Is the Holy Spirit like electricity?
A recent survey by LifeWay Research, as reported in Facts & Trends magazine, reveals that 59 percent of American evangelicals believe the Holy Spirit is a force, not a personal being, and another 10 percent are not sure.
This lack of understanding of the divine and personal nature of the Spirit is more at home in counterfeit forms of Christianity like the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, whose adherents are known as Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Our JW friends promote a “holy spirit” that is neither personal nor divine. A teaching guide called Aid to Bible Understanding explains, “The Scriptures themselves unite to show that God’s holy spirit is not a person but is God’s active force by which he accomplishes his purpose and executes his will.”
Some JWs liken the “holy spirit” to electricity – a powerful, unseen force under the sovereign control of Jehovah.
But is that truly the Holy Spirit of the Scriptures? Or does the Bible present a Holy Spirit who is personal, divine, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son?
Let’s explore two simple truths from Scripture.
The Spirit is divine
First, the Bible clearly establishes the deity of the Holy Spirit as the third person of the triune Godhead.
The Bible uses the words “Holy Spirit” and “God” interchangeably. We find a classic example in Acts 5, where Ananias and Sapphira sell a piece of property and bring a portion of the proceeds to the church while claiming to have contributed the full amount.
Peter rebukes Ananias for lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3) and then, in the next verse, tells Ananias he has not lied to men, but to God.
The apostle Paul uses “Holy Spirit” and “God” interchangeably as well. In 1 Cor. 3:16 he calls Christians “God’s sanctuary,” and then in 1 Cor. 6:19 he says our bodies are “a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit.”
It is the divine Holy Spirit who inhabits the temple of believers’ bodies.
In addition, the Bible ascribes the same divine attributes to the Spirit as it does to the Father and the Son. To cite just a few examples, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent (Luke 1:35); omniscient (1 Cor. 2:10-11); omnipresent (Ps. 139:7); eternal (Heb. 9:14); and sovereign (John 3:8; 1 Cor. 12:11).
The Spirit is the fullness of the Godhead acting upon humans, convicting the lost of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11), and guiding believers into all truth (John 16:13). He is the Author of the Bible (2 Peter 1:21). The Father sent Him into the world in the Son’s name (John 14:26). He dwells within believers (John 14:17), fills them (Acts 4:31), and confirms that we belong to God (Rom. 8:16).
We also might note that the Spirit demonstrates His deity by doing what only God can do. For example, He creates (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 104:30) and imparts new life (Joel 2:28; John 3:5-8; Acts 2:17).
Finally, the New Testament witnesses that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equal agents in baptism (Matt. 28:19-20), salvation (Eph. 1:3-14; 2:18), the distribution of spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:4-6), and even a benediction (2 Cor. 13:13).
The Spirit is a person
The second Scriptural truth is that the Holy Spirit is a person.
In Greek, “spirit” is a neuter noun, meaning you would expect a neuter pronoun to go with it. However, Jesus and the New Testament writers consistently call the Spirit “He” or “Him” by using a masculine pronoun.
Jesus, who never refers to the Spirit as an “it,” calls the Spirit “another Counselor,” with the Greek word allos meaning “another of the same kind.” As Jesus is a divine person who comforts His followers, so is the Spirit (John 14:16).
Further, the Spirit is described in personal terms. He testifies (John 15:26); guides (John 16:13); glorifies Jesus (John 16:14); decides (Acts 15:28); prevents (Acts 16:6-7); appoints (Acts 20:28); intercedes (Rom. 8:26); speaks (John 16:13; Rev. 2:7); and is self-aware (Acts 10:19-20).
He can be blasphemed (Matt. 12:31-32); lied to (Acts 5:3-4); grieved (Eph. 4:30); and insulted (Heb. 10:29).
In short, the Holy Spirit has the same divine and personal attributes as the Father and the Son. As such, we owe Him the same honor and worship as the other members of the Trinity.
Our Jehovah’s Witness friends may contend that the Bible never calls Him “God the Spirit,” but that is an argument from silence, refuted convincingly by the Holy Spirit’s self-revelation in the Book He authored.
OnceDelivered.net 
The writer is correct in warning Christians about counterfeit forms of Christianity. There are counterfeit spirits out there that deceive people to worship God differently. All Christians must believe in the Father Son and Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour who came to the world and died on the cross and was raised from death by the power of the Holy Spirit.
True Christians would refrain from attacking Jehovahs Witnesses—-Has the Holy Spirit not warned you of this ?
May holy spirit make me to know him
I love your studies , I just started studying ,however I find that everybody criticise each other believes ,won’t. It be better not to do that and just concentrate on scripture because that will show if they are right or wrong,Thank you very much for the studies .
Thank you Joseph. I don’t believe Jesus meant to imply that the Holy Spirit is more divine than He is. Scripture depicts the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as co-equal and co-eternal. All three Persons of the Trinity are fully and equally divine. I think the point Jesus was making to the Jewish leaders was that they had nowhere else to go for forgiveness. They already had denied the Father by placing man-made laws above His divine revelation. And they had denied the Son, who stood in front of them as God in human flesh (see John 1:14). And now, by ascribing to Satan the work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus, they were also denying the Spirit. They had in effect fully and completely rejected the divine revelation of Father, Son, and Spirit, therefore there was nowhere else they could turn to be brought back into a right relationship with God. For a more complete treatment of “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” check out the corresponding chapter in this booklet. Thanks for your question.
Jesus said, those who sin against man (he mean him) will be forgiven, but those who sin against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Does this mean that holy spirit is more divine than Jesus himself?
I can’t call heretics my friends. They are leading the lost astray and are under God’s just judgment. They are sinners in need of repentance. I think your main point was that so-called “Christians” have the same doctrines about the Holy Spirit as the Jehovah’s Witness cult. This is indeed disturbing, since this is blasphemy against God. May God bless us.