Holy Spirit's Personality
The Godhead • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Greetings…
Theme: The Godhead
Hope: To learn more about the three being one and then each personality individually better.
Last week we examined the “Holy Spirit In The Old Testament” and took time to notice much of, but not all, the vast information and we have on God the Spirit within the Old Testament.
We clearly proved the Holy Spirit is without a doubt distinct from the Father and distinct from the Son as seen in Isaiah 48:12-16 were we find all three persons of the Godhead discussed.
The New Testament only further proves this true in passages such as…
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
We also considered the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
His work in creation as the beautifier or the one that put the finishing touches on heaven and earth.
His work also in his inspiration in man’s life through inspiration of the scriptures, inspiration of the man overseeing building the tabernacle, and the inspiration of the men helping judge the Israelites.
Today, we are going to turn our attention of the “Holy Spirit’s Personality” in a closer examination as to why we know “he” is not just “from God” but “God.”
So, with that in mind let’s get into our lesson.
God The Spirit’s Personality
God The Spirit’s Personality
The Characteristics Of Personality.
The Characteristics Of Personality.
What are the distinctive characteristics, or marks, of personality?
Are they not knowledge, feelings or emotions, and will?
Any entity that thinks, feels, and wills is a personality.
When we say the “person” Holy Spirit some get it in mind that we are saying that he is someone that looks like a human being with arms, legs, fingers, and toes.
However, these are not characteristics of personality but of corporeity.
Corporeity simply means “the quality or state of having or being a body.”
The Holy Spirit certainly does not have a material body as he is spirit (John 4:24) and only God the Son ever had a material body (John 1:14).
So then, can we determine if the Holy Spirit has a personality i.e., posses knowledge, emotions, and will?
The answer is a resounding yes!!!
The Holy Spirit posses knowledge.
1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (NKJV)
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
Here is it clear that the Holy Spirit is one that “knows the truth” and thus comprehends truth.
1 Corinthians 2:11 (ESV)
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
The ability to “know something” and also “comprehend something” is vital to having a personality.
We also see…
The Holy Spirit posses emotions.
God the Spirit grieves.
10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The Holy Spirit loves.
Romans 15:30 (ESV)
30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf
The Father demonstrated his love for us by sending his son (Romans 5:8).
The Son demonstrated his love for us by sacrificing his life for ours (Revelation 1:5).
The Spirit demonstrated his love for us by giving us the message of salvation.
21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The Spirit “wants or desires” to “help or advocate” for us.
John 14:16 (ESV)
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever
1 John 2:1 (ESV)
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
The last personality trait we find, as mentioned above is “will.”
So it is without surprise that we find…
The Holy Spirit posses will.
1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV)
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Knowing this is fact is necessary for us to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Most of the denominational world miss this most vital reality by seeking some mysterious and mighty power that they can “use” in their work to accomplish “their will.”
The Holy Spirit told me such and such.
The Holy Spirit led me to this place or that place.
The Holy Spirit led my thoughts this direction or that direction.
Truth be told we should be thankful that man is not given such power to accomplish “his will” considering his propensity for ignorance, and sinful lusts.
We should rejoice that and our hearts be glad that there is God the Spirit who never errs and is ignorant of nothing we need.
Because the Spirit posses his own will and we must obey his will, we must not ever get caught up seeking our will by calling it the “Spirit’s will” for us.
Summary
Summary
There should be “no doubt” that the Spirit of God has the characteristics of personality.
He posses “knowledge, emotions, and will.”
However, the bible which is inspired by the Holy Spirit goes even further to demonstrate his personality by way attributing human attributes to him.
So with that in mind let’s look at our last point…
The Anthropomorphic Spirit
The Anthropomorphic Spirit
Fancy Word For “Resembling Man.”
Fancy Word For “Resembling Man.”
When God created mankind and mad him both physical and finite he limited man’s ability to fully grasp the spiritual realm.
It is impossible to fully grasp things like eternity, omnipresence, omniscience, etc…
So God then attributes “human traits” or anthropomorphic traits to himself to help us better understand.
And in so doing we discover and learn the “person” Spirit all the better.
What are some of these traits we find given to the Spirit.
When it comes to God the Spirit these attributes deal with how he speaks, tells, guides, hears, declares and has a voice.
2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue.
3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice,
Summary
Summary
This list is not conclusive at all.
We also see the Spirit “leads” (Matthew 4:1), he forbids (Acts 16:7), he can makes decisions (Acts 15:28), etc…
The point is the Holy Spirit inspired men to write about his personality in such a way that we are left without doubt that God the Spirit is a separate personality from the Father and Son.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This is powerful and significant because God is worthy of worship and deserves our praise.
8 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’ ”
Peter even describes the Spirit as, “the Spirit of glory.”
14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
Knowing God the Spirit is just as much divine as the Father and Spirit is vital to our worship and praise and why we sing such songs as “Take Time To Be Holy” and worship the Spirit and that hymn.
Verse four says, “Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul; Each thought and each motive beneath His control; Thus “led by the Spirit” to fountains of love, Thou soon shall be fitted for service above.”
Invitation
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.