The “Shy” Member of the Trinity: The Holy Spirit

By Larry Dixon

Larry Dixon is a graduate of Emmaus Bible College and is Professor of Church History and Theology at Columbia Biblical Seminary and School of Missions in Columbia, South Carolina. He attends Woodland Hills Community Church in Columbia. This is chapter nine in a series of articles entitled Back to the Basics: A. Fairly Serious Survey of the Fundamentals of the Faith. A. complete survey of all ten areas of Christian faith is found in Dixon’s book DocTALK: A. Fairly Serious Survey of All That Theological Stuff (Christian Focus Publications, 2002).

Introduction

“Wherever the Christian church is weak (and it is weak in many places), and wherever Christians are weak individually, it is always because they have never graduated into the high school of the Holy Spirit—they are still babes in Christ, no matter how long they have been Christians.” (Ray Stedman) 

“It is not the lofty sails but the unseen wind that moves the ship.” (anonymous) 

“We all pray for the Holy Spirit, but as soon as the tongues of flame begin to appear we all run for the fire extinguishers.” (Melvin G. Kyle) 

“Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:5)

The doctrine of Pneumatology, that is, the study of the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, is fraught with danger. There are those who over-emphasize what some call this “shy” member of the Trinity [1] appearing to speak more of the Spirit than they do of the Father or the Son. Others overreact to this imbalance and act as if there were no Holy Spirit, or at least seem to imply that we are not to study Him, worship Him, or pray to Him.

I am reminded of J. I. Packer’s important warning as we embark on our study in this chapter. In his work Keep in Step with the Spirit, Packer says, “There is nothing so Spirit-quenching as to study the Spirit’s work without being willing to be touched, humbled, convicted, and changed as you go along.” [2] As another theologian put it, the Holy Spirit too has a history. We are not the first generation of Christians who struggle to be biblically balanced in our understanding of and submission to the Third Member of the Godhead.

A Few Historical Notes

We have said very little about historical theology in these articles, and that is not good. Historical theology studies how doctrines have been understood down through the centuries of the church’s existence. When we say that the Holy Spirit too has a history, we are not denying the timelessness of God. Rather we are indicating that He has worked in His people from the days of creation (in His fulness, we believe, only since Pentecost) and He desires to continue His work in and through all who know Christ. [3]

For my doctoral dissertation I chose to study the Pneumatology of the Irish theologian John Nelson Darby, the popularizer of dispensationalism and the pre-tribulational rapture doctrine. I spent about two years culling out of Darby’s fifty-five volumes of poorly written theological writings all that he said about the Spirit of God. [4] That study was rewarding, but was also like hitting your thumb with a hammer: it feels so good when you stop! There are no new heresies about the Holy Spirit, so it is important to study that area of doctrine down through church history so that we will not be bound by our own theological myopia (nearsightedness).

The Personality of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit Has the Essential Characteristics of Personality

Intellect

If we define a person as someone who possesses intellect, emotions, and will, then the Holy Spirit (despite the protestations of the Jehovah’s Witnesses) is a person! His intellect is shown in Acts 13:1–2 as the believers in Antioch were worshiping the Lord and fasting. “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’” (v. 2). Here we see the Holy Spirit speaking, sanctifying (setting apart for God’s service), and calling (“for the work to which I have called them”). Each of these aspects requires intelligence.

In the so-called “upper room discourse,” Jesus speaks of many things to His disciples as He prepares to leave them. He says a great deal about the coming of the Holy Spirit and His ministry to—and through—the followers of Christ. In John 14:26 Jesus declares, “the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” Contrary to the opinion of some, it takes intelligence to teach!

Emotions

The emotions of the Holy Spirit are attested to in both Old Testament as well as New Testament passages. In the Old Testament we read that the Israelites’ rebellion “grieved his Holy Spirit” (Isa. 63:10). Paul may be reflecting back on the nation of Israel’s sin described by Isaiah when he challenges his readers with the command: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30). It is a PERSON, not an impersonal force, who is grieved.

Will

The will of the Holy Spirit certainly is shown in the Acts 13:1–2 text where He expresses His desire that Barnabas and Saul be set apart for the work to which He has called them. We also see the Spirit’s will in Romans 8 where we are told that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (v. 14). PERSONS lead! [By the way, the common Christian quest for the “leading of the Lord” often overlooks a basic truth: the Spirit of God leads God’s people by means of God’s WORD.]

