The Holy Spirit is a person

Holy Spirit Series

Forgotten God                     Francis Chan

The God I Never Knew      Robert Morris

Commentary                            Jodi Haier 

June 8, 2012

Forgotten God Chapter 3

“What does the Spirit do?  Her works are ineffable in majesty, and innumerable in quantity.  How can we even ponder what extends beyond the ages?  What did She do before creation began?  How great are the graces She showered on creation?  What power will She wield in the age to come?  She existed She pre-existed She co-existed with the Father and Son before the ages. Even if you can imagine anything beyond the ages, you will discover that the Spirit is even further beyond.” -St. Basil the Great

Well, I did change the Spirit from a he to a she, but the rest is all St. Basil. 

1.  The Holy Spirit is a person; a person who has an intimate relationship with each of us and with God and Jesus.  We see her working with the Father and Son throughout the Scriptures. 

Matthew 28:16-20 (The Great Commission) 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.  12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All God’s people here send their greetings.  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.

By doing something in someone’s name we are using all the influence and power of that person.  We are acting in the character and under the protection of that person.  And if we succeed, we acknowledge the true victor, the person whose name we lived under.  All glory goes to the one we serve.  That is one reason the Lord’s name is so special.  It implies a relationship that most of us ignore.  This relationship is intense, personal and eternal.  By choosing Christ, and accepting the name Christian we pledge to do all things in the name of the Father, of the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And yet, we sometimes relegate the Holy Spirit to the indefinite article, it.  The Holy Spirit’s personhood is essential to the relationship described above.  The Holy Spirit is not a wisp of a once was but the Holy Spirit is the very Spirit of Christ.  How then can we relegate the Holy Spirit to the Ghost of something past?   

The scripture from 2Corinthians reminds us of how we live in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.  It is impossible to be in fellowship with a thing.  Fellowship requires openness, honesty, accountability, communication, forgiveness, love and hard work; qualities that are impossible to conjure up with a thing.  It is the personhood of the Holy Spirit that ensures and affirms that our hope is placed on nothing less Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  That hope is from the salvation that Jesus offers and the opportunity to live life along the path of love.  And the Holy Spirit is our guide, our nurturer, our protector and comforter, the one we can always count on.