That's The Spirit!

Watch Tower writings say that the Holy Spirit is God's invisible, impersonal ...active force... and is not a person. Jehovah's Witnesses that I've listened to, in their attempt to help me understand their teaching, often liken the Spirit to how electrical current operates. This claim is made even though the Bible presents the Holy Spirit as possessing many personal, distinctive qualities (attributes), which cannot be ignored.

These include speaking or communicating expressly, hearing, helping, comforting, leading, interceding in prayer, sanctifying, commissioning, teaching, and having ultimate and intimate capabilities of mind. And I wouldn’t want to forget to mention, also, the authority to give life and to take it away. The Spirit also distributes personal spiritual gifts, produces spiritual fruit in believers, possesses and gives joy, love, grace, and liberty. The Holy Ghost raises the dead, adopts us as children of God. The Spirit can be grieved, neglected or ignored, lied to, and blasphemed against.

Oh, I agree that the Spirit is active and absolutely the supreme force in the universe, but as we've seen thus far, the Spirit constitutes so much more than that!

In the New Testament, personal pronouns like He are used, when, for example Jesus comforts his disciples after telling them that He will be leaving the earth to go to His Father. He says,

'And I will pray the Father and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever.'

This wonderful and totally personal promise is found in John 14:16. This and other similar verses are rendered properly in context despite the Watch Tower's assertion that the term 'Spirit' is sometimes used without the definite article 'the' and therefore cannot be a person. Even the Biblical baptismal formula as described in Matthew 28:19 has been altered in their ceremonial baptizing of new members, in that the Scriptural wording has been changed from... 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ to... 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the spirit directed organization.' To reduce the Holy Spirit to a 'thing' or an 'it' is really to impose limitations on the way God desires to communicate with each one who professes to believe in Him, and that way is personally. He is a personal being who chooses to relate to His creation in a personal way, in every way that He relates to us. We were created, not to suppress it, but to enjoy and even crave fellowship with Him, and His Son, Jesus, through the eternal Spirit. 

2 Corinthians 13:14 satisfies my longing.

'The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.'

It just seems to me that perhaps many Jehovah's Witnesses may feel that they are far removed from this kind of intimacy with God. Maybe they feel that they are not entitled to it because they don't recognize that the Holy Spirit is a person who was sent to convict us of our sins, cause us to turn, not to man or to organizations, but to God alone, to His Son Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, then to affirm in our hearts that we are children of God (Romans chapter 8) and to personally indwell and direct our lives, one day at a time, in joy and communion, ever present, all the way! 

Of course, it is not necessary for the Holy Spirit to have visible or physical attributes in order to be viewed as a person. Remember, nothing is impossible with God. 

John 4:24 is direct.

'God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.'

The end of the Good Book gives us a final look into a unique fellowship, eagerly awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus, and a final invitation to anyone who thirsts for a lasting, loving, satisfying marriage relationship. Listen to Revelation 22:17:

'And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let Him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life, freely.'

How about you?

Scripture References On The Holy Spirit

Speaking/Communicating Expressly: 1 Timothy 4:1, Acts 8:29, 13:2-4

Hearing: John 16:13

Helping/Comforting: John 14:16-21, Acts 9:31

Leading: John 16:13, Romans 8:14

Interceding In Prayer: Romans 8:26

Justifying/Sanctifying: 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Peter 1:2

Teaching: John 14:26

Commissioning/Sending: Acts 13:2-4

Mind/Will: Romans 8:27, 1 Corinthians 2:10-11, 12:11

Distributes Gifts/Produces Fruit: 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, Galatians 5:22-23

Raises The Dead: Romans 8:11

Adopts Us As God's Children And Seals Us: Romans 8:15-16, Ephesians 1:13-14

 Gives/Takes Life: Genesis 1:2 (Creator), Acts 5:3-5, 9-10

The Holy Spirit Can Be

Grieved: Isaiah 63:10, (In the Watchtower’s own NWT Reference Bible, they translated Isaiah 63:10 to read, “made his holy spirit feel hurt.”)  Ephesians 4:30 (The Watchtower actually renders the Greek “λυπεῖτε τὸ πνεῦμα” from Ephesians 4:30 as “be you saddening the spirit.” See their Kingdom Interlinear Translation).

Quenched/Neglected/Ignored: 1 Thessalonians 5:19, Acts 7:51

Lied To: Acts 5:3

Blasphemed: Matthew 12:31-32, (cf. with) Acts 10:38-40a

Questions or Comments?

Email me at

Gary@DoorwayChristianOutreach.info 

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Paying Attention to God the Holy Spirit through Sight and Sound