Basic Truths
What are the basic truths we need to know about God’s Holy Spirit? In sum, you’ve got sound doctrine if you believe four things about the Holy Spirit:
He is a spirit.
He is holy.
He is subordinate to both God and Jesus.
He wants to be in us.
That’s the sum of sound doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit. Let’s take a closer look at each point:
Points 1 and 2: He is a Spirit and He is Holy
Notice how intuitive and inseparable the first two points are: He is the Holy Spirit. With that we deduce that he is a spirit who is holy! Simple.
People often ask: “What does holy mean?” And the most common answer is that it means “set apart.” That’s true, but to arrive at more perfect definition, we have to answer the question: “From what is the Holy Spirit set apart?”
In the case of human beings, holy means “set apart from sin,” but the Holy Spirit doesn’t need to be set apart from sin as he has no sin nature nor has he ever sinned. Rather, as a spirit-being who God set apart from all other spirit-beings, the Spirit is set apart from other spirits. He can't be categorized with angels.
The Bible does not put the Holy Spirit in the same category with angels. Notice how Peter contrasts the Spirit with angels here:
… things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven—things into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12; NASB).
Peter points out that we know the Gospel through the preachers who shared it with us by the Holy Spirit. That is, the Gospel message comes from the Holy Spirit--and angels would love to dig deeper into this message, a message the Spirit knows so well. So, the Holy Spirit knows much more than angels. Hence, he is set apart from them!
You can also discern the “otherness” of the Holy Spirit when you compare him with the Bible's so-called living creatures. Observe how they are described in the Old and the New Testaments:
… in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings (Ezekiel 1:5-8).
… around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes [sequins/lenses], in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings (Revelation 4:6b-8).
We do well comparing the Holy Spirit to the living creatures because they are the most special of Heaven's creatures. There are no angels as magnificent as these--but they are no more than followers of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit authoritatively leads these magnificent beings, the living creatures! How holy do you have to be to lead the most special spirit-beings in Heaven? Very holy. Holy enough to be called the Holy Spirit.
… wherever the Spirit went, they went… Wherever the Spirit went, they would go there (Ezekiel 1:12, 20; LEB).
The point is that when we call the Holy Spirit Holy we are not merely saying that he is "one of a kind." We’re saying he’s the only one of his kind. He’s not one of many angels or living creatures. Rather, he’s the leader of angels and living creatures (a.k.a. cherubim).
There are many millions of holy angels. You could call them holy spirits because they are separate from sin, unlike their counterparts, the demons. However, there is only One Holy Spirit. This Spirit is set apart from all other spirits--so we call him the One Spirit.
The Spirit is a title used for the Holy Spirit no less than 113 times in the Bible. With the article the, the Scriptures are signifying that he is the One Spirit. God's One unique and specially set apart Spirit.
Angels were created, and the cherubim are called creatures, but the Bible never suggests that the Spirit of God was ever created. The Spirit is not of the angelic kind (Genesis 1:21, 24-25) because the Spirit has a divine nature. He doesn’t have the angelic nature. He has something much greater. He is all-knowing, omnipresent, all powerful, eternal, and perfectly holy.
Point 3: He is subordinate to both God and Jesus
The third point of our summary is also very intuitive: The Spirit is submissive to God and to Jesus. Why is this truth intuitive? Well, the most popular name for the Holy Spirit in the Bible is Spirit of God. There are at least 87 occurrences where some variation of Spirit of God is used. What does this mean? It means that the Spirit, the One Spirit, belongs to God!
Then, there are at least eight instances where the Spirit is called the Spirit of Jesus. Considering this alongside the passages that call him the Spirit of God, we’re supposed to deduce that the Spirit belongs to Jesus too!
Yes, the of in these names (Spirit of God and Spirit of Jesus) indicates the possessive case. The possessive means that God possesses or owns the Spirit. The Spirit is “the Spirit of (possessed by) God.” He is also possessed by Jesus—which is why the Scriptures call him “the Spirit of Jesus.” This isn’t just grammar, it’s a basic truth every Christian must believe.
Point 4: He Wants to Be in Us
The fourth aspect of sound doctrine deals with the will of the Holy Spirit. What does he want? What is his objective? You only know someone well if you know what they want. What do they pursue? What are their goals and dreams?
The Spirit wants to be in us. The main barrier for his being in us is our apathy! As long as we sincerely want him to dwell within us, and we do what is needed, he’ll come. What is needed? That we repent, believe in Jesus, and get baptized in water.
Due to our flesh, it’s not easy for us to work up the desire to do what we need to do, and subsequently for the Spirit to dwell within us. However, if we’re in earnest, we’ll open a path for him. If we repent and get baptized for the cleansing of sins, the Spirit will be pleased to live within us. He'll come because he wants to come.
Great one sir