The Holy Spirit is as old as God. He is infinite and has no beginning or end. We can't comprehend that. As humans we are time focused and we are not able to understand timelessness. Sure we can talk about it, but we run out of ideas pretty quickly. What does it mean that He had no beginning? What does it mean that He has no end?
Our introduction to the Spirit of God is "in the beginning", right there in Genesis 1:1 and He is mentioned no less than 88 times in the Old Testament, some say many more. But either way, He is there to greet us at the very beginning of the revelation of God. He is part of the story and continues throughout the Bible. He is there at the beginning of the New Testament as well. Matthew found it just as easy to talk about the Holy Spirit of God as did Moses. He tells us in Matthew 1:18 that Mary was found to with child of the Holy Spirit. He doesn't even slow down as if what he said was beyond belief or even unexpected. He was there during the creation (Gen 1:1), He was there bringing life (Gen 1:26-27) to humans and He was there bring eternal life to us (Matt 1:18).
The Spirit is mentioned 264 times in the New Testament. It is as if the writers expect us to understand that He is part in the Biblical story. The book of Acts has 57 references to the Spirit; which has caused some to call it the "Acts of the Holy Spirit". To understand the Bible, it is necessary to have an understanding of the Spirit and who He is and what He does. Imagine if we thought it was unnecessary to know Jesus... it is just as ludicrous to think that it is unimportant to know the Spirit. He is everywhere in scripture and His actions are front and center.
He was deeply involved in the life of Christ. He was there for His conception. (Matthew 1:18) I don't know! I am sure you asking questions... He was there for His baptism (Luke 3:21-22). He was there when He was tempted (Luke 4:1ff). And He was there throughout His ministry (Luke 4:14-21; Matt 12:28). If we are to understand and know our Savior, we must certainly come to understand and know the Spirit as He was so prominent in the life of Jesus.
In closing, it is important for us to consider His prominence in our lives as well. He convicts us of sin (John 16:7,8) and we are born again of the Spirit (John 3:5-8). We are renewed by the Spirit (Titus 3:4-6) and we live in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We are to walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:25) and we are to be led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14). He makes intercession for us (Romans 8:26-27) and He strengthens us (Ephesians 3:16). That sounds like pretty important stuff to understand. As we continue through our study we will dig deeper to gain understanding about each of these areas that the Spirit works and impacts our lives.
Suffice it to say, we have a long way to go in our study and in growing our relationship with the Holy Spirit of God. If you are already there, I look forward to hearing and learning from you! If you are on this journey with me, thanks for coming along for the ride. Wherever you are, whatever you know; I look forward to gaining understanding from you as we study along together. May God richly bless you in your desire to grow closer to Him.
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