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This week we're thrilled to be releasing 3 great little books in a our new series: Questions Christians Ask. These short, accessible resources are designed to give bite-sized, biblical answers to the kinds of questions that flit through our minds from time to time.
If you - or someone you know - has questions about the Holy Spirit, Who on earth is the Holy Spirit? is for you! Covering commonly asked questions like:
Tim Chester and Christopher de la Hoyde's book is a helpful introduction to the third person of the Trinity. And here, to whet your appetite, is a little extract:
Is the Spirit a person or a force?
The Spirit is described in the Bible as the presence of God, or the way he works. In the NT the Spirit is referred to without an article. Jesus, for example, literally says, “Receive holy spirit,” in John 20 v 22. So “Spirit” and “breath” might just be metaphorical descriptions of God’s power or God’s presence (much as I might say: “I’ll be with you in spirit”). Is the Spirit just a way of talking about God-in-action or God-among-us?
In the Old Testament the Spirit or breath of God is used to describe the way God works (Isaiah 40 v 7; Zechariah 4 v 6). But the Spirit is also distinguished from God (Genesis 1 v 2; Numbers 11 v 25; Psalm 104 v 30). The Spirit isn’t just a force. He is at work himself.
We find a similar picture in the New Testament. The Spirit is identified with both the Father and the Son. He is the Spirit of God (Romans 8 v 9, 11; 2 Corinthians 3 v 3; 1 John 4 v 2) and the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16 v 7; Romans 8 v 9; Galatians 4 v 6; Philippians 1 v 19; see also 2 Corinthians 3 v 17-18). To lie to the Spirit is to lie to God (Acts 5 v 3-4). Jesus is present with the disciples through the Spirit (John 14 v 18,23). The Spirit doesn’t draw attention to himself. His work is “to the Father” and “to the Son” (Ephesians 2 v 17). He brings the presence of Christ among his people (John 14 v 16-18) and brings glory to the Son (John 16 v 14).
But the Spirit also has a distinct identity from the Father and the Son (Mark 1 v 12; 13 v 11; Luke 4 v 1-2). As Jesus is baptised and as the Father speaks from heaven, the Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove (Matthew 3 v 16-17; Mark 1 v 9-11; Luke 3 v 21-22). The Spirit listens to the Father just as Jesus does (John 16 v 13). He forbids the apostles to preach in Asia (Acts 16 v 6) and warns Paul of the sufferings that await him (Acts 20 v 23). The Spirit has a “mind” (Romans 8 v 27). Christians are to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8 v 14; Galatians 5:18). The Spirit is distinguished from the Father and the Son. He is sent by the Father (John 14 v 16, 26; Galatians 4 v 6) and he is sent by Jesus (John 15 v 26). When Jesus returns to the Father, the Spirit will replace him (John 16 v 7).
The New Testament also makes it clear that the Spirit is a person. In Greek the word “Spirit” is neuter. It should be referred to as “it”. But most of the time the New Testament talks about the Holy Spirit as “he” (John 14 v 26; 15 v 26; 16 v 8, 14). Jesus talks of him as the Paraclete— a Greek word that combines the ideas of “advocate” and “comforter” (John 14 v 16,26). Jesus says the Spirit is “another Comforter” (John 14 v 16, KJV). In other words, he is a Comforter in the same way Jesus was a Comforter. The Spirit says “for me” and “I” when he calls the church leaders in Antioch to set aside Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13 v 2). Paul warns against “grieving” the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4 v 30). People can speak or blaspheme against or lie to the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12 v 32; Mark 3 v 28-29; Acts 5 v 1-11).
So the Spirit is a person who is both identified with God and distinguished from the Father and the Son. What does this mean for us?