The Personal Names of the Holy Spirit

Personal Pronouns

The names associated with the Holy Spirit also indicate His personality. Although the Greek term for “spirit” is neuter (that is, neither masculine nor feminine), frequently the personal pronoun “he” is used to refer to the Spirit (one would expect the pronoun “it”). For example, in John 14:26 we read that “He” (ekeinos, literally “that one”) “will teach you all things.”

Another Counselor

One of the common names for the Holy Spirit is used by Jesus in this same John 14 passage. In verses 15–17a Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” The specific expression here for “another Counselor” is ἄλλος παράκλητος (allos paraklētos). The word Paraklētos literally means “one called alongside (to help).” Jesus is teaching in John 14 that the Holy Spirit would be the One sent by the Father (at the request of the Son) who would help, assist, and comfort the disciples. The same term Paraklētos is used of Jesus’ ministry of defending the believer in 1 John 2:1—“we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense (paraklētos)—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”

Has it occurred to you, fellow Christian, that you have the two best attorneys in the universe? The term Paraklētos can mean comforter, counselor, or advocate. You have one attorney living within you (the Holy Spirit) and the other attorney (the Lord Jesus) at the right hand of the Father interceding for you.

The term “another” in John 14 is ἄλλος (allos). There are two words in Greek which can be translated “other” or “another”: (1) ἕτερος (heteros) means “another of a different kind” (we use the term “heterosexual,” for example), and (2) ἄλλος (allos) means [don’t miss this! This is going to be good] “another of the SAME KIND.” I would suggest that Jesus is promising the disciples that the One who would come and take His place with the disciples will not just be with them, He would be IN them (see John 14:17). And He will continue to be to the disciples all that Jesus was to them. He will be a Comforter just like Jesus was to them. Sometimes “comfort” is not what we Christians need. We often need challenge, conviction, and encouragement to live for Christ in this world. One pastor described his job as comforting the troubled and troubling the comfortable! That is quite likely one of the works of the Spirit of God.

In looking at these brief evidences of the personality of the Holy Spirit, we must ask the question: do we treat the Holy Spirit as a person? Do we speak with Him? Think about Him? Work hard at not grieving Him? One writer aptly states:

“Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God” commands Paul. Now, only a dear friend can be grieved. Not a stranger: he might be annoyed. Not a chance acquaintance: he might be perplexed. Not a business partner: he might be offended. Only a loved one can be grieved. [5]

The Deity of the Holy Spirit

There are several ways to demonstrate the deity of the Holy Spirit.

He Is Equal to the Father and the Son

He is presented as equal to the Father and the Son in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 where the disciples are told to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (cf. 2 Cor. 13:14).

He Possesses the Attributes of Deity

The Spirit of God possesses the attributes of deity, as we see from the following Scriptures:

Omniscience

His omniscience is shown in 1 Corinthians 2:10b–11 which says, “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” Perhaps it is in the Spirit’s ministry of illumination that He discloses the thoughts of God to the believer who is studying the Word of God. The desire for illumination without serious study of the Scriptures is presumption. The Spirit of God not only knows the thoughts of God; but if He too is deity, He knows our thoughts. We never bring the Spirit “up-to-date” when we pray. Prayer is never informing God of something He otherwise would not know.

Omnipresence

His omnipresence is shown in Psalm 139 where we read, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (verses 7–10). The writer Donald Bloesch makes a mistake, I think, when he uses the doctrine of God’s omnipresence to say, “We can affirm salvation on the other side of the grave, since this has scriptural warrant (cf. Isa. 26:19; John 5:25–29; Eph. 4:8–9; 1 Peter 3:19–20; 4:6); yet we cannot preach that any of those who are banished to hell will finally be saved.” He also writes that hades “is not yet hell” and that the intermediate state of the lost (“hades”) is a “state of inner torment or lostness.” “It should nonetheless be pointed out,” he continues, “that God is present in this so-called realm of the dead, and is in absolute control…. This realm is not outside the compass of the Gospel, since our Lord preached to the spirits who were in prison (1 Peter 3:19–20).” [6] I strongly disagree with Bloesch’s statement that “hell is not outside the compass of God’s mercy nor the sphere of his kingdom, and in this sense we call it the last refuge for the sinner…. Hell will not be seen as an evil, but as the place where those who reject Christ are still cared for by Christ—and not simply as Lord and Judge but as Savior and Healer.” [7] This is a misuse of the doctrine of God’s omnipresence.

