God’s Holy Spirit

There have been many interesting conversations that I have had with individuals, many of them Christian, about the Holy Spirit and the Trinity itself. Although scripture details the existence of a Trinity, there are those who state that God does not exist in Trinity form but rather, is a duality and that the spirit is actually a separate entity than the Father and the Son. Again, though, we are unable to Biblically do this.

Perhaps the most understood parts of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit and while we are unable to see God’s Spirit work and maneuver, if you believe and accept the Holy Bible as the literal word of God then there is no way to deny He exists. Yes, I said He as the spirit is a literal being and a significant part of the Trinity Godhead. Therefore, we are able to conclude that the Holy Spirit is a part of God but more so, a person.

Typically, when we think of a person, we think of someone who has emotions and unique characteristics. When we adhere to God’s word, we are able to clearly see that the Holy Spirit does, in fact, have emotions, is able to function like the rest of us, and has unique characteristics. Most of us understand that God communicates with us through the Holy Spirit and communication is a function that we all share and we see this different times in God’s word including in the Book of Acts: “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2).

The Holy Spirit is loving just like God but we must understand that the Holy Spirit is God. Think back to the very beginning of creation when God created time, space and matter which began human history. God personally said lets “make man in our image” and “after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26) and then in the very next verse, we are told that God is created man in His image (Genesis 1:27). This is not a contradiction but rather, just a play with words. That is, “our” refers to God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and “our” is plural whereas “his” is singular. Here, it is easy to see that God sees Himself as three distinct individuals who serve as one essence or, one in the same.

Some people say that God was speaking to the angels but we can dismiss this as nowhere in scripture are we told that angels share the same likeness as God or man. Let’s look at what God tells us about baptism. This is important because we are instructed to be baptized not just with God but in the “name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Mathew 28:19). Just as we read about God creating man, we read that the Holy Spirit also gives life: “. Because of what Christ Jesus has done, you are free. You are now controlled by the law of the Holy Spirit who gives you life. The law of the Spirit frees you from the law of sin that brings death” (Romans 8:2). Not only does the Holy Spirit give life but it was He that sent Jesus (Luke 4:18-19).

We can go on and on and on about what the Holy Spirit does and describe His personality and other traits but we do not have to. In fact, we do not have to do anything but truth God’s word. Here, we find all that we need to know about everything related to God. Many times, people are quick to make God too complicated and while there are many studies that do have to be conducted to truly understand God, our faith in what the Bible says who He is and what He does is the cornerstone of our relationship with Christ. Rather than listening to the world in trying to figure and understand God, we must trust Him and the best place to abide is in His word (John 15:5-7).