The Scriptures use a series of descriptions to identify the Spirit. He is the Spirit of glory, truth, holiness, sonship—and much more (Rom. 1:4; Rom. 8:15; 1 Peter 4:14; 1 John 4:6). We should notice particularly how our Lord Jesus introduces the Spirit in Jesus’ Farewell Discourse in John 13–17. In essence, Jesus tells His disciples that the Spirit will be to them everything that He Himself has been during the course of His ministry. For while the Son and the Spirit are personally distinct, they are economically entwined.

Modern Bible translations are in the news these days, sometimes for controversial reasons. But one universal benefit of them is that the Holy Spirit is no longer referred to as “it.” Curiously a chief culprit here is the much-loved King James Version (for example, Romans 8:26: “the Spirit itself”).

In fact, pneuma (the Greek word for “spirit” or “wind”) is a neuter gender noun and therefore attracted a neuter pronoun, “it.” Still, John 14:26 and 15:26, which refer to the Spirit by the masculine pronoun “he” (ekeinos), left older Bible readers in no doubt about his personal nature: “he” not “it.” Whatever it means for human spirits, created as the image of God to be personal is rooted in the very being of their Creator. God is a personal being in a unified, uncreated, eternal, tri-personal manner—we in a created mono-personal manner. We are the tiny reflection; He is the great and glorious original. But what does Scripture mean when it speaks of God as Father, Son, and Spirit?

The Old Testament word for spirit, ruach, is onomatopoetic. That is, its meaning is echoed in its sound: wind in motion, sometimes storm-wind.

It lies on the surface of the Bible that the Holy Spirit is both divine and personal, as Acts 5:3–4 indicates. The Spirit can be lied to (a personal characteristic); to do so involves lying to God Himself (He is fully divine).

Yet there is something about this name (“Spirit”) that suggests the mysterious and elusive. Jesus Himself said that the pneuma blows where it wills, but we cannot tell where it comes from or goes to, and so it is with the pneuma of God (John 3:8). Are we not, therefore, treading on dangerous ground if we enquire further about the identity of the Spirit, especially when our Lord stressed that the Spirit does not glorify Himself (John 16:13–14)?

We cannot truly worship One we do not know, or experience “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Cor. 13:14) if He remains faceless. But how can we know Him when even His name lacks the personal atmosphere of either “Father” or “Son”?

Meditation on two aspects of the Bible’s teaching helps us here. Firstly, the Scriptures use a series of descriptions to identify the Spirit. He is the Spirit of glory, truth, holiness, sonship—and much more (Rom. 1:4; Rom. 8:15; 1 Peter 4:14; 1 John 4:6).

We should notice particularly how our Lord Jesus introduces the Spirit in Jesus’ Farewell Discourse in John 13–17. In essence, Jesus tells His disciples that the Spirit will be to them everything that He Himself has been during the course of His ministry. For while the Son and the Spirit are personally distinct, they are economically entwined. Jesus is Teacher, Guide, and Counselor; Jesus goes to prepare a home for His disciples (John 14:2).

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