Is the pneuma hagios (holy spirit) a person or the active will of Yahweh?

Question

The Holy Spirit is the power of God—not a personage, consciousness, entity, part of the godhead or part of a Trinity. It is the mind and essence of the divine nature and the spiritual extension of God through which He carries out His will. Bestowed upon or poured out upon individuals, it imparts begettal by God as His children. God's Spirit empowers the mind to comprehend spiritual matters, producing conversion. It leads us into all truth; convicts us of sin and righteousness; and imparts faith, the love of God, power to overcome sin and other gifts essential to do His will. It is the earnest or guarantee of eternal life.

Scripture References:
Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30; Isaiah 11:2; 32:15; 40:13; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28-29; John 7:37-39; Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; 8:15-17; Romans 8:9-14; John 14:16-17, 26; I Corinthians 2:9-16; 12:4-11; II Timothy 1:6-7; II Peter 1:2-4; Ephesians 1:13-14;

Source:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?link=ask_add&qid=20071115035825AAZV5SD

Argue away! But please back yourself up with sources if you do.

What do you think?

Oops wrong link to my source:
http://cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/About.belief/ID/4/Holy-Spirit-The.htm

Answer 1

What I think is: you are right. But there's more to God's mind and essence, because the power of God's "personality," for lack of a better word, is so much greater than yours or mine. Well, ... greater than mine. I'd never presume to speak for the "Emperor." ;)

A human's mind, or will, or essense is just what you said -- an extension of himself mind, body and spirit, and in no way a separate entity.

But the force of God's essence is so great and creative that His consciousness and will and empathy becomes a personage. The Church has traditionally called that the 3rd person of the Holy Trinity.

My sources probably won't satisfy you much: the canonical tradition of the Church and the encarnation and trinitarian theology I've read.

Answer 2

We can know that the Holy Spirit is indeed a Person because He possesses a mind, emotions, and a will. The Holy Spirit thinks and knows (1 Corinthians 2:10). The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit makes decisions according to His will (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). The Holy Spirit is God, the third “Person” of the Trinity. As God, the Holy Spirit can truly function as the Comforter and Counselor that Jesus promised He would be (John 14:16,26; 15:26).

Answer 3

Wrong. The Holy Spirit IS part of the Trinity. He is the third person of the Trinity, which consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
1Jo 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (John 1 tells us that Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh)
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (there's the Trinity again)
Luke 3:21,22 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. (and there we see the entire Godhead starting Jesus' ministry on earth....The Spirit descended on Jesus and God spoke from Heaven...that is pretty clear to me!)

So we can see that God is a three-part being. The Holy Spirit is one of those three parts. He is every bit as much God as Jesus Christ is. I think the reason people don't view Him properly is because He tends to be more "quiet" than the other two, but His work is no less important. He is the one who opens people's understandings and helps them to get saved. He is the one who works the changes in our lives after we get saved, the one who convicts us when we sin and the one who brings Scripture verses to our minds when we ask God for wisdom.

The Bible says that He is the Comforter that Jesus promised to send us, and that He will lead us into all truth. And you are right, He is the earnest of our salvation. But He is also fully God - please, be careful when you say that He is not! That is dangerously close to blasphemy. And blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only sin that God says He won't forgive (the fact that He said this should make you realize that the Spirit is really God). Because, how can you blaspheme someone who isn't God? Blasphemy is defined as "speaking reproachfully or irreverently against God". Therefore if it is possible to blaspheme the Spirit, it is because He is God too.

And how did any of your verses prove that the Holy Spirit is not God? Because as far as I could tell they were describing the work He does rather than denying His deity. And some of those verses seem to use the word "spirit" to mean "mindset" or "attitude" or "characteristic" rather than the Holy Spirit.

