Seventh-day Adventists believe that the Holy Spirit is a personal being, the third member of the Godhead, or Trinity (“Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists,” Church Manual [1990], p. 179). The Holy Spirit was present to seal Christ’s baptism ( Matt. 3:16 , 17 ). He is named with the Father and the Son in the Great Commission and baptismal formula ( Matt. 28:19 ; cf . 2 Cor. 13:14 ), and likewise at Pentecost ( Acts 2:33 ). The relationship between the three persons of the Godhead is clearest in the teachings of Christ ( John 14:16 , 26 ; 15:26 ; 16:13–15 ). Among the Holy Spirit’s personal characteristics are knowledge ( 1 Cor. 2:11 ), will ( 1 Cor. 12:11 ), mind ( Rom. 8:27 ), love ( Rom. 15:30 ), communion ( 2 Cor. 13:14 ), grief ( Eph. 4:30 ). He can be insulted ( Heb. 10:29 ) and lied to ( Acts 5:3 , 4 ).
The Holy Spirit convicts hearts of the heinousness of sin, of the desirability of righteousness, and of the certainty of judgment ( John 16:8–11 ). He convicts, woos, and wins people to Christ. His mission is to guide into all truth, for He is the “Spirit of truth” ( John 16:13 ; 14:26 ). The Bible was written under His guidance and inspiration ( 2 Peter 1:20 , 21 ). While on earth, Christ’s personal presence was localized. But by virtue of His very nature, the Holy Spirit can be, and is, everywhere present. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s true vicar, or representative, on earth. He applies to individuals the benefits of the atoning sacrifice of Calvary, making effectual in us that which Jesus did for us . He applies Christ’s mediatorial work to responsive human hearts, regenerating, justifying, sanctifying, and communicating to us the very life of our risen Lord as we await Christ’s second, personal return. He enables Christians to bear “the fruit of the Spirit” in their lives ( Gal. 5:22 , 23 ). He selects and fits individuals for service, and qualifies them with power for witnessing ( Acts 1:8 ; 13:2–4 ; 15:28 ). He imparts to men and women the various spiritual gifts ( 1 Cor. 12:7–11 ).
The Apostles’ and Nicene creeds make a simple affirmation of faith in the Holy Spirit as a member of the Trinity, the latter stating that He “proceedeth from the Father” (Henry Bettenson, Documents of the Christian Church , p. 37). The Arian heresy, on the other hand, denied deity to the Spirit. Athanasius and others affirmed belief that the Spirit was of the same substance as the Father and the Son (E. H. Klotsche, The History of Christian Doctrine [1945], p. 70). The mainstream of Christianity has always accepted the unqualified deity and personality of the Holy Spirit.
More than a century ago, during the formative period of Seventh-day Adventist doctrine, there were differences of opinion on the Holy Spirit and on certain other matters. The pioneer SDA s of those early years were dedicated Christians who had come from many different denominations, and some diversity of opinion was to be expected. It seems that many believed that the Holy Spirit was only a “power” or “influence” and not a person. J. H. Waggoner, for instance, refers to the Holy Spirit as “that awful and mysterious power which proceeds from the throne of the universe” ( The Spirit of God: Its Offices and Manifestations , p. 9). Uriah Smith similarly spoke of the Spirit as “a mysterious influence emanating from the Father and the Son, their representative and the medium of their power” ( The Biblical Institute [1878], p. 184). During these formative years, emphasis in preaching and in church publications was on the distinctive features of the Advent message, and there was some tendency to take the great fundamental tenets of Christianity for granted. Furthermore, there was no official creed, and on some matters difference of opinion persisted for a number of years. Unity of belief was eventually achieved, not by ecclesiastical fiat, but by cooperative study and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, with the confirmatory witness of the Spirit of Prophecy. By the end of the nineteenth century there was general unanimity of opinion in favor of the view that the Holy Spirit is a personal being, the third member of the Trinity. Ellen White repeatedly refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Third Person of the Godhead” ( DA 671) and as “a divine person” ( Ev 617).
SDA s believe that the Holy Spirit is a person as verily as the Father and Son are persons of the Godhead (L. E. Froom, The Coming of the Comforter [1928], pp. 41, 42). He is Christ’s true successor on earth ( ibid. , p. 25). He is “another Comforter” (that is, in addition to Christ; John 14:16 , 26 ; 15:26 ; 16:7 ), whom Christ promised to send in His stead, and who came at Pentecost to make redemption through Christ personally efficacious to those who accepted the proffered salvation.
The Holy Spirit is the divine presence, the divine instructor, the divine convictor, the divine comforter, of Christians, individually and as a church, imparting the life of Christ and imbuing the receiver with Christ’s attributes. The Holy Spirit influences; He is not a mere influence, power, or energy. He is not only comforter but also advocate, representative, intercessor, pleader, and consoler. He is not simply a mysterious “divine afflatus” (Uriah Smith, Looking Unto Jesus , p. 10) emanating from the Father, an invisible principle of life, but a divine person—the third person of the Godhead.
Furthermore, SDA s believe that the Holy Spirit is, next to Christ Himself, God’s greatest gift to humanity. His coming as Christ’s successor made provision for the believer’s every need. He convicts, converts, guides, reproves, teaches, watches, witnesses, enables, comforts, helps, illuminates, transforms, sanctifies, intercedes, unifies, and strengthens. He implants grace and reveals and impresses truth. He imparts the very life of Christ and restores the image of God to the soul. He illuminates the mind, fosters spiritual growth, molds the character, energizes the life, activates the conscience, and impels to service.
Some classical Seventh-day Adventist works on the Holy Spirit are: L. E. Froom, The Coming of the Comforter (1928); W. H. Branson, The Holy Spirit (1933); G. B. Thompson, The Ministry of the Spirit (1914); Francis M. Wilcox, The Early and the Latter Rain (1938).