Understanding the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the person of God in the concept of the Trinity. God the Father and Jesus Christ are two other persons of the Trinity of God. He has unique attributes that identify precisely whom He is as a living human being – using His intelligence, emotions, and will. He speaks (Revelation 2: 7; Acts 13: 2), He intercedes (Romans 8:26), He testifies (John 16:13), He leads (Acts 8:29; Romans 8:14), He guides (John 16:13) and He refers (Acts 20:28). He can be deceived (Acts 5: 3, 4), He can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29) and He can grieve (Ephesians 4:30).

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was present in the lives of selected individuals and remained only for a short time. Samson was able to overcome the power of his enemies through the power of the Spirit of God (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14). In the Gospels, He is present with the disciples as they follow, watch, and learn from Jesus. During this time, He is the Spirit of truth, and His character emerges when He connects people with the truth of God. In the second chapter of Acts, each person in the assembled crowd heard Peter’s sermon in the language that each of the collected individuals spoke. Each person accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah for the first time (Acts 2). When an individual invites Jesus to come into a personal relationship with him, that individual is also receiving spiritual guidance. Jesus tells his disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them, the Spirit of truth will guide all believers and followers of Jesus as the promised Messiah into all of God’s truth (John 16:13).

New Testament scriptures explain how the Holy Ghost helps each individual who has accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. He entered the body of believers who were ready to receive Him through preparation and obedience to the authority of the scriptures. Christians see good from evil, right from wrong and spiritual truth. Christians who filled with the power of the Holy Spirit are more in tune with His conscience that directs Christians to live a holy life. Starting with the first Pentecost described in Acts to this day, the Holy Spirit is described as being among God’s people. (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Christians are subject to the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding human thought and open emotions to receive His fruits. Fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22). Christians receive guidance and direction from Him every day. Obedience to God through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit working in someone means that He does His work through the individual. The fruit of the Trinity is the life of Jesus Christ, in the daily life of every Christian.