Introduction
I have been fascinated with names all my life, perhaps because my name--Elmer-Is not a
common one. I have both liked and disliked my name since I was a small boy. I remember some
friends making fun of my name in the first grade. It seems there was a comedy character on radio
named Elmer at whom people laughed-he was considered dumb. When I asked my mother why I
had that name, she told me it was because “I loved your father.” I was named after him. So I
liked the name after that, no matter what others said.
My fascination with names led me to write The Names o f Jesus (Accent Books, 1988).
In the appendix, I listed more than 800 names, titles and references to Jesus.
Then I wrote My Father’s Names (Regal Books, 1991), primarily analyzing the names of
God in the Old Testament. I listed in the appendix more than 100 of His names and titles.
Because the Holy Spirit Is the Third Person of the Trinity, I naturally wanted to write a
book on His name. This book finishes the trilogy. I have listed more than 100 names, descriptive
phrases and titles for the Holy Spirit in appendix 1.
In this study, however, you will learn more than the Spirit’s names. You will also learn
about His personality, and what He does for you today. This book is, therefore, more
than a doctrinal study of the names of the Holy Spirit. I want you to learn about Him, to
know Him and to experience Him in your life.
People usually do not think of the term “Holy Spirit” as a name. Instead, they think of the
phrase as a description. Maybe this is because they do not think of the Spirit as a person. People
think of Him as an influence and give Him a title just as they give a title to boats, cars or
hurricanes. They think of Him as an influence, as “the spirit of democracy,” or “the spirit of the
Yankees.”
Because people pray to “Our Father in heaven,” or they pray, “Dear Jesus,” they know of
the Father and the Son as persons. But most people never pray to the Holy Spirit, perhaps
because they do not think of Him as a person. Some do think the command, “Pray the Lord of
the harvest” (Matt. 9:38) is directed to the Holy Spirit; also, “the Lord is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17).
And Scripture shows examples of prayer to the Lord as the Spirit present among His people--
instances in which the Spirit responds to the prayers being offered (see Luke 2:25-29; Acts
10:9,13-15,19; 11:5,7,8,12; 13:2; 15:28).
I can’t write about the names of the Holy Spirit and not write about the Trinity. When
describing the Trinity, I like to use the statement written by the Early Church fathers in the
Athanasian Creed: “We worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, neither confounding the
persons, nor dividing the substance.”
To explain how the doctrine of the Trinity works, I have used the following statement:
“The members of the Trinity are equal in nature, separate in person but submissive in duty.” In
this book, therefore, I have emphasized three things. First, this book equally emphasizes the deity