Who is the Holy Spirit?

By Micah Colbert | February 27, 2020

There is a lot of confusion in the church today about the Holy Spirit. People may know a lot about God the Father and Jesus Christ, but it seems like few have a Biblical understanding of who the Spirit is and what He does. Some think that the Spirit is a feeling or impression that helps people get closer to God. Others believe He is a divine power that enables Christians to experience “breakthroughs” and “deliverance.” If you’ve watched various Christian media programs on TV, you might be tempted to think the Spirit is some kind of bizarre force that knocks people down and causes them lose control of their minds and bodies. These beliefs are not only unbiblical, but also dangerous. If your ideas about the Spirit are divorced from the clear truths of Scripture, you will go astray into all kinds of error and ultimately damage the cause of Christ.

Embracing the Bible’s teachings on the Holy Spirit will radically shape your Christian life. Understanding who the Holy Spirit is enables you to worship God more fully and faithfully. In today’s lesson, we will explore what the Bible says about the person, deity, and names of the Holy Spirit.

The Deity of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is not a force, feeling, or phenomenon. He is not a ghost, or an “it.” He is a Person. Like all persons, He thinks, makes decisions, and feels emotions (Romans 8:27; I Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 4:30; Romans 15:30). The Bible teaches that He is the third Person of the Trinity, co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. Consider the following verses:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit… You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:3-4).

  • Notice the clear assertion Peter makes as he confronts Ananias. To lie to the Spirit is to lie to God. Why? Because the Spirit is God!

These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God (I Corinthians 2:10-11).

  • This text, along with a host of others, reveals that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit “of God.” This title for the Holy Spirit does not mean that He came from God or is a manifestation of God. Rather, the Spirit of God is one in nature and essence with God.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19).

  • This passage, along with 2 Corinthians 13:14, contains what some call the “Trinitarian formula,” demonstrating the truth that there are three distinct Persons within the one Godhead.

The Spirit is not a mystical force or impersonal power. He is a Person – specifically, the third Person of the Godhead. He can have a relationship with you, and you can have a relationship with Him. As you grow in your understanding of the Holy Spirit, you can know the joy of walking in intimate communion with Him, daily receiving His ministry of grace, assurance, and strength.

The Names of the Holy Spirit

In the Bible, names are given to God so that we can understand important truths about His character and work. Below are a few examples of names given to the Holy Spirit that help us understand His unique responsibilities and ministries.

The Helper

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever” (John 14:16).

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26).

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7).

The Spirit’s ministry of assistance is so vital that Jesus said it is better for Christians to have the indwelling Spirit than His bodily presence with them. So how does the Spirit help God’s people? The word translated “Helper” also means comforter, counselor, protector, or advocate. The Spirit comforts us through His ministry of guidance, instruction, and assurance, enabling us to understand and trust in the precious truths of God’s Word (see I Corinthians 2:11-16). The Spirit also strengthens us so that we increasingly have more desire and power to live in obedience to God’s Word.

The Spirit of Truth

“The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:13).

The Holy Spirit is not the author of confusion but the illuminator of truth! The Spirit of truth enables you to understand the meaning, significance, and application of God’s Word as you are diligently study the Scriptures in dependence upon Him.

The Spirit of Life

“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).

The Spirit is author and sustainer of the believer’s spiritual life. At the moment of conversion, Christians receive the Holy Spirit and are liberated from their former bondage to sin. Through the indwelling Spirit, Christians have a new power that enables them to put sin to death (see Romans 8:13) and walk in newness of life (see Romans 8:4).

The Spirit of Glory

“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (I Peter 4:14).

The Spirit is powerfully present with believers when they suffer for the sake of Christ. The Spirit’s presence not only provides great comfort and encouragement, but also strengthens believers to continue in a life of faithfulness to Christ even though they might suffer for it.

Discussion Questions

  • How has your understanding of the Holy Spirit changed or been strengthened because of this study?
  • How does the personhood of the Holy Spirit impact the way you relate to Him?
  • How do the names of the Spirit help you understand more about His character and work?

Micah Colbert pastors Gospel Life Church in Buffalo, NY. You can find his booklet, Good News for All Nations, designed for evangelism in ESL encounters, here.

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