
Who is the Holy Ghost?
Great question! As you may notice by the question, Holy Ghost is not a “what.” He is a “who.” Holy Ghost (also referred to as Holy Spirit) is the third person in the Godhead; there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God, though He is one Being, is triune; He functions as three different beings, so to speak. For example, I, Katherine Free, am one being. Yet I function as a student, a teacher, and an administrator. Though I operate in different functions, I am still one person. So it is with God. God is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit all at the same time.
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
When you receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord, Holy Spirit comes to live inside you to reproduce the very life of Jesus inside of you. So the life you now live is not yours. You have Jesus’ life on the inside of you. The same sinless, holy life that Jesus walked out on this earth is the same life you have living on the inside of you—in your spirit.*
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
(1 Corinthians 3:16, New King James Version)
And God has given us His Spirit as proof that we live in Him and He in us.
(1 John 4:13, New Living Translation)
Because you are His sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”
(Galatians 4:6, New International Version)
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20, English Standard Version)
It is through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that God develops godly character within us and molds us into the image of His dear Son, Jesus. … And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
(2 Corinthians 3:18, New Living Translation)
Function of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of you the moment you receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. He is on assignment from God the Father to teach us and to remind us of all that Jesus has spoken and will ever speak to us. He is on assignment to correct us, to encourage us, to lead us, to comfort us, to transform us into the image of Jesus, and to seal us to God Himself. As the Spirit of Truth, Holy Spirit will speak only that which He has heard Jesus say. Jesus says only what He hears God say; therefore, the Holy Spirit speaks only what God has said.**
But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name [in my place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.
(John 14:26, Amplified Classic Edition)
… When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come
(John 16:13, New King James Version)
As you see in John 14:26, Holy Ghost serves many functions in our lives. While it is beyond the scope of this post to go into depth about the functions of the Holy Spirit, I would like to recommend that you read Presenting the Holy Spirit by Sister Fuschia Pickett, who has gone home to be with the Lord. Outside of the Bible, this book is the most thorough and comprehensive book I have seen where Holy Spirit is concerned. God used this book as a foundational tool to introduce me to the Person of the Holy Spirit years ago, and my life has not been the same since.
Relying on the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to operate fully in each of His functions will empower you to live the victorious life that Jesus came to give you. Receiving this life is one thing, but living it is another. If we want to live victoriously—from glory to glory rather than from glory to defeat to glory to defeat—we need the power of the Holy Ghost.
*
Man is a three-part being consisting of spirit, soul, and body (see II Thessalonians 5:23). The spirit is the real us – the part that
communes with God, and the lens through which God views us after we are born again. He sees us as being just as holy, pure, and anointed as Jesus because He sees us through the blood of Jesus. To gain a better understanding of this truth, I recommend listening to Andrew Wommack's teaching, Spirit, Soul, and Body, which is available for download and for purchase at Andrew Wommack Ministries International (awmi.net).
**
See John 7:16; 8:26, 28; 14:10.
The above excerpts are taken from Beyond Salvation: The Art of Receiving God's Promises. Used with the author's permission.
Clickhereto order your copy.