School of the Spirit: Living the Holy Spirit-Empowered Life Sample

Day 1: Who Is the Holy Spirit?

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever—” (John 14:16).

I was a young boy when I first heard about the Holy Spirit. My grandparents took me to their tiny Pentecostal church, and while we were there, a man (who seemed like a giant compared to my four-year-old self) began to prophesy in a loud voice. I was frightened as I watched this man wave a New Testament in the air, and I asked my grandmother, “What’s going on?!” She whispered, “The Holy Ghost is here.” Well, the only ghosts I knew were from Saturday morning cartoons, and they were scary. So I did what any other boy would do—I hid under my seat! 

Maybe you too have felt the same way about the Holy Spirit. He is, after all, the most misunderstood person of the Trinity. Believers are generally comfortable talking about God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) because they can relate to human fathers and sons. But when someone brings up the Holy Spirit, things sometimes get a little fuzzy. 

Who is the Holy Spirit? We must begin our journey with this foundational truth: the Holy Spirit is God. He is not an impersonal force or a spiritual energy field. He doesn’t haunt us. The Holy Spirit is a Person, the distinct and divine third member of the Trinity. 

So what does the Holy Spirit do? First, He draws us to Jesus. Every person is born spiritually dead because of sin, and only by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior can we become spiritually alive. This is called regeneration. It means that God breathes His life into our dead spirits and makes us alive in Jesus (see Titus 3:5–6).

The Holy Spirit is our Advocate, Comforter, Teacher, and Guide. Jesus called the Holy Spirit, “the Helper” (John 14:16, 26). A helper is someone who comes alongside another person, like a partner. Similar to a caddy for a golfer or a Sherpa for a mountain climber, the Holy Spirit is the One who advises and guides you. He shows you how to get from where you are now to the place you need to go. 

When I grew up, I discovered that the Holy Spirit isn’t scary at all. He isn’t strange or weird either. As a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit is the closest Person of the Godhead that I relate to in my day-to-day life. He is my best friend, and He wants to be yours too. Holy Spirit, I want to know you. Thank You for drawing me to Jesus and showing me the way to live for the glory of God. In Jesus’ name, Amen.