There are two basic issues to address concerning the nature and identity of the Holy Spirit: The first is His personality which is the subject of this writing, and the second is His divinity, which is addressed in another post.

Many people have questioned the personality of the Holy Spirit, claiming the He is an "it", being merely a force, or an influence, or merely the power of God, etc. Actually, it is not unexpected that the opponents of the truth of the Trinity would raise this issue. While they may conveniently categorise God the Son as "man", such is not possible with the Holy Spirit. At the same time, it is also not possible to successfully classify Him as angel. Yet they cannot deny His existence. So they came up with the idea that He is an "it" - a non-living entity! (otherwise, they won't have a choice than to accept that He is indeed God.)

As with all genuine teachings of the Christian faith, the personlity of the Holy Spirit is not the personal invention of Christians but the summary of the pertinent revelation found in the Bible. These revelations fall into four basic groups which we shall now take a look at:

(It will be beneficial for the reader to be adequately acquainted with the concept of "personality" and I suggest this resource for anyone in such a need.)

Personal designations are given to Him

He is called “He” and “Him” (John 14:16) and referenced with the word "who" (Ephesians 1:14). Some critics have opined that the Biblical verses which imply personality simply contain personifications. This is an erroneous view which cannot stand. Apart from personifications being uncommon in the none-poetic writings of the scripture, they can always easily be identified as such. For instance, the personification of wisdom in Proverbs 8 and, to an extent, of love in 1 Corinthians 13 are quite clear and incomparable to the personal references to the Holy Spirit which are direct to Him. Voewing them as personifications well even destroy the sense of some of these passages. For example, John 16:7-11 says:Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Obviously, these verses are not about a "personification" of any concept ot other being but a reference to the being Himself - Holy Spirit the Comforter! This, in fact, brings us to the next point and its group of verses.

The characteristics of a person are ascribed to Him

Throughout the Scripture, we see numerous places showing us the Holy Spirit exhibiting attributes of personhood. Only a person can do this. A non-person cannot be said to possess intelligence, will and affection. Moreover, He also performs actions that pertain only to persons. The Bible says He searches, speaks, testifies, commands, reveals, strives, creates, makes intercession, raises the dead, etc.

I implore the reader to check the following texts: John 14:26; 16:7-11; Romans 8:26; Isaiah 63:10; Acts 8:29; Romans 8:11; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11; Luke 12:12 among so many others. Then, we can see for ourselves whether the scripture regards Him as a person or a thing.

He stands in direct person-to-person relationships

The Holy Spirit is placed in direct personal relationship, proximity and operation with the apostles in Acts 15:28, with Jesus Christ in John 16:14, and with the Father and the Son in Matthew 28:19; 2Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:1-2; Jude 20-21. These show that the Bible regards the Holy Spirit as a person, just as the persons He stands in the special relationships with.

The Holy Spirit is distinguished from His Power

Finally, and of very great significance, the Holy Spirit is clearly distinguished from His power or the power of any other person. This very clearly shows the error of those who immagine that the Holy Spirit is just an appellation for God's power. He is a person who also has the personhood attribute of having His own power.

For example, when we look at such passages as Luke 4:14; Romans 15:13; 1Corinthians 2:4, they become tautological, meaningless, and even absurd, if they were interpreted on the principle that the Holy Spirit is merely a power. This can be shown by substituting for the name "Holy Spirit" such a word as "power" or "influence". Luke 4:14 would suffice here as an example:

"Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about."

If the Holy Spirit were His power, this becomes:

"Then Jesus returned in the power of the power to Galilee, ..."

Which, of course, is nonsense.

Conclusion

In closing, there is no doubt of the biblical revelation of the personhood of the Holy Spirit. If anyone does not believe, it will not be for lack of evidence but a failure, whether willful or negligent, to come to the knowledge of this truth. As revealled, the Holy Spirit is not just a living being, He is also a person.