My responses to a Jehovah's Witness

TL;DR:
This page presents excerpts from an email exchange about the personhood of the Holy Spirit and whether Christians may pray directly to Jesus. Biblical passages describe the Spirit speaking, teaching, guiding, deciding, loving, and being grieved or resisted. The page also considers commands, examples, and reasonable inferences that support prayer addressed to Jesus.

The personhood and divinity of the Holy Spirit and praying to Jesus

"Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." — Luke 24:27, 2011 NIV

Excerpts from an email exchange with a Jehovah's Witness

A member of Jehovah's Witnesses and I exchanged numerous emails about beliefs and doctrines. This page contains some of his questions and my responses. Because our discussion occasionally returned to the same subjects, some material overlaps.

Because my Jehovah's Witness friend rarely asked follow-up questions, relatively few of our exchanges developed into in-depth conversations.

Jehovah's Witness question: Would you like to know the truth about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?
My answer: I'm not sure what you mean by "the truth about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." I would like to consider how the Bible describes the Holy Spirit. For instance, it's my understanding that Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Holy Spirit is not a person.

That contrasts with what Christ-followers have said through the centuries. They have affirmed that the Holy Spirit is Yahweh Himself, the third person of the one triune God. What leads them to that conclusion?

Time and again, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit as having personal characteristics and doing things that persons do. These descriptions go far beyond a mere influence or "force." That understanding is also reflected in passages where English translations use personal pronouns for the Holy Spirit rather than treating the Spirit merely as an impersonal "it."

Look at how the Holy Spirit is described in Scripture:
  1. The Holy Spirit speaks.
    "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith." — 1 Timothy 4:1, 2011 NIV
    "The Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.'" — Acts 8:29, 2011 NIV
    "While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Simon, three men are looking for you.'" — Acts 10:19, 2011 NIV
    "The Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'" — Acts 13:2, 2011 NIV
  2. The Holy Spirit actively teaches.
    "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things." — John 14:26, 2011 NIV
  3. The Holy Spirit gives testimony.
    "The Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me." — John 15:26, 2011 NIV
  4. The Holy Spirit guides, hears, speaks, and tells.
    "When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come." — John 16:13, 2011 NIV (Notice the personal language used throughout this passage.)
  5. The Holy Spirit forbids.
    "Having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. . . . The Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." — Acts 16:6–7, 2011 NIV
  6. The Holy Spirit intercedes or prays.
    "The Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. . . . The Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God." — Romans 8:26–27, 2011 NIV
All six of these characteristics point toward the Holy Spirit being a person rather than merely a "wind," "influence," or "force."

There are more characteristics of the Holy Spirit that demonstrate His personhood.
  1. The Holy Spirit has a mind.
    "He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit." — Romans 8:27, 2011 NIV
  2. The Holy Spirit has active knowledge.
    "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." — 1 Corinthians 2:10, 2011 NIV. This language describes active knowledge rather than merely an impersonal force.
  3. The Holy Spirit possesses affection.
    "by the love of the Spirit." — Romans 15:30, 2011 NIV. Love is presented here as a personal attribute.
  4. The Holy Spirit has a will.
    "He distributes them to each one, just as he determines." — 1 Corinthians 12:11, 2011 NIV. This language describes the Spirit making decisions.
Together, these characteristics portray the Holy Spirit as possessing intelligence, will, and personhood rather than as an impersonal force.

Scripture also describes people responding sinfully to the Holy Spirit in ways ordinarily associated with a person rather than an impersonal force:
  1. The Holy Spirit can be grieved.
    "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." — Ephesians 4:30, 2011 NIV
  2. The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed.
    "The blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." — Matthew 12:31–32, 2011 NIV
  3. The Holy Spirit can be insulted.
    "who has insulted the Spirit of grace." — Hebrews 10:29, 2011 NIV
  4. The Holy Spirit can be lied to.
    "You have lied to the Holy Spirit." — Acts 5:3, 2011 NIV
  5. The Holy Spirit can be resisted.
    "You always resist the Holy Spirit!" — Acts 7:51, 2011 NIV
Although any one of these passages might be interpreted differently in isolation, their cumulative testimony strongly supports the historic Christian understanding of the Holy Spirit as a divine person rather than an impersonal force.
Jehovah's Witness question: If Jesus was God, don't you think we would be able to pray directly to Jesus?
My answer: Good question. The simple answer is that Christians may pray directly to Jesus. Ordinarily, Christian prayer is addressed to the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. Because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the three persons of the one God, prayer addressed to Jesus or the Holy Spirit is also appropriate.

It has often been said that there are three ways to determine whether we have biblical authority to do something:
  1. Scripture gives a direct command.
  2. Scripture provides an example to follow.
  3. A conclusion may reasonably be inferred from Scripture.
Regarding whether prayers can be spoken to Jesus, Scripture provides support through commands, examples, and reasonable inferences. Again, I'm not saying believers must direct prayers to Jesus. I'm simply responding to your point that if Jesus were God, we could pray directly to Him.

In Acts 8:22, Peter tells Simon the sorcerer to pray to the Lord, a title frequently used for Jesus in the New Testament. Paul exhorts believers to "sing and make music from your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19, 2011 NIV). Singing addressed to the Lord can be understood as worship directed to Christ, although it is not necessarily a direct command to pray to Him.

The Bible also gives examples of prayers addressed to Jesus. A particularly clear one is Stephen's dying prayer: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59, 2011 NIV). Acts 1:24 may also record a prayer addressed to Jesus, although interpreters differ over whether "Lord" refers specifically to Jesus or to the Father.

Paul says, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me" (2 Corinthians 12:8, 2011 NIV). The response in the following verse appears to come from Christ, strengthening the understanding that Paul's plea was directed to Jesus. The Bible even closes with a prayer to Jesus: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20, 2011 NIV).

Other passages reasonably imply prayer to Jesus. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 1:2, Paul speaks to those "who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2011 NIV). Calling on His name can reasonably be understood as prayer addressed to Jesus.

Hebrews 7:25 teaches that Jesus "is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them" (2011 NIV). This establishes His mediatorial role, although it is not by itself an example of prayer addressed to Jesus.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (2011 NIV). These words affirm that believers come into the Father's presence through Jesus, the Way, although they do not by themselves establish prayer addressed directly to Him.
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— Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu

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