The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God at work—creating, speaking, transforming us, living within us, working in us. Although the Holy Spirit can do this work without our knowledge, it is helpful for us to know more.
The Holy Spirit is God
The Holy Spirit has the attributes of God, is equated with God and does work that only God does. Like God, the Spirit is holy—so holy that insulting the Spirit is just as sinful as trampling the Son of God under foot (Hebrews 10:29). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable sin (Matthew 12:32). This indicates that the Spirit is holy by nature rather than having an assigned holiness such as the temple had.
Like God, the Holy Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). Like God, the Holy Spirit is everywhere present (Psalm 139:7-9). Like God, the Holy Spirit knows everything (1 Corinthians 2:10-11; John 14:26). The Holy Spirit creates (Job 33:4; Psalm 104:30) and empowers miracles (Matthew 12:28; Romans 15:18-19), doing the work or ministry of God.
Several passages discuss the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as equally divine. In a discussion of spiritual gifts, Paul puts the Spirit, the Lord, and God in parallel constructions (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). He closes a letter with a three-part prayer (2 Corinthians 13:14). Peter begins a letter with a different three-part formula (1 Peter 1:2). These are not proof of unity, but they support it.
The baptismal formula has a stronger indication of unity—”in the name [singular] of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). The three have one name, indicating one essence and being.
When the Holy Spirit does something, God is doing it. When the Holy Spirit speaks, God is speaking. When Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, he lied to God (Acts 5:3-4). As Peter said, Ananias did not lie to God’s representative, but to God himself. People do not “lie” to an impersonal power.
In one passage, Paul says that Christians are a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19); in another he says that we are God’s temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). A temple is for the worship of a divine being, not an impersonal power. When Paul writes “temple of the Holy Spirit,” he implies that the Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit and God are also equated in Acts 13:2: “The Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” In this verse, the Holy Spirit speaks with personal pronouns, speaking as God. Similarly, the Holy Spirit says that the Israelites “tested and tried me”; the Holy Spirit says that “I was angry…. They shall never enter my rest” (Hebrews 3:7-11).
But the Holy Spirit is not just another name for God. The Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son, as shown in Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:16-17). The three are distinct, but one.
The Holy Spirit does the work of God in our lives. We are born of God (John 1:12), which is the same as being born of the Spirit (John 3:5). The Holy Spirit is the means by which God lives in us (Ephesians 2:22; 1 John 3:24; 4:13). The Holy Spirit lives in us (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16)—and because the Spirit lives in us, we can say that God lives in us.
The Spirit is personal
Scripture describes the Holy Spirit as having personal characteristics.
- The Spirit lives (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 3:16).
- The Spirit speaks (Acts 8:29; 10:19; 11:12; 21:11; 1 Timothy 4:1; Hebrews 3:7; etc.).
- The Spirit sometimes uses the personal pronoun “I” (Acts 10:20; 13:2).
- The Spirit may be spoken to, tested, grieved, insulted or blasphemed (Acts 5:3, 9; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 10:29; Matthew 12:31).
- The Spirit guides, intercedes, calls and commissions (Romans 8:14, 26; Acts 13:2; 20:28).
Romans 8:27 refers to the “mind” of the Spirit. He makes judgments—a decision “seemed good” to the Holy Spirit (Acts 15:28). The Spirit “knows” and “determines” (1 Corinthians 2:11; 12:11). This is not an impersonal power.
Jesus called the Holy Spirit the parakletos—translated as the Comforter, the Advocate or the Counselor. “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17). Like Jesus, the disciples’ first Counselor, the Holy Spirit teaches, testifies, convicts, guides and reveals truth (John 14:26; 15:26; 16:8, 13-14). These are personal roles.
John uses the masculine form of the Greek word parakletos; it was not necessary to use a neuter word. In John 16:14, masculine pronouns (he) are used even after the neuter word “Spirit” is mentioned. It would have been easy to switch to neuter pronouns (it), but John does not. The Spirit may be called he. However, grammar is relatively unimportant; what is important is that the Holy Spirit has personal characteristics. He is not an impersonal power, but the intelligent and divine Helper who lives within us.
