In much of the Christian world (especially in certain denominations), the Holy Spirit does not get talked about, sung about, or prayed to nearly as much as the rest of the Trinity. For example, we talk a lot about Jesus's miraculous, virgin birth at Christmas and about Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection during the Easter holiday - and rightfully so. Those are critical parts of the Gospel or Good News of Jesus Christ. But there is another part of the Gospel that sometimes gets left out: the Ascension, which led to Jesus sending down the Holy Spirit to fill believers.
Maybe it is because there is no holiday associated with it, it is more abstract than we like to think, we are too confused to talk about it, or the topic even scares us, but the Holy Spirit rarely seems to make his way into Christian books, sermons, children’s lessons, or even TV shows like God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) do.
Since we do not talk much about the Holy Spirit, so much about him remains a mystery. And then when we read passages such as the Great Commission passage in Acts 1:8 when Jesus told his followers that they will receive “power when the Holy Spirit has come upon [them],” we tend to not take the time to dig into who that Holy Spirit even is.
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Who Is the Holy Spirit?
Thankfully, today we have a wealth of Scriptural truth to consider from the Old Testament and New Testament to answer this question. But simply put, the Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity. Where the Son is a physical or tangible expression of God, the Holy Spirit is a spiritual or metaphysical expression that can be felt and experienced by not seen. It is not exactly the same, but one way to understand this “one God but three parts” concept is to recognize that humans are also made up of three parts: a fleshly, tangible body (our biology), a soul or psyche (our thoughts and emotions), and a spirit (our eternal spirituality which is made alive by Christ).
To be clear, there is only one God. But God expresses himself simultaneously in these three (and only three) ways, and each way has a different function. And contrary to what some skeptics have suggested, Christians have believed this for a very long time, before modern denominations taught it and before any early councils met together to teach it. In fact, historians recently found some parchment that contains the oldest worship song with actual musical notes that has ever been found, which is being called "The First Hymn." One line in the song reads: “…as we sing our hymn to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
Thankfully, we have all of the Bible to study and learn who the Holy Spirit is today (and hopefully we will). But the disciples only had at least some of the Old Testament at their disposal. So, another question that arises is:
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Did the Disciples Know Who the Holy Spirit Was?
The answer is yes! Not only did Jesus promise to send the Holy Spirit into his followers, but he also took the time to teach them about him before he left. One particular time was in John 16:7-15, where we read these words from Jesus:
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (ESV)
In this passage, Jesus teaches us four descriptions of the work of the Holy Spirit.
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1. He Is the Helper
This is the same kind of "helper" that God gave to Adam in the Garden of Eden. But where the first helper (Eve) led us astray into sin and death, this new helper (the Holy Spirit) always leads us correctly to obey the Father and into life.
How does he help us? In so many ways, but one way in particular is that the Holy Spirit gives "gifts" or talents to each and every believer for us to use to serve one another “for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, ESV). Paul also taught that some people will have gifts that will accompany a specific calling to lead the church to ministry and maturity. These are the gifts of apostleship, prophecy, evangelism, shepherding, and teaching that he explains come from the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:7-16.
2. He Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment
The Spirit does the work of convicting us of sin because from birth we are lost in our sins and need God to convict us. He convicts us of what righteousness looks like because Jesus, our best example, is no longer on earth with us. He convicts us of judgment that is coming soon because our enemy, the "ruler of this world" blinds our eyes to it so we won't worry about it.
As David reflected in Psalm 16:11, the Holy Spirit makes known to us the “path of life” and in his presence there is “fullness of joy.”
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3. He Guides Us into All Truth
God has given us what we need to know in the Bible, which is the Word of God. But not only that, I am so thankful that when Jesus ascended back to the Father, he put within us the Great Instructor and Teacher: the Holy Spirit that confirms and illuminates what we read and teaches us new things that we haven't read yet. But to be clear, he does not speak on his "own authority" - meaning the Holy Spirit will never say something to you that contradicts what God has already said. We end up in error (and even with false religions) when we follow what we thought or felt that the Spirit said instead of making sure it lined up with the Bible.
But the Holy Spirit doesn’t just want us to hold on to the truth he gives us. Jesus said that in the Acts 1:8 “Great Commission” passage that we are given “power” from the Spirit to be his “witnesses" everywhere we go.
4. He Glorifies the Son.
The work that the Holy Spirit does in the world and in the life of believers will never glorify or point people to an individual; it will always point people to the Son of God, who takes away the sins of the world. There are so many people who stand up in front of crowds or in front of cameras claiming to have this gift or that gift from God, who conveniently end up padding their pockets and putting their name in lights. God uses people - absolutely. But in the end, whether you use your gifts in front of people or behind the scenes, and where you are from or far away on a mission field - it is all for the glory of God.
Nothing good comes from you being lifted up. A quick look at human history shows that to be true. But as Jesus said in John 12:32 that when we lift him up, he will "draw all people” to himself.
I encourage you to join me in taking time to examine the Scriptures from the Old Testament to New Testament to find out as much as you can about the Holy Spirit. You’ll still be left with a few mysteries for sure, but you’ll also be better at listening to, relying on, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit to live in this world.
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Originally published Wednesday, 30 April 2025.