Personhood of the Holy Spirit

Definition and Meaning

The personhood of the Holy Spirit is the doctrine that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or influence but a personal being who thinks, feels, and wills. The doctrine regards the Spirit as one person (hypostasis, a distinct personal subject) of the triune God, the Trinity. Here "person" does not mean that the Spirit is like a human being. It means that the Spirit is a subject who thinks, wills, and enters into relationships. Together with the deity of the Holy Spirit, this doctrine forms a basic premise of pneumatology.

Biblical and Historical Background

The following passages are commonly cited in support of this doctrine:

• He teaches and brings things to remembrance: John 14:26
• He can be grieved: Ephesians 4:30
• He distributes gifts as He wills: 1 Corinthians 12:11
• He speaks and sets apart workers: Acts 13:2
• Lying to the Holy Spirit is described as lying to God: Acts 5:3–4

John 14–16 calls the Spirit the "Comforter" (Paraclete, meaning helper or comforter) and presents Him as "another" Comforter who would come after Jesus.

In the fourth century, controversy arose over claims that denied the deity of the Holy Spirit. The Council of Constantinople in 381 is generally held to have confessed the Holy Spirit as "the Lord and Giver of life," who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. This confession is contained in the creed known today as the Nicene Creed. Protestant confessions of faith after the Reformation carried this confession forward. The Westminster Confession of Faith, for example, confesses that in the one God there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

By contrast, Jehovah's Witnesses understand the Holy Spirit not as a person but as God's "active force." Denominations that confess the Trinity criticize this view as a denial of the Trinity.

Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.

The major Protestant denominations in Korea confess both the personhood and the deity of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles' Creed and their respective confessions of faith, and on this point there is little difference among them. The widespread use in Korean churches of an honorific form of address for the Holy Spirit (Seongnyeong-nim) also reflects an understanding of the Spirit as a person.

Among Korean denominations, differences appear mainly in emphasis:

• The Presbyterian and Reformed traditions tend to emphasize that the Spirit works together with the word of Scripture and in ways that reveal Christ.
• Pentecostal and Full Gospel churches have emphasized personal fellowship with the Holy Spirit and experience of Him. Addressing the Holy Spirit directly in prayer is also relatively common in these circles.
• Methodist and Holiness churches, following Wesleyan theology, stress the Spirit's work of making believers holy, that is, sanctification.

These differing emphases give rise to differing concerns. Some worry that an excessive emphasis on experience leads people to treat the Spirit as an instrument of power. Conversely, those who value experience warn against a faith that knows the Spirit only as doctrine without encountering Him personally.