With due respect to everyone reading this text and in humble service to the throne of God, I would want to take the liberty of using a personal experience to start this very important subject to all human soul; that is, on the personality of the Holy Spirit. Here is my story…
One Friday evening in November 2000, I was driving with a friend from Lagos to Ibadan, about 70 kilometers journey. While still within the city of Lagos, but closer to the outskirt, I had a punctured tire in an awkward manner. As a roadside tire repairer (They are called vulcanizer in Nigeria) was fixing the tire, a very calm but reassuring voice said inside of me, “cancel this journey, and go back home.” For some minutes, I debated with this inner counsel, but eventually accepted the superior persuasion. I then expressed the same message of the inner counsel to the friend I was travelling with, who was shocked to his bone marrow. He insisted for some minutes but later agreed, with silent anger written all over his face. This was because our trip to Ibadan was to have fun with some “new chicks.” Therefore, cancelling such glaring social opportunity was insane to the ordinary mind and totally out of place to all pleasurable professional standards.
Now, here is the juice of my obedience to that inner counsel. That same night, while at home in Lagos, I had an awful dream of a life threatening proportion but was fortunate to have overcome it. The next day, I assumed it was just a mere streaming thought and never considered its spiritual and physical implications. This being my mindset, on Monday morning, I drove with the same friend to Ibadan, this time on business interest. We got to Ibadan safely and into our rented building. As I then walked into my private room to get some business papers, to my utmost surprise, I found a huge live duck roving inside the room. I mean, a live duck right at the middle of the room! This was shocking because my room was upstairs, on the corner with doors leading to it always shut.
On my serious enquiries from other colleagues that share the apartment, the person that left the house last on Friday of the weekend said, there was no sign of any duck inside the room. According to his blunt assertion, he actually took his shower in the bathroom in my private room. This means, a big duck could not have been there without his notice.
Now…this is the heart of the story. What transformed as a live duck was actually a spiritual attack in physical mode, which mixed its mark. Hmm! I was out of that dangerous situation; that is the room that night, because of my obedience to that good inner counsel from the Holy Spirit. As Christians, the Holy Spirit is the full personality of God, who lives in us as the divine presence to show us love, protect, counsel and guide us in all things.
The key message here is that there are spiritual activities with direct influence on the activities of the physical world. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the living God who plays more than one role in our lives depending on our conscious reliance to the goodness of God. That inner counsel who spoke to me was not just the sensibility or sensation of my consciousness, but was a spiritual revelation from the Holy God in Spirit into my heart concerning the devilish plot. Thank you Lord!
In essence, the Holy Spirit, who knows all things, spoke to me to cancel my trip to Ibadan that Friday, without giving me details. All He needed was my obedience to His leading, which would enable me to witness the result of His counsel that He is the Truth, who we should always rely on. This is what believers in Christ, call faith. That is, God sends His instructions or words to us, all we need is to believe, follow, and His word would prove the result to us. This is walking in the realm of the Spirit of God.
This then leads to the question of this article; who is the Holy Spirit?
First, lets us start this way. God is Spirit and the Spirit who is God is Holy. Therefore, God is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is not different from God because the Holy Spirit is the same as God. When the revelation of God to humankind began, there was this awesome fear of God that made people not to use His name commonly. Therefore, the actions of God were reckoned to have come from His Spirit. Here again, this supposition is correct, because no one can separate God from His Spirit. The reason for this is that God is the only true living Spirit. He is alive in the affairs of the world, although invisible to the human eyes, because He dwells in a higher realm that is spiritual. When God speaks, His words become life by the transforming power of Himself, who is Spirit. In the realm of the spiritual, this is termed the move of God or the transportation of the Holy Spirit. This means the words and actions of God are perfect and living expressions of His absolute divinity, who is Spirit and this Spirit is most Sacred. That means, without the Holiness of the Spirit, who is God, there is no difference between the only true God, who is Spirit from other spiritual forms.
In very simple expression, the Holiness of God is what makes Him true and living. The Holiness is what makes God the only power that is endless, because His Holiness is the distinctive character of His perfection. His Holiness is the separation between true and false dimensions. That is the separation between righteousness and evil or wickedness. That is the difference between the power of light or love and the power of darkness and hate. The main difference between life and death in the spiritual realm is simply the Holiness of God that provides life. The list is endless if we are to continue on the differences. However, the clear message is that the Holiness of God is not a character based on subjective choice or of speculative persuasion but is on His flawless essence, the complete or perfect core of His Being. His Holiness is not restricted to lines drawn by men, or by any devilish plot, but is the supreme authority that is real, loving and above all things, both in the spiritual and physical realms. This supreme personality or conscious form is the Holy Spirit, who is God.
