God in Three Persons: Embracing the Trinity预览

Devotional - The Spirit is God

As a nine-year-old, I was baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father I comprehended, the Son I loved and, if I am honest, the Holy Ghost scared me half to death. Especially when I heard that this ghostly figure would “live inside of me.” The church does not use the term ghost any longer to describe the Holy Spirit, but much of the confusion around this spiritual member of the Trinity remains. For many, the Holy Spirit is a force or emanation from the Father, not distinct but powerful. 

Scripture, however, demystifies the Spirit and reveals Him as an equal and unique person of the Trinity. The Bible reveals the Spirit as demonstrating intelligence, expressing emotions, and conveying a personal will separate but in harmony with the Father and the Son. He is the “other” Counselor with Jesus. He does what God does and to blaspheme the Spirit is to commit the greatest of sins. He possesses all the divine attributes of God. He is no greater and no lesser than the Father or the Son. He has proceeded from both the Father and the Son for all eternity. His presence is witnessed at creation, and He is the inspiration of Scripture. It is the Spirit who empowered the virgin birth of Jesus. It is the Spirit who restores and indwells the Christian, maturing the believer into Christ’s likeness. It is the Spirit who is building each believer into temples of the living God. It is the Spirit who stirs the Father’s love for the Son, the Son’s joy in the Father, and thus the Son’s love for the Church and the Church’s joy in the Son. He is the giver of spiritual gifts. He produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control within the believer. He is not a Ghost to be frightened of or a force to wield but rather an equally divine member of the one Triune God. The Spirit is God, and the Spirit is worthy of praise, worship, and obedience. 

Questions for Reflection

1. What is your spiritual gift? How can you use this gift to serve your family, your church, and your community?

2. Which of the fruits of the Spirit do you long to mature in during this season of your life?