The Holy Spirit lives inside each person who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is a very important part of a believer's life. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. God is three persons in one:

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      1. God, The Father

      2. God, The Son

      3. God, The Holy Spirit

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The Holy Spirit is a Person

Sometimes people think of the Holy Spirit as a power. They may even call the Holy Spirit an “it”. But the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit many times before He died on the cross. Jesus said the Holy Spirit would come only when He left to return to Heaven (John 14:16-17). Many times Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a separate person. Jesus even saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove after He was baptized in water (Matt. 3:16). The Holy Spirit is called a “He” in John 14:26 and “Himself” in Romans 8:16 and 8:26. The Bible also says that the Holy Spirit does things as a person would. It says He grieves, loves, speaks, searches, has a mind, knows things, can be lied to, can be tested, can be a witness, can forbid, and can be resisted. The Bible also says He can teach, intercede, lead, and give life. The Holy Spirit is also the One who inspired the authors of the Bible, working through them as they wrote it (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Tim. 3:16).

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The Holy Spirit was sent by God for every believer.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit inside you and He will never leave you (John 14:16). However, in the Old Testament (before Jesus came) this was not the case. The Holy Spirit would come upon people at times and only temporarily. Jesus coming to earth changed that. God sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins. Jesus was raised from the dead and went back to Heaven with God. Then God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us forever (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26; Acts 5:32).

 

The Holy Spirit is God’s seal on His people.

A seal is like a special mark or stamp on something showing where it came from or who it belongs to. For example, a king would put his seal on a document showing proof that he sent it. This stopped someone else from making a false document and claiming it was from the king. The king was the only one with the special seal.

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God says that the Holy Spirit is our “seal” as believers. The Bible says, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…” (Eph. 1:13 NIV). You receive the Holy Spirit when you hear the good news of Jesus and you believe and trust in Him. In that moment you receive a new, perfect spirit. And you receive a “seal” that protects our spirit from sin. Your spirit remains perfect no matter what you do. Your spirit cannot sin (1 John 3:9). The seal of the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee (or promise) that we will join Him in Heaven and receive our transformed bodies (Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:22). This is called redemption (Rom. 8:23). The seal of the Holy Spirit is like saying we belong to God. (Read more about your body, spirit, and soul here.)

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The Holy Spirit is Our Helper

When Jesus was on earth, He taught thousands of people, shared the good news of eternal life, healed the sick, and performed many miracles. However, He did not start this ministry until after He received the Holy Spirit. Just before he went to Heaven, He told His followers they could do even greater works than He did. He said, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12 NIV). He told His followers to wait for the Holy Spirit to come before they attempted to follow in His footsteps. After they received the Holy Spirit, they also did many amazing things in Jesus' name. (You can read about many of them in the book of Acts.)

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The Bible says the Holy Spirit is our Helper (John 14:16, 26). Here are some examples found in the Bible.

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John 14:26 - He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance things that God has spoken to you.

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John 16:13 - He will guide you in all truth and will tell you things to come.

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Romans 8:26 - He helps us pray when we don't know what we should pray.

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Acts 2:1-5 - Will help you pray in unknown languages (called tongues).

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The Holy Spirit will help you understand the Bible, tell you things that will happen in the future, help you know the will of God, will help you make choices, will teach you new things, will help you solve problems, will help you share the message of Jesus Christ to others, and much more. The role of the Holy Spirit in your life is extremely important!