The Spirit in the Old Testament
The Bible does not have a section titled “The Holy Spirit.” We learn about the Spirit a little here and a little there, as Scripture happens to mention what the Spirit does. The Old Testament gives us only a few glimpses.
The Spirit was involved in creating everything and keeping it going (Genesis 1:2; Job 33:4; 34:14). The Spirit of God gave a man skill to build the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3-5). He filled Moses and came upon the 70 elders (Numbers 11:25). He filled Joshua with wisdom and filled leaders such as Samson with an ability to fight (Deuteronomy 34:9; Judges 6:34; 14:6).
God’s Spirit was given to Saul and later taken away (1 Samuel 10:6; 16:14). The Spirit gave David plans for the temple (1 Chronicles 28:12). The Spirit inspired prophets to speak (Numbers 24:2; 2 Samuel 23:2; 1 Chronicles 12:18; 2 Chronicles 15:1; 20:14; Ezekiel 11:5; Zechariah 7:12; 2 Peter 1:21).
In the New Testament, too, the Spirit caused people to speak, including Elizabeth, Zechariah and Simeon (Luke 1:41, 67; 2:25-32). John the Baptist was filled with the Spirit from birth (Luke 1:15). John’s most important work was announcing the arrival of Jesus, who would baptize people not only with water, but with “the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16).
The Spirit in Jesus’ life
The Holy Spirit was involved throughout Jesus’ life. The Spirit…
- caused his conception (Matthew 1:20),
- came to him in a visible way at his baptism (Matthew 3:16),
- led him into the desert (Luke 4:1),
- appointed him to preach the gospel (Luke 4:18),
- enabled him to drive out demons (Matthew 12:28).
Through the Spirit, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 9:14). By that same Spirit, he was raised from the dead (Romans 8:11).
The Spirit at work in God’s people
Jesus taught that the Spirit would speak through his disciples in times of persecution (Matthew 10:19-20). He told them to baptize followers in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). He said that God would give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13).
Some of Jesus’ most important teachings about the Holy Spirit come in the Gospel of John. First, people must be “born of water and Spirit” (John 3:5). People need a spiritual renewal, and this does not come from inside themselves: it is a gift of God. Although spirit can’t be seen, the Holy Spirit does make a difference in our lives (verse 8).
Jesus also taught, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37-38). John adds this explanation: “He said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive” (verse 39).
The Holy Spirit satisfies an internal thirst. He gives us the relationship with God that we were created for. We receive the Spirit by coming to Jesus, and the Spirit can fill our lives.
John also tells us, “As yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). The Spirit had been in various people before Jesus, but the Spirit would soon come in a more powerful way. The Spirit is now given on a larger scale: to all who call on the name of the Lord (Acts 2:38-39).
Jesus promised that the Spirit of truth would live in them (John 14:16-18). This is like Jesus himself coming to his disciples (verse 18), because the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ as well as the Spirit of the Father. He is sent by Jesus as well as by the Father (John 15:26). The Spirit makes Jesus available to everyone and continues his work.
Jesus promised that the Spirit would teach the disciples and remind them of what Jesus had taught (John 14:26). The Spirit taught them things that they could not understand before Jesus’ resurrection (John 16:12-13).
The Spirit testifies about Jesus (John 15:26; 16:14). He does not call attention to himself, but leads people to Jesus Christ and the Father. He speaks only what the Father wants him to say (John 16:13). It is for our good that Jesus left and sent the Spirit (John 16:7). As a human, Jesus could be in only one place at a time, but the Spirit can live in millions of people.
The Spirit works in evangelism, convicting the world of their sin, their guilt, their need for righteousness, and the certainty of judgment (John 16:8-10). The Holy Spirit points people to Jesus as the solution to guilt and the source of righteousness.
