Day Two - The Person

Tom Marxen The Work of the Holy Spirit 18 October 2023 Hits: 41

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

~Psalms 139-7-10

When we start thinking about the Holy Spirit, we have to realize He is a Person and not an “it.” That means He has a specific personality. Here is a small, personalized description of Him: He is happy. It is His nature to be joyful. He is humble, for He is very gentle, and yet He is powerful and strong. He is compassionate and desires to heal the places where we are broken and strengthen the places where we are weak. He has feelings and longings and desires. He is peace. Paul described Him like this, “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22). The Holy Spirit is a Person, the very Person of God with all of His attributes, character and nature.

There is an error that many make: they have attempted to understand the work and power of the Holy Spirit without first coming to know Him as a Person. It is crucial that we establish in our hearts and minds whether we believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person—One who is infinitely holy, infinitely wise, and infinitely mighty, yet wonderfully tender, sensitive, and compassionate. If we see Him as infinite in majesty, glory, splendor, wisdom, knowledge, and holiness, and if we believe that He, as a Person, has an accord with the Father and Son to take possession of our lives and make good out of them, then we will fall on our faces in holy awe. Someone who sees God’s Spirit as an influence or supreme power will constantly say, “I want more of the Spirit.” On the contrary, someone who sees Him as a wonderful Person will say, “How can I give more of myself to Him?”

Unfortunately, so many of us miss out on the fullness of the Spirit’s presence because we refuse to honor Him as a Person. The Spirit of God will not manifest where He’s not honored (see Matthew 13:54-58; Psalm 89:7). Note, that by calling the Holy Spirit a “Person,” we are not calling Him human. That is, He possesses attributes of what we would consider to be personality. The Holy Spirit is Deity, not a human being. But we must remember, humans were created in God’s image. So He’s not like us; rather, we are like Him. As a Church, we’ve chosen to view Him as a “holy entity” rather than as One who is most holy. His desire is to be our closest friend, yet we have limited His involvement in our lives. The sad truth is we have inadvertently rejected the most fulfilling relationship available to us.

Let’s take a look at some scriptures that will perfectly illustrate the personality of the Holy Spirit:

He has a mind (see Romans 8:27).
He has a will (see 1 Corinthians 12:11).
He has emotions, such as love and joy (see Romans 15:30; Galatians 5:22).
He comforts (see Acts 9:31).
He speaks (see Hebrews 3:7); in fact, He speaks clearly (see 1 Timothy 4:1).
He teaches (see 1 Corinthians 2:13).
He can be made to feel sorrow (see Ephesians 4:30).
He can be insulted (see Hebrews 10:29).
He can be resisted (see Acts 7:51).
He can be lied to (see Acts 5:1-11).

If these attributes are so apparent in Scripture, then we must ask, why is the Holy Spirit so misunderstood? The Person of the Holy Spirit desires to be your friend and to establish you in your destiny, purpose and call (John 16:7; John 14:16).

This revelation of Friend is powerful. The Person of the Holy Spirit desires to be your friend. In John 14:16 it states, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Friend) that He may abide with you forever.” There are two key words in this verse. The first is the word “another”. This word means another of the same kind; One just like the other. That is, Jesus was saying to His disciples that He was going to send another (one of the same kind) to come along side of them and to empower them. The word Comforter is also very important. This word means Friend; Counselor; Comforter; or Helper. When we recognize the Holy Spirit as a Friend we begin to realize the impact He has in our lives and how He has empowered us to be live Christ-like in and through our lives.

The thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians gives a little description of this Friend who loves you at all times. And look at the kind of Person He is. Your Friend suffers long and is kind. Your Friend does not envy. Your Friend does not parade Himself around and is not “puffed up” with self-importance. Your Friend is not rude. Your Friend does not seek His own way. Your Friend does not provoke quarrels. Your Friend thinks no evil of you. Your Friend does not find it amusing when injustice or wickedness comes against you. Your Friend rejoices in the truth. Your Friend bears all things. This is a description of the true God His character and nature all found in His Spirit. He has faith in you. He has faith in His promise in you. He has confidence in the power of the blood covenant that Jesus has cut with you through His death on the cross. Your Friend hopes all things. Your Friend endures all things. Your Friend never fails. That is our Friend, the Holy Spirit. And that will be the fruit of His work and His presence in your life. He believes in you. He hopes that all the promises of God will be fulfilled in you. He bears up under every circumstance and hangs with you “in spite of.” He endures day to day with you, even in your worst times. He never fails. His heart’s desire is that you “see” Him - the Holy Spirit, your Friend - as this Person.

Written by Dave Carlson

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