lesson four

JANUARY 21−27

The Personality of the Holy

Spirit
“ ‘The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in My name, He will teach you all things, and
bring to your remembrance all that I said to you’ ”
(John 14:26, NASB).
sabbath
JANUARY 21
Introduction
Who or What Is the Holy
1 Cor. 2:10; 12:7–11;
Eph. 4:30

Spirit?

Many people find the doctrine of the Holy Spirit confusing. Is the Holy
Spirit a mystical force? Is it an impersonal power that God makes available to
the followers of Christ? Is the Holy Spirit a person with a personality?

Is the Holy Spirit a mystical force?

The word personality stems from the Latin word persona. The American
Psychological Association defines personality as “individual differences in
characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.”* In other words,
personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors that make a person unique. In addition to this, personality
arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.
So, to determine whether the Holy Spirit has a personality, we have to
look at the answers the Bible gives to these questions:
1. Does the Holy Spirit have an intellect?
2. Does the Holy Spirit have a will?
3. Does the Holy Spirit have emotions?
4. Does the Holy Spirit grieve?
5. Does the Holy Spirit experience joy?
This week we will dig deep into what the Bible tells us about the person-
ality of the Holy Spirit. As we do so, we will need all the help we can get. So,
I encourage you to pray the following prayer with me:
Dear God, I need You. I confess that I have been trying to control my life,
and consequently, I have made mistakes; I have messed up; I have sinned
against You. I want to have a deep and authentic relationship with You. I
want to hunger and thirst for Your Word, Your will, and Your righteousness.
I invite You to fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled.
Thank You for filling me with Your Holy Spirit and for taking control of my life.
In Jesus’ name, I earnestly pray. Amen.

REACT
1. Write one new insight you have gained from this lesson concerning
the Holy Spirit.
2. In what area of your life do you believe the Holy Spirit needs to be
more in control?
3. What will be the result when He is in control?
__________
* “Personality,” American Psychological Association, accessed December 11, 2015, http://
www.apa.org/topics/personality/.

Faith Toh, Singapore

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 sunday
JANUARY 22
John 14:17; Evidence
1 Cor. 2:12;
Eph. 2:18 The God Who Feels

One fascinating area of interest in the field of human behavior is the study
of individual differences and personality. Each individual has his or her own
behavior to respond to the situations around him or her. These responses
shape the individual’s identity as a person. That is how personality is identified.
Emotional intelligence is one aspect of personality that is easily observ-
able in people. Emotional intelligence can be defined as the way an individ-
ual responds emotionally toward the situations that affect him or her.* Some
will respond in anger, while some respond in contentment over the same
situation. Those differences distinguish one personality from another.

The Holy Spirit has His individual emotional responses.

He has His own personality.
Interestingly, the Bible indicates that God responds to human beings and
the universe with emotions as well. Yahweh is described as having different
emotional responses toward the Israelites. He feels jealous when the Israel-
ites worship another god (Exod. 34:14). At the same time, He is compassion-
ate and gracious (verse 6). Jesus was described as a person who expressed
specific emotional responses in specific situations too. For example, He was
sad (John 11:33, 34), and He felt angry as well (Mark 3:5).
The Bible describes the Holy Spirit in a similar way as the Father and the
Son. The Holy Spirit can feel sad. In Ephesians 4:30, Paul warned the Ephe-
sians that they should not grieve the Holy Spirit. The word grieve in the text
was taken from the Greek word lupeite, which means “to make sorrowful or
sad.” This word indicates an expression of emotion. In other words, the Holy
Spirit has His individual emotional responses. He has His own personality.
In John 14, Jesus’ expressions about the Holy Spirit emphasize the
uniqueness of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was mentioned as parakleton, a
complex Greek word that has no specific equivalent in English. It ex­presses a
broad spectrum of definitions, including counselor, guide, advocate, or sup-
port staff. Regardless of how the word is defined in English, one important
ele­ment remains the same. Jesus is clearly describing a Person, an Indi-
vidual with a specific role and duty.

