The question is whether or not the holy spirit is a separate "person" or even a "person" at all.
For example:
Act 8:19 saying, "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
Act 8:20 But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money!
1Ti_4:14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
The apostles considered the holy spirit a "gift" of God. Strange language to use about a "person".
1Th 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit
Can a "person" be quenched? Can we "quench" the father? Can we "quench" the son?
Act 10:45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
Does scripture ever talk about "pouring" out the father or the son? Can a person be "poured" out?
2Ti 1:6 Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
The holy spirit is something we can "stir".
There are many, many more scriptural references that prove that the holy spirit is NOT a "person" in a trinity. And of course...because this belief did not formally exist until over 300 years AFTER the scriptures were written.
For a vast amount of scripture confirming this see: Is the Holy Spirit a Person?
The Scriptures mention...
...the gift of God (Acts 8:20)
...the gift of Christ (Ephesians 4:7)
...and the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38; 10:45)
(Sounds BOTH Trinitarian and PERSONAL)
The Giver is Personal, -- otherwise the Giver can't give gifts, right?
Yet, the Scriptures say the Holy Spirit is such a Giver!
...to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, (1 Corinthians 12:9)
Reiterated in Hebrews 2:4: God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Douglas, the Sender is the "Giver"...and the One Sent IS the Gift!
I will ask the Father, and he will GIVE you another advocate and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept HIM, because it neither sees HIM nor knows HIM. But you know HIM, for HE lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)
26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will SEND in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
God sends gifts of PERSONS all the time...people (example, Malachi 3:1)...angels (numerous verses)...and Himself, starting with His Own Son (John 3:16)
If the giving of the Holy Spirit makes Him impersonal, then John 3:16 reveals an impersonal Son of God, as well!
And then...next you'll be telling us that since the King James Version of Luke 1:35 references Jesus as "holy THING" He, too, is impersonal, eh?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy THING which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
Yes, it does...Psalm 22 is deemed "Messianic" -- and describes the cross of Christ:
"I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me." (Psalm 22:14)
(So now -- by extended implication -- you are going to tell us that Jesus isn't a person?)
In addition to the above, Solomon said: ..."the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort..." (Ecc. 2:19)
We say that all the time...like: "He poured himself into it."
(It's just another way of say "expended Himself")
Bottom line...Next you'll be telling us the Holy Spirit is a bird (Matthew 3:16: As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.)
But, probably not. You see, at least a dove isn't an inanimate object...an impersonal force...so if you were to cite Matthew 3:16 to describe the Holy Spirit, that might be too "personal" of ascription to be giving the Holy Spirit!
Tell us, Douglas: Does a dog have more personality than the Holy Spirit? (Yes? No?)
So, what do you do with all these Scriptures...just scissor 'em to death or slander them as being revised 'cause it doesn't comport with your "theology" per the teachers who divide and redivide in your neck of the woods?
The Holy Spirit...
...speaks (John 16:13; Rev. 2:7)
...PERSONALLY commands/calls -- note words "Me" and "I" (Acts 13:2)
...guides (John 16:13)
...counsels (John 14:16-17)
...teaches (John 14:26)
...hears (John 16:13)
...forbids (Acts 16:6)
...determines -- showing WILL/mind (1 Cor. 12:11)
...intercedes (Romans 8:34)...kind of ridiculous to claim, as DouglasKC does, that an impersonal invisible active force of God intercedes on man's behalf before God
The Holy Spirit can be...
...insulted (Hebrews 10:29)
...grieved (Eph. 4:30; Isaiah 63:10)
...may be lied to (Acts 5:3)
The Holy Spirit has a mind, and His own Power (Rev. 2:7; 1 Cor. 12:11; Rom. 8:27; Rom. 15:19)
The Holy Spirit is called God and bears names belonging to God (Acts 5:3-4,9; 2 Cor. 3:17-18, etc.)
The Holy Spirit has divine attributes ascribed to Him (1 Cor. 2:11; 12:11)