Today is Halloween—the day where it’s all of a sudden acceptable to encourage your kids to stay out after dark and take candy from strangers. I grew up in a conservative, southern Baptist home, so I never really celebrated Halloween. I attended a handful of fall festivals in my childhood years, but I never went trick or treating, or walked through haunted houses, or decorated with spiderwebs and tombstones.
However, I once saw a Halloween decoration that I think my parents could get on board with. It was an outdoor sign made of different pieces of wood that were all painted in a variety of fall colors, and it read, “The only ghost that lives in this house is the Holy Ghost.”
The Holy Ghost, aka the Holy Spirit, can sometimes be a mystery to many believers. Who exactly is the Holy Spirit, and what exactly does He do in the world and in our daily, personal lives? Well, gang, it’s time to hop in the Mystery Machine and grab your Scooby Snacks because we’re about to discover that this Ghost is not as mysterious or daunting as He may seem.
The Person
First, it must be made clear that the Holy Spirit is a person, not some floating apparition, sinister specter, or phantom that haunts old, abandoned estates. He is real, He is alive, and He is divine. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinitarian Godhead who eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:4). He has been present and active in this world since the dawn of its creation (Genesis 1:2). He is not a thing or a force. As we’ll see throughout this article, God’s Word reveals that the Holy Spirit can do and experience things that only a person could do and experience, including but not limited to being resisted (Acts 7:51), being lied to (Acts 5:3-4), being grieved (Isaiah 63:10, Ephesians 4:30), and being blasphemed against (Matthew 12:31).
Of all the divine attributes He could be named, the Spirit of God is called Holy. Why is this? Because holiness is the core of the Spirit’s character. Author and Bible teacher Amy Gannett writes,
“The Spirit of God is holy. He is without sin, blemish, mistake, or fault. He had no deceit in him, no propensity for unfaithfulness, no ability to rebel against his own perfect ways, which are, of course, the perfect ways of God.”[1]
If there was one word to perfectly sum up the nature of the Spirit, it would be this: holy.
The Revealer
If the Holy Spirit is truly active, what exactly does He do? A lot. He is a revealer. It is the Holy Spirit who anointed and empowered Jesus to preach the good news of the gospel to the people of God (Isaiah 61:1-2, Micah 3:8). It is the Holy Spirit who inspired the Word of God and spoke through the biblical authors (2 Peter 1:21). He not only inspired the Scriptures; He also illuminates them. He opens our eyes and softens our hearts to hear and know the truth about God (1 Corinthians 2:9-16). He enlightens us so we may truly understand what’s written in the Bible (Ephesians 1:17-18). And He does this so that we may be continually pointed towards Christ and give Him glory (John 16:14).
The Transformer
The Holy Spirit is a transformer. Now, I don’t mean He’s some kind of Autobot, so don’t roll out of here. Rather, the Spirit transforms the hearts and lives of those who believe and trust in Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). He indwells believers (Romans 8:11) and replaces their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh that joyfully trust and obey the Lord (Ezekiel 26:36-37). It is by the Spirit that we are regenerated (Titus 3:5-7), justified (1 Corinthians 6:11), adopted (Romans 8:14-15, Galatians 4:4-7), and sanctified (Romans 15:16, 1 Peter 1:1-2). The Holy Spirit sets us free from sin and death (2 Corinthians 3:17) and helps us to live fruitful, God-honoring lives (Galatians 5:22-25).
The Counselor
When telling His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus used the Greek word parakletos, or Paraclete, to describe Him. The late theologian J. I. Packer defined this word—
“Paraclete signifies a many-sided personal ministry as counselor, advocate, helper, comforter, ally, supporter.”[2]
The Holy Spirit is a counselor. He teaches the people of God, reminding us of what Jesus taught during His earthly ministry (John 14:26). He leads us and guides us in truth so that we may know the right way to live (John 7:13, Galatians 5:18, Isaiah 30:21). And He convicts our hearts when we fall into sin (John 16:7-11).
The Comforter
As the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit is also a comforter. When we feel lost and alone in this world, the Spirit dwells with us (John 14:16-18, Romans 8:11). When we struggle with knowing how to pray, the Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26-27). When we doubt if we are truly saved, the Spirit is our assurance and guarantee that we have been sealed for redemption (2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30). Even in our darkest moments, the Holy Spirit is with us, and He comforts us.
“You cannot be abandoned. You will not be forsaken. You have a constant companion and partner in the Spirit of God who dwells within you.”[3]
The Equipper
Finally, the Holy Spirit is an equipper. He empowers us to do the work of the Lord and spread the gospel (Judges 6:34, 15:14; Acts 1:8). He appoints leaders in the Church and sends out missionaries (Acts 13:1-4, 20:28). He gifts us with skills and abilities we can use to serve our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ (Exodus 31:2-6, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11). And He enables us to resist sin and obey God’s Word (Romans 8:13). Without the Spirit, the local and global Church would be in shambles, and we would be unable to live a fruitful and holy life.
The Holy Spirit
And this is the central purpose of the Holy Spirit. This third person of the Trinity equips us, and comforts us, and counsels us, and transforms us, and reveals the truth to us. Why? So that we might be made holy. Amy Gannett also writes,
“As the Spirit of God resides within us, he forms us more and more into the image of the perfect Son of God, who is also perfectly holy… He doesn’t only help us do the right things, but he is at work to makes us into the right people.”[4]
The Holy Spirit is who He is and does what He does so that we may continually be pointed to Christ and made to be more like Him. There’s no reason to be scared of this Holy Ghost or to believe that He is some mysterious being that can never be understood. While it’s true that there are some things about the Spirit that we can never fully comprehend on this side of heaven, there’s plenty of things to learn and know about Him. And all we have to do is open the Word of God and read.
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” John 14:26
[1] Amy Gannett, Fix Your Eyes: How Our Study of God Shapes Our Worship of Him (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2021), 108.
[2] J.I. Packer, Concise Theology (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020), 59.
[3] Gannett, 114.
[4] Ibid., 108.
