egg is another picture. It is comprised of the white, the yoke and the shell, yet it is still one egg. Of course, by no means do these examples paint a complete picture of our God, but they are illustrative of the fact that His three “persons” in no way invalidate His oneness.
The Holy Spirit is a “person” equal in every way with God, the Father, and God, the Son. The Bible tells us that all the characteristics of God apparent in the Father and the Son are equally apparent in the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a Person. The Holy Spirit is included in the Trinity, which is made up of 3 distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The following verses give a beautiful picture of the Trinity in the Bible:
Matthew 3:16-17 As soon as Jesus (the Son) was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven (the Father) said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Acts 2:32-33 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
The Holy Spirit has the Characteristics of Personality:

• The Holy Spirit has a Mind :
Romans 8:27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
• The Holy Spirit has a Will:
1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
• The Holy Spirit has Emotions:
.The Holy Spirit grieves:
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption
Isaiah 63:10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
.The Holy Spirit gives joy:
Luke 10: 21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.”
1 Thessalonians 1:6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
• He Teaches:
John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
• He Testifies of Christ:
John 15:26 When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
• He Convicts:
John 16:8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt [Or will expose the guilt of the world] in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
• He Leads
Romans 8:14 Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
• He Reveals Truth
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
• He Strengthens and Encourages
Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
• He Comforts
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
• He Helps Us in our Weakness
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
• He Intercedes
Romans 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
• He Searches the Deep Things of God
1 Corinthians 2:11 The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
• He Sanctifies:
Romans 15:16 To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
• He Bears Witness or Testifies:
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
• He Forbids:
Acts 16:6-7 Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
• He Can be Lied to:
Acts 5:3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
• He Can be Resisted:
Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”
• He Can be Blasphemed:
Matthew 12:31-32 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
• He Can be Quenched:
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
Divine Works of the Holy Spirit
The divine works of the Holy Spirit are revealed in the following verses of Scripture:
The Holy Spirit Shared in Creation
Genesis 1:2-3 The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
The Holy Spirit Raised Jesus from the Dead
Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.
The Holy Spirit Places Believers into Christ’s Body
1 Corinthians 12:13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit Proceeds from the Father
John 15:26 [Jesus Speaking] When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
The Holy Spirit Proceeds from Christ
John 16:7 [Jesus Speaking] But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
The Holy Spirit Gives Divine Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different tongues and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
NAMES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (87 from both the Old and New Testaments)
The first time He is mentioned in the Bible occurs in Genesis 1:2, and the last time is Revelation 19:10. Thus, the work of the Holy Spirit spans the entire Bible, from creation to the final redemption of God’s people. This is by no means an exhaustive list. The Third Person of the Godhead has as many names as He has attributes—just as God the Father does.