The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood of the three Persons of the Godhead. He’s oftentimes referred to as “it”. Many people liken Him to “The Force”, seen in the popular Star Wars movies. Others confuse Him with a ghost, like in Paranormal Activity. And still others completely ignore or forget about Him. Now, while there is a degree of mystery that surrounds the Holy Spirit, He is not an “it”, impersonal, or a scary ghost. So, who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. He is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son and is of the same essence…yet He is also distinct from them. He is eternal and He has his own personality. He has emotions, intellect, and will (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Corinthians 2:10–14), showing He is not just an impersonal force…He’s God, and God is love. Scripture also says He teaches, intercedes, guides, and comforts us (John 14:26; Romans 8:14; Romans 8:26). He works on our lives and makes a difference, and without Him, transformation is not possible.
What’s more is, without the Holy Spirit the resurrection is not possible. [1 Peter 3:18][1pe318] says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.” And Romans 8:11 shows His role in the resurrection of the believer. For it’s through the person of the Holy Spirit that the body of a believer is raised from the dead and reunited with the soul, which has already passed into the Lord’s presence. So, as we can see, the Holy Spirit is essential, because without Him our faith would be useless ([1 Corinthians 15:14][1co1514]). If there was no resurrection, there would be no point to Christianity.
Hopefully, this has piqued your interest in learning more about the Holy Spirit. I hope you all continue with us on this 6-week journey of really getting to know the Holy Spirit.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. -Romans 8:26
