Personhood of the HS - SS class

Question: "Is the Holy Spirit a person?"

Answer: Many people find the doctrine of the Holy Spirit confusing. Is the Holy Spirit a force, a person, or something else? What does the Bible tell us?

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What does it mean to be “a person?”

Person definition from Dictionary.com in Philosophy. a self-conscious or rational being or the actual self or individual personality of a being:

“What are the distinctive characteristics, or marks, of personality? Knowledge, feeling or emotion, and will. Any entity that thinks and feels and wills is a person.”
― R.A. Torrey, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

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I’ve got a couple quotes here that I think are potential conclusions we could land on about the HS if we don’t use the Biblical passages about the HS as guardrails to our beliefs….

Movie paraphrase (Star Wars TFA): Name the movie -

Maz Kanata: I am no Christian (Jedi), but I know the Spirit (Force). It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes... feel it... the light... its always been there... it will guide you. The Spirit (saber), take it!

Name that denomination – This was in an order of worship at an actual big name Church Denomination’s service: The Old Testament reading from the Prophet Joel was printed in Polari the passage was "rend your thumping chest and not your frocks - and turn unto the Duchess your Gloria: for she is bona (good) and merciful". And instead of the traditional "Glory be to the father, and to the son, and the Holy Spirit" the prayer offered was: "Fabeness be to the Auntie, and to the Homie Chavvie, and to the Fantabulosa Fairy".

From BBC article: Church of England 'regret' as trainees hold service in gay slang

While ordained priest trainees had been given permission to hold a service to commemorate LGBT history month. The translation was based on the Polari bible, a work compiled from Brit gay slang, as a project in 2003 by the self-styled Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

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The Bible provides many ways to help us understand that the Holy Spirit is truly a person—that is, He is a personal being, rather than an impersonal thing. First, every pronoun used in reference to the Spirit is “he” not “it.” The original Greek language of the New Testament is explicit in confirming the personhood of the Holy Spirit. The word for “Spirit” (pneuma) is neuter and would naturally take neuter pronouns to have grammatical agreement. Yet, in many cases in John, masculine pronouns are found (e.x., John 15:26; 16:13-14). Grammatically, there is no other way to understand the pronouns of the New Testament related to the Holy Spirit—He is referred to as a “He,” as a person.

Matthew 28:19 teaches us to baptize in the [singular] name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a collective reference to one Triune (3-1) God. Also, we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit can be sinned against (Isaiah 63:10) and lied to (Acts 5:3). We are to obey Him (Acts 10:19–21) and honor Him (Psalm 51:11).

What does the HS do?

The personhood of the Holy Spirit is also affirmed by His many works. He was personally involved in creation (Genesis 1:2), empowers God’s people (Zechariah 4:6), guides (Romans 8:14), comforts (John 14:26), convicts (John 16:8), teaches (John 16:13), restrains sin (Isaiah 59:19), and gives commands (Acts 8:29). Each of these works requires the involvement of a person rather than a mere force, thing, or idea.

The Holy Spirit’s attributes also point to His personality. The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8:2), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). A mere force could not be described as possessing all of these attributes, but the Holy Spirit does.

Read John 3:1-14 on regeneration (conversion) And Acts 5:1-11: ”You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

The Holy Spirit is a person, as Scripture makes clear. As such, He is to be revered as God and serves in perfect unity with Father and Son to lead us in our spiritual lives.

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“It is of the highest importance from the standpoint of experience that we know the Holy Spirit as a person.”
― R.A. Torrey, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

“We feel the breath of the wind upon our cheeks, we see the dust and the leaves blowing before the wind, we see the vessels at sea driven swiftly towards their ports; but the wind itself remains invisible. Just so with the Spirit; we feel His breath upon our souls, we see the mighty things He does, but Himself we do not see. He is invisible, but He is real and perceptible.”
― R.A. Torrey, The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit