The Holy Spirit operates in association with the human spirit, motivating the worship of the Father and the Son. Jesus said of the Spirit, “He will bring glory to me” (John 16:14).
Spirit (Ruḥ, Pneuma)
The most common designations for the Spirit in Scripture—Spirit (Ruḥ, Pneuma); Spirit of God (Ruḥ ’Elohim); Holy Spirit (Pneuma Hagion); Spirit of Truth (Pneuma tēs Alētheias)—describe the Spirit viewed in differing aspects, though it is really impossible to separate them. The Spirit of God, far greater in impact than any other, is often simply called “the Spirit.” Because God is holy, set apart from the ordinary, the Spirit is the Holy Spirit and is thus distinguished from other spiritual forces. For the same purpose, John uses the expression “Spirit of truth,” meaning the genuine or authentic Spirit. In the biblical languages, the same word (Hebrew ruḥ, Greek pneuma) means “wind, breath, spirit”; often the correct English rendering is a matter of the translator’s judgment. Sometimes the word may be used with deliberate ambiguity, as in Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus that “the wind [or Spirit] blows wherever it pleases” (John 3:8).
In biblical psychology, the breath or “spirit” is the life force of a person, directed in a particular course of action. Thus a person’s behavior may reveal a “spirit of infirmity,” a “spirit of fear,” a “spirit of meekness,” a “spirit of wisdom,” or the like. The life force of God, too, manifests itself in the breath or Spirit of God. In using this idiom, the Bible pictures God as dynamic, not static; there is a movement, a vitality within his being as he directs his energy toward the accomplishment of his objectives. Usually, these are purposes within the human scene. Although Scripture speaks of the Spirit of God moving over the surface of the primeval waters at the Creation (Gen. 1:2), most often it portrays the activity of the Spirit as it “comes upon” or “fills” some human instrument of his purpose.
Thus, to be filled or moved by the Spirit of God is to be equipped and directed in a certain way: to speak the Word of God (Acts 4:31), to proclaim the Lord’s deliverance (Isa. 61:1), to be witnesses to the risen Christ (Acts 1:8), to extol the Lord in tongues (Acts 2:4), to give thanks in worship and song (Eph. 5:18–20). The Spirit imparts gifts for various functions of ministry and service (1 Cor. 12–14). The Scriptures themselves came into being as “men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). As examples of the association of the Spirit with prophetic vision, we may cite Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:2; 3:12) and John the Revelator, who was “in the Spirit” when confronted by the glorified Christ (Rev. 1:10) and when given the vision of the throne of God and all that followed (Rev. 4:2). The Spirit of the Lord rests on his Anointed, the Davidic ruler (Isa. 11:2), to bring justice to the land.
The Spirit is a link between the divine and human personalities, for a human being, as a living creature, also has God-given spirit or breath (Gen. 2:7; Eccles. 12:7). By the Spirit or breath of God his people are given new life as the covenant community (Ezek. 37:1–14; 2 Cor. 3:5–6) and brought to life in the new birth (John 3:3–6; Rom. 8:10–11). The Spirit of God is intimately bound up with the spirit of the new covenant worshipers, who cry out, “Abba, Father!” as “the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom. 8:16). By the Spirit the worshiper confesses that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor. 12:3). It is the Spirit who baptizes people of all backgrounds into one body (1 Cor. 12:13); the worshiping church’s invitation to enter the covenant is also the invitation of the Spirit: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ ” (Rev. 22:17). When the worshiper does not know how to pray in a situation, “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Rom. 8:26). In the Bible it is sometimes difficult to separate the Holy Spirit from the spirit of people chosen for his purposes. The Lord may accomplish his ends by stirring up the spirit of such a person (the kings of the Medes, Jer. 51:11; Zerubbabel the governor and Joshua the high priest, Hag. 1:14; Paul, Acts 17:16).
Jesus proclaimed that the genuine worship of the Father would be worship “in spirit and in truth.” As worship in truth, it is worship according to the principles of Scripture, the word of truth (John 17:17). As worship in spirit, it is worship motivated and directed by the Spirit of God, filled with the energy and vitality of his breath or life force. Thus, Jesus danced, or “rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21 nasb), and Paul reminds us that the kingdom of God is “righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).
Helper (Paraklētos)
Jesus used this title as another name for the Spirit of truth (John 16:7–15). It has the meaning of “one who is called alongside,” in the sense of a counselor, comforter, or helper. As the Helper, the Spirit accompanies those who proclaim that Jesus is the Christ to bring conviction and a declaration of judgment upon those who refuse to believe in Jesus (John 16:8–10). The Helper or Counselor also discloses the truth of the Father and the Son to the followers of Jesus, including the course of things to come (John 16:13–14), and so brings glory to Christ.