If you want to understand who God is, you need to understand all of who God is. Getting your head around the difference between God the Father and Son(Jesus) is one thing. But many struggle to grasp who the Holy Spirit is, in a way that they can easily explain clearly to someone else. Understanding who the Holy Spirit is and the place He holds within the Trinity and the place He plays in individual lives is important in Christian life.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the life of a believer. Just as we need oxygen to live in our human bodies, as a believer in Christ and as a born again, the Holy Spirit becomes the source of the new life God places within you
The Holy Spirit is a Person
Most times, people describe the Holy Spirit as a presence, a dove, a force or an “it”. But the Holy Spirit is a person and not a thing. The Holy Spirit is God, He has thoughts and a will. He can be grieved, joyful, insulted and can also be pleased.
The Holy Spirit searches deep things of God and reveals them to us, hence there are depths in God we can only access when we are in communion with the Holy Spirit. The person of the Holy Spirit is a gift. When we receive Him, he gifts us with spiritual gifts.
Some Bible verses that talk on the individual nature of the Holy Spirit
- John 14.16, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.”
- 1 Corinthian 6:19-20 “Do you not know that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price, therefore honor God with your bodies.”
- Ephesians 4:30 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
- 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirt and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”.
The Holy Spirit is God Himself
The Holy Spirit is an equal among and a true member of the Godhead. The Godhead is made up of three equal persons living in perfect unity. The order in which the Trinity is placed is not by merit but is in order of the dispensation to which they appeared. However, in the dispensation of each, the others are mentioned in the background.
In a nutshell the Holy Spirit is a person and an equal to the other members of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit has different roles peculiar to Him like He equips people for ministry, gives them specific insight and wisdom, teaches people how to interpret God’s word, communicates with the father on people’s behalf and empowers Christians to live according to God’s design. As a believer in Christ, it is therefore very important to desire the Holy Spirit.