The Trinity consists of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We spend a lot of time focused on our relationship with the Father and with His Son, but we often shy away from the role of the Holy Spirit. 

In order to understand the Holy Spirit, let’s start with what the Holy Spirit is not. 

The Holy Spirit is not a prize 

Sometimes the Holy Spirit is seen as a second salvation. That the anointing of the Spirit is handed out to those who are the most spiritual, like a prize. This is simply not true. The Holy Spirit lives within every Christian. First Corinthians 3:16-17 (MSG) says, “You realize, don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God’s temple, you can be sure of that. God’s temple is sacred — and you, remember, are the temple.” God is present in us because of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not Jiminy Cricket 

We’ve all seen the cartoons with the devil and the angel arguing over the shoulders of a person in moral conflict. The Holy Spirit isn’t someone we reason with or pit against the devil’s schemes. Instead the Holy Spirit provides the power to serve Christ. In Acts 1:8 (MSG) it says, “And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.” It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to share God’s truths with the world. Loving others is not always an easy command to fulfill. The Holy Spirit enables us with the power to love and serve others (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Holy Spirit is not a silent partner 

We often treat the Holy Spirit as an inferior part of the Trinity, but the reality is that all three are fully God. The Holy Spirit is not a silent partner that sits by, simply waiting in the wings. Instead, the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, guides us to truth and even offers up prayers on our behalf when words fail us (Romans 8:26). The Spirit was there in the very beginning, at creation. In Genesis 1:2 we are told the Spirit moved across the surface of the waters. From the very start the Holy Spirit was present. 

The Trinity is complex. It’s hard to explain and hard to wrap our minds around. Each player makes up a part of the whole and is simultaneously fully God. At Centerpoint we dive into the hard questions. We don’t shy away from complex. No matter where you are in your faith journey, you are welcome to join us! Atheist, agnostic or Jesus-follower, there is a seat for you at our table.