Who is the Holy Spirit?

Well, the Bible teaches that God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and He is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator (Elohim, Deuteronomy 6:4) Who is revealed throughout Scripture in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead.

Now let's take a moment to discover what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit.

• The Holy Spirit is likened to oil (I Samuel 16:13; Isaiah 61:3).
• The Holy Spirit is likened to fire (Judges 15:14; Acts 2:3).
• The Holy Spirit is likened to water (Isaiah 44:3; John 7:37-39).
• The Holy Spirit is likened to wind (John 3:8; Acts 2:2).
• The Holy Spirit is God's anointing (I John 2:27).
• The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (Isaiah 66:13; Matthew 23:37; John 14:16, 14:26, 16:7; Acts 9:31).
• The Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16).
• The Holy Spirit is the knowledge of God (Proverbs 2:5; Isaiah 11:2; Romans 11:33; II Corinthians 10:5; II Peter 1:2).
• The Holy Spirit is the breath of the Almighty (Job 32:8).
• The Holy Spirit is our helper (Acts 11:12, 16:6; Romans 8:26).
• The Holy Spirit is our teacher (Deuteronomy 32:9-11; Psalm 143:10; I Corinthians 2:10,13).
• The Holy Spirit bears witness within the children of God (Romans 8:14-16).
• The Holy Spirit convicts of sin (John 16:8).
• The Holy Spirit gives supernatural gifts (I Corinthians 12:8-10).
• The Holy Spirit births the Father's spiritual children (Isaiah 48:16; John 3:5-8; Galatians 4:26-31).
• The Holy Spirit makes intercession for the children of God (Romans 8:26-27).
• The Holy Spirit produces spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22-23).
• The Holy Spirit reveals the Father's love, or agape (Romans 5:5, 15:30; Galatians 4:6; II Timothy 1:7).
• The Holy Spirit always glorifies Jesus (John 16:14).
• The Holy Spirit (Spirit of truth) guides into all truth (John 15:26, 16:13; I John 4:6, 5:6).
• The Holy Spirit (Spirit of grace) sanctifies by the blood of Jesus (Romans 15:16; Hebrews 10:29).
• The Holy Spirit is power (Acts 1:8; Romans 15:13).
• The Holy Spirit is wisdom (Exodus 28:3, 35:31; Proverbs 8; Isaiah 11:2; Acts 6:3, 13:2; Ephesians 1:17; James 3:17).
• The Holy Spirit is the hand of God (Isaiah 1:25, 40:10; Ezekiel 3:14; Luke 11:20).

Notice the last point above. Throughout Scripture, the arm of the Lord is a direct reference to Jesus (Yeshua), while the hand of the Lord refers to the Holy Spirit. "O sing unto the LORD [Jehovah, the existing One] a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory" (Psalm 98:1). "The LORD hath sworn by his right hand [Spirit], and by the arm of his strength [Yeshua]"
(Isaiah 62:8). Both the arm and the hand of God work in perfect agreement with the will of the Father, Who is the head (see Matthew 26:39; John 14:28, 15:26; and I Corinthians 11:3). This is a powerful visual
illustration to help us understand the biblical concept of the Godhead.

Arm of the Lord: Jesus

The salvation of God is revealed through Jesus the Messiah, Who is the "arm of the Lord." Isaiah 52:10 says, "The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Isaiah later said, "Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1). The verses which follow in Isaiah 53 are perhaps the most vivid prophecy ever written about the Messiah.

An arm represents strength, authority, and leadership. "Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand [Spirit], and his arm [Jesus] shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm [the Good Shepherd], and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young"
(Isaiah 40:10-11). Jesus Christ is the arm of God extended to mankind, by Whom we may come to the Father. "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself" (II Corinthians 5:19). Jesus is the Redeemer: "Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people" (Psalm 77:15). Jesus is also the Image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), the only Door to God (John 10:9), and the exclusive Mediator between God and man (I Timothy 2:5).

Amazingly, the same outstretched arm Who reached out to mankind also created the universe! "Ah Lord GOD! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm [Jesus], and there is nothing too hard for thee" (Jeremiah 32:17; also see John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; and Revelation 4:11 about God creating the world through His Son). Jesus the Word became flesh (John 1:14), died on a cross as the perfect Lamb of God, was raised from the dead by the power of God's Spirit (Romans 8:11), and then ascended to the right hand of God's throne (Hebrews 12:2).

Hand of the Lord: The Holy Spirit

Old Testament prophets often associated the "hand of the Lord" with God's Spirit. "So the Spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me" (Ezekiel 3:14). "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones" (Ezekiel 37:1). Psalm 80:17 is a prophetic verse about Jesus, the Man of God's right hand: "Let thy hand [Spirit] be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man [Jesus] whom thou madest strong for thyself."

Some other verses linking the power of God with the hand of God are as follows: "That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever" (Joshua 4:24). "The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly" (Psalm 118:16).

A hand suggests direction, instruction, help, and comfort. The Holy Spirit is indeed the Helper, the Teacher of God's children (I Corinthians 2:13; I John 2:27), and the divine Comforter (John 14:26). Also, a hand can represent skill, power, restraint, and touch (see Job 32:18; Isaiah 50:2; Luke 4:14, 11:20). All of these words accurately describe the work of God through the Holy Spirit. Now that we have a better grasp on the Bible's teaching about the Holy Spirit, let's find out how the hand of God (Holy Spirit) was essential to the earthly life and ministry of Jesus.

[Continued]