What does the Spirit do in the church?
John the Baptist said that Jesus would baptize people in the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:8). This happened on the day of Pentecost after his resurrection, when the Spirit gave new power to the disciples (Acts 2). This included words that people from other nations could understand (verse 6). Similar miracles happened a few other times as the church grew (Acts 10:44-46; 19:1-6).
Paul says that all believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit into one body—the church (1 Corinthians 12:13). Everyone who has faith in Jesus is given the Holy Spirit (Galatians 3:14). People do not need to seek a miracle as proof of this; we simply have faith that God does for us just as Jesus promised.
The Bible does not command anyone to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Instead, believers are encouraged to be continually filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)—to respond to him in everything. This is a continuing relationship, not a one-time event. Rather than seeking a miracle, we are to seek God, and we leave it to God’s decision as to whether miracles happen.
Paul often describes the power of God not in terms of miracles, but in the changes that come in a person’s life. The Spirit gives us hope, love, patience, understanding, a willingness to help others, to preach boldly and to be faithful even when suffering (Romans 15:13; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Ephesians 3:7, 16-18; Colossians 1:11, 28-29; 2 Timothy 1:7-8). These are miracles—God is changing what we think and feel.
The book of Acts tells us that the Spirit was involved in the life and growth of the church. The Spirit gave the disciples power to tell people about Jesus (Acts 1:8). He helped the disciples preach boldly (Acts 4:8, 31; 6:10). He gave instructions to Philip and moved him from one place to another (Acts 8:29, 39).
The Spirit encouraged the church and set leaders in it (Acts 9:31; 20:28). He spoke to Peter and to the church at Antioch (10:19; 11:12; 13:2). He inspired Agabus to predict a famine (11:28). He led Paul and Barnabas on their journeys (13:4; 16:6-7) and helped an early church meeting come to a decision (15:28). He sent Paul to Jerusalem and warned him what would happen (20:22-23; 21:11). The church existed and grew only through the Spirit working in the believers.
The Spirit and believers today
God the Holy Spirit is involved in the life of believers today.
- He leads us to repentance and gives us new life (John 16:8; 3:5-6).
- He lives in us, teaches us and leads us (1 Corinthians 2:10-13; John 14:16-17, 26; Romans 8:14). He leads us through Scripture, prayer and other Christians.
- He is the Spirit of wisdom, helping us look at choices with confidence, love and self-control (Ephesians 1:17; 2 Timothy 1:7).
- The Spirit seals us and sanctifies us, setting us apart for God’s purpose (Romans 2:29; Ephesians 1:14).
- He produces in us love and the fruit of righteousness (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 5:9; Galatians 5:22-23).
- He puts us into the church and helps us know that we are God’s children
(1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:14-16).
We are to worship God “by the Spirit,” with our minds set on what the Spirit wants (Philippians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 7:6; 8:4-5). We try to please him (Galatians 6:8). If we are led by the Spirit, he gives us life and peace (Romans 8:6). He connects us to the Father (Ephesians 2:18). He helps us when we are weak, and speaks up for us (Romans 8:26-27).
The Holy Spirit also gives spiritual gifts, including leaders for the church (Ephesians 4:11), basic functions within the church (Romans 12:6-8), and some unusual abilities (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). No one has every gift, nor is any gift given to everyone (verses 28-30). All gifts, whether spiritual or “natural,” should be used “for the common good,” to help the church (1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:12). Every gift is important (12:22-26).
In this age, we have only the firstfruits of the Spirit, or to put it in financial words, the Spirit is like a deposit that guarantees that much more will be given in the future (Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14).
In summary, the Holy Spirit is God at work in our lives. Everything God does in our lives is done through his Spirit. That’s why Paul encourages us: “Be guided by the Spirit…. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…. Do not quench the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 5:19). Be attentive to what the Spirit says. When he speaks, God is speaking.
Author: Michael Morrison, edited 2026
