Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is God. Jesus told His disciples to baptize those who become born again, “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19 NKJV) The Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians closed with these words; “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.” (2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV) in Genesis 1:2 says, “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (NKJV) The Psalmist declared; By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath (רוּחַ Same Hebrew word used in Gen 1:2, Ruah.) of His mouth. (Psalm 33:6 NKJV) The Holy Spirit is clearly equal to and of the same eternal essence as the Father and the Son. Charles Ryrie said Not only is the Spirit a person, but He is a unique person, for He is God.1
According to the Apostle Peter, it was the Holy Spirit that spoke to the prophets the very Words of scripture recorded for all of us. “For prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21 NKJV) It is the Holy Spirit that seals us for salvation (Ephesians 1:13 NKJV).
The Holy Spirit is called the Helper by Jesus, who said He would “convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” (John 16:8 NKJV), For disciples and followers of Christ The Holy Spirit is our teacher “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1 John 2:27 NKJV)
As Christians, we are dependent on Him for the work of transformation. He is our teacher, the one who illuminates the understanding of the Word of God, the power that works in us (Zechariah 4:6 NKJV). After Jesus rose from the dead, it says, ‘He breathed on them (His disciples) and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”’ (John 20:22 NKJV) The Spirit is the breath in us that gives life to our dead souls, the guarantee of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14 NKJV). He bears witness that we are children of God (Romans 8:16 NKJV), and the one who personally intercedes for us with the Father and the Son (Romans 8:26-27 NKJV).
- Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 397.