The Holy Spirit is a Person

The Holy Spirit is a person. Let me just emphasize that. Until you learn to relate to the Holy Spirit as a person, not as an impersonal influence, not as a theological abstraction, but as a person, as real a person as God the Father and God the Son, as real a person as your husband or your wife, your father or your mother, your son or your daughter, until you learn to relate to the Holy Spirit in that way, you will not succeed in being truly led by the Holy Spirit.

John 14, verses 16 and 17, Jesus says,

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,”

Now, in the King James Version, the word is ‘Comforter.’ Some translations use the word ‘Counselor.’ But whether you say ‘Comforter,’ or ‘Helper,’ or ‘Counselor,’ or ‘Paraclete,’ this is what Jesus says about him,

“that he may be with you forever.”

And then He says,

“That is, the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit.”

What He was saying, in effect, is, “I’ve been with you just for a brief three and a half years. Now, in my personal presence, I’m going to leave you. I’m going to return to the Father, but in my place, another person will come.” That word ‘another’ is very important. Jesus is saying, “You know that I’m a person. You know how real I’ve been to you as a person. As a person, I’m going. But once I’ve gone, then another person will come in my place.” You see how He emphasizes the personality of the Holy Spirit in all that He says. So one person left when Jesus ascended to heaven. Ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, another person descended from heaven. But the fact that Jesus emphasizes here is, this other person, the Holy Spirit, is going to be with us forever.

And then in John 16:7, Jesus goes on in the same theme, and He says,

“I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

Now, that’s an amazing statement for most Christians. You often hear Christians say something like this, “Well, how wonderful it would have been to be on earth in the days when Jesus was personally present with His disciples. How much more we would have learned and understood.” Well, I agree, it would be wonderful. I won’t deny that. But Jesus says, wonderful though that was, it’s much more wonderful now. He is in heaven, and the Holy Spirit is on Earth. He says, “It’s to your advantage. It’s in your best interests. If I don’t go away, the Comforter won’t come. But if I go away, then the Father and I together will send the Comforter in my place, and you’ll be much better off.”

And the history of the book of Acts evidences that. The very moment the Holy Spirit came, the disciples had a totally new concept of the work of Jesus, of His authority, of their own standing in God, of the message that they were to preach, of the Old Testament prophets. Peter stood up immediately and began to quote the prophet Joel. I will guarantee, a couple of hours earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to say anything about the prophet Joel. Immediate light, understanding, boldness, and authority came upon them the moment the Holy Spirit came.

Therefore, we must cultivate a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. What is the primary requirement for such a relationship? I would say it’s the same as the primary requirement for all successful relationships, whether it’s between parents and children, husband and wife, or friends. And the key word I would focus on would be the word sensitivity. I believe that’s the most essential feature that we need to focus on in cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit. I regret all the times when I’ve not been sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And really, I think, in a way, that is my deepest regret as I look back over my Christian life. If there are things I would wish to change, and certainly there are, it would be the times when I failed to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

Finally, in my talk today, I want to emphasize one more fact, which, again, is of vital importance. The Holy Spirit is Lord. Second Corinthians 3:17, Paul says,

“Now the Lord is the Spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,”

or freedom. That’s the key to true spiritual freedom. It’s not a set of rules. It’s not a kind of procedure. It’s not clapping your hands, or dancing, or shouting, or singing, or falling on the ground, or anything. You’re only in liberty when you let the Holy Spirit be Lord every moment in every situation. Let me put it this way: Jesus is Lord over the church. The Holy Spirit is Lord in the church. The Lordship of Jesus over the church is no more effective than the Lordship of the Holy Spirit in the church. Only insofar as we allow the Holy Spirit to be Lord, do we actually allow Jesus to be Lord. This is true of the church, and it’s also true of our individual lives.