The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is fully God, equal with the Father and the Son, and he is a person, not a force or a feeling. The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible, he gives new life to everyone who trusts in Jesus, and he lives inside every believer to guide, comfort and transform them to be more like Christ.
The Holy Spirit Is Fully God
Depending on your church background, you may have heard the Holy Spirit called the Holy Ghost, referred to as “it,” or described as a good feeling during worship. Maybe you’ve hardly heard of him at all. The Bible teaches that there is one God who eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is a full member of the Trinity.
Acts 5:3-4 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
Notice what Peter says. Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit, and in doing so he lied to God. The Holy Spirit isn’t a lesser being or an energy God sends out; he is fully God, just like the Father and the Son. The Trinity can be hard to wrap our minds around, but Scripture is clear that the Spirit shares fully in God’s nature.
The Holy Spirit Is a Person
It can feel strange to think of a spirit as a person, but the Bible consistently describes the Holy Spirit in personal terms. He teaches (John 14:26), he speaks, he intercedes for us (Romans 8:26), and he can be grieved.
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
You can’t grieve a force or hurt the feelings of electricity. The Holy Spirit is someone, not something. That’s why it’s best to refer to him as “he” rather than “it.” Seeing him as a person helps us understand that he is just as real and important as the Father and Jesus, and that we can have a real relationship with him.
The Holy Spirit Inspired the Bible
The Bible was written by more than forty human authors, yet it tells one unified story. That’s because the Holy Spirit guided every one of them. When Paul says Scripture is “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), he’s describing the Spirit’s work of breathing out God’s word through human writers.
2 Peter 1:20-21 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
One of the Holy Spirit’s most important roles is inspiring the biblical authors. That’s why we can trust the Bible as God’s own word. And the same Spirit who inspired Scripture helps believers understand it and apply it to their lives today.
The Holy Spirit Gives Us New Life
Regeneration is the theological word for the new birth that happens when someone puts their faith in Jesus. Our hearts and minds are changed, and we’re born again into God’s family. Jesus explained this to a religious leader named Nicodemus who came to see him at night.
John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
We can’t make ourselves spiritually alive any more than we could cause our own physical birth. The Holy Spirit does that work, cleansing us and giving us a new heart that loves God and wants to serve him. Then he stays, living in every believer to guide, comfort and transform us. If you’d like to learn more about putting your faith in Jesus, check out How can I become a Christian?
The Takeaway
Who is the Holy Spirit? He is fully God, the third person of the Trinity, and a real person you can know. He inspired the Bible, he gives new life to everyone who trusts in Jesus, and he lives in every believer to lead them into a life that honors God.
