But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (1 Co 2:10–12)
In the Epistle of Corinthians, as we have been reading, Paul frequently mentions the Father, God, and Jesus Christ. However, in one instance, in verse four of this chapter, Paul refers to the Spirit with a capital "S," clearly indicating the Holy Spirit. He states that his speech and preaching were not reliant on persuasive words of human wisdom but on demonstrating the Spirit's power. The significant distinction here is the presence of the definite article before the word "spirit."
Up to this point, the term "Trinity" has not been explicitly used and cannot be found within the texts of the Bible. However, despite the absence of this specific term, all three persons of the Trinity are indeed mentioned in the biblical texts.
As a former Jehovah's Witness, I was raised with the Monarchianism doctrine, which emphasizes the unity of God and rejects the idea of God as a triune being. According to this doctrine, the Holy Spirit is not considered a person but rather an active force or power of God, like electricity, lacking personal attributes.
However, the biblical text communicates a different understanding. In this text, we can observe that the Holy Spirit possesses attributes of a person, such as presence, empowerment, searchability, and communication. This observation is based solely on this text, but many other passages specifically teach that the Holy Spirit is indeed a person within the Godhead. Jesus himself used personal pronouns to refer to the Holy Spirit. While there are many passages one could use to illustrate the following, we shall only use three to make this point.
John 14:16-17: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."
In this passage, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the "Helper" and uses personal pronouns like "he" to describe the Spirit.
Acts 5:3-4: "But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ... You have not lied to man but to God.'"
In this account, Peter confronts Ananias for lying to the Holy Spirit and equates lying to the Spirit with lying to God, indicating the divine nature and personhood of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:26-27: "Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."
We can see from the text of scripture that the Spirit is described as helping, interceding, and having a mind, indicating personal attributes. These passages, among others in the New Testament, provide evidence for the personhood of the Holy Spirit, including personal actions, characteristics, and interactions with believers.
There is much more to be discussed regarding this passage, but we must postpone it for another day. However, we understand today that the Holy Spirit is undeniably a person. Jesus Himself promised to send the Holy Spirit to be among us and dwell within us.
This is wonderful news for those who have undergone conversion, meaning they have humbled themselves and, as the old hymn asks, have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Have you truly been freed from your passions and pride? Have you experienced that transformative cleansing at Calvary's cross? If so, your spirit has testified and united with God's Spirit, and as a result, the Holy Spirit resides in you. Today, have you listened to the promptings of the Holy Spirit? Have you communicated with the Holy Spirit? Lastly, when was the last time you can recall being actively guided by the Spirit?
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