Daily Sabbath School

Friday: Further Thought – Personality of the Holy Spirit

26th January 2017

Read Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 669-672, where she speaks about the Holy Spirit. Also read Evangelism, pp. 613-617.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age’ ” (Matt. 28:18-20, NKJV). Notice, as Jesus gave them their calling and work, He said to baptize disciples in the “name” singular, of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He didn’t say “names” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but just “name,” (Greek onoma). This is more powerful proof of the triune nature of our One God (“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” [Deut. 6:4, NKJV]). As this week’s lesson has already pointed out, no one questions the personality of the Father and the Son; thus, why should anyone do that with the personality and personhood of the Holy Spirit? According to the Bible, we have the loving, caring, and comforting presence of God Himself working in us and through us. That’s who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. And how much nicer it is to know that this abiding presence is a Person, just as much as the Father and Jesus are. Yes, it’s hard to fully understand. But so what? If we can’t fully understand the nature of something as basic as light or wind, how much more so will we not be able to fully understand the nature of the Holy Spirit Himself?

Discussion Questions:

In class, go over your answer to Wednesday’s question about truth being a Person, Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Why would Jesus be the Truth? How do we understand “truth” that way, instead of it being merely precepts or propositions?
Ellen G. White wrote: “We need to realize that the Holy Spirit, who is as much a person as God is a person, is walking through these grounds.” – Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 616. What does this tell us about the reality and presence of the Holy Spirit?
Go back over some of the traits and characteristics of the Holy Spirit that we have seen this week. Which ones are especially comforting to you? Which one means the most to you? Share in class why you chose what you did.
What can you better relate to, an impersonal force or a personality? What are the implications of your answer?

Amen!