What we know about the Holy Spirit

There can only be 1 Holy Spirit

Paul understood there are only one Holy Spirit:

• Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit
• and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
• and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

-- 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV)

and

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body (Jews or Greeks, slaves or free) and all were made to drink of one Spirit. -- 1 Corinthians 12:13 (ESV)

and

There is

• one body and one Spirit (just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call)
• one Lord,
• one faith,
• one baptism,
• one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

-- Ephesians 4:4-6 (ESV)

and

For through him (Christ) we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. -- Ephesians 2:18 (ESV)

Was active before Jesus ascended

In Noah's days

And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” -- Genesis 6:3 (NKJV)

In Moses' days

Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, Who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble? -- Isaiah 63:11-13 (NKJV)

In David's days

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ ” -- Mark 12:35-36 (ESV)

In Daniel's days

But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the Holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying: “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. Daniel 4:8-9 (NKJV)

“This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you.” -- Daniel 4:18 (NKJV)

In Zechariah's days

And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.” -- Luke 1:67-68 (ESV)

While Jesus was a human

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
"Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

-- Matthew 16:13-19 (NKJV)"

What the Holy Spirit is not

The Holy Spirit cannot be an impersonal power

Power cannot "fellowship":

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. -- 2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit has a personality (Acts 5:3), mind (1 Corinthians 2:10) and will (1 Corinthians 12:4-7).

The Holy Spirit cannot be a unity of believers

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit — just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. -- Ephesians 4:1-4 (ESV)

In other words, "one spirit" could mean a unity of members performing as "one". This is because in the same sentence it also refer to "one body" which Paul (who also wrote Ephesians) explains:

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. -- Romans 12:4-5 (ESV)

and

Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. -- 1 Corinthians 10:17 (ESV)

However, Paul more likely meant "unity of the Spirit" as the "united one body" is in unity with God's one (single) Spirit. None of the scriptures supports the concept that we are members of one spirit. Except:

The believers, even when they are united, cannot:

• Create life (Job 33:4)
• Be the Son of God's father (Matthew 1:18)
• Proceed from the Father, if it should actually be from the believers (John 15:26; Luke 24:49)
• Talk on behalf of God (Hebrews 3:7-12)

The Holy Spirit cannot be an angel

And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you (plural), you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” -- John 1:51 (ESV)

vs

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. -- Matthew 3:16 (ESV)

and

Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove. -- Luke 3:21-22 (ESV)

Just because the Holy Spirit could appear like an angel or "dove", does not mean he is an angel and that these scriptures refers to the same event.

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

-- Psalm 139:7-12 (ESV)

But the angels are not omnipresent:

Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people hin the latter days. -- Daniel 10:12-14 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit cannot be a separate agent of God

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. -- Matthew 1:18 (ESV)

If the Holy Spirit is an agent of God, then:

• It would mean Jesus is not the "Son of God", but the "Son of the Holy Spirit". We know this is not true (Matthew 3:16-17 (ESV); Luke 3:21; John 1:51).
• Jesus would have addressed the Holy Spirit as "my lord", "my father", "my brother", "my teacher", "my friend" or something of the like. He never explains his relationship with the Holy Spirit, nor does he ever talk or pray to the Holy Spirit. This implies:
  • If we were supposed to build a relationship with the Holy Spirit in some unique way, Jesus would have showed us how.
  • Or the Holy Spirit is Jesus himself. So if Jesus had talked to the Holy Spirit, he would have talked to himself.
  • Or the Holy Spirit is God the Father or at least the omnipresent Spirit part of God which He "sends" to interact with His creation like a human dad would reach out with his hands to help his children. So in the case of Mary, she would not have been able to survive if the full glory of God appearance, but she did survive the Holy Spirit of God which is perfectly capable to interact with creation.

The Holy Spirit cannot be Jesus himself

Jesus would not send his own spirit to himself or anoint himself

When Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” -- Luke 3:22 (ESV); Mark 1:10; Matthew 3:16

If the Holy Spirit was Jesus' own spirit, then this event would make no sense.

In Luke 4:17 (NKJV) we read:

And he (Jesus) was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written:

Then Jesus quote Isaiah 61:1-2 which are incorrectly quoted in many modern English bibles. A more accurate quote directly from the book of Isaiah 61:1-2 itself reads:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD (YHVH) has anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Then he (Jesus) closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” -- Luke 4:17-21 (NKJV)

Here Jesus himself announced that this prophecy had been fulfilled in their presence which means that Isaiah 61 was talking about Jesus.

If Jesus was the "Lord God" or "YHVH" of the Old Testament, then why would Jesus have to send his own spirit to himself and why would Jesus anoint himself to preach, heal and proclaim?

The Holy Spirit cannot be taught

Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows Him His counsel? -- Isaiah 40:13 (ESV)

vs

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. -- Luke 2:52 (ESV)

The Holy Spirit led Jesus

And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. -- Luke 4:1-2 (ESV); Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12

Why would Jesus lead himself?

