There are many misunderstandings regarding the Holy Spirit. Some consider it a mystical force; others think it is the impersonal power of God to save people. So what does the Bible have to tell us about him? Who is the Holy Spirit? Here are ten things you should know about the person, nature, and work of the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is not a power or a force. Scripture attributes a distinctive personality to him, just like the Father and the Son (Mt. 3:16-17; Jn.14:16-17).
2. The New Testament mentions the Holy Spirit constantly:
- 56 times in the gospels.
- 57 times in the book of Acts.
- 112 times in Paul’s letters.
- 36 times in the rest of the New Testament.
3. The Holy Spirit thinks, knows language, has a will, can be treated as a person, can be lied to, tested, resisted, and grieved (Acts 5:3; 7: 51).
4. In the Word we find the affirmation of His divinity. The Holy Spirit possesses the divine attributes: omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, eternity (1Co. 2:10,11; Ps.139:7; Zec 4:6; He. 9:14).
5. The Holy Spirit is called in different ways throughout the New Testament:
- The Spirit of God (1 Cor. 3:16)
- The Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9)
- The Eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14)
- The Spirit of Truth (John 16:13)
- The Spirit of Grace (Acts 10:29)
6. We can see the Holy Spirit from the Old Testament doing various activities, such as:
- Working in creation (Gen. 1:2).
- He gives breath to men and animals (Gen. 2:7; 6:3).
- Training men for battle (Judg. 3:10)
- Empowering the prophets to announce the message of the Lord (Mic. 3:8)
7. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was in the midst of God’s people (Is. 63:11) and trained certain men for special tasks (Ex. 31:3; Judg. 6:34; 11:29). However, it was not given to everyone and could be withdrawn (Judg. 13:25; 16:20; Ps. 51:11).
8. The first work of the Holy Spirit in man is to convict of sin (Jn. 16:8,11) and of the reality of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. This he does through preaching (Acts 2:37; 1 Thes 1:5) and the exercise of spiritual gifts (1Co 14:24-25).
9. The Holy Spirit is promised to (Acts 2:38) and is a gift received through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:13; 3:16-17; Gal. 3:2,5).
10. The Holy Spirit is the one who produces the work of regeneration in us. He is the seal of our salvation, ”In Him you too, after hearing the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and having believed, were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is given to us as a guarantee of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s purchased possession, to the praise of His glory”(Eph. 1:13-14).