Answer 4

I. The Holy Spirit is God
Job 33:4 - "The Spirit of God made me and the breath of the Almighty has given me life." Only God is the creator of life.
Matt. 12:31; Luke 12:10 - Jesus says blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Only God can be blasphemed.
John 4:24 - God is a spirit (the Holy Spirit) and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. Only God is worshiped.
John 14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7 - the Father and the Son send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit - Isaiah 9:6 - the Counselor is Mighty God.
Acts 5:3-4,9 - Peter tells Ananias that he lied to the Holy Spirit, and that he has not lied to men, but to God (the Holy Spirit).
Acts 28:25-27 - the Holy Spirit said "Go to this people and say..." - Isaiah 6:8-10 - the Lord said "Go to this people and say..."
Rom. 8:11 - the Spirit that raised Jesus up from the dead - Gal. 1:1 - God the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
1 Cor. 2:10 - the Spirit searches everything - Jer. 17:10 - the Lord searches the heart.
1 Cor. 3:16 - you are the temple of God - 1 Cor. 6:19 - you are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Cor. 12:4-6 - there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit, varieties of service but the same Lord, varieties of working but same God.
2 Cor. 3:6,17 - we are ministers of the covenant in the Spirit which gives life. Now the Lord (God) is the Spirit.
Heb. 10:16 - the Holy Spirit said this is the covenant I will make - Jer. 31:33 - the Lord said this is the covenant I will make.
1 Peter 1:2 - we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit - 1 Thess. 5:23 - the very God of peace sanctifies you wholly.

II. The Holy Spirit is a Person
Luke 12:12 - the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour what you ought to say. He (the Holy Spirit) teaches the faithful.
John 14:17 - the world neither sees Him or knows Him ("Him" is referring to the Holy Spirit). You know Him for He dwells with you.
John 14:26 - the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all I have said to you.
John 15:26 - the Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness to me. He = the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a thing.
John 16:7 - if I do not go, the Counselor will not come to you. But if I go, I (Jesus) will send Him to you.
John 16:7 - this verse also proves the filioque (that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son). The Father isn’t just loving the Son; the Son is loving the Father in return, in the same Spirit of love. Therefore, the Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.
John 16: 8 - when He (the Holy Spirit) comes, He will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
John 16:13-14 - when the Spirit of truth comes He will guide you into all truth. He will speak, He will declare and He will glorify.
Acts 8:29; 10:19-20; 11:12;13:2; Rev. 22:17 - the Holy Spirit speaks to us like a human person.
Acts 15:25,28 - it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us. The Holy Spirit, as a divine person, thinks and makes judgments.
Rom. 8:26 - the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. It is the Spirit Himself, not itself.
Rom. 8:16 - it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God. The Spirit is a person.
Rom. 15:30 - I appeal to you by the Lord Jesus and the love of the Spirit. Only persons, rational beings, can love.
1 Cor. 12:11 - the Holy Spirit apportions His gifts to each one individually as He wills. He is the third person of the Godhead.
2 Cor. 13:14 - the Holy Spirit can have fellowship with the faithful like a human person.
Eph. 4:30 - the Holy Spirit can be grieved, just as human persons can be grieved.

Answer 5

Pneuma literally means "breath"

Thus holy spirit is the breath of God, not a God.

The bible also likens God's breath to his finger.

When using 'human' terms inrefernce to the holy spirit,

It is the same as calling ships 'she'.

Holy spirit is part of God, but is not God himself.

Let’s start at the beginning, the word we translate as spirit, It literally means breath or wind.

At Gen 1:2 which most bibles say “ the (S)spirit* of God” was moving to and fro over the surface of the waters. The NRSV says in the footnote “the wind of God” * “And . . . active force (spirit).” Heb., weru´ach. Besides being translated “spirit,” ru´ach is also translated “wind” and by other words that denote an invisible active force.”

This agrees with Psalm 33:6 that says: “By the word of Jehovah the heavens themselves were made, and by the spirit (breath, KJV) of his mouth all their army.”

