Who or what is the Holy Spirit?

Absolutely! It is true, of course, that the Holy Spirit is also spoken of as power (see Acts 1:8; Luke 24:49) but He is also a person. The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as acting in a way only a person can. For instance, the Spirit:

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Scriptures take for granted who the Spirit of God is in the first mention of Him in Genesis 1:2. We are not there told who the Spirit of God is, simply that He moved on the face of the waters. Yet Scripture clearly tells us who He is in an indirect, though none the less impressive way.

The third Person of the ever-blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, is presented to us in Scripture as the One from whom the living energies of the Godhead proceed. He is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2 as moving in creation and there giving effect to the Word of God. He is last mentioned in Revelation 22:17 as energizing "the bride" and producing in her heart a suitable response to the Bridegroom, who presents Himself as "I, Jesus."

The third Person in the Trinity, as seen in the formula of baptism. Matt. 28:19. The Spirit moved upon the face of the waters at the creation, Gen. 1:2; and He came upon certain persons in the O.T. to fulfil the purposes of God. David asked that the Holy Spirit might not be taken from him, Ps. 51:11; which stands in contrast to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Christians, for He abides with them. It is by the operation of the Spirit that they are born anew, and He is the seal of their faith in Christ, and the earnest of their inheritance above. John 3:5; Eph. 1:13-14. He is their COMFORTER or Advocate (παράκλητος, one who manages their affairs) on earth, as Christ is the same in heaven. John 14:16, 26.

In the New Testament, where only we have the full revelation of God, the full truth as to the personality and Godhead of the Holy Spirit is brought out; there can be no question of His personality. He is spoken of in that way as definitely as the Father or the Son. While, as we have said, His work is that which is prominent; a work indeed which displays the glories of the Son and the truth of God; yet in the very power which thus displays them, we have the witness of His own essential and absolute Godhead, His distinct personality.

If the procession of the Holy Ghost from the Son rests on the church's authority, it is not worth much. The Greek church does not hold it. The early teachers extant are very loose indeed as to the doctrine of the Spirit, though not denying it; and, as we have seen, on the whole doctrine of the Trinity in general. But in John it is said, the Father sends, and the Son sends from the Father. As to the discussion between Greeks and Romanists, it is endless metaphysics. That the Holy Ghost is a divine person, one with the Father and the Son, scripture is clear. He wills, distributes, comes, is sent, is grieved, leads, intercedes: in a word, He does every kind of personal act; yet what is spoken of as done by Him, it is expressly said, God does, in the same chapter; 1 Cor. 12.

It has been largely taught that the Holy Spirit is not a Person, but an influence radiating from God. But here is language that only can be attributed to a Person, and that Person Divine, for Scripture clearly attributes sovereignty, which is one of the attributes of God, to the Holy Spirit.

It has often been taught that the Holy Spirit is only an influence, thus denying His Personality. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and every person has an influence, but in the case of the Holy Spirit His Personality embraces omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence. The Personality of the Holy Spirit is clearly affirmed in Scripture.

That the Holy Spirit is a Person and is God the following passages clearly prove (Gen. 1:2; Matt. 4:1; John 16:13; Acts 10:19; Acts 13:2,4; Acts 20:28; Rom. 15:30; 1 Cor. 2:10).

First of all the New Testament confirms what we found in the Old: the power of the Holy Spirit. We read: `But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you' (Acts 1:8). And the book of Acts is a divine record of the working of the power of the Spirit. But the revelation of the New Testament about the Holy Spirit goes much further than what we find in the Old Testament: it clearly teaches that He is a divine person. The Old Testament believers knew God as 'one God', but in the New Testament this one God is revealed as three persons: God, the Father; God, the Son; and God, the Holy Spirit. One God, but three persons who act in complete harmony with each other. This is a truth we can neither understand nor explain but simply believe. That the Spirit is a divine person as much as the Son or the Father is declared at numerous places in scripture. Acts 5 is a very remarkable illustration of this if we compare verses 3 and 4: v. 3: `Why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost' and v. 4: 'thou hast not lied to men, but unto God.