Russell Johnson is the pastor of PursuitNW in Washington state, located in Snohomish, WA, the thriving church my family attends. I will cite several comments taken from his booklet, In Pursuit of the Spirit: Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Pursuit Press, 2021. He has personal knowledge of and experience with the Holy Spirit. Let us see what he shares.
“The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He’s not a force. He’s not a mystical aura. He’s not a vibration. He’s not a frequency. The Holy Spirit is a person.
“Because He is a person, the Holy Spirit can be honored, dishonored, grieved (Isa. 63:10), celebrated, quenched (1 Thess. 5:19), resisted (Acts 7:51), and blasphemed (Matt. 12:31). New Testament believers have a responsibility to steward their relationship with the Holy Spirit by earnestly desiring His gifts (1 Cor. 14:1), praying in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18), singing in the Spirit (1 Cor. 14:15), walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), and being renewed in the spirit of their mind (Eph. 4:23).
“Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time activity. Instead, Scripture speaks to being continually filled on a daily basis (Eph. 5:18). The Holy Spirit is a person. He is honored when we recognize His importance in our life. He is honored when He is welcomed in our daily interactions. Just like any other person, the role and influence of the Holy Spirit grows as you tend to the development of this important relationship.”
The indwelling of the human spirit by the Holy Spirit has been renewed in repentant believers by the boundless love and grace of God through the sin sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and sent the Holy Spirit as Counselor and Helper as He promised upon His resurrection. Believers are blessed to have the Holy Spirit guide their minds, their souls, in a dualist interaction in our time in anticipation of the everlasting communion with Jesus Christ to come.