If Holy Spirit is a person, how can I truly have a relationship with Him? How do I know if it’s the Holy Spirit, God or Jesus speaking to me?
As a Christian, we need to be totally confident that God, the Father, Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit are the tri-union God we serve. They are one but different in person. This truth is also based on the Bible and not just one sided theological understanding. We believe that the one God eternally exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and that these three are one God, co-equal and co-eternal, having precisely the same nature and attributes, and worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience. Please refer to some of these verses – Matthew 3:16 & 17, Mark 12:29, John 1:14, Acts 5:3 & 4. 2 Corinthians 13:14 as references.
In Matthew 28: 19, Jesus tells His disciples “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”. This substantiates that they are distinct but equal. Jesus also said in John 15:26 and 27 “I will send you the Helper from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me”. This verse evidences that the Holy Spirit comes from God and His main task is to glorify Jesus and God, the Father. In John 14:9, Jesus told Philip that if you have seen me, you have seen the Father. Jesus claims Himself to be equal to God which was called heresy by the Pharisees and priests.
As per the bible, we all know that God is Spirit. Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. It is the Holy Spirit that connects with our Spirit to help us live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We will always live in the natural realm and will not be able to understand the supernatural aspects without the Holy Spirit. We know the story of Jesus being baptized and the Holy Spirit came down upon him like a dove. That’s when Jesus’s ministry started once He was filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the reason why even Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to help Him live in the Spirit during his days on this earth. Jesus took the form of a human being so He needed the Holy Spirit to help him stay connected to the Father, perform miracles, signs and wonders and to truly live in the Spirit realm on this earth.
Bible also says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. In today’s context, if we have to live a life that’s truly pleasing God, we need to live and walk in the Spirit as per what Paul says in Galatians 5:16 (“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”). Its only when we allow the Holy Spirit to live in us, we can truly communicate with God and stay tuned to hear His voice. Jesus is not in the human form anymore, He is with us through the Holy Spirit who speaks for Him and glorifies His name through us. It’s the Holy Spirit that lives in us and speaks to us. He is the one who speaks to us about what God wants us to know and helps us stay away from the earthly desires. It’s the Holy Spirit that ministers to us through God’s Word and as we read and meditate on God’s Word, we also need to ask the Holy Spirit to speak into our life.
Each of us can have a genuine relationship with the Holy Spirit by inviting Him into our lives and recognising Him as a distinct person. It is the Holy Spirit who speaks to us through our conscience and His Word but only on behalf of God and Jesus. The Holy Spirit will stay connected with our spirit and help us to know God, our Father and Jesus more and draw closer to them. This is a journey and something that we all have to start taking our first steps towards allowing the Holy Spirit to live in us and minister to us daily. Let recognise the Holy Spirit as a person and make room for the Him in our lives. Jesus said in John 4:23 that true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. It’s obvious to say that without the Holy Spirit living and ministering to us daily, we will never be able to worship God in spirit and truth. Question to ask ourselves is, have we been worshiping God in the right way?