The Holy Spirit

THE HOLY SPIRIT
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The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is arguably the least understood member of the Trinity. There are many questions surrounding the Holy Spirit that require an understanding by Christians. Is He distinct from God and Son? What does He do? Answering these questions and many more is integral for helping Christians understand and cherish the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. In her book "Liberating Pneumatologies: Spirit Set Free," Gloria L. Schaab provides an in-depth description and analysis of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The book answers the questions above and many more and helps the reader comprehend what the Holy Spirit means from different perspectives. Through Schaab’s book, we can learn the nature of the Holy Spirit, including His role in liberation.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit has been described in Schaab’s book in numerous ways and from different perspectives. In essence, what the Holy Spirit means from one perspective may be totally different from what it means from another. While Schaab has described the Holy Spirit in many ways, considerable emphasis is put upon His role as an advocate. This description emphasizes the personhood of the Holy Spirit to a great extent. The Holy can be described as an advocate that is present with human beings always. As cited by Schaab, several verses in the book of John describe the Holy Spirit as an advocate. Jesus informs His disciples in John 14:16 that he will request God the Father to give them another Advocate, the Spirit of truth. Furthermore, Jesus asserts in John 14:26 that the Advocate will teach them everything and remind them of all that Jesus had told them. It is evident that apart from calling the Holy Spirit an Advocate, Jesus also referred to Him as a teacher. Another significant way the author describes the Holy Spirit is through His role of liberation. According to Schaab, Jesus understands the power of the Holy Spirit as that of liberation. In essence, as a liberator, the Holy Spirit emancipates Christians from captivity, oppression, and poverty. To a great extent, as demonstrated in the book, the definitions of the Holy Spirit majorly emanate from His role in people’s lives.[Schaab, Gloria L. 2021. Liberating Pneumatologies: Spirit Set Free. New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, /read/525499002/Liberating-Pneumatologies-Spirit-Set-Free, 27.] [Schaab, “Liberating Pneumatologies,” 27] [Schaab, “Liberating Pneumatologies,” 27] [Schaab, “Liberating Pneumatologies,” 32]
Nonetheless, in Chapter 8, Schaab quotes James Cone to offer a more concrete definition of the Holy Spirit: “the power of God at work in the world effecting in the life of his people his intended purposes.” One idea that Schaab tries to ensure the reader understands is the uniqueness of the Holy Spirit. The fact that Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as "another Advocate" emphasizes the uniqueness of the personhood of the Holy Spirit that is distinct from Jesus. This understanding is integral to embracing the Holy Spirit as an advocate seeking to fulfill God’s purposes in the lives of Christians.[Schaab, “Liberating Pneumatologies,” 173]
Personhood of the Holy Spirit
One of the major ways to understand the Holy Spirit is through His personhood. Personally, I talk about the personhood of the holy spirit from the perspective that Christians can develop a personal and intimate relationship with Him. Using the masculine pronoun, we embrace the different roles and actions of the Holy Spirit in our lives. In essence, by highlighting the roles of the Holy Spirit as discerned from the Bible and our lives, we embrace and uphold the personhood of the Holy Spirit.
I talk about the personhood of the Holy Spirit by emphasizing His power to change our lives according to God’s intended purpose. One of the major actions of the Holy Spirit in the Bible that depicts His personhood is directing Paul's mission, as seen in the book of Acts 16 6-17. This demonstrates the personhood of the Holy Spirit in the sense that He can change the direction of one's life on earth to fit God's intended purpose. With the understanding of the personhood of the Holy Spirit, I encourage the congregation in my preaching to develop an intimate relationship with Him because of His power to guide our actions. As can be learned from Scripture, Jesus told His disciples how God the Father would send the Holy Spirit to teach them everything. This fur...