Short answer

The Holy Spirit is God: the third Person of the Trinity, not a force or a feeling. He brings people to new birth, lives within every believer, makes Jesus real to us, produces His character in us and fills us with power to serve.

A Person, not a power

The Bible never treats the Holy Spirit as an “it”. He speaks (Acts 13:2), teaches, can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30) and can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4), where lying to the Spirit is called lying to God. Jesus promised another Helper (John 14:16-17) who would be with His people for ever: someone like Himself.

What He does

The Spirit convicts us of sin and draws us to Jesus. He gives new birth (John 3:5-6) and comes to live in everyone who believes: Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Romans 8:9). He assures us that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16), helps us pray, and slowly grows His fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

He also equips the church. He gives gifts to build up God’s people (1 Corinthians 12:4-11) and power to witness. Jesus told His disciples, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses (Acts 1:8).

Why He matters to you

Without the Spirit, Christianity would be a set of ideas about a man who lived long ago. With Him, Jesus is present, the Bible comes alive, prayer becomes conversation and ordinary people find courage and love they did not have before. He is the difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

How this connects across the Bible

The Bible is one story. Here is how this theme runs from the Old Testament to Jesus:

  • The Spirit is present at creation, hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2), and gives life to all creatures (Psalm 104:30).
  • In the Old Testament the Spirit came upon particular people for particular tasks, such as the judges and the prophets (Judges 6:34, Micah 3:8).
  • Moses longed for the day when all God’s people would be prophets with His Spirit on them (Numbers 11:29); Joel promised that day would come (Joel 2:28-29).
  • Jesus was anointed with the Spirit at His baptism (Luke 3:22) and promised the same Spirit to His followers (John 14:16-17); at Pentecost Peter announces that Joel’s promise has arrived (Acts 2:16-18).

What we believe at Spring Valley

We believe the Holy Spirit is God, one of the three Persons of the one true God. We believe in the new birth by the Spirit, in the baptism in the Holy Spirit as an enduement of power for service, and in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in the church today.

Our full Statement of Faith

Your next step

If you have trusted Jesus, the Holy Spirit already lives in you. There is more He wants to do: read What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Read the Bible free in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, English and many more languages at bible.com.