THE HOLY
SPIRIT
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is God Himself — the same renewing presence of the Father and the Son — actively at work in the world today.
He is not an impersonal force or secondary blessing. He is the third Person of the Trinity: fully God, personally distinct, and intimately involved in creation, redemption, and new creation. From the beginning, the Spirit hovered over the waters bringing order and life. He empowered judges, prophets, and kings in the Old Testament, rested in fullness on Jesus, and was poured out at Pentecost on the church.
The Holy Spirit is the life-giving Breath of God — the same breath that created humanity and now recreates us into the image of Christ.
What is the role of the Holy Spirit?
The Spirit’s primary role is to make the work of Jesus real and effective in us and through us.
He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16). He regenerates, indwells, and seals believers. He empowers us for holy living and bold witness. He forms us into the family of God and equips us with gifts for the common good.
In the Wesleyan tradition, the Holy Spirit is the One who brings both the new birth of salvation and the ongoing work of sanctification — progressively and moment by moment transforming us into the likeness of Christ. He launches and sustains the making-all-things-new project that began in Jesus, making the Gospel not merely good news about Jesus, but good news experienced in real, Spirit-filled community.
The Trinity
The Trinity is the beautiful mystery that God is one God in three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — eternally united in perfect, self-giving love.
The word “Trinity” itself was developed centuries later as the early church sought to faithfully describe what they saw in Scripture and experienced in worship. But the reality it points to is deeply biblical. Paul regularly speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit working together in salvation (see 2 Corinthians 13:14 and Ephesians 1–3). Jesus Himself reveals this relational life when He prays to the Father and promises the coming Spirit.
In one sense, the doctrine of the Trinity is itself an illustration — a way of speaking that helps us see more clearly who God has revealed Himself to be. It is not a puzzle to solve but a relationship to enter. The Father sends the Son, the Son perfectly reveals the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both — the living bond of love between them. Together they exist in joyful, mutual delight and perfect communion.
This is the heartbeat of reality itself. The same relational God who has always lived in perfect community created us to share in that life. Through Jesus and by the Spirit, the Triune God invites us into His family — not as distant subjects, but as beloved children being drawn into the very love that has always existed between Father, Son, and Spirit.
Spiritual Gifts
Yes — all the gifts of the Spirit are for today.
We are continuationists in the Wesleyan tradition: the same Spirit who empowered the early church continues to gift His people for mission, worship, and building up the body of Christ. The gifts (prophecy, healing, tongues, words of knowledge, administration, mercy, etc.) are not relics of the past but tools for the present renewal of all things.
As Gordon Fee powerfully argued, the Spirit is the down payment of the coming kingdom. We expect Him to move in power today just as He did in Acts — not as a spectacle, but as love in action for the sake of the world.
Where to Start
Start by simply welcoming the Holy Spirit into your everyday life.
Ask Him to fill you afresh each day.
Spend time in Scripture and prayer, listening for His voice.
Step out in faith and use whatever gifts or promptings you sense — even in small ways.
Stay connected to a Spirit-filled community where you can grow and be accountable.
The Holy Spirit is not complicated. He is the personal presence of God with you and in you, making Jesus real and empowering you to live the life you were created for.
There is hope! The same Spirit who hovered over the waters of creation and raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you right now — making all things new.
HOLY SPIRIT
RESOURCES
The Gospel — the Good News about Jesus — is not an escape ticket to a utopian eternity in the skies one day. It is God’s decisive renewal of creation, inaugurated through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension, and promised return. This reality fuels our believing loyalty now — reshaping our desires, habits, and actions to align with the kingship of Jesus.