Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20011216.htm

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY (ORGANIZED BIBLE KNOWLEDGE)
Part XI: Pneumatology (Doctrine Of The Holy Spirit)
B. The Person Of God The Holy Spirit
  1. Introduction
    1. Since we know from our last lesson that Scripture is the sole authority on defining the Holy Spirit, we search the Scriptures to answer a question that Liberal and Neo-orthodox theologians have raised: "Is the Holy Spirit a mere influence or an exerted energy from God and not actually a Person of the Godhead?"
    2. We study the Scripture to arrive an answer that affects how we relate to the Holy Spirit as follows:
  2. The Person Of God The Holy Spirit (I am indebted to Charles C. Ryrie's work, The Holy Spirit.)
    1. The Holy Spirit is presented in Scripture as having attributes of personality:
      1. The Holy Spirit has intellect, for He knows and searches the deep things of God, 1 Cor. 2:10-11; Isa. 11:2; Eph. 1:17. He has a mind (Romans 8:27) and can teach man, 1 Cor. 2:13.
      2. The Holy Spirit has emotions: He can grieve (Eph. 4:30) and express love, Romans 15:30.
      3. The Holy Spirit has a will: He distributes the spiritual gifts among various believers according to His will, 1 Cor. 12:11. He directs believers geographically as He wills, Acts 16:6-11.
      4. Summary: As a person has intellect, emotion and will, and as the Holy Spirit is seen in Scripture with these attributes, contrary to Liberal and Neo-orthodox theologies, the Holy Spirit is a Person!
    2. The Holy Spirit performs acts of a person: He teaches (John 14:26), testifies (John 15:26), convinces of truth (John 16:7-8), restrains evil (Gen. 6:3), performs miracles (Acts 8:39), calls people for service (Acts 13:2), sends believers forth into service (Acts 13:4) and intercedes for the believer (Rom. 8:26).
    3. The Holy Spirit receives descriptions and ascriptions of a person: He can be obeyed (Acts 10:19-21a), lied to (Acts 5:3), resisted (Acts 7:51), reverenced (Psalm 51:11) and blasphemed (Mtt. 12:31).
    4. The Greek New Testament grammar uniquely ascribes personality to the Holy Spirit (as follows):
      1. The word for "spirit" in Greek is neuter in gender, like the word, "it" is neuter in the English language as opposed to the masculine word, "him" or the feminine word, "her."
      2. However, though pronouns referring to the Holy Spirit are grammatically expected to be neuter as the Greek word, "spirit" is grammatically neuter in gender, John 16:13-14 uses the masculine demonstrative pronoun ("that") two times in these verses of the Holy Spirit. These uses are "howbeit when He" (verse 13) and "He shall glorify me" (verse 14). Grammatically, both sentences are correct when read "that person" and not "He"! This implies personality for the Holy Spirit!
      3. John 15:26 and Ephesians 1:14 use the masculine relative pronoun and not the neuter noun for the Holy Spirit. These all imply personality for the Holy Spirit.
      4. John 16:7-8 contain the masculine personal pronoun in place of the neuter noun for the Holy Spirit. These all imply personality.
    5. The Holy Spirit as a Person is God according to Scripture:
      1. The Holy Spirit has attributes only ascribable to God:
        1. The Holy Spirit is omniscient as God, 1 Cor. 2:11-12.
        2. He is omnipresent as God, Ps. 139:7.
        3. He is taught by no other authority to have His wisdom, implying He is God, Isaiah 40:13.
      2. The Holy Spirit has performed actions attributed to God:
        1. He was involved in creation, Genesis 1:2.
        2. He created the Incarnate state for God the Son, Luke 1:35.
        3. He regenerates believers with eternal life, John 3:6.
        4. He is associated with the name "Jahweh" (KJV = Jehovah) as Jahweh in Acts 28:25; Isa. 6:1-4.
      3. The Holy Spirit is actually called GOD by the Apostle Peter in Acts 5:3-4:
        1. Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit according to the Apostle Peter's testimony in Acts 5:3.
        2. In doing so, he lied to God according to the Apostle Peter's same word in Acts 5:4.
        3. Thus, the Apostle Peter taught the Holy Spirit is GOD!
Lesson: The WRITTEN Scriptures teach the Holy Spirit is GOD! Thus, He is not just an influence or an energy as Liberal or Neo-orthodox theologies respectively portray, but a Person of the Godhead!