The Holy Spirit is someone and not something. Hence, we refer to the Spirit as he rather than it.^[1] The former is a person and the latter is an impersonal force. As someone, we can have fellowship with him and ask for help when we need (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).

The Holy Spirit as a Person

A person has three characteristics: emotion, intellect, and will. The difference between us and the Holy Spirit is that he is a divine person while we are human persons. Hence, concerning the Holy Spirit, Paul can talk about “the mind of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:27), “the Spirit knows” (1 Cor. 2:11), “the love of the Spirit” (Rom. 15:30), groaning of the Spirit (Rom. 8:26), “Spirit dwells in humans” (Rom. 8:9), “Spirit leads humans” (Rom. 8:16), “Spirit teaches us” (1 Cor. 2:13). Only a person can be grieved (Eph. 4:30) or hurt. Therefore, Paul thinks of the Holy Spirit as a person. The Holy Spirit is a person with all the characteristics of a living, personal being.^[2]

• He is said to know the things of God (1 Cor. 2:10, 11)
• He distributes his gifts to every person as he wills (1 Cor. 12:11)
• He loves and may be grieved (2 Tim. 1:7; Eph. 4:30)
• He reproves sin (John 16:9) and guides us into truth (John 16:13)^[3]

Can you grieve a force? Can a power know the deep things of God? Can an influence distribute gifts? John 15:26 says, “When the comforter comes he will testify” (John 15:26). Can a force do that? The Spirit told Philip to go to the chariot and stay near it (Acts 8:29). Can an impersonal force speak? The Bible talks of the “fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14) which means he makes it possible for us to have fellowship with God and one another. He is the bond that connects us to one another. Can a power, influence, or force do that? The answers are obvious, are they not (cf. John 16:13–14)?

The neuter pronoun “it” is only used for a force, power, or influence.^[4] To say the Holy Spirit is a person is to say he is personal. The witness of the New Testament is clear enough. The Spirit is thought of consistently as a person, and as a person in some sense distinct from, though closely related to, the Father and the Son. The fact that he is a helper suggests strongly that the Holy Spirit is a person and not an impersonal force.^[5]

Four lines of reasoning have been used to argue that the Holy Spirit is a person:

1. All the distinctive characteristics of personality are ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the Bible (marks of a person: knowledge, emotion, and will).

2. Many acts that only a person can perform are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.

3. An office is predicated of the Holy Spirit that can only be predicated of a person.

4. A treatment is predicated of the Holy Spirit that can only be predicated of a person.^[6]

The Holy Spirit Indwells^[7] and Empowers^[8]

All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us. This is made clear in Rom. 8:9: “And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.” Other text also makes this clear: ^“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16). This reference is more to the congregational body than individuals. The church is indwelt by the Spirit.¹⁹ Whereas, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself” (1 Cor. 6:19) refers more to the individuals. Hence, the Holy Spirits in every child of God is a given fact.

The indwelling Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus living in the hearts of His people , sent to give them new hope, new love, new peace, new joy and new direction. . . . The indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit is the ministry in which He lives in a believer’s heart to produce the character of Jesus in the believer’s life.^[9]

There is no need to pray for his indwelling, but we do need to pray for his empowerment. The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us to live victoriously and serve vibrantly. Like a gentleman, he needs to be invited. Perhaps there is some truth to this statement: “Many have known him as the indwelling Spirit but not all have known him as the Empowering Spirit or pray to him to be empowered.” To put it differently, many have gone to Calvary for pardon but not all have gone to Pentecost for power.

The question is, where is the Holy Spirit when we sin? He doesn’t leave us when we sin. Analogically speaking, we can be compared to a house. The rightful place of the Holy Spirit is the living room. When we sin, we relegate/push him into the back room or kitchen. When we repent, he is back in the living room.

The Holy Spirit Seals^[10]

A seal could be used to guarantee a document or letter (Esth. 3:12), indicate ownership (Song 8:6), or protect against tampering (Matt. 27:66; Rev. 5:1). A seal serves as a mark that we truly belong to Christ (Rom. 8:9–10; 1 Cor. 6:19–20) and helps protect against tampering or attack (Rom. 8:13). In other words, the seal of the Holy Spirit offers a wonderful glimpse of God’s role in salvation. When we receive salvation in Christ, we are given a guarantee, exchange our ownership for his, and are protected against forces of evil.

This seal should provide wonderful encouragement for the believer against the spiritual battles in this life (Eph. 6:12) and anticipation for the life to come. God’s Spirit protects us and guarantees our eternity with the Lord. The sealing takes place when a person believes the gospel (Eph. 1:13; John 7:37–39). Salvation based on God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8–9).

The Holy Spirit is God’s arrabōn

This means that the Holy Spirit is a pledge (part of the purchase money or property given in advance as security for the rest) and all believers’ down payment of our heavenly inheritance, which Christ has promised us and secured for us at the cross. In Modern Greek, the word means an “engagement ring.” Just as an engagement ring signifies that a wedding will take place later, so the Holy Spirit is an engagement ring given to us by God indicating that marriage and all its entitlements we will have one day.

The Holy Spirit is the Paraclete^[11]

Paraclete is commonly translated as Helper, Comforter, Counsellor, Advocate, Friend. It comes from the word parakalein. Para means beside and kletos means to call, to call alongside, to lend assistance, thus, a friend or someone who comes to his friend’s defence. This word was used for exhorting and encouraging a man going to battle. Think of it as the Holy Spirit giving strength and courage to us to meet the demands of life.^[12] Call upon him in times of difficulties and he will come alongside you to sustain and strengthen you.

The Holy Spirit as Resident Counsellor

He is all you need when it comes to solutions. Not only is he a comforter who gives counsel but he stands alongside to help you and heal your hurts. In churches today, there are many wounded Christians walking around. The Holy Spirit wants to heal your deep wounds. You need to give up your self-pity, bitterness, hurts, and resentments, and unforgiving spirit. Let the Holy Spirit come alongside you and heal you. Someone said, “Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies.” The Holy Spirit also helps by granting an inward assurance of salvation.

The Holy Spirit is the Author of the Bible

“Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (1 Pet. 2:20–21). Here we are told of the Scripture’s origin. God is the source of Scripture. He employed human instruments to write. This explains why the various books bear the stamp of individuality in their style and vocabulary and yet are preserved as authentic. To be “moved by the Holy Spirit” suggests that just as a ship is borne along by the wind in its sails, so were the writers carried along by the Spirit of God. Therefore, the Bible is a divine-human book and individuality is preserved while inerrancy is guaranteed because of the Holy Spirit.