John 14:21-26

In the gospel of John, Jesus says: "The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you."

There is much in the Old Testament about the Spirit, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of the Lord, and there is frequent mention of the Holy One of Israel, especially in Isaiah. But I have found only three places in the Old Testament where the adjective "holy" precedes the noun "spirit," and in each of these the phrase is clearly attributing holiness to God. Psalm 51:11 reads, "Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me." Isaiah 63:10-11 refers twice to "his holy Spirit" where the reference is obviously to God. It seems that references to "the Holy Spirit," which appear in all four of the New Testament gospels, in Acts of the Apostles, and in Paul's letters, represent a break with ancient Israel's understanding of God.

The affirmation of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is what leads the church later to affirm a trinitarian (or triune) understanding of God. There is no explicit reference to the Trinity in the New Testament, and the idea was not formulated in the life of the church until after the Christian canon of scripture was established in the fourth century. But the notion that God is present to individual Christians in the life of the church, as the Holy Spirit, is deeply rooted in the Christian witness. An understanding of God, as Creator, and as present not only in Jesus but also in the Holy Spirit, which animates the life of the church after Jesus is no longer present, led to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

Grace and peace...Bob