1) What and who is Holy Spirit?
Great question! To be straightforward, Holy Spirit is none other than God! He is personal God who is with us to guide our spiritual walk! However, he isn't "another God" apart from Father and Jesus. We believe in One God who always exists in Three Persons who have equal glory, essence and attributes but they differ in their personal functions 🙂. So, Holy Spirit is actually the promised one! He was sent to be with us to continue the mission of Jesus on earth! Anyone who accepts Jesus has the Holy Spirit! He is our counselor! He helps us to walk with the Lord and align in the will of Father! Our Christian living is impossible without him!
Biblical References:
Trinity and Deity of the Holy Spirit:
Matthew 28:19 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 5:3–4 – Peter equates lying to the Holy Spirit with lying to God, affirming the Spirit’s divinity.
Holy Spirit as Counselor and Guide:
John 14:16–17 – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.”
John 16:13 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
Indwelling in Believers:
1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?”
Romans 8:9 – “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
Continuation of Jesus’ Mission:
Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.”
John 16:7 – “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.”
2) Is Holy Spirit not Jesus? Is he different from Jesus?
Truly, he isn't Jesus but he isn't another god! Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not three Gods! The Bible clearly shows their distinction! Although Holy Spirit isn't Jesus, he works in our life to make us like Jesus! He is different in sense of person but not in sense of God! 😃😃😃
Biblical References:
Distinction of Persons:
John 14:16–17 – Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as “another Helper,” distinct from Himself.
John 15:26 – “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
Matthew 3:16–17 – At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descends, and the Father speaks, showing distinction among the three persons.
Unity in the Godhead:
2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
John 10:30 – Jesus says, “I and the Father are one,” implying unity in essence, which extends to the Spirit.
Holy Spirit’s Role in Sanctification (Making Us Like Jesus):
Romans 8:29 – “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 – “And we all… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
3) What are fruits, gifts and manifestations of Holy Spirit?
Good question! These three are different things that we should clearly understand !
Fruits of Holy spirit are characters that we have to develop in us. Its like if tree is well rooted it bears good fruits. Likewise, if we are deeply and well rooted in Jesus, we also should bear fruits and these are mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23! This is associated with our character building and growing to become like Christ.
Next, gifts are something we understand! We don't earn it! But we receive them! 🙂 God grants us spiritual gifts to empower us to share the Gospel and build his kingdom here! 😃😃😃 He grants us gifts like Teaching, guiding, helping, miracles, healing, kindness, church planting, speaking in various languages, prophecy, words of wisdom and many more! 😃😃😃
Finally, manifestations is something that we have to carefully consider. It is merely outward reactions when an individual comes into deep connection with divine empowerment. It can include some gifts of spirit like tongues and prophecy but most of times it includes jerking, shivering, falling on ground, speaking in unknown speech and may include more. However, we don't have scriptural reasoning on why they occur and another thing we must understand is that not all have these occurrences nor these outwards signs are necessarily important. But they aren't markers of our true spirituality! We must be very cautious on this aspect 😊🙂.
Biblical References:
Fruits of the Holy Spirit:
Galatians 5:22–23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Ephesians 5:9 – “For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.”
Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
1 Corinthians 12:4–11 – Lists gifts including wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation.
Romans 12:6–8 – Mentions prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, leadership, and mercy.
Ephesians 4:11–12 – Includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for equipping the church.
Manifestations of the Holy Spirit:
Acts 2:1–4 – At Pentecost, the Spirit’s coming is marked by wind, fire, and speaking in tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:7 – “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (context includes gifts like tongues and prophecy).
1 Corinthians 14:1–25 – Discusses tongues and prophecy as manifestations, emphasizing intelligibility and order.
1 John 4:1 – “Test the spirits to see whether they are from God,” urging discernment regarding spiritual phenomena.
4) We usually sing a hymn "Come Holy Spirit come...". Does he come and leave us repeatedly ?
Well its not that case 😅. But glad you asked it. The hymn we usually sing during deep worship song is indeed our longing for his empowering and works in our life. It is our surrender to his will and we are asking his intimate relationship with us! Our Christian life often go through ups and downs, we struggle and sometimes we fall! But we surrender ourselves to him admitting his intervention in our life 😊. This is what we call "Filling of Holy Spirit". Because of the free will we possess and our old nature, we do have a continuous struggle and battle within our old and new self. And we need His divine intervention to have a victorious life. Holy Spirit is with us but we should give him that space he deserves so that he can work in our life 😊. This is indeed a regular struggle in Christian life and Holy Spirit must be given proper intervention in every areas of our life for a successful Christian living ❤️.
Biblical References:
Permanent Indwelling of the Holy Spirit:
John 14:16–17 – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth.”
Romans 8:9 – “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
1 Corinthians 6:19 – “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God.”
Repeated Filling or Empowerment:
Ephesians 5:18 – “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
Acts 4:31 – “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Acts 13:52 – “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
Struggle Between Old and New Self:
Romans 7:22–25 – Paul describes the inner conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, concluding, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Galatians 5:16–17 – “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.”
Surrender and Yielding to the Spirit:
Romans 12:1 – “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Galatians 2:20 – “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
5) If Jesus is our Lord and Savior, God is our heavenly Father then why add Holy spirit?
Now that's an interesting question! First, we must be clear about knowing what our God is like: He is Triune God i.e. He is One God in Three Persons who cannot be separated ! So, Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit are co-equally One God. Next, New testament clearly shows us Jesus himself worked in the power of Holy Spirit and one of the main goal was to grant us the same spirit ! 😃 Jesus himself promised another counselor or helper who would come to be with us forever. So, there is nothing we need to worry about adding someone more! Holy spirit is given to us so that we could be built regularly in Jesus' image. He is the one who is continuing Jesus' mission here with the church. He is the one who guides us and makes us aware of our sins and help us to align and live according to will of Father. We should remember that they all work together in harmony ❤️ and they are one God! And what's more? We are children of God because we are born of the spirit! The same spirit who dwelt temporarily in many great men of God to do certain tasks but today dwells in us forever 😃. He is the same spirit who brought Jesus in flesh through virgin birth and raised Jesus from dead! We aren't adding but we are seeing a complete work of our God!
Biblical References:
Triune Nature of God:
Matthew 28:19 – “Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 – “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
Genesis 1:2 – “The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters,” showing the Spirit’s role in creation alongside the Father and Word.
Holy Spirit’s Role in Jesus’ Life and Mission:
Luke 4:1 – “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.”
Luke 4:14 – “And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee.”
Matthew 1:18 – “She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (virgin birth).
Romans 8:11 – “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies.”
Holy Spirit as Jesus’ Promised Helper:
John 14:16–17 – “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”
John 16:7 – “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.”
Holy Spirit’s Role in Sanctification and Guidance:
Romans 8:14–16 – “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God… The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
John 16:8 – “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 – “And we all… are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Believers Born of the Spirit:
John 3:5–6 – “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Titus 3:5 – “He saved us… by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
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