Who Is The Holy Spirit?

The third person of the Holy Trinity. The man behind the scenes. Always the last in terms of billing, but most certainly not the least.  The Holy Spirit is, in some sense, almost forgotten in the average Christian's life.  Jesus says that you must ask God for the Holy Spirit to enter your life (Luke 11:13), but who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is a man.  Linguistically, terms used to describe God and the Holy Spirit are of a masculine nature.  Throughout both the old and new testaments, references to God use masculine pronouns.  Since the Holy Spirit is considered God, we can use the same masculine term of 'man' or 'him' as well.

So, the Holy Spirit should be considered a person.  Like a typical person, the Holy Spirit is intelligent.  He knows the thoughts of man, and he knows the thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:11).  The Holy Spirit has emotions.  He loves us (Romans 15:30), and can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29).  The Holy Spirit also has free will.  He distributes the gifts of God as he sees fit (1 Corinthians 12:11).  The Holy Spirit is able to speak.  The Holy Spirit speaks to Philip (Acts 8:29), and also to those who were ministering in the church in Antioch (Acts 13:2)

What can we make of the Holy Spirit's personality?  What do we know about him?  For one, he will be our guide, not by his own initiative, but by what he hears, and he will disclose to us what is to come (John 16:13).  Like God, he is omnipresent.  He will never leave our side (Psalm 139:7).  The Holy Spirit is inquisitive and leaves nothing to chance.  He searches all things, even the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).

What role or purpose does the Holy Spirit serve?  God is the creator, Jesus his son is our savior, but what about the Holy Spirit?  We see that the Holy Spirit is our helper (John 14:16), who will be with us forever and even dwell within us (1 Corinthians 3:16).  He is the whisper you hear when you wonder if you're making the right decision, teaching us the ways of God (John 14:26).  He gives us power, courage….the right words…the ability to be proper witnesses to Jesus (Acts 1:8).  The Holy Spirit is the one who, through Jesus, has set us free from the law (Romans 8:1).  Jesus offered himself without blemish, through the Holy Spirit, to cleanse our conscience before God (Hebrews 9:14).

We have seen that the Holy Spirit is a person, who has characteristics, and serves specific purposes, but how does he accomplish his goals?  What does he actually do?  He speaks to us and gives us specific instruction (Acts 13:2) at just the right time (Acts 8:29).  He is the one who helps us pray.  When we cannot collect our thoughts before God, the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, comes to our aid and speaks to God for us (Romans 8:26).  When the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we bear fruit (Galatians 5:22).  The fruit we bear includes love, joy, and peace.  The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus (Matthew 3:16), to dwell in him and so to dwell in us. Anyone who does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, does not belong to Christ (Romans 8:9).

In your prayers, make sure you ask God to bring his Spirit into your life. Allow him to speak to God on your behalf when the words will not come. Allow him to grant you wisdom and peace.  This is his purpose in your life and he will never leave your side.  When you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you will be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).