God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

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G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

D. The Spirit possesses divine worthiness.

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Matt. 12.32 - Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

E. The Holy Spirit is a person.

1. A personal description

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a. John 16.13-14

b. The word for spirit in Greek is neuter and Greek speakers refer to a spirit as an “it.” But in John 16.13-14, when Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit, Jesus does not say, “when the Spirit of truth comes, it will guide you into all truth” but rather “He will guide you into all truth.”

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2. A personal identity: the Spirit functions as “another like Jesus” which would not be possible if he were not a person.

a. Jesus spoke of the Spirit’s coming as “another ( allon ) Paraclete”* (14.16). This implies that Jesus has already been a paraclete with his disciples, and that the Spirit will come to take his place and continue his ministry with the disciples (George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament , p. 294).

* Paraclete comes from the Greek word parakl tos which literally means “called to one’s side,” It was commonly used as a legal term that meant an advocate, someone who helped argue the case of another in court. More generally, it could mean anyone who pleads another’s cause or intercedes for them (as of the Lord Jesus in 1 John 2.1). It is a term that Jesus applies to the Holy Spirit in John 14.16; 14.26; 15.26 & 16.7. It has been variously translated into English as Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Counselor, and Friend.