The Holy Spirit is good

Jesus said:

"Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." -- Mark 10:18 (ESV)

Jesus could possibly have referred to scriptures like Psalm 118:

Oh, give thanks to the LORD (YHVH), for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. -- Psalm 118:1

But David also wrote:

Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! -- Psalm 143:10 (ESV)

And Nehemiah wrote:

You gave your good Spirit to instruct them... -- Nehemiah 9:20

The Holy Spirit was active while Jesus was a human on Earth

If the Holy Spirit was some sort of reincarnation of Jesus, then the Holy Spirit would have been absent while Jesus was a walking on Earth as a human. Yet we read:

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying,
"Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

-- Matthew 16:13-19 (NKJV)"

This implies that the Father's spirit was already active in Peter before Jesus ascended.

John explains:

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. -- 1 John 4:12-16 (ESV)

There are different consequences to speak against them

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. -- Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29 (ESV)

Jesus did not raise himself from the dead

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. -- Romans 8:11 (ESV)

Jesus is with the Father

In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. -- John 14:2-4 (ESV)

and

“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” -- John 16:25-28 (ESV)

If Jesus was the Holy Spirit, then his claims of returning to the Father in Heaven would contradict the presence of the presence Holy Spirit in living human believers on Earth (1 John 4:12-16).

Jesus is referred separately from the Holy Spirit

By Jesus himself

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

-- John 14:13-17 (ESV)

Jesus states here that the Holy Spirit is another Helper and not himself.

By Isaiah

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations -- Isaiah 42:1 (ESV)

and

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD (YHVH) and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.

For He said, “Surely they are My people, Children who will not lie.”

So He became their Savior. In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; And He bore them and carried them. All the days of old.

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit;

So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them.

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 shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them, Who led them by the right hand of Moses, with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, Who led them through the deep, as a horse in the wilderness, that they might not stumble?”

As a beast goes down into the valley, and the Spirit of the LORD (YHVH) causes him to rest, so You lead Your people, to make Yourself a glorious name.

-- Isaiah 63:7-14 (NKJV)

Here Isaiah says the LORD (YHVH) "brought them out of the sea" and in the next sentence "His Holy Spirit" led them through the sea which implies that the Holy Spirit is the part of the LORD's that interact with His creation.

By Paul

I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him. -- Ephesians 1:16-17 (ESV)

I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit... -- Romans 15:30 (ESV)

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

Perhaps Paul meant the Holy Spirit is the part of Jesus that is omnipresent with us and when he refers to Lord Jesus Christ, he means his the Lord Jesus Christ as person. In other words he could have meant "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God be with you all by fellowship through their Spirit".

However!

Both intercedes

Paul wrote:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. -- Romans 8:26-27 (ESV)

vs

Christ Jesus is the one who died (more than that, who was raised) who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. -- Romans 8:34 (ESV)

For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He (Jesus) has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men sin their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. -- Hebrews 7:27-28 (ESV)

But Paul also wrote to Timothy:

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. -- 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (ESV)

So, how can both the Spirit and Jesus be mediating if there is supposed to be only one mediator?

Both have different roles:

• The Spirit intercedes for the saints by teaching them how to pray according to the will of God. Paul never said the Spirit took the role of the High Priest.
• Jesus intercedes by mediating between God and men like a High Priest.

Both are interceding but in different ways and for different purposes.

Both know the Father

Both know the Father:

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. -- Matthew 11:27 (ESV)

vs

... these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. -- 1 Corinthians 2:10-11 (ESV)

The Spirit is God's own Spirit. Obviously God knows Himself and His own thoughts.

The Son also knows God because the Spirit reveals God's will to Him.

Both guard against the desires of the flesh

Both guard against "the desires of the flesh":

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. -- Romans 13:14 (ESV);

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. -- Galatians 3:27 (ESV)

vs

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. -- Galatians 5:16 (ESV)

Paul used metaphors for example:

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. -- Romans 13:12 (ESV)

or

The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. -- Galatians 3:22 (ESV)

or

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. -- Galatians 3:27 (ESV)

The "armor" is the teachings, examples and the testimony also known as the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes Paul uses the "armor of God" interchangeably as the "armor of light" or simply just "Christ", meaning the teachings of the Christ that protect us like armor against doubt, confusion, guilt and so forth. In these contexts the teachings of Christ is the motivation for believers to avoid sin described as "the desires of the flesh".

So to "put on Christ" means to "put on the armor of Christ" which means base your actions, beliefs and hope on the teachings of Christ.

The phrase "walk by the Spirit" could also mean obey or follow the Spirit which will lead you to the obedience of the teachings of Christ which will contrast the "gratification of fleshly desires".

The Spirit of Jesus Christ

Both leads believers in spirit (not by the bible):

The term "Spirit of Jesus" or "Spirit of Christ" is used interchangeably as the "Holy Spirit" in many scriptures like Acts 16:7, Romans 8:1-27, Galatians 4:6, Philippians 1:19, 1 Peter 1:10-11.

Note that the authors always wrote "the Spirit of Jesus" or "the Spirit of Christ" and never "Jesus' own Spirit", nor "Jesus as the Spirit". "The Spirit of Jesus" could mean the same Spirit that previously enabled and lead Jesus or the Spirit that Jesus gave to his disciples. This explains why the disciples could do the same miracles as Jesus.