In Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬ ‭(ESV) we read, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”‬‬

What does it mean that we are made in the image of God? 

God is a Three-Part Being

God is a three-part being – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We see this in Scripture in many places. One of my favorite times where we see all three parts of God is when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased’” Luke‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭22‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬. We see Jesus the Son, we see the Holy Spirit like a dove, and we hear the voice of the Father declaring who Jesus is to the rest of the people. I think this is a beautiful scene recorded for us in the Bible. 

The church as a whole has focused heavily on God the Father and Jesus. We can understand who Jesus is because of the Bible, and people generally understand what a father is, even if they didn’t have a great earthly father. People have a tangible understanding of these two roles of the Trinity. 

However, people often have a difficult time understanding the Holy Spirit, and as a result just kinda shove him off to the side and determine he is not important. We have discovered that the Holy Spirit is vital to have a complete understanding of who God truly is, and to live a life filled with power that only the Holy Spirit can provide. What is the role of the Holy Spirit? Who is he? What is his job in the Trinity? 

Role of the Holy Spirit – Helper

The first role the Holy Spirit has is to be our helper and truth revealer. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭16‬-‭17‬, ‭26‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

Before Jesus went to the cross he explained to us who the Holy Spirit is and what he does for those in the body of Christ. One of the things he does is to show us what the truth is and helps us to remember all that we have learned from the Bible. Have you ever been talking to someone, and all of the sudden a verse comes to mind? This verse is the answer to the question the person you are talking to is asking, because the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. I suggest you speak that out loud and see what happens. 

He Intercedes for Us

The second role the Holy Spirit has is to intercede for us. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬

What does intercede mean? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines intercede as: to intervene between parties with a view to reconciling differences : MEDIATE. The Latin cedere means “to go,” so “go between” is the most literal meaning of intercede. 

In this passage there are two words in Greek that are translated as intercede in those verses in Romans.

What Do These Words Mean

The first word intercede is the Greek word in verse 26: hyperentygchanō (pronounced: hoop-er-en-toong-khan’-o). This is the only place in the whole Bible. The only definition they give is: to intercede for one. So taking the dictionary’s definition this means the Holy Spirit is our go between to reconcile us to the Trinity. 

The second word intercede is the Greek word is in verse 27: entygchanō (pronounced: en-toong-khan’-o). It can mean “to go to or meet a person, especially for the purpose of conversation, consultation, or supplication.” So in this case the Holy Spirit is meeting with us and having a conversation with us and God. It’s like he’s an interpreter between our hearts and God’s heart.

What an important job for the Holy Spirit! He needs to know the heart of us and the father and son so he can properly interpret for us. When we aren’t sure what to say, or the words we use aren’t really what we mean, he is there to say it correctly. There is no such thing as “lost in translation” when it comes to the Holy Spirit. We can be confident he will intercede perfectly for us!

We Are Also a Three-Part Being

Just as God is a three-part being, so are we. Remember, we are made in the image of God. We call our three parts a human body, a human soul, and a human spirit. Yes, our soul and our spirit are two different parts of our being. Our soul consists of our mind, will, and emotions, while our spirit is what is born again when we are saved. We will talk more about our human spirit in the next post. (Or check out this one.) 

1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭23‬ ‭(ESV)‬‬ tells us, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Why would God lead Paul to write that we would be sanctified in our whole spirit, soul, and body if those aren’t three distinct parts? If we were just a body and had a soul-spirit, why not just say our whole body and soul? There is a reason the soul and spirit are listed as different parts of us that need sanctification. It is because our soul and spirit are completely different. Like in the understanding (or misunderstanding) of the Holy Spirit, people have a difficult time understanding what role our human spirits play. And as a result our human spirits are shoved off into a corner and deemed unimportant.

What About You?

Are you in need of a Helper? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. He loves to partner with you in God’s calling for your life.

Do you need a go-between in your relationship with God? Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you. He loves to search the mind of God and make it known to you what God the Father thinks about you.

As a born-again believer, did you realize you have an active human spirit? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this to you as well. The light of the Holy Spirit fills your human spirit and is meant to shine outward through spirit, soul and body to the world.
As Jesus said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 ‭(ESV)