Is the Spirit a Person?

Start with a question When the Bible describes the Spirit speaking, guiding, forbidding, and making decisions, are we reading about a mere force, an impersonal influence, or a Person? Many sincere Christians have been taught that the Holy Spirit is just the "power" or "influence" of God. But when you read the New Testament, you cannot escape the conclusion that the Spirit acts, thinks, and relates exactly as a Person does.

The Spirit Does What a Person Does When we study the New Testament, we find nine undeniable lines of evidence that the Holy Spirit possesses personality. He is not a mere force.

1. The Spirit Teaches Us. “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God... Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth.” (1 Corinthians 2:10, 13)
2. The Spirit Speaks to People. “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.” (Acts 8:29)
3. The Spirit Speaks Through People. “For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” (Matthew 10:20)
4. The Spirit Instructs and Commands. “The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia.” (Acts 13:2, 4)
5. The Spirit Makes Decisions. “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.” (Acts 15:28)
6. The Spirit Transports People. “And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more.” (Acts 8:39)
7. The Spirit Can Be Lied To. “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost... thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:3–4) Notice that lying to the Holy Ghost is lying directly to God.
8. The Spirit Forbids. “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... but the Spirit suffered them not.” (Acts 16:6–7)
9. The Spirit Gives Spiritual Gifts. “But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” (1 Corinthians 12:11)

The Real Question: Whose Personal Action Is It? Trinitarians look at this exact list of nine evidences and say, "See? The Spirit is a person. Therefore, He must be a third person, distinct from the Father and the Son." They are absolutely right that the Spirit is a Person. They are tragically wrong about which Person the Spirit is.

When the Spirit speaks, is it God speaking? When the Spirit forbids, is it Jesus forbidding? Let the Bible answer.

• In Acts 16:6–7, the Spirit forbids Paul to preach in Asia. But look at how other translations accurately render the Greek in verse 7: it was the Spirit of Jesus who suffered them not.
• In Acts 5:3–4, Peter says lying to the Holy Ghost is lying to God. It is the Spirit of the Lord.
• In Matthew 10:20, Jesus says it is the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

The personal actions of the Spirit are not the actions of a third, separate being standing between you and Jesus. The personal actions of the Spirit are the actions of the Father and the Son, reaching the believer directly by their own Spirit. As The Indwelling Hope makes clear, when you receive the Spirit, you are not receiving a proxy sent to represent Christ. You are receiving Christ Himself.

Dismantling the Pronoun Argument

This is a classic case of building a massive theological doctrine on a misunderstanding of basic grammar. In Greek, nouns have genders. The word for Comforter (parakletos) is a masculine noun, so the pronoun that follows it is masculine ("he"). But the actual word for Spirit (pneuma) is a neuter noun. When the Bible uses pronouns for the Spirit, it follows the grammar of the noun. The King James Version translates this perfectly:

• “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit.” (Romans 8:16)
• “The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us.” (Romans 8:26)

If the neuter pronoun "itself" proves the Spirit is an impersonal force, then we must ignore the nine points of personality above. If the masculine pronoun "he" proves the Spirit is a third person, then we must ignore the grammar of the word pneuma. Pronouns follow the grammar of the noun they replace. They do not settle the identity of the Godhead.

The Word, the Flesh, and the Spirit To truly understand the personality of the Spirit, we must trace the glorious progression of the Son of God through His three states of existence. This is the master key that unlocks the entire mystery.

1. The Word (Before the Incarnation) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Prior to the incarnation, was the Word a Person? Absolutely. He was the divine Son, the master workman, the presence and voice of the Father.

2. The Flesh (During the Incarnation) “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14) When the Word became flesh, did He become any less of a Person? No. He was still the exact same Person, Jesus Christ, now veiled in human flesh. He walked, talked, wept, and died as a Person.

3. The Spirit (After the Resurrection) Here is the verse that changes everything: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45)

Jesus, the last Adam, was made a life-giving spirit. Did He become any less of a Person when He was made a spirit? No! He is just as much a Person now in His spiritual state as He was when He walked the dusty roads of Galilee. The manifestation changed; the Person did not.

Look at the beautiful symmetry of the Gospel:

• The Word was made flesh to dwell among us. (John 1:14)
• The Word was made Spirit to dwell in us. (Galatians 4:6)

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Galatians 4:6) Who did God send into your heart? Not a third person. Not an impersonal force. He sent the Spirit of His Son.