Titles of the Holy Spirit
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Definition
Scripture calls the Holy Spirit by several names, each drawing out a different aspect of who he is or what he does: Holy Spirit (or, in older translations, Holy Ghost) names his own divine holiness; Spirit of God and Spirit of the Lord identify him as God’s own Spirit rather than a separate, lesser being; Spirit of truth names his work of leading believers into the truth; and Comforter, Helper, or Advocate (Greek paraklētos) names his role standing alongside believers on Christ’s behalf.
Biblical Basis
The Spirit is called “Holy” not because he alone among the three persons possesses holiness — Father, Son, and Spirit share the one divine essence and its attributes equally — but as his own personal distinguishing title in Scripture’s ordinary usage.1 He is named “the Spirit of God” hovering over creation (Gen. 1:2) and “the Spirit of the Lord” resting on the promised king (Isa. 11:2). Jesus calls him “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him” but whom the disciples know, “for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17), and again, “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Jesus also names him paraklētos, promising “the Father… will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16), one who will “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26) once Christ himself has gone.2 The same Greek word is used of Christ’s own ongoing work for believers, “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1), so that the Spirit’s title as Helper names him standing alongside believers the way Christ himself does.