The Holy Spirit: Who is He?

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16

 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.” John 15:26

 

A Christian who goes through life without engaging the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit is like someone opting to blend peppers and tomatoes in a mortar with a pestle instead of utilizing a high-speed food processor. (Work with my African lady analogy here!)

 

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to represent Himself in our lives as a fulfillment of His promise that He will always be with us (Matthew 28:20).

 

As God’s children, we are the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16)

 

So who exactly is the Holy Spirit and what is His role in our lives as believers?

 

In this post, we will briefly introduce the person of the Holy Spirit and in my next post, we will tackle His role in our lives as believers.

 

Who is The Holy Spirit?

Trinity

There is only ONE God consisting of three distinct Persons with unique roles, who make up the Trinity: i.e., the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. All three members of the Trinity are fully God and function in unity with each other. Yet there is ONE God, not three.

 

The Godhead (Trinity) does not switch places between roles. This means that He does not ever exist as one person of the Godhead, then switch to another. At any time “t,” God is the Father, He is the Son and He is the Holy Spirit all at once.

 

Therefore, the Holy Spirit is Almighty God Himself. He is God’s Spirit and is no less God in any way.

 

Reflect on the Bible verses below on the existence of the Trinity.

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Matthew 28:19 NIV

 

Just as the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, Scriptures also refer to Him as the Spirit of Christ. This reflects the unity of the Trinity.

“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6

“You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.” Romans 8:9

 

Characteristics

He has the characteristics of God and is equally omnipotent (unlimited power/authority), omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (everywhere present at the same time), and eternal. (Isaiah 40:13-14, Psalm 139: 7-10, Hebrews 9:14)

“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 NIV

 

Personhood

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or a scary ghost but a person and functions as such. He is a spiritual being as opposed to a human being.

• He communicates. John 16:13, John 15:26
• He has emotions. Ephesians 4:30, Isaiah 63:10
• He can be tested. Acts 5:9

 

Function

The Holy Spirit’s work has been evident since the beginning of time. He was involved in creation (Genesis 1:2), spoke through the Old Testament prophets (Micah 3:8), was intimately involved in the life of Jesus Christ [from His incarnation, baptism, and ministry to His resurrection from the dead (Luke 1:35, John 1:32, Luke 4:1,18-21, 1 Peter 3:18)] and inspired the written Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16).

After Jesus ascended to heaven, He sent the Spirit to make a permanent home in our hearts. The Spirit now dwells in the church (referring to the body of believers, not church buildings) and in individual Christians.

 

Conclusion

What an awesome privilege to know with absolute certainty that the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in us! (Romans 8:11)

THE SAME SPIRIT THAT RAISED JESUS CHRIST FROM THE DEAD LIVES IN YOU!!

 

Therein lies your victory!

 

My prayer for you is that as you daily yield yourself to the Holy Spirit, God will lead you, guide you and empower you to live a life that pleases Him in all things. AMEN!

 

In my next post, we will discuss the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers.

 

Stay tuned!

 

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