So the first reference of “Holy Spirit” in the bible denotes wind and breath. So when we say the spirit of God, we are literally saying the breath of God, or the wind of God. Neither of these expressions means a person of God or a personage of God. Both expressions do denote ownership.

Ex. 15:8 “And by a breath* from your nostrils waters were heaped up; They stood still like a dam of floods; The surging waters were congealed in the heart of the sea.” *“And by a breath.” Heb., u•veru´ach; Gr., pneu´ma•tos.

Again we see that God’s spirit is ‘a breath’ that accomplishes not it’s own will, but God’s will.

We know that God created the heaven and earth, by means of His spirit. We don’t read in the bible that “The Holy Spirit created the earth”, we read God created the heavens and earth by means of his spirit.

Also please note these comparisons:

Matt12:28 “But if it is by means of God’s spirit that I expel the demons, the kingdom of God has really overtaken YOU.”

Luke 11:20 “But if it is by means of God’s finger I expel the demons, the kingdom of God has really overtaken YOU.”

Here God’s spirit is described as God’s finger. Again ownership of the spirit, it belongs to God, it’s part of God, but definitely not part of a Godhead.

Let’s jump forward to Jesus’ baptism. Here we have the voice of God, the holy spirit, in the form of a dove and Jesus.

Matt 3:16 “and he saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him.”

Here we learn two things about God’s spirit, besides ownership, 1st the form chosen is that a dove, not a human. Angels as spirit persons, Jehovah as a Spirit, and the resurrected Jesus who was raised as a spirit, are always depicted as a humans. (1 Cor 15:45 It is even so written: “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit) 2nd it is upon this occasion that Jesus becomes baptized with spirit. This is where Jesus becomes ‘The Christ’, the ‘Messiah’.

Just as Jesus was baptized with water, Jesus is baptized not with a person, but with an object, a breath, a wind, a force from God.

Let’s now briefly discuss some of the texts used to “prove” that the holy spirit is a person.

Jesus also referred to the holy spirit as a “helper” (Greek, pa•ra´kle•tos), and he said that this helper would “teach,” “bear witness,” “speak,” and ‘hear.’ (John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:13) It is not unusual in the Scriptures for something to be personified. For example, wisdom is said to have “children.” (Luke 7:35) Sin and death are spoken of as being kings. (Rom. 5:14, 21) While some texts say that the spirit “spoke,” other passages make clear that this was done through angels or humans. (Acts 4:24, 25; 28:25; Matt. 10:19, 20; compare Acts 20:23 with 21:10, 11.) At 1 John 5:6-8, not only the spirit but also “the water and the blood” are said to ‘bear witness.’ So, none of the expressions found in these texts in themselves prove that the holy spirit is a person.

The Bible is said to bring comfort, said to be alive and exerts power (Rom 15:4; Heb 4:12) But we would never say the Bible is a person.

These are just a few scriptures that show that God’ holy spirit is not part of a Godhead, but it’s Jehovah’s active force.

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Answer 6

pneuma means spirit and the scriptures uses this word of breath, life, an invisible force who effects you can see....Dont know about a person..scriptures mentions a dove (bird) and Flame, but I read it as a person. I once read that their isn't a masculine or feminine pronoun attached to it in the Greek Scriptures.

Answer 7

Can an "active will" be lied to? Read Acts 5:3.

Answer 8

Actually, the pnuema, is a person.
Jesus called the spirit by personal terms, like paraclete. in JOhn 14 which was a person, like a family lawyer on retainer a paraclete walked aside a person to went.

Jesus Himself is called a paraclete in 1 John 2. If anyone sins we have a paraclete in heaven, Jesus Christ the righteous.
The term is a person in that case.without dispute

Answer 9

It's the TAX COLLECTOR for God!!!!
read Acts 5:1-11!!!!
You better pay your tithes and offering or you will be buried without notification to next of kin and go to Hell!!!