KNOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS PERSONALITY

The Holy Spirit is part of the triune nature of God, but the Holy Spirit also has an individual personality. The Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit…

HAS A MIND: And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit…(Romans 8:27)

SEARCHES OUT THE HUMAN MIND: But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. (I Corinthians 2:10)

HAS A WILL: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. (I Corinthians 12:11)

The will of the Holy Spirit guides believers by denying permission for certain actions:
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia; but the Spirit suffered them not. (Acts 16:6-7)

The will of the Holy Spirit also guides believers by granting permission:
And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them. (Acts 16:10)

SPEAKS: He spoke to Philip: Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. (Acts 8:29) He spoke to Peter: While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. (Acts 10:19) He spoke to the elders in the city of Antioch: As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. (Acts 13:2) Revelation chapters 2 and 3 records several messages spoken by the Holy Spirit to seven churches in Asia.

LOVES: Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. (Romans 15:30)

INTERCEDES: One of the personality traits of the Holy Spirit is that He is an intercessor. This means He prays to God on behalf of others: Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered [spoken]. (Romans 8:26)

SENSITIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit has a sensitive nature. This means He has feelings that can be affected by the actions of man. Because of the sensitive nature of the Holy Spirit, the Bible warns that you should not:LIE TO THE HOLY SPIRIT: But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?…Thou has not lied unto me, but unto God. (Acts 5:3-4)

RESIST THE SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit has specific ministries on behalf of the believer which will be discussed in Chapter Three of this course. Resisting the Holy Spirit is not yielding to Him when He tries to minister in your life: Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. (Acts 7:51)

QUENCH THE SPIRIT: You quench the Holy Spirit when you refuse to do what the Holy Spirit would have you to do. The word “quench” is used elsewhere in the Bible in reference to putting out a fire. When you quench the Holy Spirit it stops the flow of His power within you. It is like throwing water on a fire. The Bible warns: Quench not the Spirit. (I Thessalonians 5:19)

GRIEVE THE SPIRIT: Quenching the Holy Spirit is not doing what the Holy Spirit would have us do. Grieving the Holy Spirit is doing something that the Holy Spirit does NOT want us to do.The nation of Israel grieved the Holy Spirit: How oft did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the desert! (Psalms 78:40) The Bible warns: And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. (Ephesians 4:30)

INSULT THE SPIRIT: You insult the Holy Spirit by going back into sin after you have experienced forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:29) For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.(Hebrews 6:4-6)

BLASPHEME THE SPIRIT: Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world neither in the world to come. (Matthew 12:31-32) The sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has been called the “unpardonable sin” because according to this passage it is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness. To blaspheme means to speak abusive words which reject the power of the Holy Spirit as being of God and claim it is of Satan. If a person totally rejects the power of the Holy Spirit then he can never be saved because it is the Holy Spirit which draws sinful men to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit produces many visible confirming signs of God’s power.
Jesus was saying that if a person could not accept these miraculous signs as proof of the truth of the Gospel, then what could ever possibly convince them to believe?

VEX THE HOLY SPIRIT: To vex the Holy Spirit means to irritate, annoy, provoke, or make angry. The Holy Spirit is vexed by the disobedience and unbelief of mankind. The Prophet Isaiah records what happened to God’s people, Israel, when they vexed the Holy Spirit: But they rebelled, and vexed His Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought against them. (Isaiah 63:10)

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