REACT
How can we reconcile the concept of the Trinity, knowing that each Divine
Being (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is actually a separate Individual?
__________
* Colin Cooper, Individual Differences and Personality (London, England: Routledge, 2010), n.p.

Bayu Kaumpungan, Singapore

39
monday
JANUARY 23
Logos
We Preach; The Holy John 15:26, 27

Spirit Converts
Why the World Hates God’s Disciples (John 15:18–25)
In John 15, Jesus is telling His disciples the kind of response they can
expect when they go out to preach the gospel. He does not mince words.
Jesus states it clearly and honestly: “The world is going to hate you.” The
world is going to hate Jesus’ disciples because the world hated Jesus
first. And the reason that the world hates Jesus’ disciples is that they do
not belong to the world. “ ‘If you belonged to the world, it would love you
as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you
out of the world. That is why the world hates you’ ” (John 15:19, NIV).

God does not send us into the world alone

to do a difficult job by ourselves.
If we choose a life of following Jesus, we will not belong to the world,
and the world will not accept us. No one likes to be told that what they are
doing is wrong; and if we belong to Jesus, we will teach His teachings,
and there are consequences to teaching Jesus’ teachings. “ ‘If they perse-
cuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they
will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for
they do not know the one who sent me’ ” (verses 20, 21, NIV). There will
be people who listen to the teachings we teach about Jesus, but there will
be others who will not and who will choose to persecute us for following
Jesus. We can take heart because they are not doing this because of us
but because they do not know Jesus.

God Will Send Help (John 15:26, 27)

Jesus never promised that it would be easy to follow Him. We are not
going to be popular, because Jesus was not popular. We are not going
to be loved by the world, because Jesus was not loved by the world.
However, while the words we say may not be popular, they will bring life.
Jesus has promised that He will send us help. “ ‘When the Advocate
comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who
goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must
testify, for you have been with me from the beginning’ ” (John 15:26, 27,
NIV). It is not going to be easy to witness for Jesus when we are hated
by the world. It is going to be difficult to tell others what they need to do if
our words are rejected. God does not send us into the world alone to do a
difficult job by ourselves. He will send us the Spirit of truth, the Holy Spirit,
who will be with us to convict the world of sin and the need for salvation.
40
The Work of the Spirit of Truth (John 16:5–16)
The work of the Spirit of Truth is outlined in John 16:13: “ ‘But when he,
the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not
speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you
what is yet to come’ ” (NIV). The Holy Spirit was the Person who gave the
disciples the words to say and who guided their actions and thoughts to
the truth. It was not the job of the disciples to change hearts and minds
and to guide people to Jesus. It is the job of the Spirit of truth, the Holy
Spirit, to direct hearts and minds to Jesus. The disciples’ job was only to
preach the gospel and to testify of Jesus.
However, the Holy Spirit would only come upon the disciples once Je-
sus had returned to heaven. “ ‘But very truly I tell you, it is for your good
that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to
you’ ” (verse 7, NIV). Jesus would return to heaven, and in His place would
be the Holy Spirit.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1–13, 38–41)

True to the words of Jesus, the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. The be-
lievers were waiting for the gift promised by Jesus. “All of them were filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit en-
abled them” (Acts 2:4, NIV). When the Holy Spirit came on the disciples,
miraculous things happened. They could preach in different languages,
and the message of the gospel spread far and wide.
At this time, many God-fearing Jews had gathered from around the
world. They had come to celebrate Pentecost; instead they witnessed the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. Speaking with words
prompted by the Holy Spirit, the disciples preached the Word of God. It
was not what came out of the mouths of the disciples that converted the
hearts of those that listened; it was the Holy Spirit. “Peter replied, ‘Repent
and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ . . .
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thou-
sand were added to their number that day” (verses 38, 41, NIV). When
the disciples spoke, they were filled with the Holy Spirit. When the people
listened, they, too, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and 3,000 were bap-
tized. Our work is to preach the Word of God and to leave the converting
of hearts to the Holy Spirit.

REACT
1. Why do we try to take credit for the work of the Holy Spirit?
2. How can I receive the Holy Spirit today?

