The Holy Spirit, part 1

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I would like to direct my readers to this article, in which the author does a thorough job of presenting the evidence that: 

A) The Holy Spirit is a real, personal agent (as opposed to impersonal force), 

B) Is separate from the Father and from the Son and interacts with each, and 

C) Is, in fact, God.

One point I found interesting was the interaction between God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  

 

The Spirit hears from the Father.  (John 16:13-15)   

The Spirit prays to the Father.  (Romans 8.26-27)

The Spirit "searches the deep things of God."  (I Cor 2.10)

The Spirit addresses God the Father as "Abba, Father!" (Gal 4.6)

I will not further summarize the article's content, but will leave it to speak for itself.  

But one final point... 

A believer in Christ who has the Holy Spirit can expect some of the following:  

1) Prophecy - proclaiming a message from God. (Joel 2:29, 2 Pet. 1:21) 

2) Speaking in or interpretation of "tongues." (Acts 2:4, 10:44-46, 19:6; I Cor. 14:15)

3) Knowledge apart from one's own natural ability to know or comprehend. (1 Cor. 12:8, 2:10-14)

4) Wisdom - insight or understanding from God. (Eph. 1:17-19)

5) The ability and desire to follow God's commandments. (Eze. 36:27)

6) Fellowship - an interactive relationship with God. (1 Cor. 6:19, 2 Cor. 13:14, Phil. 2:1, Jn 14:16)

7) Virtuous "fruits" - character traits developed through knowing God personally. (Gal. 5:22-26).

If someone were to enter a Christian church off the street, they would indeed discover the Holy Spirit there... but not in the form of an impersonal force pervading the atmosphere.  Rather, it would be evident that the Christians present had the Spirit of God in them.  They follow God's commandments, primarily that of loving one another, having a type of fellowship that is supernatural in its origins, which came not from man's selfish mentality, but from God's own character.  In other words, they have been taught by God, as the Scripture says (Is. 54:13).  More than that, even... it would be evident that these people had knowledge they had not attained through human resources, because the message preached, the hymns, and even people's comments in Sunday School have a relevance that is timely and deeply personal.  I find this true every day in my church, and the same if I visit another church.  God's Spirit is working in all those for whom Jesus Christ is Lord.  

The ability of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles should not surprise anyone, if the Spirit is God and therefore has all of His attributes, including His creative power.  This aspect can be true of either a force or a Person.  However, the above attributes--knowledge, fellowship, virtue, prophecy, etc.--have to do with a relationship.  A force or divine energy may help you to rearrange or levitate objects.  But it has little to do with cultivating a relationship that involves knowing someone intimately to the point where you develop similar character, impart information, or sharing a message from God.