Who Is the Holy Spirit?

God, and a Person

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On Pentecost the believers heard a sound like wind and saw flames like fire. But the Holy Spirit is not the wind or the fire. Those were signs. The Holy Spirit Himself is God, and He is a Person who knows you and loves you.

Another Helper. The night before the cross, Jesus said, “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). Abide means stay. The Holy Spirit came to stay.

Just like Jesus. Another means another one of the same kind. The disciples had Jesus beside them. Now they would have a Helper just like Jesus living inside them.

He, not it. Jesus always called the Spirit He. “He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). Only a person can teach.

He guides. “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The Spirit helps us understand God's Word.

He prays for us. “The Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Romans 8:26). Intercession means praying for someone. When you do not know what to pray, He helps. He understands your feelings even when you cannot put them into words.

He chooses. The Spirit gives gifts to each believer “as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Wills means decides. A force cannot decide anything. A person can.

He is God. When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, Peter said, “You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:4). Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God.

From the very beginning. At creation, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit is not new. He has always been God.

One God. Jesus told us to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). One name, three Persons. Christians call this the Trinity.

What we learn. The Holy Spirit is God, equal with the Father and the Son. He is not a feeling or a power we use. He is a Person we can know and love.

What to do. This week, before you read your Bible, pray, Holy Spirit, please help me understand and obey Your Word.

Pentecost came with signs: wind, fire and languages. The signs were not the Spirit; they announced Him. The New Testament shows that the Holy Spirit is fully God and a real Person.

Parakletos (John 14:16). The Greek word parakletos (say: pah-RAH-klay-tos) means one called to your side, a helper, comforter or advocate. Jesus said He would send “another Helper.” Another here means another of the same kind. The Spirit is to the disciples what Jesus had been to them: teacher, comforter and constant companion.

He, not it. The word for spirit in the Bible is the same word used for wind and breath. Yet Jesus never spoke of the Spirit as a thing. In John 16:13 He says “He, the Spirit of truth.” Jesus spoke of a Person.

He has a mind and a will. He teaches (John 14:26), guides (John 16:13), intercedes “with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26) and distributes gifts “as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11). These are the actions of a Person.

He can be wronged. Ananias lied to Him (Acts 5:3), and Paul warns believers not to grieve Him (Ephesians 4:30). You cannot lie to a wind or hurt the feelings of a power.

He is God (Acts 5:3-4). Peter asked, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” and then said, “You have not lied to men but to God.” The two sentences say the same thing.

Creator. The Spirit hovered over the waters (Genesis 1:2). The Hebrew word for spirit also means breath and wind. The God who breathed life into creation breathes new life into believers.

One name (Matthew 28:19). Jesus said “in the name,” not names, “of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The Trinity means one God in three Persons, equal in power and glory.

Pentecost fulfills John 7:39. John wrote, “the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” After the cross, resurrection and ascension, Jesus poured out the Spirit (Acts 2:33).

Application. Talk to God the Holy Spirit as a Person. Thank Him, ask Him for help and listen to Him through Scripture. Treat sin seriously, because it grieves Someone who lives in you.

What the Spirit Does in You

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The same Holy Spirit who came at Pentecost lives in every believer today. He is not only for pastors or grown-ups. He is God's gift to every person who trusts Jesus.

New birth. Jesus said, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The Spirit gives a brand-new life from God. Being born again means God makes you new inside.

Like the wind. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it” (John 3:8). You cannot see the Spirit, but you can see what He does in a person's life.

He lives in you. “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Corinthians 6:19). A temple is where God lives. If you trust Jesus, God lives in you.

You belong. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). He helps you know you belong to God's family.

A new heart. God promised long ago, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27). Statutes are God's rules. The Spirit helps you want to obey.

Fruit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Longsuffering means patient for a long time. Fruit grows slowly as you stay close to Jesus.

Walk with Him. “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The flesh means our selfish wants. The Spirit helps us say no to sin.

Gifts. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:4). Diversities means many different kinds. Every believer gets a gift to help others (12:7).

Gifts with love. Paul said, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts” (1 Corinthians 14:1), and, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (14:40). God's gifts are for today, and they are always used in love. Paul also wrote that the greatest of all is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Power to tell. Jesus promised, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me” (Acts 1:8). The Spirit helps shy people speak about Jesus.

Not by our strength. “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” Says the Lord (Zechariah 4:6). We cannot live for God in our own strength.

What to do. Each morning this week, pray, Holy Spirit, fill me today. Help me love like Jesus and tell someone about Him.

At Pentecost the Spirit came on the whole church. Ever since, He comes to live in each person who trusts Jesus. Romans 8 says, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Romans 8:9). Every true believer has the Spirit.

Born of the Spirit (John 3:5-8). Jesus told Nicodemus that new life comes from God's Spirit: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Being born again is God's work, not ours. It happens when we trust Jesus.

Indwelling. To indwell means to live inside. “The Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). In the Old Testament God's presence filled the tabernacle and temple. Now every believer is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Assurance. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). He gives believers confidence that they belong to God, and He teaches us to pray to God as our Father (Romans 8:15).

The new covenant. Ezekiel 36:26-27 promised a new heart and God's own Spirit within. Pentecost is that promise arriving. The law told people what to do; the Spirit gives the desire and power to do it.

Life now and later. “He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11). The Spirit is God's promise of the resurrection to come.

Fruit and walk (Galatians 5:22-25). Fruit is one word with nine flavors, the character of Jesus growing in us. “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit” (5:25). Walking means step by step, day by day.

Gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). The Greek word charismata (say: kah-RIZ-mah-tah) means gifts of grace. They are given “to each one for the profit of all” (12:7). They are for today, and Paul's rules in chapter 14 show how: love first (14:1), “decently and in order” (14:40), because “God is not the author of confusion but of peace” (14:33).

Boldness (Acts 4:31). After Pentecost the believers prayed and “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.” Being filled can happen again and again.

Application. Ask God daily to fill you with His Spirit. Look for one fruit you need to grow in, and one way to use your gifts to serve someone this week.

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