Christon Choo, Singapore

41
tuesday
JANUARY 24
Testimony
“He Personifies Christ, Yet John 14:15–18;
16:7, 8
Is a Distinct Personality”
“Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally;
therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them,
go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth.”1

“It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure.”

“In describing to His disciples the office work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus
sought to inspire them with the joy and hope that inspired His own heart. He
rejoiced because of the abundant help He had provided for His church. The
Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He could solicit from His Father
for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating
agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail.
The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submis-
sion of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and
overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the God-
head, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine
power. It is the Spirit that makes effectual what has been wrought out by the
world’s Redeemer. It is by the Spirit that the heart is made pure. Through
the Spirit the believer becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ has
given His Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated
tendencies to evil, and to impress His own character upon His church.
“Of the Spirit Jesus said, ‘He shall glorify Me.’ The Saviour came to glo-
rify the Father by the demonstration of His love; so the Spirit was to glorify
Christ by revealing His grace to the world. The very image of God is to be
reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved
in the perfection of the character of His people.”2
“There is altogether too little made of the work of the Holy Spirit’s influ-
ence upon the church. . . .
“The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, in Christ’s name. He personifies Christ,
yet is a distinct personality.”3

REACT
1. When you accepted Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, the Holy
Spirit did a number of things for you. What are they?
2. Are you filled with the Holy Spirit now? How do you know?
____________
1. Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, p. 23.
2. Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 671.
3. Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 20, pp. 323, 324.
Jimmy Quek, Singapore
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 wednesday JANUARY 25
John 14:17; How-to
1 Cor. 2:12;
Eph. 2:18 Getting to Know Him

The Holy Spirit. The Third Person of the Godhead. An impersonal, uniden-
tifiable Force? Confusion over the nature and identity of the Holy Spirit isn’t
a recent phenomenon: some early Christians believed and taught that He
“was of a different essence from the Father and the Son. Some said the Spirit
was a creature, and others understood the Spirit to be a force or power, not
a Person of the Trinity.”*

Jesus promised that if we believe,

the Holy Spirit will live with us and be in us.

The Bible is clear that the Holy Spirit was with God from the beginning
(Gen. 1:2) and is as much a person as are the Father and the Son (Matt.
28:19). Jesus promised that if we believe, the Holy Spirit will live with us and
be in us (John 14:17). But how do we know that?
He reminds you of God and His Word. Sometimes, in our darkest despair
or during moments of our wildest fears, a Bible verse pops into our heads
seemingly out of nowhere, giving us hope and calming us down. That is the
Holy Spirit reminding us of everything Jesus has said to us (John 14:26).
He acts as your conscience. Have you ever felt compelled to do the right
thing? Or perhaps you once ignored that strong conviction and were over-
whelmed with a sense of guilt. That is the Holy Spirit guiding you to reflect
God’s character (Acts 5:3).
He helps you to share God’s Word. While you may not think you are a
great public speaker or have a deep enough knowledge of the Bible to teach
others about God, do you remember when you were inspired with just the
right thing to say to encourage someone? That is the Holy Spirit giving you
the words (1 Cor. 2:4).
He teaches you about God. Concepts and ideas about God can some-
times be difficult to comprehend. But you are also aware of those “lightbulb”
moments when you were given such a clear understanding of God. That is
the Holy Spirit’s gentle teaching (verse 12).

REACT
What other examples of the Holy Spirit living in you can you think of?
____________
* Kevin P. Emmert, “New Poll Finds Evangelicals’ Favorite Heresies,” Christianity Today, October
28, 2014, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/october-web-only/new-poll-finds-evangelicals
-favorite-heresies.html.

Melody Tan, Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia

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thursday
JANUARY 26
Opinion Acts 8:29; 10:19, 20
He Knows Our Pain

Everyone can agree that the Holy Spirit guides us through our daily lives. He
supplies us with strength, patience, and, most important, love. We pray daily for
the Holy Spirit to bless us mightily and to work within us to accomplish things
that we ourselves cannot do. John 14:17 says, “ ‘The world cannot accept him,
because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with
you and will be in you’ ” (NIV). We know what the Holy Spirit can do, but what
do we know about the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a part of God residing in all of us.

