I once led a retreat on discovering, developing, and utilizing the power of God in our daily lives. In one session, we divided into small groups to discuss five finish-the-sentence statements:

1.    The one fear I have about the Holy Spirit is….

2.    The picture I have in my mind of a Spirit-filled person is….

3.    If I were to give myself 100% to God, I know I would have to….

4.    My reactions (positive and negative) to others who have been filled with the Holy Spirit have been….

5.   What I have always believed or been taught about the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that….

In this devotional series, I’d like to answer these questions and others about the Holy Spirit. For some, this topic makes them cautious. For others, excited.

In general, though, I think the third person of the Trinity is often neglected or overlooked. We emphasize God, the Creator, the Almighty. Our God is a good, good Father. We emphasize Christ, his cross, his resurrection, his lordship. Our message is Christ-centered.

How do we equally talk about the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God. He is not part God. As fully God, he can be worshiped and prayed to.

The Holy Spirit is a Person. He is a living, loving Person. He is not a force nor an it.

The Holy Spirit is equal to God the Father and God the Son. He is not less than God or Jesus.

Just like God the Father and God the Son have different roles or job descriptions, the Holy Spirit has a different role or job description than God the Father or God the Son.

Science historians debate over who discovered oxygen. Joseph Priestley is most often credited, because he was the first to publish his findings in 1774. Some historians, however, argue that credit should go to chemist Carl Scheele who identified oxygen in 1772. In addition, Antoine Lavoisier later claimed to have discovered oxygen and gave oxygen its name.

Regardless of who gets the credit, oxygen surrounds us every day, and we can’t live without it. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. He surrounds us, and we can’t live the Christian life without him. Let’s discover afresh the Holy Spirit.