It’s not hard for us to understand who God is, since Jesus referred to Him as “our Father” (Luke 11:2). We’ve all had a father who loved us, protected us, and provided for us. A loving father would never give his children things that might hurt them or harm them. Jesus said that our loving heavenly Father cares for us (Luke 11:11-13).
Neither is it hard for us to understand Jesus because he is the Son of God. Jesus was conceived by the virgin Mary when “the power of the Highest” — the spirit of the Father — overshadowed her.
So, God is our Father and Jesus is His Son. Jesus had a human mother and except for his virgin birth was born the same as we were. God is a spirit, but Jesus is as human being as we are. The difference is that his Father was God. Jesus was born with the divine nature of his heavenly Father and had no predisposition toward sin. Although fully tempted he never sinned.
It is not as easy to define the Holy Spirit, since “a spirit has no flesh and bones…” (Luke 24:39) The Hebrew word “ruakh” and the Greek word “pneuma” both mean “wind” or “breath”. We understand wind. because we can hear it and feel it even though we can’t see it. We can see it moving in the flapping leaves and swaying branches of a tree, but what we are seeing is not the wind itself but its powerful effects.
When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove, a gentle white bird known for its quiet nature. The Holy Spirit could rest on His Son because the nature of both was pure and peaceful. So, the Bible pictures God as a father, Jesus as a son, and the Holy Spirit as a pure and peaceful white bird.
The Bible also refers to the Spirit as wind, fire, water, and [olive] oil. Just as we can feel the ‘breath’ of a breeze on our faces, we can feel the ‘breath’ of the Spirit in a meeting or privately while praying to God our Father or while worshipping His Son. God “walked” with Adam “in the cool of the day” — the gentle, late afternoon breeze — to refresh him in the way that His presence refreshes us at the end of a hot day. As God’s “new creation” in Christ, we too are refreshed as God fellowships with us as each day draws to a close.
The Holy Spirit is also described as fire (Matthew 3:11 & Acts 2:3). Fire is not cool, fire is hot! We sometimes feel the heat of the Holy Spirit on our faces during a church meeting as the Lord deals with our private issues and attitudes, or when convicting us of wrong things said or done — the effect not unlike the way children blush when caught out in a lie. The Holy Spirit probes and examines our hearts, where our deepest secrets are closely kept.
We also think of the Spirit of God as a burning fire that consumes; and as water because the Spirit refreshes our spiritual thirst – much as a cold drink quenches our physical thirst (John 4:13,14 & 7:37).
The Holy Spirit is also described as oil. In the time of Jesus, olive oil was rubbed into the bodies of the sick and injured. In James 5:14, 15, those who are sick are instructed to ask church elders to “anoint” them with oil and pray for their healing. The oil reminds those who are sick that the Spirit of God is present to answer the elders’ prayers.
So, we can also think of the Holy Spirit as soft on our skin, like an ointment. The Bible teaches us that God is our heavenly Father, and that Jesus is His very human Son. 1 John 1:3 tells us that our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 13:14 speaks of “the fellowship of (from) the Holy Spirit”. It is when we fellowship with the Father and the Son that we become aware of the presence of the Spirit.
So, think of God the Father, who is invisible, yet we can feel His Spirit on our faces like a cool breeze; and Jesus, who we can’t see but who is Son of Man and Son of God. We feel his presence when he comes to us by the Holy Spirit (Revelation 2:29). We pray in the Spirit to God our Father in heaven in the Name of Jesus the Son of God.
It’s personal. You pray to God your Father and ask Him to look after your family, and you talk to Jesus, the Son of God, who knows and understands you well because he is also the Son of Man. While enjoying this special time with the Father and the Son you know that the Spirit of the Father is shining on your face or is present in your hands — sometimes all over you, to the degree that you are ‘bathed’ in the holy presence of God.
Spiritual experiences can be accompanied by physiological effects such as a tingling in the ears (1 Samuel 3:11). You are in fellowship with both Father and Son as Jesus said you would be — “That they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me and I in you: that they also may be one in us…” (John 17:21) Our daily fellowship with the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit ought to be regarded as the Premier Time in our day. I really hope that you regard it as such! (2 Corinthians 13:14).