I believe that the Holy Spirit is a “He,” not an “it”—a person, not a force. He has a mind (Rom. 8:27), a will (1 Cor. 12:11), and emotions such as love (Rom. 15:30), grief (Eph. 4:30), and passion (Gal. 4:6). The Spirit is divine (Acts 5:3-4)—equal in essence with both the Father and the Son (Matt. 28:19) yet distinct in role. The Spirit is the person of the Trinity who is primarily at work in the world today (Jn. 16:7). He is the helper sent from the Father (Jn.15:26) and the Son (Jn. 16:7). He is the Spirit of truth (Jn. 16:13) who will be with God’s people forever (Jn. 14:16).
I believe that the Holy Spirit has been at work throughout redemptive history. In the Old Testament, the Spirit was active in creation (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 104:30), empowered supernatural activity (Jdg. 6:34; 1 Sam. 16:13), and spoke through the prophets (Neh. 9:30; 2 Pet. 1:21). There is an Old Testament promise that the Spirit will one day be poured out (Isa. 32:15; 44:3) and indwell God’s people in a special way (Ez. 36:7, 37:14). In the New Testament, the Spirit played a prominent role in the life and ministry of Jesus—conceiving (Matt. 1:20), leading (Matt. 4:1), filling (Lk. 4:1), empowering (Acts 10:38), and raising Him from the dead (Rom. 8:11). Jesus lived the perfectly Spirit-filled life—speaking through the Spirit (Acts 1:2), rejoicing in the Spirit (Lk. 10:21), and ministering by the Spirit (Matt. 12:28). In Acts, as the church began, the Spirit filled (Acts 1:5; 2:4) and empowered (Acts 1:8) those whom God chose to save. The Spirit also fueled gospel proclamation (Acts 4:8, 31), enabled radical suffering (Acts 7:55), and directed missional living (Acts 8:29; 13:4; 16:6).
I believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in the world today. He is bearing witness about Jesus (Jn. 15:26), always working to glorify Him (Jn. 16:14). The Spirit is convicting unbelievers of sin (Jn. 16:8) and regenerating souls (Tit. 3:5; Jn. 3:5-6). He indwells believers individually (Rom. 8:9-10, 1 Cor. 6:19) and dwells in the church corporately (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16). At conversion believers are baptized by the Spirit (Acts 19:1-7)—indwelt and incorporated into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). Following conversion believers are repeatedly empowered and filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18). The Spirit justifies (1 Cor. 6:11), sanctifies (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2), and glorifies (2 Cor. 3:18). He seals believers in the gospel (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30), guarantees their salvation (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5), and confirms their adoption as children of God (Rom. 8:16; 1 Jn. 4:13). The Spirit teaches and reminds of the gospel (Jn. 14:26), brings clarity to Scripture (Lk. 24:45), and enables supernatural understanding (1 Cor. 2:12-15). He walks with believers (Rom. 8:4) and leads them (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18), enabling them to walk in obedience to God (Ezek. 36:27), put sin to death (Rom. 8:13), and guard the gospel (2 Tim. 1:14). He motivates believers in the mission of God (Acts 1:8), directs them toward ministry opportunities (Acts 8:29), and empowers them to speak (Lk. 12:12). The Spirit helps believers pray (Eph. 6:18), delivers them from troubles (Phil. 1:19), and intercedes for them in their weakness (Rom. 8:26). He produces spiritual fruit in individual believers (Gal. 5:22-23) that radically affects their life together in community.
In the church, the Spirit builds counter-cultural Christ-centered community (Col. 3:12-17) with an atmosphere of both God-exaltation and body-edification (Eph. 5:18-21). The Spirit gives many diverse gifts to the church (Rom. 12:3-8). Some are miraculous while others are ordinary (1 Cor. 12:28). All the gifts mentioned in Scripture are active today (1 Cor. 14:39), but there are other gifts not mentioned in Scripture. Every believer has at least one spiritual gift (1 Cor. 12:4-27) that is to be used to serve the body and glorify God (1 Pet. 4:10-11).
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