Pneumatology is a category of Systematic Theology that refers to the study of the Holy Spirit. Like Theology and Christology study the personhood and attributes of the Father and Son, Pneumatology studies the personhood and attributes of the Holy Spirit.
Deity
I believe that the Holy Spirit originates from the Father (Joh 14:26) through the Son (Tit 3:6) and is of the same essence and substance (Heb 9:14) being equal with the Father and the Son (Eph 4:30), and is identified with God (1Cor 3:16) as his deity is confirmed through his demonstrated power (Rom 15:19), eternality (Heb 9:14) and attributes (1Cor 2:11).
Charles H. H. Scobie also agrees in the Holy Spirit’s equality with God evidenced by such Scriptures as those who show disobedience to the Spirit of God is disobedience to God himself (Isa 63:10).[1]
Personality
I believe that the Holy Spirit’s personhood is shown as he is God (Mat 2:19) is the mind of God (Rom 8:27), that he has a personality (Joh 14:26), and has emotions (Eph 4:30). I believe that the Holy Spirit makes known his personality through activities such as teaching (Joh 14:26), revealing (Joh 16:14), and interceding for the Saints (Rom 8:26).
My statement of belief rejects any view that the Holy Spirit is the same as God in the sense of pantheism, which views all the cosmos or nature as God. Using Christology from above, the early church father Tertullian expressed that the Holy Spirit is God.[2] The Holy Spirit is a distinct personality. My statement expresses the masculinity of the Holy Spirit in Scripture; linking him to the Father and the Son.
Work
I believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates believers (Tit 3:5) and empowers them for work in the kingdom (Joh 14:12) during this current dispensation, and will raise believers from the dead as he raised Christ Jesus (Rom 8:11) at the time of his premillennial return in power and in glory. I believe that the Holy Spirit always glorifies God (Joh 16:14) in his activities to illuminate the message of Scripture for the believer (Joh 14:16-17) to teach and bring to remembrance God’s revelations (Joh 14:26, 2Pe 1:21) and to empower believers to live a life of purity and godly character (Rom 8:13). My belief rejects rationalism as the ultimate standard, which deemphasizes God’s relations with humanity since it is difficult to prove.[3] My belief also rejects romanticism as held by those such as Schleiermacher, who promotes feeling as the essence of religion instead of the reliable witness of Scripture.[4]
[1] Charles H. H. Scobie, The Ways of Our God: An approach to Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub., 2003), 270.
[2] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1998), 865.
[3] Ibid., 870.
[4] Ibid., 871.