In Christianity, the Holy Spirit is essentially the most mysterious a part of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We understand God the Father because the Creator, Jesus as his Son and the Savior, however the Holy Spirit will not be easily defined. Some fear him. Others consider his work ended after the primary century, while some believers embrace his work and presence of their lives. Despite which camp you end up in regards to the Holy Spirit, he is simply too essential to brush under a theological rug. In fact, I’m hopeful as we unpack what the Holy Spirit means in Christianity, we’ll not fear him but realize the essential role he plays in Christians’ lives today.
What Is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit may look like a “’what,” however the Holy Spirit is a “who.” He’s an individual. In order to grasp this higher, it’s helpful to define the Trinity. The Nicaea Council developed the doctrine of the Trinity in 325 CE to refute a theological dispute over the character of Christ.
The Trinity was described as God, one in three individuals. I do know that sounds confusing. Clarence Haynes Jr. explains it this manner in his article on the Trinity, “These three individuals are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent. This means they’re equal in essence and nature, they’re everlasting, and so they are distinct from one another.” Perhaps the word “co-equal” may allow you to understand this idea of the Trinity essentially the most. It helps me.
Though the Trinity is a Christian doctrine, and Christians concentrate on the New Testament, the Holy Spirit may be present in the Old Testament too. In Hebrew, the Ruach which suggests “breath, wind, and spirit,” and the HaKodesh which suggests “holy and sacred,” appears in the primary verses of Genesis: “In the start God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2 NIV addition mine).
The Hebrew name of God in Genesis 1 can be essential. It reveals the three-in-one God. This name is Elohim. Elohim is a Hebrew majestic noun. Though used as a singular noun, it’s plural. We can see the plurality (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) within the twenty-sixth verse:
“Then God (Elohim) said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, in order that they might rule over the fish in the ocean and the birds within the sky, over the livestock and all of the wild animals, and over all of the creatures that move along the bottom” (Genesis 1:26 NIV addition mine).
Can you imagine Father, Son, and Holy Spirit bending over, forming a person, and respiration life into Adam? Though he made a grand entrance within the upper room on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit participated within the creation of the celebs, the sunrise, and eyelashes. He has played a very important role in each the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Role of the Holy Spirit
We witnessed his role in creation, however the Holy Spirit’s primary role within the Old Testament was empowering God’s anointed. The anointing oil was poured over men chosen to be kings, prophets, and priests of the Most High. This oil represented the Spirit. Samuel anointed each Saul and David to be king, though Saul would at some point lose the Spirit of God. Aaron and his sons were anointed as priests. Prophets like Elijah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah were anointed and empowered by the Spirit. The prophet Isaiah wrote:
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
since the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim excellent news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the yr of the Lord’s favor. . .”
Isaiah 61: 1-2
Isaiah wrote these words 700 years before Jesus read this passage within the Synagogue in Capernaum. As he spoke, all fell silent. They couldn’t take their eyes off Jesus. When he sat down he proclaimed, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21b).
The Holy Spirit played a very important role initially of Jesus’ ministry. He was present at his baptism, landing upon him as a dove (Matthew 3: 16-17). He also led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested for forty day and forty nights (Luke 4:1-2).
Others experienced the Spirit’s power before Jesus’s ministry. The Holy Spirit filled John the Baptist from birth (Luke 1:15), and scripture details the Spirit filling John’s mother, Elizabeth, on the sound of Mary’s voice (Luke 1:41). The Spirit’s empowering presence was experienced before Jesus and by him, however the Spirit’s role modified after Christ’s death.
How Christians Experience the Holy Spirit
Only hours before his arrest, Jesus tried to organize his disciples, comforting them with the promise of the Holy Spirit. He told them, “I’ll ask the Father, and he provides you with one other Counselor to be with you perpetually—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17a NIV). “Counselor” was translated from parakletos, a Greek word meaning advocate, helper, or comforter. Jesus promised the disciples they might know the Spirit because he lived with them and in them. They wouldn’t be alone.
After the resurrection, right before his ascension, Jesus instructed his disciples to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the gift, the helper he had promised. He explained, “For John baptized with water, but in a number of days you might be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5 NIV). And they were.
On that day of Pentecost, the Ruach (breath or wind) of the Holy Spirit blew down from heaven filling the upper room where they awaited God’s gift. Luke described that they were crammed with the Spirit and started to talk in numerous languages because the Spirit “enabled them” (Acts 2:4).