Now, in some theological references, God and His Spirit are two different, but inseparable personalities. The above understanding is from human spirituality in trying to use the human mind to rationalize the heavenly realm of God. This is quite far from the true spiritual revelation of the divine God. This is because, from the spiritual realm of the divine God, who is the everlasting throne of Righteousness, there are no two personalities of God and the Holy Spirit, but one sovereign and indivisible personality; God the Holy Spirit. This sovereign God or Spirit (Holy) has the perfect ability and power to manifest in more than one place at the same time with more than one activity at different times and places. Even with the spread of this faultlessness of infinite presence, His substance never diminishes. The throne of God has not the majestic seats of two or more, but one Holy seat. This is what makes Him who He is, the One and only sovereign God Almighty. We call Him God, but He sees Himself as the Holy Spirit.
Please, let us get this spiritual issue clear. That is, the oneness of God the Father and the Holy Spirit is not contrary to the doctrine of Trinity, but it only reinforces it. The doctrine of Trinity emphasizes that there are three divine personalities of God in One. That is, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three spiritual personalities in unity as one supreme God. That is, they function and represent different personalities in the Godhead as One.
Again, when we take religion and mental theology out of this spiritual equation, we make the revelation of God to humanity simple or clearer to understand, which would make the fullness of His spiritual power relevant into our lives. Here is the illumination to the above spiritual equation of the Oneness of God. Remember that Jesus said we should baptize new converts in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. What Jesus was simply emphasizing was the oneness, togetherness, intimacy, devotedness, and inseparability of the Spirit on the throne of God. That means, the presence of God as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost in all given situation is the same distinctive manifestation of everlasting authority, supremacy or reign. This is the reason; spiritual attendees call the supreme and divine authority as God the Father or the God Almighty. Therefore, when we call God the Father, we are simply directing our focus and honor to the only authority or reign that is above all circumstance. This is the recognition by those who believe in the supernatural as to the final authority of the Divine, who is the head.
Now, this same distinctive authority of God Himself was in full, by the transforming relevance to humanity and completely personified in Christ Jesus, who is the representative of God in Spirit and humanity in flesh. The reason been that Jesus was the perfect mandate from the supreme authority Himself, with the absolute instruction to save and reconnect humanity back to God. This became the everlasting and glorious episode of reconciliation and justice in one divine presence of perfection or righteousness. This connection was no longer on laws, but now by the residence of His Holy Spirit in our heart. This became the true testimony of perfect love, who is God, now witnessed and experienced in flesh by all, who would submit to this heavenly vision in Christ Jesus. What this means is that when we call on the name of Jesus in every circumstance, we are simply inviting the same supreme authority that is of God the Father, but this time around, we are using another application of His supreme authority, which is His righteousness (Justice). This magnificent action gave humanity the opportunity to touch, speak, and see the divine Glory in human flesh. Therefore, salvation was a godly pot of diminishing (humility) and exalting (honor) propensities by Christ Jesus, who is the same as God the Father, with the fullest measure of the Holy Spirit.
This divine glory in the person of Christ Jesus could not be called God by human understanding because He now wore flesh, which is subject to the Spirit. However, in the spiritual and divine revelation of God, He was of the same fullness with God not only in character, but also in performance. Hence, anytime some people refer to Jesus Christ as God, there is celebration on the throne of God, because that represents the expression of true love to God by that divine name. This is because in the realm of the spiritual, that name is the compound presence of righteousness, holiness and love, who is God the only true Spirit that is Holy.
Finally, the timeless purity, the infinite magnificence of the same God the Father became the willing distributor and solution of all things to humanity by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. What this means is that the same God the Father in His infinite authority expressed His joy with humanity by living in us with humility, love and purpose. This spiritual relationship is now the experience of all good things and truth from the realm of God in humanity. Therefore, when we refer to the Holy Spirit, we are simply attaching relevance to the fulfilling connection of God with man established on His perfect love in Christ Jesus. Life is no longer a drill because of the faceless caricature of sin, but is now the pleasurable substance sustained in freedom and truth, which the Holy Spirit or God the Spirit transmits to us and through us to others.
Therefore, putting these together; we have power and reign as God the Father, love and righteousness as Christ Jesus, and freedom and truth as the Holy Spirit. These divine characteristics are the same in holiness that is of the same one and only sovereign God.
Therefore, the meaning or title of God the Father is that He is the living head and power in the supreme capital in the spiritual and the Holy Spirit is the life, the essence in that same supreme capital, who is God. God the Father is the name of the supreme authority and the Holy Spirit is the expression of that supreme authority from the heavenly realm. God the Father is the name as the King of the throne of glory and the Holy Spirit is the limitless function of the Throne. God the Father is the title as the final judge of all things and the Holy Spirit is the balancing power within the judgment provisions of God. Therefore, God the Father is the Holy Spirit, because there is only one God, who is true and holy, who is Spirit.
