I see the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as a beautiful tapestry, masterfully woven together, where it is sometimes hard to see the beginning or end of a specific “entity” but they are always present with each other.
We see the Holy Spirit active right at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis 1:2: “The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep, and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Our role models in the Old Testament knew about the presence of the Holy Spirit too as we can see in Psalm 51:11, David says: “Don’t throw me from your presence, and don’t take your holy Spirit from me.” (Also see Mark 12:36; Acts 1:16; 2 Peter 1:21)
Isaiah tells us more about the Holy Spirit, who He is, what He does, and the consequences of rebelling against Him.
Isa 57:15 “For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isa 63:10 “But they rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit. Therefore, he turned and became their enemy, and he himself fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, “Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put his Holy Spirit among them?”
In Daniel, we see that even an ungodly ruler – Belteshazzar – saw the work of the Holy Spirit in Daniel (see Daniel 4: 9/11; 5:11).
In the New Testament, the story of Jesus begins with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18/20 and Luke 1:35).
John the Baptist speaks about “… he who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit” (Matt 3:11, cf.Also see Luke 3:16).
When Jesus was baptized, we read in Luke 3:22, “and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.” In Luke 4:1, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness”
John’s story begins with the Holy Spirit as seen in Luke 1:41: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” Zacharias, his father, was also filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:67)
We see this beautiful story of Simeon in Luke 2:25: “Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.”
Again, we see a warning in Mattew 12:32 “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.” (also see Mark 3:29; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians 4;8)
Jesus Himself tells us: in Mathew 28:19 “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” and encourages us by saying in Mark 13:11 “When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” (also see Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:5/6; Hebrews 6:4; 10:15; 1 Peter 1:12)
In John, Jesus tells us (14:26), “But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and will remind you of all that I said to you.”
We therefore see that The Holy Spirit is our Teacher as can also be seen in 1 Corinthians 2:13 “Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.” (also see 2 Corinthians 6:6/ 13:14; Hebrews 2:4; Jude 1:20)
The book of Acts is filled with references to the Holy Spirit: 2:33,38; 4:8,31; 5:3,32; 6:3, 5; 7:51,55; 8:15, 17, 18, 19; 9:17, 31; 10:38, 44, 45, 47; 11:15, 16, 24; 13:2, 4, 9, 52; 15:8, 28; 16:6; 19:6; 20:23, 28; 21:11; 28:25.
In Romans we are again being encouraged 5:5 “and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Also see Romans 9:1; 14:17; 15:16; Titus 3:5).
Conclusion
We see that even Jesus was filled and led by the Holy Spirit to do things. He is our Helper and is there to guide us through this maze we call life. He is our Counsellor and Teacher. He is the One bringing us Hope.
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