When we studied the Trinity last winter, one of the more perplexing issues that we ran up against was the question of the individual personhood and distinct existence of the Holy Spirit. It was easy to see that the Father was the Father, and that Jesus was Jesus, and that they aren’t each other, but if we read superficially, we might miss that we can say the same thing about the Holy Spirit. I’ve been in a couple conversations where someone who does not believe God is Triune will say something to the effect of, “the Holy Spirit” is just another way of referring to God (the Father), like we would say “Brian’s spirit,” and we wouldn’t mean someone other than Brian, we would just mean…Brian.
But does this hold up? I found this (written by Justin Taylor) and thought it would be helpful to post here:
One potential argument that the Holy Spirit is a person is to look at the Greek words in John 14:26, 15:26, and 16:13-14. There we see that the antecedent of the masculine ekeinos (a masculine word for “that person”) is pnuema (a neuter word for “Spirit”). Hence, so the argument goes, the Spirit is a person. Unfortunately, that argument likely doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
A more fruitful approach is first to ask a question almost no one asks:
How do we know that the Father is a person? How about the Son?
The answer is that the Bible presents a person as a substance that can do personal and relational things (such as speaking, thinking, feeling, acting). Something that does these personal things in relationship—like God, angels, and human beings—is a person.
How does the Holy Spirit fare up under this criteria?
1. The Spirit teaches and reminds.
John 14:26, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
1 Corinthians 2:13, “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
2. The Spirit speaks.
Acts 8:29, “the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot.’
Acts 13:2, “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”
3. The Spirit makes decisions.
Acts 15:28, “it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements.”
3. The Spirit can be grieved.
Ephesians 4:30, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
4. The Spirit can be outraged.
Hebrews 10:29, “How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has . . . outraged the Spirit of grace?”
5. The Spirit can be lied to.
Acts 5:3, 4, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? . . . You have not lied to men but to God‘”
6. The Spirit can forbid or prevent human speech and plans.
Acts 16:6-7, “they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”
7. The Spirit searches everything and comprehends God’s thoughts.
1 Corinthians 2:10-11, “the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. . . . no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
8. The Spirit apportions spiritual gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:11, “the same Spirit . . . apportions [spiritual gifts] to each one individually as he wills.”
9. The Spirit helps us, intercedes for us, and has a mind.
Romans 8:26-27, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
10. The Spirit bears witness to believers about their adoption
Romans 8:16, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
11. The Spirit bears witness to Christ.
John 15:26, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
12. The Spirit glorifies Christ, takes what is Christ, and declares it to believers.
John 16:14, “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
That’s written by Justin Taylor. I would add one more thing, something I found conclusive. (Because even as I read this I could hear someone saying, “right, but still, those verses just refer to God, and He’s a person, so those things are all true of God.”)
But there’s at least one more thing we could add to this list:
13. The Spirit is sent, from the Father, by Jesus.
Jhn 14:16-17, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”
John 15:26, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Notice here: Could Jesus be saying he will send the Father from the Father? …or that the Father will send the Father, who is “another helper?” None of these options really make sense. I think we have to see in these John passages that Jesus is revealing another, a third, divine person, who is one with him and his father.
And this gets us to the heart of the problem with the assertion we mentioned above. God in his Triune nature is different than you and me. So yes, If I say “Brian’s spirit,” I am not speaking about someone other than Brian. But when we say “The Holy Spirit,” are we speaking about someone other than God?
Take a second to think about that, and then let the fact that God is a Trinity solve the problem for you.
No, the Spirit is not someone other than God, but yes, the Spirit is someone other than The Father, and than The Son. But is he God? Yes.
Is he the Father or the Son? No. He’s the Spirit.
So when God sends his Spirit, does he send himself? Yes.
But does the Father send the Father? No, He sends the Son and the Spirit.
One last thought: if this confuses you, just try reversing the order. Does the Son (Jesus) send the Father? Does the Spirit send the Father? Right away you can see the answer is no. And this gets us to the heart of the matter. God reveals his Triune nature as being defined by relationships between three eternally united persons. It’s in watching how the relationships work that we get real insight into God’s nature.