Now, the Bible actually shows us that, indeed, the Holy Spirit has a person-
ality just like you and me. In fact, Jesus Himself describes the Holy Spirit as the
Counselor who will teach us all things and remind us of everything that Jesus
has said. This shows us that the Holy Spirit has the teachings of Jesus and is
constantly imparting them to us.
We go on to see the Holy Spirit talking to people several times in the Bible
(Acts 8:29; 10:19, 20), and the part that stands out the most to me is written in
Romans 8:26. It says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes
for us through wordless groans” (NIV). Isn’t it incredible that the Holy Spirit
searches our hearts, understands us, and intercedes for us?
There will be times in our lives when we face arduous struggles, times that
we are so lost that we have no idea what to do or what to even pray for. These
are the times when the Holy Spirit will seem the most obvious to you. He knows
your pain, and He prays for you with groans that even words cannot express.
Some people ask where God is when they are suffering, but little do they
know that God is suffering with them. Because the Holy Spirit is in all of us,
God feels the pain that each and every one of us feels. When we watch the
news and see yet another shooting at a school, we might ask, “Where are You,
God?” but we don’t see that God is suffering with them. He feels the pain of
that innocent child, He feels the pain of that innocent teacher, and He feels the
pain that we are feeling too.
Romans 5:5 says that “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit” (NIV). The Holy Spirit is a part of God residing in all of
us. He cries when we cry, feels joy when we feel joy, and feels loved when we
feel loved. Personality is defined as the totality of qualities and traits of charac-
ter or behavior that are peculiar to a specific person. If we have a personality,
certainly the Holy Spirit has one too.

Kenneth Goh, Singapore

44
 friday
JANUARY 27
Exploration
1 Cor. 12:7–11 Created in the Image of
the Holy Spirit
CONCLUDE
The Bible is very clear about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It is to
give counsel, to guide, to advocate, and to support us on the journey of life, just
as Jesus counseled and guided His disciples (John 14). If we believe that we
were created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27) and we believe in the Holy Trin-
ity (1 John 5:7), then we can see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were passed
down to us as the children of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit:
the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, prophecy,
distinguishing between spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues, and the
interpretation of tongues. “But one and the same Spirit works all these things,
distributing to each one individually as He wills” (1 Cor. 12:11, NKJV).

CONSIDER
• Inviting some friends over to discuss how each individual’s personality
reflects the diverse personality of the Holy Spirit, as outlined in our key
text. Encourage each other by naming each person’s strengths and skills,
and discuss how your group can share these gifts to glorify God and to
help others in need.
• Spending time with a youth group and discussing the personality of the
Holy Spirit. To create a variety of ways to visualize the Holy Spirit, use
artistic methods, such as writing, poetry, drawing, painting, chalk art, or
black light art. Host an art show at your church or youth group, and share
the beauty of the Holy Spirit with your community.
• Inviting a career consultant to talk with your group about developing a
current résumé. Think about how the personality traits and skills of the
Holy Spirit might be included in your résumé.
• Making a list of the ways that you may have “grieved” the Holy Spirit (Eph.
4:30). Confess your sins (1 John 1:9), and then reflect on the freedom
that you now have and the gifts you have to profess the name of Jesus.
• Reflecting on the difficulties that you may have experienced because of
your faith in Jesus Christ. Consider this a joy (Rom. 8:16–18), and reflect
on the ways that the Holy Spirit has comforted you.

CONNECT
Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 2:4.
Ron Clouzet, “Why We Need the Holy Spirit,” AdventistsAffirm.org, ac-
cessed January 8, 2016, http://www.adventistsaffirm.org/article/136/previous
-issues/volume-18-number-3/why-we-need-the-holy-spirit.
Mark Finley, 10 Days in the Upper Room (Pacific Press®, 2011).
Stephanie Yamniuk, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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