Who is the Holy Spirit? He is not an impersonal force. He is not just some aspect of the Father and the Son. He is the Third Person of the Trinity, equally God to the Father and the Son. We confess in the Nicene Creed that He proceeds from the Father and the Son, as we read in our gospel lesson today. Jesus says the Holy Spirit is one, “whom I will send to you from the Father…who proceeds from the Father.” This is the Biblical way we distinguish the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit from one another – the Father is not begotten and does not proceed, the Son is begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. Beyond this, we leave to God, it is beyond our knowing. But what we do know is that the Holy Spirit is true God, a person distinct from the Father and the Son, and most of all He works to help us and bring us Christ in this life.
