The Holy Spirit

A Pentecostal Perspective

Anthony D. Palma

• Publisher: Logion Press
• Year: 2012
• eBook ISBN: 9781607311997
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

Ideal for a small group study and for personal study, this book is driven by the question, "What does the Scripture say about the Holy Spirit?" Preeminent scholar Anthony D. Palma looks to the Bible for a thorough understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Three major areas are explored and tested by Palma: a presentation of the commonly held theological beliefs regarding the Holy Spirit, an in-depth exploration of the Pentecostal teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and a discussion of the nature of spiritual gifts and whether the extraordinary gifts were withdrawn after the first century. Each part draws from the original languages and effectively fuses theology to everyday experience.

Part 1:

General Pneumatology

Chapter 1

The Spirit and the Godhead

Who, or what, is the Holy Spirit? This question was not raised in the Apostolic Church, but within a few centuries it was necessary for the Church to give attention to the matter. Some leaders in the Church were teaching that the Holy Spirit was created by the Son of God, and as a created being could not be considered a member of the Godhead. This was actually a denial of the doctrine of the Trinity—that God exists eternally in three Persons whom mainstream Christianity commonly designate Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This chapter will deal with two main topics—the personhood¹ of the Holy Spirit and the deity of the Holy Spirit. It will also include a brief survey of early church history as it relates to these matters.

The Personhood of the Holy Spirit

The Scriptures teach clearly that the Holy Spirit is a personal being. Yet some Christians misunderstand this, referring to the Spirit as “It,” rather than “He.”

REASONS FOR CONFUSION

The following are among the main reasons for this misunderstanding:

(1) In Scripture the Spirit is the least mentioned member of the Godhead. There are considerably more references to the Father and the Son than to the Holy Spirit. Consequently, less is known about Him than about the others.

(2) The word “spirit” suggests absence of personhood. The idea of personhood has no difficulty attaching itself to the words “Father” and “Son”; but in English the gender of the word “spirit” is neuter, which means that, strictly speaking, the appropriate pronoun to be used is “it.” We shall see, however, that in spite of this accident of the English language, there is abundant evidence in Scripture that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person.

(3) The biblical languages are also partly responsible for this problem. Our word “spirit” is a simple and valid translation of the Hebrew word ruach and the Greek word pneuma, which are common words in those languages.

Originally, the words ruach and pneuma were used for inanimate and impersonal forces like wind and breath. Later, they were applied to what native speakers of English understand by the word “spirit.” In Hebrew grammar the word ruach is predominantly in the feminine gender.² Greek, on the other hand, assigns the neuter gender to pneuma.

The point of these comments is to show that both in the biblical languages and in English, the personhood of the Holy Spirit may be misunderstood because of linguistic limitations.

(4) Translations of the Bible are sometimes inadequate. This may be due to the translators’ desire to give what they consider a “strict” translation or to their unawareness of the overall biblical teaching about the Holy Spirit. For instance, Romans 8:26 in the King James Version reads, “The Spirit itself maketh intercession for us.” “The Spirit itself” may be technically correct because of the neuter gender of both the noun and the intensive pronoun (auto), but it is better to follow the theologically correct reading which says “the Spirit himself” (as in the NIV; see also NASB and NKJV).

(5) The Spirit is often associated in Scripture with the idea of power. Consequently, some think of the Holy Spirit only as an impersonal force. But when Jesus promised the disciples that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them (Acts 1:8; see also Luke 24:49), He meant that the Spirit himself would come in fullness and that the Spirit, who is all-powerful, would provide them with the necessary means for effective ministry.

(6) Figures of speech often used in Scripture for the Holy Spirit may imply the idea of inanimate or impersonal objects. A few suggestions will suffice to illustrate this point. He is likened to

• water—John 7:38–39

• oil—Acts 10:38 (Throughout the Bible, anointing was done with oil.)

• wind—John 3:8; Acts 2:2

• fire—Acts 2:3; Rev. 4:5

• a dove—Luke 3:22

Most of these symbols will receive attention at appropriate points in the following chapters. Here it is simply necessary to state that often the purpose of a figure of speech is to help one understand something about a person. It draws an analogy using a common object that readily expresses some characteristic or attribute of the person, and is not to be pressed literally.

BIBLICAL PROOF OF THE SPIRIT’S PERSONHOOD

Many lines of evidence in Scripture point to the Holy Spirit being a Person, and not an inanimate object or impersonal force. Our main concern here is to establish this by a survey of the biblical material. Further treatment of many of these matters will be given in subsequent chapters.

(1) He possesses personal attributes, which are associated with the mind, the will, and the emotions.