Omnipotence

His omnipotence is shown in His role in creation (Gen. 1:1–2), in the virginal conception of Jesus (Luke 1:35), and in the resurrection of the Savior. (Romans 1:4 says that Christ “through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.”)

He is Called God

Although there are many other evidences of the deity of the Holy Spirit, my favorite comes from Acts 5. There we read of a couple (Ananias and Sapphira) who apparently wanted to be like Barnabas who donated money to the apostles (see Acts 4:36–37). But they really didn’t want to give their all to the Lord, so they sold a piece of property and lied about its sale price. Let’s hear the text itself:

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:3-4).

Notice several important factors here. Ananias and Sapphira were not forced into selling their property. This was not some kind of communism. They were free to sell it or not sell it. And they were free to keep the proceeds after the sale of the property. What they were not free to do was to lie to the Holy Spirit! And Peter makes it clear that they had not deceived or lied only to the early church; They had lied to God! And the text seems to make it clear that LYING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT = LYING TO GOD! That is our point here in Acts 5, that the Holy Spirit is clearly called “God.”

But the story is too good to stop here. The moment Ananias heard the words, “You have not lied to men but to God,” he kicked the bucket! The youth group came and took a field trip to bury the body (allow me a little liberty here). And then Sapphira showed up.

One wonders where she had been. The text tells us that it was three hours after her husband had died (v. 7). Some have suggested that, because she had money in her pocket and time on her hands, she was out shopping—but the Bible doesn’t tell us that. At any rate, Peter asked her a straightforward question: “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” (v. 8). Let’s say that they sold the land for $100, but gave the apostles only $75 (proclaiming that they had gotten exactly $75 for the land). Peter’s question essentially is this: “Did you and your husband sell the land for $75?” Don’t miss this point! God gave Sapphira an opportunity to “come clean.” She was not being judged for her husband’s sin. She replied, “Yes, that is what we got for the land!” The last words she heard were, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also” (v. 9). And the youth group arrived to make a second field trip to the cemetery.

The late, great preacher Vance Havner commented on this passage. He said, “Isn’t it good that God does not act in such judgment today? If He did, every church would need a morgue in the basement!” [8]

The Works of the Holy Spirit

Because of the many-faceted ministries of the Spirit of God, we can only give brief mention of His works. We learn from Genesis 1:1–2 that the Spirit of God was involved in Creation. We have already seen from Luke 1:35 (cf. Matt. 1:18) that the Holy Spirit “overshadowed” Mary in producing the Virginal Conception (what most today call the virgin “birth”). A number of texts indicate the Spirit’s involvement in the Life (including the temptation), Death, and Resurrection of the Son of God (Matt. 3:16; 4:1; Rom. 1:4; etc.). We further learn from Scripture that the Holy Spirit Convicts of Sin (John 16:7–11; Acts 16:14). He is also intimately involved in the Inspiration of the Scriptures (John 14:26; 16:13; 2 Pet. 1:20–21).

Did you know that not all the hymns or choruses we sing are theologically pure? I struggle with verse three of “Father, We love You….” The third verse says, “Spirit, We love You, We worship and adore You. Glorify Thy name in all the earth!” The reason I have a problem with the third verse is what seems to be a clear statement by Jesus in John 15:26—“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” But what really gets to me are the two verses in John 16, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and make it known to you” (verses 13–14). It appears that one of the primary ministries of the Holy Spirit is to Direct our Attention to Christ. That is not to say that we should not study the Holy Spirit, worship the Holy Spirit, or pray to the Holy Spirit, [9] but His major work is to cause us to focus on Christ.

One of the more debated ministries of the Spirit of God is His work of Baptizing us into the Body of Christ. Many Evangelicals believe that Acts 2 is the beginning of the Church and that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the theological explanation of what took place there at Pentecost. I think that a careful examination of Acts chapters 2, 10, and 11, as well as 1 Corinthians 12:13 indicate that the baptism of the Spirit occurs when one is converted. It is the action by which the Spirit incorporates a new believer into the body of Christ.

