Who is the Person of the Holy Spirit?
-
The Holy Spirit’s participation in the creation
Genesis 1:1-3
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
The Hebrew word for “Spirit” is Ruach which means breath, wind, spirit. Heb. Strong’s# 7307
Job 26:13
13 By His breath the heavens gained their beauty; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
Psalm 33:6
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.
Psalm 104:30
30 When You send Your breath, they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.
-
The Holy Spirit’s participation in creating man on the earth
Genesis 1:26
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”
Job 33:4
4 The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
The Holy Spirit is revealed as the third Person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. God (The Holy Spirit) creates and gives life to all the creatures on the face of the earth.
-
The foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit in the old covenant
Genesis 17:7, 9-11
7 I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the God of your offspring after you.
9 God also said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations are to keep My covenant. 10 This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised. 11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
The circumcision of the flesh, which separated you from the world and shows that you belong to God, was a foreshadow of the role of the Holy Spirit towards a believer. Those who will receive the Holy Spirit will be a distinguishing mark, that they are no longer from the world.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances.
-
The fulfillment of the covenant of circumcision in the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:4-5
4 While He was together with them, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “This,” He said, “is what you heard from Me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 2:1-4
1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech.
Romans 2:29
On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart–by the Spirit, not the letter. That man’s praise is not from men but from God.
-
The Holy Spirit’s function in the new covenant through faith in Jesus Christ
- He will be your counselor and will lead you to God’s truth (the Word of God)
John 14:16-17
16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.
The word “Counselor” means that He will be an intercessor. He will comfort us in tribulation and will help us overcome.
The phrase “the Spirit of truth” means that the Holy Spirit will always lead you to the truth, the Scriptures, and He will give you understanding of God’s Word.
John 16:13
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.
1 John 2:20 (Emphasis added)
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge (know the truth).
1 John 2:27 (Emphasis added)
The anointing (the Holy Spirit) you received from Him remains in you, and you don’t need anyone to teach you. Instead, His anointing (the Holy Spirit) teaches you about all things and is true and is not a lie; just as He has taught you, remain in Him.
-
The Holy Spirit is a seal, the evidence of your redemption (salvation)
Romans 8:16
The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children
Romans 8:14
All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22
21 Now it is God who strengthens us, with you, in Christ and has anointed us. 22 He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.
The Holy Spirit dwells in men’s heart through faith in Jesus Christ. He washes away our iniquities (John 4:10-24) and empowers us to walk according to God’s Word.
Galatians 5:16
I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
The Holy Spirit is God living inside of all Christians. He will always direct you to the Scriptures and no other spiritual book to feed your faith. He will convict you of sin so that you may repent. He will change you into the image of Jesus Christ, that you may be pleasing in the Lord’s sight. Without the Holy Spirit living in your heart, you cannot have eternal life. You will not be able to know God’s will. You won’t understand the Bible and love what is good.
The theology or the study of the Holy Spirit is very important because we must understand God’s role in each Person of the Trinity.
- God the Father
We pray to the Father for His will to be done and ask Him for forgiveness.
- God the Son
We finish our prayer to the Father in Jesus’ name which shows the Father that we have been washed by the blood of the Lamb. Through Jesus Christ, we have access to God the Father’s throne room.
- God the Holy Spirit
We ask the Lord to give us boldness and to reveal His truth by His Spirit. The Spirit of God also prays on our behalf when we don’t know what to pray for with words deeper than ours since He knows God the Father’s thoughts.
Romans 8:26-27
26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
A genuine believer is based upon having the Holy Spirit indwelling them.
Have you been changed after believing in Jesus? Is there any evidence that the Spirit of God lives inside of you? If not, ask Jesus today to give you His Spirit and confess Jesus as Lord. Believe that He died for you and on the third day He rose from the grave.
Spiritual Minefield 