Paul speaks of “the mind of the Spirit” (Rom. 8:27), and says further that only the Spirit of God knows the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10–11). The intellectual activity of the Spirit is further seen in gifts of the Spirit such as a word of knowledge, a word of wisdom, distinguishings of spirits, and prophecy (1 Cor. 12:8–10). There is also the matter of the will, or volition. Sovereign actions of the Holy Spirit are one aspect of this. He distributes gifts “to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor. 12:11). He directs God’s people in setting some apart for special ministry (Acts 13:2) and in the choice of fields of labor (Acts 16:6–7). Finally, the Holy Spirit has emotions. He may be grieved or vexed (Isa. 63:10; Eph. 4:30); He also manifests love (Rom. 15:30).

(2) He performs personal acts. The following is a sample listing:

• He creates—Gen. 1:2; Job 33:4; Ps. 33:6

• He re-creates, or regenerates—John 3:5; Titus 3:5

• He strives with men—Gen. 6:3; Isa. 63:10

• He convicts, or convinces, unregenerate men —John 16:8

• He intercedes—Rom. 8:26

• He performs miracles— Acts 8:39; Heb. 2:4

• He raises the dead—Rom. 1:3–4; 8:11

• He speaks—John 16:13; Acts 8:29; 10:19; Rev. 2:7

• He teaches—Luke 12:12; John 14:26; 1 John 2:27

• He testifies—John 15:26; 1 Pet. 1:11

(3) He may be personally offended. Stephen charged his persecutors with always resisting the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). Peter accused Ananias of lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and stated further that both Ananias and Sapphira had put the Spirit of the Lord to the test (v. 9). Paul admonishes Christians not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), probably recalling how Israel had so offended Him in the wilderness (Isa. 63:10). Furthermore, believers are warned of the possibility of insulting or outraging “the Spirit of grace” by denying their blood-bought salvation (Heb. 10:29).

In one of the most solemn passages in all of Scripture, Jesus warned against blaspheming, or sinning against, the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:32; Mark 3:22–30; Luke 12:10). Bible scholars disagree on the precise nature of this sin, but at least two points are quite clear when one examines the context of each passage: (a) It consists of knowingly and persistently attributing to Satan what is obviously the work of the Holy Spirit. (b) It is a rejection of Jesus Christ as God’s chosen and anointed One for the deliverance of humankind. (Christians need not be preoccupied or distressed with the thought that they have committed this sin. The very fact that they are concerned about it is a clear indication that the Holy Spirit has not forsaken them.)

(4) Jesus called Him the Paraclete. This term transliterates the Greek paraklêtos, and is translated variously as “Comforter,” “Helper,” “Counselor,” “Advocate.” Its root meaning is “one called to the side of.” The passages where this title is found (John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7) indicate clearly that Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit as a Person.

A further indication of the Spirit’s personhood is in Jesus’ words identifying Him as “another Paraclete” (John 14:16, my translation). Jesus himself was the first Paraclete. The apostle John says that “we have an Advocate [paraklêtos] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1, NASB). The clue is in the Greek word for “another,” allos, which usually means “another of the same kind.” Just as the Lord Jesus Christ came to the aid of His disciples and encouraged them, so too would the Holy Spirit, helping, encouraging, and interceding for them (and those who would believe their message) after Jesus left. Jesus promised He would not leave His disciples as orphans—helpless, defenseless, and comfortless (John 14:18).

(5) Masculine pronouns are used for the Holy Spirit. It seems that in a few passages Jesus deliberately emphasized the Spirit’s personhood by using the masculine form of the demonstrative pronoun³ when referring to him. In John 14:26 he could have omitted the word without injury to the grammar. The NASB reads, “‘The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He [ekeinos] will teach you all things.’” In John 16:13,14 Jesus twice used the masculine form of the pronoun even though, in Greek, no pronoun was necessary.⁴ He said, “‘But when he [ekeinos], the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth…. He [ekeinos] will bring glory to me.’”

The Deity of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity, which means He is fully divine like the Father and the Son. He is often referred to as the Third Person of the Godhead.

SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES FOR HIS DEITY

Many lines of evidence point to the absolute deity of the Holy Spirit. The following are the most important:

(1) He is mentioned coordinately with the Father and the Son. The following examples demonstrate that all three are equal to one another; otherwise it would be a case of mixing the proverbial apples and oranges: Jesus commanded the disciples to bap...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Notes and Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Part 1: General Pneumatology
• Part 2: Baptism in the Holy Spirit
• Part 3: Spiritual Gifts
• Selected Bibliography
• Scripture Index
• Subject Index