Third Person of the Godhead, February 15

The Holy Spirit of God

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14.FLB 52.1

We need to realize that the Holy Spirit ... is as much a person as God is a person....FLB 52.2

The Holy Spirit has a personality, else He could not bear witness to our spirits and with our spirits that we are the children of God. He must also be a divine person, else He could not search out the secrets which lie hidden in the mind of God.^{69Evangelism, 616, 617.}FLB 52.3

The Holy Spirit is a free, working, independent agency. The God of heaven uses His Spirit as it pleases Him; and human minds, human judgment, and human methods can no more set boundaries to its working, or prescribe the channel through which it shall operate, than they can say to the wind, “I bid you to blow in a certain direction, and to conduct yourself in such and such a manner.” ^{70The Signs of the Times, March 8, 1910.}FLB 52.4

From the beginning God has been working by His Holy Spirit through human instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose in behalf of the fallen race.... The same power that sustained the patriarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God's faithful children in every succeeding age.^{71The Acts of the Apostles, 53.}FLB 52.5

The Holy Spirit was the highest of all gifts that He [Jesus] could solicit from His Father for the exaltation of His people. The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the third person of the Godhead, who would come with no modified energy, but in the fullness of divine power.^{72The Desire of Ages, 671.}FLB 52.6

The Holy Spirit is an effective helper in restoring the image of God in the human soul.^{73Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students, 67.}FLB 52.7