John 14:16-18 says, “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (intercessor, advocate, helper, one called to one's side to give aid) that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless (fatherless, orphaned): I will come to you.” This week we will begin an in depth series on The Holy Spirit. My hope is that when we are through, we would have a clear picture of Who He is, where He is, what He does, when He does it and how He does it. His present day ministry is of the utmost importance, and it’s vital to our Christian walk we understand it. Let’s get into God’s Word.

Several things we see from the above Scriptures is that: 1. The Holy Spirit is a person (He), not an it. 2. He abides with us forever 3. He is truth 4. He dwells in us (believers) 5. He is One with Christ (I, Jesus, will come to you). We will examine these things more closely today and over the next few weeks.

The Holy Spirit is a person with a personality. He can be grieved (Eph 4:30), though not grieved into departing. He can be quenched (stifled or suppressed) by the Believer’s unwillingness to yield to Him (1Thess 5:19). He can be lied to (Act 5:3-4). He is a gift to believers (Act 2:38), as Jesus is a gift (Jn 3:16) to the world bringing with Him eternal life (1Jn 5:11).

He is divine, being the third member of the Godhead (Trinity). Disciples are to be baptized in the name (singular) of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19). Elohiym is plural, the word commonly used for God in the Old Testament. Notice the word “Us”. Let us create man in Our image… The man has become like one of us… Let us go down and confound their language… whom shall I send; who will go for us.

Being God, He possesses all the attributes of God, such as: 1. He is eternal (Heb 9:14) 2. He is truth (1Jn 5:6) 3. He is all knowing (1Cor 2:10-11) 4. He is all powerful (Gen 1:2, 1Pt 3:18) 5. He is everywhere (omnipresent) (Ps 139:7-8). 6. He is Holy (His name gives this away!). He is the Author of the Holy Scriptures (2Pt 1:21, Act 1:16, Heb 3:7-8).

His titles are: The Spirit of Truth, The Spirit of Grace, The Spirit of Grace and Supplication, The Spirit of Wisdom, The Spirit of Knowledge and Fear of The Lord, The Spirit of Counsel and Might, The Spirit of Wisdom and Understanding, The Spirit of Adoption, The Spirit of Faith, The Spirit of Life, The Spirit of Holiness, The Spirit of Glory, The Lord The Spirit, The Holy One, The One Spirit, The Seven Spirits, The Spirit of God, The Spirit of Christ, The Spirit of The Lord, The Spirit of Jehovah, The Spirit of The Living God, The Spirit of Jesus Christ; as well as others.

There are different types of Him in The Bible, such as: 1. Wind (Jn 3:8, 20:22, Act 2:1-2). 2. Water (Jn 4:14, 7:37-39, Rom 6 (water baptism)). 3. Fire (Act 2:3-4, Rev 4:5). 4. Oil (Jam 5:14, Heb 1:9, Lk 4:18). 5. Dove (Mt 3:16). A type is a symbol of the antitype (the real thing), so all these things are symbolic of The Holy Spirit.

This is some general and basic information about The Holy Spirit, which will provide a good foundation for the rest of the series. Next week we talk about His present ministry as it pertains to the lost world, as well as introducing His ministry to the Believer in Christ. I pray you stay tuned, for this series is essential to every believer. Until next time, rejoice in The Lord!