The Believer and the Holy Spirit

The Works of the Holy Spirit for the Believer

There are a wide variety of actions of the Spirit of God toward the Christian. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that He indwells the believer. The Spirit is often referred to as the Counselor, the One who comforts the Christian (see John 14:26; Rom. 8:15–16). There is much to learn from studying the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:16–25 and Ephesians 5:9. And every believer needs to carefully pore over the four primary texts having to do with the gifts of the Spirit (Ephesians 4; 1 Peter 4; Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12) to discover one’s own giftedness and to assist others in recognizing the areas in which they are equipped to serve the Body. The Spirit’s work of sealing the believer, I believe, has to do with one’s eternal security, for the Spirit has been given to us as a down-payment of our salvation (the Greek word “seal” can mean “to set a mark upon,” “to show ownership” in passages like Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; and 2 Corinthians 1:22).

The Believer’s Response to the Holy Spirit

With all of these ministries (and others) of the Holy Spirit toward the believer, what is to be our response to Him? We are not to grieve the Spirit (Eph. 4:30). Note the sins listed in verses 24–32 if you want to answer the question, “How do we grieve the Spirit of God?” We are not to quench the Spirit, we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:19–20. The entire chapter 5 of Galatians indicates that we are to walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, and live in the Spirit. We learn in Ephesians 5:18 that we are to be filled with the Spirit. We are also told to pray in the Spirit in Jude 20 and Ephesians 6:18. I personally do not believe those two texts are encouraging us to pray in supernatural “tongues,” but rather to pray in accordance with the ministries of the Spirit of God (i.e., to cooperate with what He is trying to do in our lives).

There are many who say that they are “led by the Spirit” or that the “Spirit told them such and such,” [10] but we must test such claims by the Word of God, the instrument of our sanctification (John 17:17). Merely claiming to be led by the Spirit or simply professing to be speaking the message of God is not enough, as we learn from Job 4:12–17. In this experience-oriented culture, we must hold firm to the belief that the Spirit of God will never contradict the Word of God. As someone has wryly said, “If you have the Bible alone, you will dry up. If you have the Spirit alone, you will blow up. If you have the Bible and the Spirit, you will grow up!”

The next installment in our series will examine “The Church: God’s Passion.” [11] When we become discouraged (like Philip Yancey in his Church: Why Bother? [12]), we must remember that Jesus Christ has promised to build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). May the Spirit of God keep the people of God from giving up on what the Son of God is building!

Notes

1. Others have used the expression “the displaced person of the Godhead.” Cf. J. I. Packer in his introduction to David F. Wells’ God the Evangelist: How the Holy Spirit Works to Bring Men and Women to Faith (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), xi.
2. J. I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit (Fleming Revell Co., 1987), 11.
3. The so-called filioque controversy had to do with the question of whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father or from the Father and the Son (filioque). The addition of the phrase “and from the Son” to the Nicene Creed brought great division to the church.
4. There are many fine historical treatments of Pneumatology which you might want to consult: For example, Stanley M. Burgess’ The Spirit & the Church: Antiquity (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1984) is a scholarly discussion of the study of the Holy Spirit from the Apostolic Age. Charles Williams’ Descent of the Dove: A Short History of the Holy Spirit in the Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939) is also worth consulting. My understanding of Darby’s doctrine of the Holy Spirit, presented at the “Understanding the Trinity” symposium at Emmaus Bible College in 2002, will be published in a few months in this journal.
5. Milton S. Agnew, The Holy Spirit: Friend and Counselor (Nazareth Pub. House, 1980).
6. Donald G. Bloesch, Essentials of Evangelical Theology Vol. 2: “Life, Ministry, and Hope” (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978), 227 and 186. (My italics).
7. Bloesch, Evangelical Theology, 2: 227, 229. (My italics).
8. 1 Corinthians 11:30 indicates a similar kind of judgment.
9. If the Holy Spirit is God, then worshiping Him and praying to Him seem justified. Some Christians object to praying to the Spirit because we have no explicit text of anyone praying to the Spirit. But we also have few verses to support praying to the Son of God. Acts 7:59 is the only one that comes to my mind. I personally believe that the more we understand about the ministries of the Spirit, the more opportunity we have to ask Him to convict of sin, illumine our minds as we study Scripture, remind us of our sonship, etc.
10. C.I.U.’s former president Johnny Miller once asked the question, “What is the voice of the Holy Spirit in this age?” He then pointed out that there are many ventriloquists around today!
11. For those who can’t wait for the next issue, all these articles in this series which The Emmaus Journal kindly publishes are now available in book form in DocTALK: A Fairly Serious Survey of All That Theological Stuff (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 2002).
12. Philip Yancey, Church: Why Bother? My Personal Pilgrimage (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998).