Holy Spirit from Wikipedia

Holy Spirit · Christianity

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The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. Musée Condé, Chantilly. The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove in the topmost area of painting.
The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. Musée Condé, Chantilly. The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove in the topmost area of painting.

In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity who make up the single substance of God; that is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus). The Christian theology of the Holy Spirit, or pneumatology, was the last piece of Trinitarian theology to be fully explored and developed. For this reason, there is greater theological diversity among Christian understandings of the Spirit than there is among understandings of the Son (Christology) and of the Father. Within Trinitarian theology, the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the "Third Person" of the Triune God - with the Father being the First Person and the Son the Second Person. This article also discusses understandings of the Holy Spirit by non-Trinitarian groups and some non-Christian groups who use the term as well.

Doctrine

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New Testament Background

It is held in common Christian belief that the Holy Spirit has been with this world from the beginning of creation. This view is taken from Genesis 1, where it is written that "the spirit of God was floating over the waters [of creation]" - indicating the Holy Spirit.

The first overt appearance of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology is in the words of Jesus, speaking to his disciples (John 14:15-18) shortly before his death. He characterizes the Holy Spirit to them as the 'Spirit of Truth'. Chronologically though, the Holy Spirit makes a first appearance at the beginning of Jesus's ministry when he is baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:31-33). In these accounts, the incorporeal Holy Spirit is described as descending upon Jesus 'like' or 'as' a dove.

In John's Gospel, emphasis is placed not upon what the Holy Spirit did for Jesus, but upon Jesus giving the Spirit to his disciples. This "Higher" Christology sees Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, and as coming among mankind in order to grant the Spirit of God to humanity.

Although the language used to describe Jesus' receiving the Spirit in John's Gospel is parallel to the accounts in the other three Gospels, John relates this with the aim of showing that Jesus is specially in possession of the Spirit for the purpose of granting the Spirit to his followers, uniting them with himself, and in himself also uniting them with the Father. (See Raymond Brown, "The Gospel According to John", chapter on Pneumatology). In John, the gift of the Spirit is equivalent to eternal life, knowledge of God, power to obey, and communion with one another and with the Father.

[edit] Mainstream Christianity

Christians believe that the Holy Spirit leads people to faith in Jesus and gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Holy Spirit dwells inside every Christian, each one's body being his temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit is depicted as a 'Counselor' or 'Helper' (paracletus in Latin, derived from Greek), guiding people in the way of the truth. The Holy Spirit's action in one's life is believed to produce positive results, known as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit manifests these gifts by enabling a person to access his or her own innate abilities. Through the influence of the Holy Spirit a person sees more clearly the world around him or her and can use his or her mind and body in ways that exceed his or her previous capacity. A list of gifts that may be bestowed include the charismatic gifts of prophecy, tongues, healing, and knowledge. Christians holding a view known as cessationism believe these gifts were given only in New Testament times. Christians almost universally agree that certain "spiritual gifts" are still in effect today, including the gifts of ministry, teaching, giving, leadership, and mercy (see, e.g. Romans 12:6-8). The experience of the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as being anointed.

Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as the promised "Advocate" (i.e. "strengthener", "fortifier") in John 14:26. After his resurrection, Christ told his disciples that they would be "baptized with the Holy Ghost", and would receive power from this event (Acts 1:4-8), a promise that was fulfilled in the events recounted in the second chapter of Acts. On the first Pentecost, Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem when a mighty wind was heard and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard the disciples speaking, and each of them heard them speaking in his or her native language.

The Holy Spirit's existence is affirmed in the Apostles Creed and responsibility for the Virgin Birth of Jesus is asserted. In the Nicene Creed (an extensive elaboration of the Apostles Creed), the Holy Spirit is further affirmed to proceed from either one or both of the other members of the Trinity (God the Father and God the Son) (see filioque controversy). This is taken to further imply that the Holy Spirit is consubstantial and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is also asserted to be the "Lord and Giver of Life".

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit