My Knowledge And Understanding Of The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is perhaps the least understood person of the Holy Trinity. Today, we will discuss how the Catholic Church views the Holy Spirit and maybe debunk some common misconceptions. All too often, I think, many people misconstrue the presence of the Holy Spirit to be a “feeling” – they “have it” when they feel moved by something, and don’t when they feel nothing. This is, however, simply not the case, and the Holy Spirit actually works in a very different way. Regardless of our state of ‘feeling’, it is the Holy Spirit alone that allows the faithful to profess that Jesus is Lord. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, knowledge of the faith is impossible (CCC 683).

The Holy Spirit comforts: John 14:16, And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Helps us in our Weakness. The Holy Spirit intercedes: Romans 8:26, in the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans. The Holy Spirit searches the deep things of God: 1 Corinthians 2:11, The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit sanctifies: Romans 15:16, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Bears witness or testifies: Romans 8:16, The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

Just when there’s no hope for Humanity, The Holy Spirit (the third Godhead in the trinity) sent from the father as a promise to aid humankind to inspire and empower Theophilus (The ones who loves God) to spread the “Good News” on the Salvation of Jesus Christ. The necessity of the Holy Spirit is to increase effectiveness of churches and personal testimony and become witnesses in all the Earth. In addition, it gave the disciples a power to perform miracles and healing.

The Holy Spirit of God is the active force or power in one’s life, which most certainly includes spiritual formation (Pettit, 2008, p. 46). When Jesus was speaking with his disciples he made it clear – by using the analogy of a vine and branches – that apart from him they could do nothing (John 15:5). Only if one is connected to Christ will they have the ability to bear fruit and the way Jesus empowers those connected to him is through the Holy Spirt that that father will send in his name (John 14:26). The fact is that the triune God dwells in the Christian in and through the Holy Spirit. One sees this when they place multiple passages together to gain a full understanding of this concept. For example, Jesus made it clear that he and the father would come and make their home with the disciple (John 14:23). In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul reminds the Corinthians that their bodies are the very temple of God because the Holy Spirit dwells in them which is similar to what Jesus said would happen when he sent the Holy Spirit after his resurrection and ascension (John 14:17, 16:7).

The Holy Spirit also brings conviction to the believer about sin, which brings Christians to repentance and right standing in the eyes of God. Without the Holy Spirit, people are not saved, but with this Spirit our bodies become a dwelling place of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is also a teacher, and with the Spirit people can rightfully understand the concept of truth and what truth entails, especially

The Bible talks about several roles that the Holy Spirit plays in the lives of people today. The first thing that the Holy Spirit does is he provides conviction of sin to all people. John 16:8 said, “And when he comes, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”. Also, the Holy Spirit works in several ways for many believers that follow Christ. One of the roles that He works is to serve as a comforter and a helper in our daily life. In John 14:16-17 this means that there is someone that is helping us and guiding us and encouraging us during difficult time of

Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who guarantees God’s redeeming work in the lives of believers. In all essence, the Holy Spirit is clearly at work in the key events throughout history of

St. Basil challenged the readers of his day to consider the role of the Holy Spirit the same way they considered the Son to the Father. His writings influenced the churches theology to believe and give credit to the Holy Spirit as part of the trinity.

The various gifts of the Holy Spirit as listed in Scripture are conveyed according to the will of the Holy Spirit to every man for the eventual purpose of the edification and building up the church body.

1. Write a paragraph on your current view of the Holy Spirit: Who is He? What is He like? (A force, Influence, Energy, Person, etc.) What does He do for you?

After speaking of Jesus it is logical to discuss the Holy Spirit after, given that the Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is as I just said, sent by the Son, and proceeds from the Father God. Given these two facts the Holy Spirit is not to be lessened to a mere attribute of the Father and Son. Along with being likened to being a part of

The power of the Spirit in Jesus should be an example of how believers should interact with the Spirit. As Jesus told His disciples of the helper He would send to them (Jn 15:26), believers today have the privilege to be empowered by the Holy Spirit as well. The disciples witnessed the miracles which Jesus performed and from this example they were able to have powerful ministries as well. Jesus ministry consisted of redeeming humanity from sin, performing miracles full of the Spirit and making available the power of the Spirit. His mission did not stop at establishing the Kingdom on earth, the great commission provides guidance to believers with what He wants for the Kingdom. The work of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry did not start at the baptism at the Jordan rather it started much earlier than His three years with the disciples.

The Holy Spirit is God Himself, as a person with whom you can have a personal relationship with. Also, the Holy Spirit is the one who the Lord gave to us as a guide, to direct and teach the church and us (King James Version, John 14:16). The Holy Spirit is our inner voice that tells us when something is wrong with our life and the choices we make. The inner voice is a blessing from God, who loves us enough to show us our error. Also, the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity; there is one God who manifested in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All of the divine attributes ascribed to the Father and the Son are equal to the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes born again by believing and receiving Jesus Christ (John 1:12-13), God resides in that person through the Holy Spirit (1Cor.3:16). The Holy Spirit is not an ethereal shadow, nor an impersonal force. He is a person that is equal in every way with God the Father and God the Son. He is also considered to be the third member of the Godhead. Jesus said to His apostles... “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:18-20). However, the primary role of the Holy Spirit is that He bears "witness" of Jesus Christ (John 15:26, 16:14). He tells people 's

The Holy Spirit plays a very vital role in the lives of each and every believer; He can strengthen us with a strength that we cannot even begin to muster up in ourselves. He can bring us joy that we cannot even begin to find in the things of this world. He can bring peace to our lives more than anything that we can ever find on this earth. “The Holy Spirit which is primarily an energizing process, is also a revealing, refining, consuming, illuminating process, and one by which we are made to glow with love to God, and love to man, and love to souls.”

[ 8 ]. Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed. (2001)., s.v. “Holy Spirit,” 572.