Some of the basics about the Holy Spirit

Christian God is one God in 3 persons - Father, Son, Holy Spirit
A Community of Love
Called the Trinity
H.S. – Third Person of the Trinity

Rublev Trinity Icon

Name "Trinity" not found in the Bible
Took the church 300 years to officially state a doctrine of the Trinity
You find Trinitarian Formulas in the Bible

Matthew 28:19,
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

2 Corinthians 13:14
14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Ephesians 4:4–6
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

1 Peter 1:2
2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

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All 3 persons of the Trinity are eternal, co-equal and have the same attributes/character

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The 3 persons of the Trinity are different in their relationship to each other. But their relationships are eternal. They have no beginning.

The Father begets/generates the son.
The Son is begotten by the father – eternally begotten from the Father’s essence.
Spirit is spirated/breathed out from the Father and Son.

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Analogy (all analogies fail to fully capture the Trinity. But still we try :))

Father = Lover
Son = Beloved
Spirit = Love, or the Love between them

"The doctrine of the Trinity is not an explanation but a definition of the being of God and life of God. The Trinity itself remains a mystery even to faith. It reflects the truth that God is intelligible but incomprehensible. It bears witness to the affirmation that God is known truly, but not exhaustively, in his self-revelation in Jesus Christ." - Donald G. Bloesch

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Sometimes helpful to say what the Trinity is not

1. Not Modalism – Modalism was an early church heresy that taught that God is one person who shifts faces or puts on different masks.

2. The Spirit is not an "It" or an impersonal force or an angel. The Spirit is a person who is fully God.

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It was always part of God's redemptive plan to sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside his people.

Ezekiel 36:25-27
25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

Jesus talks about this when he meets with Nicodemus in John chapter 3:1-21

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A couple of common questions

When do followers of Jesus receive the Holy Spirit?
When they repent and trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. The Holy Spirit comes at the moment of salvation.

Should we expect an experience when we recieve the Holy Spirit?
Some people experience something, others do not. The experience is not required. It is a reality that when you trust in Jesus you now have the Holy Spirit.

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Consider this:
The Father is in heaven
Jesus is in heaven
The Holy Spirit is the one who is here with us right now

If you have believed. He is with you. He is empowering you.
There may be things to learn, but you are not lacking.

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For those who haven’t believed, here is a simple prayer.

Father, I want to be with you and to know you.
Jesus, I trust you. I trust that you paid for my sins on the cross. I want to follow you
Holy Spirit, come and make me new.