Da li je Sveti Duh osoba?/Is the Holy Spirit a person?

Mnogi ljudi smatraju da je doktrina o Svetom Duhu zbunjujuća. Da li je Sveti Duh osoba, sila, ili nešto treće? Šta o tome govori Sveto pismo? Bibilja nam daje mnogo načina da nam pomogne da razumemo da je Sveti Duh osoba – tj. On je ličnost, a ne neka bezlična stvar. Prvo, svaka zamenica koja se koristi u vezi sa Duhom je „on", a ne „ono". Originalni grčki jezik Novog zaveta je jasan kada verifkuje osobu Svetog Duha. Reč „Duh" (pneuma) je srednjeg roda i po tome bi trebalo da se za nju koriste zamenice srednjeg roda. Međutim, u mnogim slučajevima se mogu naći zamenice muškog roda (na pr. Jovan 15:26; 16:13-14). U gramatičkom smislu nema drugog načina da se shvate zamenice u Novom zavetu u vezi sa Svetim Duhom osim kao da se govori o osobi u muškom rodu. Matej 28:19 nas uči da se krstimo u ime Oca, Sina i Svetog Duha. Ovo je zajednička napomena za jednog Trojedinog Boga. Takođe nam je rečeno da ne žalostimo Svetog Duha (Efežanima 4:30). Protiv Duha može da se zgreši (Isaija 63:10) i njemu da se slaže (Dela 5:3). Trebalo bi da mu budemo poslušni (Dela 10:19.21) i da ga proslavimo (Psalam 51:11). Ličnost Svetog Duha se takođe potvrđuje mnogim Njegovim delima. On je lično bio uključen u stvaranje (Postanje 1:2), daje snagu Božijem narodu (Zaharije 4:6), vodi (Rimljanima 8:14), teši (Jovan 14:26), ubeđuje (Jovan 16:8), podučava (Jovan 16:13), obuzdava greh (Isaija 59:19), i daje zapovesti (Dela 8:29). Svako od ovih dela zahteva uključenje osobe a ne samo sile, stvari ili ideje. Osobine Svetog Duha ukazuju na Njegovu ličnost. Sveti Duh ima život (Rimljanima 8:2), ima volju (1. Korinćanima 12:11), sve zna (1. Korinćanima 2:10-11), večan je (Jevrejima 9:14) i sveprisutan (Psalam 139:7). Samo neka sila ne bi mogla da ima ove osobine, ali Sveti Duh ih ima. Ličnost Svetog Duha je potvrđena Njegovom ulogom treće osobe Božanstva. Samo biće koje je ravno Bogu (Matej 28:19) i poseduje osobine sveznanja, sveprisutnosti, i večnosti može da se definiše kao Bog. U Delima 5:3-4 Petar govori o Svetom Duhu kao Bogu kada kaže: „A Petar mu reče: Ananija, zašto je satana ispunio tvoje srce — da slažeš Duha Svetoga i da zadržiš za sebe deo novca od prodaje njive? Zar ne bi i dalje ostala tvoja, i kad je prodana, zar nije bila u tvojoj vlasti? Zašto si u svom srcu naumio to delo? Nisi slagao ljudima, nego Bogu." Pavle je takođe govorio o Svetom Duhu kao Bogu u 2. Korinćanima 3:17–18, kada je rekao: „Jer Gospod je Duh; a gde je Duh Gospodnji, onde je sloboda. A mi svi otkrivena lica odražavamo slavu Gospodnju i preobražavamo se u istu sliku iz slave u slavu — kako to čini Duh Gospodnji." Sveti Duh je osoba, i to Sveto pismo jasno govori. Trebalo bi onda da ga poštujemo kao Boga koji služi u savršenom jedinstvu sa Ocem i Sinom dok nas vodi kroz naš duhovni život.

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Many people find the doctrine of the Holy Spirit confusing. Is the Holy Spirit a force, a person, or something else? What does the Bible teach? The Bible provides many ways to help us understand that the Holy Spirit is truly a person—that is, He is a personal being, rather than an impersonal thing. First, every pronoun used in reference to the Spirit is “he” not “it.” The original Greek language of the New Testament is explicit in confirming the person of the Holy Spirit. The word for “Spirit” (pneuma) is neuter and would naturally take neuter pronouns to have grammatical agreement. Yet, in many cases, masculine pronouns are found (e.g., John 15:26; 16:13-14). Grammatically, there is no other way to understand the pronouns of the New Testament related to the Holy Spirit—He is referred to as a “He,” as a person. Matthew 28:19 teaches us to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a collective reference to one Triune God. Also, we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). The Spirit can be sinned against (Isaiah 63:10) and lied to (Acts 5:3). We are to obey Him (Acts 10:19–21) and honor Him (Psalm 51:11). The personhood of the Holy Spirit is also affirmed by His many works. He was personally involved in creation (Genesis 1:2), empowers God’s people (Zechariah 4:6), guides (Romans 8:14), comforts (John 14:26), convicts (John 16:8), teaches (John 16:13), restrains sin (Isaiah 59:19), and gives commands (Acts 8:29). Each of these works requires the involvement of a person rather than a mere force, thing, or idea. The Holy Spirit’s attributes also point to His personality. The Holy Spirit has life (Romans 8:2), has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11), is omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10–11), is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), and is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7). A mere force could not possess all of these attributes, but the Holy Spirit does. And the personhood of the Holy Spirit is affirmed by His role as the third Person of the Godhead. Only a being who is equal to God (Matthew 28:19) and possesses the attributes of omniscience, omnipresence, and eternality could be defined as God. In Acts 5:3–4, Peter referred to the Holy Spirit as God, stating, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” Paul likewise referred to the Holy Spirit as God in 2 Corinthians 3:17–18, stating, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is a person, as Scripture makes clear. As such, He is to be revered as God and serves in perfect unity with Father and Son to lead us in our spiritual lives.