Jesus doesn't want us to think of the Holy Spirit as an it or a thing. The Spirit is a person.

[Jesus spoke to his disciples and said,] "If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans — I will come to you (John 14:15-19 NLT).

According to one study, only four people in ten believe that the Spirit is a divine person. The rest of those surveyed either didn't have an opinion or chose to believe the Spirit is more like a power surge than a divine being who empowers and teaches us.

Can you join me in a pledge? "I hereby resolve never to call the Holy Spirit an it."

The Spirit is a person. And Jesus calls him the Paraclete. Now, translators land on different yet similar translations for this Greek word: Comforter, Counselor, Advocate, or Intercessor. But the central message is the same: we are not alone.

The central message is the same: we are not alone.
[Jesus continued teaching his disciples,] "I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative — that is, the Holy Spirit — he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you (John 14:25-26).