The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. Some parts of Christianity and other religions believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus is the third part of the Trinity. That is actually not true and not mentioned in the Bible anywhere. The Holy Spirit is his own entity. He, as Jesus, is 100% God, but acts as an individual person in submission to the Father. “One God in three persons,” as an old hymn goes. 

Since we are made in God’s image, we can use our own makings to further understand this mystery. Many say that we are made up of body, soul, and spirit. Our body is our physical manifestation of ourselves (as Jesus is of the Trinity). Our soul is the core of our being from which all of our personality derives (as compared to the Father). Nothing in the rest of our being does anything, unless our soul wishes to do it. Our spirit is our immaterial living part. It is where our conscience resides. In the same way God’s Holy Spirit can commune with our spirit and guide us to do good. He allows us to know and do God’s will.

I would go so far to say that perhaps a person isn’t fully alive without the Spirit. Many people interchange spirit and soul when they talk about our spiritual being. Perhaps we are only living ⅔ of our lives without the Holy Spirit living in us. That could be why when people are non-Christians they feel like they are missing something in their lives, but when they find Christ and accept his Spirit to live in them, then they have found what was missing.

Abilities/Functions of the Holy Spirit

Some believe that the Holy Spirit was only poured out on the apostles so they could lead and build the Church and that many believers don’t have the Spirit after conversion, but evidence from the New Testament show that just as Joel promised (Joel 3:1-2) the Holy Spirit has been poured out and is available to all who put their faith in Christ. Here is a non-exhaustive list of short descriptions of the abilities of the Holy Spirit:

• He acknowledges Jesus Christ (1 John 4:2-3)
• He is a teacher (John 14:26)
• He will tell followers of Jesus what to say when confronted by others (Luke 12:12)
• He enables people to speak in other languages that were not originally known to the believer (Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 14)
• Performs signs and wonders so unbelievers are convinced (Hebrews 2:4)
• Enables believers with different gifts (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)
• Gives boldness (Acts 1:8; 4:31)
• He reveals the truth and gives discernment (Acts 5:3; 1 Corinthians 2:11)
• Directly communicates with believers (Acts 13:2)
• Accompanied by joy (Acts 13:52; Romans 14:17; 1 Thessalonians 1:6)
• Warns of upcoming events such as trials and tribulations (Acts 20:23)
• Reveals the future; allows believers to prophecy (Acts 21:11)
• Love of God accompanied with the receiving of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)
• Searches the heart and acts as an intercessor between God and believer (Romans 8:27)
• Accompanied by hope and power (Romans 15:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:5)
• Involved in sanctifying the believer (Romans 15:16; Titus 3:5)
• Dwells within the believer (1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:14)
• Acts as a seal of salvation; a guarantee of salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30)
• Revealer of mysteries (Ephesians 3:1-6)
• Responsible for all prophecy  (2 Peter 1:21)

How do we obtain the Holy Spirit?:

• Received after repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38)
• Received after prayer (Acts 8:15) and/or laying on of hands (Acts 8:17)
• Received as people heard the message of Christ and accepted it (Acts 10:44)
• Received before baptism (Acts 10:47)
• Received after 2nd baptism of followers of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-6)
• Received at belief and acceptance of Christ (Ephesians 1:13)