Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the most mysterious member of the Trinity, which includes God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Spirit (or the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost). Many Struggle with the idea of God being three persons, yet one. Quite honestly, we will never fully grasp the concept this side of heaven.
Some,
however, have wrongly thought of the Holy Spirit as more of an “it” than a
“him.” That is probably due in part to biblical descriptions of him as being
like the wind or coming upon Jesus in the form of a dove, among other
comparisons. Yet these descriptions must be balanced with the descriptions of
the other members of the Trinity. For instance, Jesus referred to himself as
“the bread of life” and “the good shepherd.” In the same way, God the Father is
referred to as a “refuge” and a “consuming fire.” Does this mean that Jesus is
a loaf of bread or a sheep farmer, or that the Father is a pile of rocks or a
blast furnace? Of course not! These are simply metaphors used in Scripture to
help communicate God’s character. Likewise, the unique descriptions attributed
to the Holy Spirit do not imply that the Holy Spirit is merely some “force” or
“power.” Jesus said this about the Holy Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes,
he will guide you into all truth…He will tell you about the future” (John