Now before we delve more into the personality of the Holy Spirit, it would be appropriate to get one issue clear. That is, what is spirit?
Spirit is the unseen consciousness of life. In other words, Spirit is the perpetual reservoir of living. This is because all life forms flows from this source. Spirit is the core essence or substance in living. The Spirit in our case is the true One that possesses the absolute creative abilities. This Spirit possesses the power to create and influence the course of events in all realms; that is in the physical and spiritual. The center of universal and unending authority is in the Spirit.
Life is the consciousness in existence expressed in either human or material forms. The existence of human and material forms is the validation of life. Therefore, understanding consciousness from a higher dimension is more than the literary meaning attached to it such as realization or awareness. Of note is that consciousness is not physical in character only in performance by giving living presence to forms. In clear definition, consciousness is the compound presence of perpetuity. This presence is the active, undiluted, and enhancing component that provides life to structures whether in human form or material. Consciousness is the lubricant from where life proceeds and this active presence is known in the realm of the paranormal as the Spirit. That means consciousness is the spiritual part of human or material forms that brings the connection of life into existence. For example, without the consciousness, which is the spirit in human being, the human structure is dead.
Therefore, the aggregate of this pure consciousness is the personality known as the Holy Spirit. This aggregate consciousness is infinite in nature, in power, and possesses the final authority to the mastery of creation. This aggregate center is immeasurable in dimension, impenetrable by the forces of pollution and never subject to the orders of limitations. The infinite flow of life or consciousness from this source is what believers call the throne of God. This throne is the presence of perfection that exists solely on magnanimity and supreme discretion. This presence of perfection is the totality of all goodness and purity. This higher realm exists by the divine and incontestable statute of the creator call God. The Holy Spirit is the very nature of the divine Creator, because the purified release of all goodness to humanity is the prerogative of the Holy Spirit, who is the fullness of the throne of Glory.
Now, the Spirit is a personality because He has all the features of living form. The Holy Spirit is not just the force of God, because His presence and actions are more than what men can ascribe to Him. His personality is the purified characteristics of the Divine. His personality is the all-powerful and infinite life span that can relate to all things with the purest temperament and unfailing compassion. An active force is something that is different from its source, though carries out the assignments of the source. The Holy Spirit is not something different coming out of God but is very presence or personality of God Himself. Now, the level of human reception would determine the scale of appreciation assign to this divine context. Therefore, to categorize the Holy Spirit as just the force of God and not God Himself amounts to spiritual unfamiliarity or would be aptly summed, as the low estimation of godly truth.
The following are some of the living features of the Holy Spirit, though not limited to these:
1. The Holy Spirit sees, because His eyes are always open over all things (Omnipresence).
2. The Holy Spirit talks to us through our heart; because He shares truth to us (He is Truth).
3. The Holy Spirit guides our steps in righteousness, because He is perfect wisdom (Knowledge).
4. The Holy Spirit work and walks when He expresses His holiness through us (Power).
5. The Holy Spirit has pure conscience, which is love that He shares into our hearts (Blessings).
6. The Holy Spirit gives us abiding laws, which is total obedience to God’s majesty (Faith).
7. The Holy Spirit gives birth, when we are born again by accepting Jesus as the Christ (Freedom).
8. The Holy Spirit eats food, when we give God glory with our praise and fellowship (Worship).
9. The Holy Spirit can read and write, because He is the revealer of the Holy Scripture (Light)
10. The Holy Spirit knows the future to its exact point. He is the beginning and end (Omniscient).
11. The Holy Spirit is the supplier of all things that we need for ministry (Church).
12. The Holy Spirit is the everlasting guarantee of life (Christ/Glory).
The above listed characteristics of the Holy Spirit show that He is a living person, though more than human form. When we say He is a person the first thought that comes to mind is to compare Him with normal human beings with two legs, two eyes, nostrils, ten fingers, and so forth. The Holy Spirit is a person but not with two hands, legs and so forth. This is because He can move as humans move but in His case, He can move to more than a million place at the same time, listen to millions of people accurately at the same time, and walk through millions of people at the same time with different messages and so much more. The essence of life that flows from the Holy Spirit is what makes Him a person.
In summary, the Holy Spirit is God, but equated as the Spirit of God. As the Spirit of God, this does not reduce His personality as God and with God, but it reinforces the unity of righteousness and holiness of the supreme God as one indivisible and powerful divine personality with the absolute characteristic of endless life and reign. This is because, God is Spirit, and His Spirit is the fullness of Himself…the one and only God Almighty.