The Holy Spirit in Figures
By Jerry Batson, Th.D.
Special to The Alabama Baptist
In previous weeks, Theology 101 has used biblical figures of speech that refer to God the Father and Christ the Son. This week attention is given to those related to the Holy Spirit. They are suggestive of truths that relate to the person of the Spirit and His work in the Christian life.
This week’s feature is wind. Wind was associated with the Spirit’s coming at Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:2: “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
In the story of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, Jesus made an association between wind and the Spirit. He explained, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
What is it about the wind that suggests truths about the Spirit?
Sovereignty of the Spirit
Like the wind, the Holy Spirit is sovereign. As Jesus noted, wind blows where it wishes. The Holy Spirit shares the divine attribute of sovereignty. He operates according to the divine will, not our will. We may deeply desire and earnestly ask for some action of the Spirit, but granting or withholding is the Spirit’s prerogative.
From our human, earthly, time-bound vantage point, the purposes and ways of the Spirit’s working are unsearchable. Jesus reminded Nicodemus that he could hear the sound of the wind but could not see where it came from or where it was going.
In addition, the Spirit is mighty in His working, comparable to a rushing, mighty wind, as reported on the Day of Pentecost. On that day, the Spirit’s work was that of filling the gathered believers. All who were in the house were “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4).
Enabling power
Out of His fullness, the Holy Spirit possesses enabling power. On the day of His outpouring, those gathered were enabled “to speak with other tongues.” As a result of the fullness, they spoke of “the wonderful works of God” so all who heard could understand in their own language or dialect (v. 11). The Spirit’s fullness of power enabled Peter to so preach the gospel that 3,000 believed and were baptized in a single day (v. 41).
Thus, with the wind as the illustration, we can affirm that the Holy Spirit is invisible, sovereign, unsearchable, mighty, filling and enabling.
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