Unusual Names
of the Holy Spirit
This article contains twelve unusual names of the Holy Spirit. Alright, the first—Paraclete—is not unusual for Bible students and scholars, but you have to admit, Paraclete is not in common parlance these days. Most people do not use the term, much less as a name of the Holy Spirit. So cut me a little slack on that one, please.
1 Paraclete. In the Greek language of the New Testament, it comes from para and kletos. Para can be translated “beside” or “along side” or “with (us).” Kletos, means something or someone who calls (to us). A paraclete therefore is someone at our side calling to us.
Literally it means “One called alongside.”
2 Assistant. The Holy Spirit comes to assist us. Who doesn’t need a boost from time to time? His assistance includes spiritual help—and this is worth noting—His help is not limited to the spiritual realm. He often boosts us in everyday living! He’s the ultimate practical Helper. Do you ever need a tug to get you out of bed in the morning? Or a nudge to get things wrapped up and remind you to quit for the night? He’s the ultimate Assistant. Plus he never makes a mess and you don’t even have to pay Him.
I teach that many good Christians are not aware that the Spirit often whispers to God’s people about small and natural matters. If you don’t think the Spirit talks with you about the little things, you need to listen up. Probably 90% of what He says is related to natural and minor things! So don’t ignore this one fact—the Holy Spirit helps in the little things, in the everyday, natural ways.
3 Coworker. Paraclete means “Co-worker!” Granted, you could hire a virtual assistant on UpWork, Virtual Worker Bee or any other virtual assistance company, but you’ll never get a more attentive co-worker than the Person of the Holy Spirit!
4 Fellow-worker. Yes, the Holy Spirit is our Fellow- worker! Good thing! Let’s try to get this in perspective, however. While He truly does work alongside us in our weakness, it’s much better and more accurate to say “We are His fellow-worker.” Who’s the boss anyway?—Him or us?
5 Workmate. The same is true for the name of the Holy Spirit as “Workmate.” Let’s become His workmate and not expect Him to become subordinate to our directives.
Dynamic Workmate!6 Teammate. I come from an athletic background. Sports is one of the loves of my life, at least my past life. Oh, how I have loved my teammates on our track team. I ran the mile at Pacific Lutheran University and held the mile record for many years.
Our distance runners would get up early, before classes and run miles across the golf course. We would come back exhausted but happy.
They were my teammates. They kept me going when I was tired. They encouraged me when I felt like quitting. They kept me going to the point of exhaustion. That’s what the Holy Spirit does for me still today. I can’t’ quit being a minister. I want to finish strong. So many pastors get discouraged and “hang up their shoes” early. Not me! I have a Teammate just like the boys used to run with.
Let me tell you about one teammate I’ll never forget. His name is Roger Reap. Roger was a pole vaulter on our team at Pacific Lutheran, not a long distance runner.
One day we had a dual cross country meet with Seattle Pacific College. SPC was a better team than ours and they outran us pitifully that day. I gave it my best shot, and at the end of the race, I felt like a cream cake. I was nauseous, ready to throw up. I could barely walk.
Roger Reap spotted my condition, came over, put his arm around my shoulder and helped me walk off my condition. He quietly encouraged me in the ear, telling me I could take another step and yet another. He was a Holy Spirit teammate to me that day. He was my paraclete in that hour of need. Thank you, Roger! You have become indelibly imprinted in my memory as an example for a name of the Holy Spirit. I can now call Him "my Teammate."
Six More Unusual Names of the Holy Spirit
7 Helpmate. The King James translates this synonym as “Helpmeet.” In other words, The Holy Spirit is like a spouse! No one is more intimate than a spouse.
I’m wonderfully thankful for my wife, Kari. She knows my weaknesses and is ever present to help. She knows my secrets and protects me. Corrects me when I need correction and encourages me when I need encouragement.
Do you want a name for the Holy Spirit? Name Him the same as your wife or husband! Does that fit?
8 Associate. For 45 years I served as Senior Pastor for the Church of the Living Water in Muscatine, Iowa. Our son Ethan became the Associate Pastor toward the end of my tenure. Then the day came for a welcome transition. We switched roles: Ethan became the lead pastor and I was “promoted” to become his Associate Pastor.
A similar switch may need to ensue as we call the Holy Spirit our “associate.” He’s the leader—we are the followers. We rely on Him, not vice-versa.
9 Colleague. A colleague is someone you work with and has the same goals as you have. When we have aligned our goals and values with God the Holy Spirit, we can rightfully say we’re a colleague of His. He is our esteemed colleague and we work with Him.
10 Partner. “Partner” is a wonderful name for the Holy Spirit. Certainly, we want Him to partner with us, and even more, we want to partner with Him. When we call Him a Partner, however, let’s make sure He’s the Senior Partner and we are the henchman.
11 Collaborator. A collaborator is a person who works with another, a co-worker, an associate or colleague. He could be a partner, a helper or an assistant. However, applying this name to the Holy Spirit, let’s always remember that the Holy Spirit is GOD! We don’t want to slip into the mindset that we are God, and the Spirit is our collaborator!
We desire to collaborate with Him and His pleasure, and not the other way around.
Our prayer today is, “Esteemed Spirit of God, let me collaborate with You. Please guide me as You see fit. Let me follow You.”
11 Savant. I like the word Savant. To me, it fits the Holy Spirit well: it means a sage or wise person. It calls to mind a knowledgeable person to whom we can go to learn knowledge or wisdom. Synonyms might be connoisseur, master, learned man or woman, authority, pundit, scholar, intellect, a sage, or wise person. He is an authority in His field. It reminds me of the definition of a quality farmer. What is an outstanding farmer? He is someone out standing in his field!
A savant is someone who knows a lot, but is not a ”know-it-all.”
A Savant is an expert, a specialist in his field.
In my mind, the term Savant easily applies as a name of the Holy Spirit of God. What do you think?
12 Companion. I like the word “Companion“ as it applies to the Holy Spirit. Companion is a gentle word. The older I become and the more I get to relate with the Spirit of God, I see how gentle He is. Of course, He can blow like a tornado. On the day of Pentecost, as the Spirit was given, there occurred the sound of a violent, rushing wind. It was so forceful and loud that apparently people around Jerusalem heard the sound and gathered to the Upper Room where the 120 were gathered.
But this was not typical for the Holy Spirit. More often than not, He is like the still, soft voice of 1 Kings 19:12 (KJV still, small voice). Most frequently He is known for His “whispers,” for example, to Paul in Acts 16:9, the same as He uses today with many of His saints.
This post contains twelve of the most unusual names of the Holy Spirit. I enjoyed composing this article. It gave me some new names of the Holy Spirit.