Jerusalem was crammed with Jews from everywhere in the land that day due to the Jewish celebration of Shavuot—a two day celebration held fifty days after Passover that commemorates the day God gave the law to the Israelites at Mount Sanai. On the exact same day Jews had come together to rejoice the law, God gave them one other. He gave them the law of the Spirit of Life (Romans 8:1-2). He enabled those crammed with his Spirit to share the gospel in languages they’d never known, and three thousand were saved. This, by the best way, was the identical number of people that died at Mt. Sanai due to the golden calf. (Exodus 32). It was a moment of redemption and the success of Ezekiel’s prophesy that God’s law could be written on their hearts (Ezekiel 11:19-20).
Today, Christians experience the Holy Spirit as their paraclete. He empowers us when we want strength, fills us with peace as our comforter, and leads us to truth. He guides us, convicts us of sin, and changes us from the within out.
Emily Hall explains, “The Holy Spirit is an individual, reasonably than a depersonalized force. And the Holy Spirit is the agent by which Christians transform (2 Corinthians 3:18) and grow in holiness.
Holiness is the opposite half of the Spirit’s name we frequently overlook. Many of us begin our faith journey focused on our everlasting salvation. But Christ didn’t die simply to get us into heaven, he died to usher within the Kingdom of God—a kingdom of “holy” people on this earth. The Apostle Peter wrote, “But you might be a selected people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that it’s possible you’ll declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).
Misunderstandings in regards to the Holy Spirit
The mystery of the Holy Spirit causes many misunderstandings. Some consider he’s a force reasonably than an individual. They think he’ll come and go, however the Spirit is at all times with us. He lives inside us. We might not be aware, but he waits for our give up to more of him and fewer of our will and way. He can usher peace into essentially the most anxious heart and joy into the broken soul.
The Holy Spirit’s presence is just a taste of what’s ahead. He’s gentle and sensible. His fruit is love and peace, joy, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). This is what we are able to expect as we grow to be more aware of his presence in our lives.
Frequently Asked Questions in regards to the Holy Spirit
One query asked in regards to the Holy Spirit is how we receive him. What do we want to do to be crammed with him? If he’s empowering, peace-giving, and joy-giving, we wish him, right? The answer could be very easy, though we’ve often made it confusing and sophisticated.
We receive the Holy Spirit once we’re baptized. In his famous Pentecost sermon, Peter told those asking the best way to be saved, “Repent and be baptized, every considered one of you, within the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you’ll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your kids and for all who’re far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:38-39).
Though we could have been baptized, a few of us query why we aren’t experiencing him. We compare ourselves to others who appear to flow within the Spirit. Did we miss the Holy Spirit? My friends, stand on the scripture that guarantees his gift at baptism. Philip Wajaya answers this query simply. In his article, “How Do We Receive the Holy Spirit,” he explains that every one we want to do is ask. Talk to him. Ask the Holy Spirit to allow you to give up to his leading and grow to be more aware of his presence and gifts.
The gifts of the Spirit also bring up questions. What are they, and do they exist today? These are the gifts in response to Corinthians 12:8-10:
- Wisdom
- Knowledge
- Faith
- Healing
- Miracles
- Prophecy
- Discerning spirits
- Tongues
- Interpreting Tongues
The query of whether or not these gifts exist today is explained by Raymond Goodlett: “I get that query rather a lot, by way of, ‘have these sensational gifts continued today, or did they pass away in the course of the first century with the apostles?’ And truthfully, I still have some questions on a few of those. But if I just go from First Corinthians chapter 13, where I currently lean, is that we should always make room in our understanding of this stuff to say that they still proceed, nevertheless that appears practically in the way it’s displayed through the lifetime of believers.”
We Need the Holy Spirit
In conclusion, we want the Holy Spirit. Often ignored or downplayed within the Church, the Holy Spirit is important for our salvation. Paul wrote: “And you furthermore may were included in Christ while you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who’s a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those that are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).
We need him. We need this third person of the Trinity who at all times has been and at all times might be. Living on the opposite side of the cross, the Holy Spirit has been given to all who trust in Jesus, not only the few who’ve been anointed to function kings, prophets, or priests. We all have been anointed and crammed with him. He helps us, guides, and makes us holy. The Holy Spirit means every thing in Christianity.
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Andy Lee is an event speaker, blogger, YouTuber, and award winning writer of three books, A Mary Like Me; The Book of Ruth Key-Word Bible Study, and Radiant Influence: How an extraordinary girl modified the world. She passionately teaches the best way to find life in God’s Word with a view to live abundantly. You can catch her life giving messages weekly on Instagram and YouTube. She also provides monthly Bible reading plans and articles on her website www.wordsbyandylee.
