e His place, and it was expedient for the
disciples that the One go to represent them before the Father, for another
just as Divine and sufficient was coming to take His place. This promise
of our Lord and Saviour of the coming of the other Comforter and of His
abiding with us is the greatest and best of all for the present
dispensation. This is _the_ promise of the Father (Acts i. 4), the promise
of promises. We shall take it up again when we come to study the names of
the Holy Spirit.

IV. _A treatment is predicated to the Holy Spirit that could only be
predicated of a Person._

We read in Isa. lxiii. 10, R. V., "But they _rebelled and grieved_ His
Holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He fought
against them." Here we are told that the Holy Spirit is rebelled against
and grieved (cf. Eph. iv. 30). Only a person can be rebelled against and
only a person of authority. Only a person can be grieved. You cannot
grieve a mere influence or power. In Heb. x. 29, we read, "Of how much
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
underfoot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath _done despite unto_
the Spirit of grace?" Here we are told that the Holy Spirit is "done
despite unto" ("treated with contumely"--Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of
the New Testament). There is but one kind of entity in the universe that
can be treated with contumely (or insulted) and that is a person. It is
absurd to think of treating an influence or a power or any kind of being
except a person with contumely. We read again in Acts v. 3, "But Peter
said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart _to lie to_ the Holy
Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" Here we have the
Holy Spirit represented as one who can be lied to. One cannot lie to
anything but a person.

In Matt. xii. 31, 32, we read, "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of
sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against
the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a
word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever
speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in
this world, neither in the world to come." Here we are told that the Holy
Spirit is blasphemed against. It is impossible to blaspheme anything but a
person. If the Holy Spirit is not a person, it ce