Who Is the Holy Spirit? What Does the Holy Spirit Do?

　　The Holy Spirit is one of the three persons within one divine Trinity. The other two persons are God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is a person, rather than a depersonalized force. And the Holy Spirit is the agent by which Christians transform (2 Corinthians 3:18) and grow in holiness.

　　

Is the Holy Spirit God?

In his video below, Dan Darling affirmed the Holy Spirit as an equal member of the Godhead. “A lot of times we think of the Holy Spirit as this wispy, Casper the Ghost type thing out there,” he said. But “the Holy Spirit is God. He is part of the Trinity.”

　　The Spirit of God is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis.

　　“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Genesis 2:2)

　　We know from Strong’s Lexicon (7307) this word used for the Spirit, ruach, means the “Spirit of God, the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son.” 

　　Strong’s (7307) also notes the Spirit (ruach) is “never referred to as a depersonalized force.”

　　

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Watch Dan Darling discuss the personhood of the Holy Spirit.

　　Video Transcription: The Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead. A lot of times we think of the Holy Spirit as this wispy, Casper the Ghost type thing out there. The Holy Spirit is God. He is part of the Trinity, he is God with Us. When Jesus said he would send The Comforter, it's a person. He has personal attributes. He can be grieved, he can be upset, and he is God in us, the spirit of God in us to equip us and enable us to please God by living like Jesus Christ. He is a person, he is God himself, that is who the Holy Spirit is.

　　“When Jesus said he would send the comforter (John 14:16, John 15:26, John 16:7), it’s a person. He has personal attributes. He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30). He can be upset.”

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What Does the Holy Spirit Do?

The Holy Spirit enables people to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ and make it effective in a believer’s life. This saving faith in Jesus Christ sparks a life of freedom, joy, hope, and transformation. And the Holy Spirit is the agent of this transformation, or sanctification, as the believer walks obediently in the Spirit, setting their minds on things of the Spirit. This Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in the hearts of believers, putting sin to death and promising new life.

　　Essentially, the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of a believer’s hearts to know God better, strengthens them, and fills them with the fullness of God. And the Holy Spirit secures a believer’s salvation, guarantying their inheritance in Christ.