Who is the Holy Spirit?

Have you ever met someone famous and found them to be different from what you had always imagined?

Understanding who the Holy Spirit is is a bit like that because of preconceived ideas taught by men that do not match what the Bible says.

The doctrine of the trinity teaches that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The doctrine describes the Godhead as: “One God in three persons,” or “Three faces of the one God.”

This is where it gets tricky.

The Holy Spirit is referred to as a servant of God, the Spirit of God, or a Spirit sent from God. But nowhere in the Bible is the Holy Spirit ever called “God.” To understand who the Holy Spirit is, we need to look at the evidence from the scriptures to find the truth.

In Acts 2:1-4, the early disciples first received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit appeared as fire and rushing winds. In John 14:26 and John 15:26, the work of the Holy Spirit is described. The Spirit serves God by teaching, counseling, comforting, protecting, and guiding the people of God. The Holy Spirit is also a gift sent from God, which we see in Acts 2:38 and Luke 11:13. This last point begs the question, can God give God as a gift, if indeed the Holy Spirit is God?

This gives us an insight into the nature and purpose of the Holy Spirit in God’s grand plan for mankind. When we understand these things, the scriptures tell us who the Holy Spirit is.

Hebrews chapter 1 shows a comparison between Jesus and the angels, where Jesus is clearly elevated above the angels. In verse 8, God the Father calls the Son “God,” but the Father does not offer such esteem to the angels. Instead, in verse 7, He says:

Of the angels he says, "Who makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire." (Hebrews 1:7)

This prophecy was fulfilled when the disciples received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit came upon them in the forms of “winds” and as “flames of fire.” We also saw from John’s gospel that the work of the Holy Spirit is to serve, and angels are described as “servants” in the scripture above.

Furthermore, at the end of this chapter, it says:

But to what angel has he ever said, "Sit at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet"? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation? (Hebrews 1:13-14)

The angels are “ministering spirits” sent forth to serve. They serve “…for the sake of those who are to receive salvation.”

We are those who are to receive salvation. We are those to whom this ministry of salvation is to be taught and given.

Based upon the evidence of the scriptures, the Holy Spirit is not God but is an angelic being sent forth to serve mankind so that we can be saved.

Call to Action

It is important to understand these things, some of which are hard. We all have to seek for ourselves to find the truth in the scriptures and not blindly accept the opinions of others. There is only one truth, and the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth who can and will show us the right path when we listen to God rather than to men.