Have you ever heard the saying, “God works in mysterious ways?” Let’s talk about that in two ways. First, before Sunday 12/6/2025 I send a tentative blog topic list to my coauthor, Travis. Little did I know, that same Sunday I would listen to a sermon explaining attributes of the Holy Spirit in relation to the story of the virgin birth. The second way to reference that saying is with a question. How does God work in mysterious ways? Isn’t God the Father in Heaven? Isn’t God the son (Jesus) in Heaven? If that’s the case, how does God even live within us? The answer to a lot of these questions is God the Spirit, or the Holy Spirit.
Let’s first talk about what the Holy Spirit is not. Recently, I heard about someone describing the Holy Spirit in a way where they encountered the Holy Spirit through a near death experience of a loved one. In this encounter, this lady said the Holy Spirit revealed HERself to this woman as, well, a woman. Without further elaborating on this, we must understand that experience does not dictate doctrine! We are to test every spirit against the word of God (1 John 4:1). That’s a blog post for another day!
So, then, who is the Holy Spirit? Like the featured image in this post, I picture the Holy Spirit inside all believers as evidenced in this man street preaching. The Spirit empowers us as Christians to do the work of the Lord.
Using Got Questions as a source for key scriptures and phrases, I created this helpful table that compares Biblical Truth vs. Common Misconceptions.
| Topic | Common Misconception | Biblical Truth | Key Scripture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nature | The Holy Spirit is an impersonal force or “energy” | The Holy Spirit is a personal being who thinks, speaks, feels, and chooses | 1 Cor 2:10–11; Eph 4:30 |
| Identity | The Spirit is less than the Father or the Son | The Holy Spirit is fully God, equal in nature and authority | Matt 28:19; Acts 5:3–4 |
| Role in the Trinity | The Spirit is optional or secondary | The Spirit shares one name with the Father and Son | Matt 28:19 |
| Emotions | The Spirit can’t be offended or affected | The Spirit can be grieved by sin and disobedience | Eph 4:30 |
| Decision-Making | The Spirit doesn’t choose—people do everything | The Spirit distributes gifts and assigns roles according to His will | 1 Cor 12:7–11; Acts 13:2 |
| Indwelling | The Spirit comes and goes based on behavior | The Spirit permanently indwells believers | Eph 1:13; 4:30 |
| Salvation | The Spirit is only for “advanced” Christians | Every believer receives the Spirit at salvation | Rom 8:9; Acts 2 |
| Prayer | Prayer is entirely human effort | The Spirit intercedes when believers are weak | Rom 8:26–27 |
| Spiritual Growth | Growth happens through willpower | Sanctification is Spirit-led, not self-driven | Gal 5:16–18 |
| Fruit of the Spirit | Fruit is something believers manufacture | Fruit is produced by the Spirit over time | Gal 5:22–26 |
| Filling of the Spirit | Being “filled” means emotional hype | Being filled means yielding control to the Spirit | Eph 5:18 |
| Spiritual Gifts | Gifts are for status or self-promotion | Gifts are for the common good | 1 Cor 12:7 |
| Role with Unbelievers | The Spirit only works inside the church | The Spirit convicts the world of sin and truth | John 16:8 |
| Evangelism | Converting people is human persuasion | The Spirit testifies of Christ and empowers witness | John 15:26 |
| Evil in the World | God is passive toward evil | The Spirit is actively restraining lawlessness | 2 Thess 2:6–10 |
| Understanding Scripture | Education alone unlocks spiritual truth | The Spirit reveals the deep things of God | 1 Cor 2:10–13 |
| Relationship | The Spirit is mysterious and distant | Believers can know and fellowship with Him | 2 Cor 13:14 |
Hopefully this article helped you understand the Holy Spirit a little more. In summary, remember the Holy Spirit is God. Believers receive the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation as a synonymous act. Evidence of speaking in tongues is not a requirement for salvation or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as supporting scripture above references.
Our Prayer for You
Us at GoApologetics pray for salvation for you and your generations to follow through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, while also praying for the peace and comfort of the Spirit today.
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