The Holy Spirit, Who is He?

​he Holy Spirit Here Today
 
Who is the Holy Spirit? As a Spirit filled believer and minister of the Gospel for over fifty years, I am concerned about the mentioning and beliefs that many people have today about the Spirit of God and who He is. Growing up we always said “the Father , the Son and the Holy Ghost”. Still there are a few people who use the term Holy Ghost but in general that name for the blessed third person of the Trinity has fallen out of use, probably because of changes in the understanding of words in the English language. Languages always change over the years. I do notice that people are again beginning to use the name “Holy Ghost”, maybe some never stopped.
 
I have a serious concern about what I am hearing and reading about the use of the term “Holy Spirit” and how He is talked about. After serving God in ministry and studying the Word of God for over 50 years, I feel that our understanding may be a little flawed concerning Him. Some talk about Him as though He were this “spirit” that is given to us to reside within us but we do not have a clue as to who He really is. This could be due to a line of thinking in which we limit Him not realizing one basic but vital fact about Him. He IS God! He is God with us and in us. He is as much God as the Father and the Son Jesus. He is no less God. It is unfortunate that most  Pentecostals do not use the ancient creeds of the church, which were totally based on scripture by the way.
 
Many grew up with the Apostles creed and the Nicene creed, which is a statement of the Christian faith. There is another ancient creed that tells of the Trinity which is in the prayer books of several old line denominations. Unfortunately these have been thrown out by most modern day evangelicals. The one creed that discussed the Trinity and who the Holy Spirit is, is the Athanasian Creed. Used once a year in some churches it is worth the read by all Christians for a fuller understanding of who God in Trinity is. I won’t  quote the whole thing as it is quite lengthy and not one that you would want to memorize,  but here is a part that refers to the Holy Spirit that should enlighten our understanding of how great He is.
“So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; 
one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. 
And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; 
none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons 
are co-eternal together and co-equal. 
So that in all things, as is aforesaid, 
the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.” 
 
Sound confusing? It is what we call the "mystery" of the Trinity. All of what I am getting at is that the Holy Spirit is not just this spirit that fills us and belongs to us. He is God Almighty dwelling in us and with us. He is the third person of the Trinity who brought the universe and all of creation into existence. He is Almighty. There is no greater power. There is no God other than Him. He created all things and by His power all things exist. Do we even begin to comprehend how great God the Holy Spirit is? We cannot tell Him what to do but only ask. We cannot control Him but He must control us. The wind blows where it will and so is the Spirit of God. We must follow. He alone must lead. I fear that many consider Him this unseen thing that God puts within us that belongs to us. Do we realize that He is God dwelling in us? We should. Do we realize how great He is? No, that is impossible. I tell God all the time in my prayers that I am aware that nothing is impossible with Him and He can do anything. Am I  reminding Him of who He is? No, I am reminding myself. I do not want to have such a limited view of God the Holy Spirit that I miss out on what He wants to do in my life. Open your heart to a deeper understanding  that the Almighty God of all creation, the Master behind it all is dwelling in you and me by His Spirit. Realize that He is not the gift of tongues or any other gift but is the Giver of all these gifts. He loves us and reveals the beauty of Jesus to us. When He is in us, Jesus and the Father are in us spiritually as there is no separation in the Godhead. As the Bible tells us,  the  fullness of the Godhead dwelled in Jesus bodily. God is ONE although three persons. Let Him lead you and let Him show you how powerful He really is. Never again take His power or presence for granted. The Holy Spirit is God with us. Don’t try to understand. Just believe and receive! There is no limit to what the Holy Spirit will do in you and through you.