no offense taken
since this has become some sort of a Trinity thread, i'd really like to hear your views on the Holy Spirit, what is means to you, how it manifests, and why it is "needed" when there is a God and his Son. The Holy Spirit is probably one of the most interesting, yet hard to understand concepts of the christian religion, and for many it remains unclear why we celebrate Pentecost.
Thank you for being so gracious. I believe the bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a "person" and equal to God the Father and God the Son. It is a hard concept for even believers to comprehend that there is one God who is three persons. Man is finite and God is infinite, and His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. I posted some verses earlier in this thread that refer to the Spirit of God/Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would only indwell believers at certain times for God's purpose. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit began to indwell believers permanently. The filling of the Holy Spirit is something that all New Testament believers can experience on a day to day basis as we obey and walk closely with the Lord by following the leading of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. The Holy Spirit is not an "it". He is the third person of the Godhead. He has always existed with the Father and Son.
The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. The Holy Spirit also enables us to understand the word of God. That is why it is necessary to be saved (born again) to understand the bible.
