"And the Spirit of God hovered over the waters of the deep…"
This verse always comes to mind when I see mist and fog. I imagine that it is the ending of the Ice Age and someone is sitting down and watching the mist roll over the water or land. As the ice peels back, the landscape emerges. Mankind's memory of the land considers it one way, but the mists reveal another. Silently and diligently the landscape has changed under the ice blanket. The mist also is in-between the sea and sky, like heaven (according to the old Hebrew word, heaven means between 'two waters'). Thus, God's re-creation is revealed by the Holy Spirit.
I have often thought about what the Holy Spirit is. I have always had a basic understanding of the Holy Spirit, but when one considers it in the sense of the Trinity, I pause and think, "Hmm….." The council of Nicea had a debate over this issue, whether the Holy Spirit is a person, a power or something else. They concluded that the Holy Spirit is a person. The reason why the debate occurred is due to understanding the concept of Gods' Spirit in both the Old & New Testaments, as it appears to differ. In the OT, the Spirit is identified as the Hebrew - Ruach; the NT identifies it as the Greek - Pneuma. Furthermore, the NT talks of gifts from the Spirit and acts/messages being guided by the Spirit, whereas the OT talks more about inspiration from the Spirit as well as it being a force/power.
So who is the Holy Spirit? Whilst doing research, one of the best descriptors I found was that it is the action of God. Ostensibly, the primary understanding is that it is the Breath of God. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit arrives on what we now call, Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has always been, but there is an undeniable awakening to Its presence, manifested on this occasion in fire and wind. So it is breath, fire and wind. It also imparts gifts; wisdom, teaching, prophecy, language, understanding, interpretation and healing. It is as if the Spirit is the mind of God and the actions of God, for the gifts and manifestations are not just being, but also doing in a very obvious way. Whereas God is unseen yet omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, and Christ is seen as human in form with all the attributes of God, the Holy Spirit is God doing, seen in various manifestations and giftings.
Recently, I was at Durham Cathedral and at the shrine Of St Cuthbert. On the small lectern was a Bible open at John 3:5, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." As I read the excerpt, a gentle brush of wind approached me, almost as if it was one solitary breath. It lasted only for a moment, like one exhalation. No one else was around at this point either, it was one of those rare moments and seemed rather poignant. I had been contemplating what article I should write about next and this moment inspired me. Not long before, I had completed writing a piece about God and what God is, so naturally I was looking for the next subject to write about. To my mind, this moment was a gentle nudge saying, "Write about me." So after some research and thought, I wrote this article. So, in my opinion, this is a way of how the Holy Spirit can communicate, which also helps me conclude that the Spirit is inspiration that leads to action.
Another question I ask myself is if the Spirit is conscious? I believe it is. It has the same mind as God, being loving, providing, educational and protective, as expressed by its actions, as well as being it's own entity, within the Trinity. Whereas God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, the Holy Spirit is these yet also being able to manifest in certain forms other than human. It inspires, teaches and imparts gifts. God can teach, inspire and manifest, but the Holy Spirit is these things in action. Hence, I have concluded that the only way it can do these things is by being conscious of what form or gift it 'needs to be.'
What is the Holy Spirit? To my mind it is the Action of God. It is an, "inner attribute of the Divine Mind which the Creator can project from Himself to accomplish His will," as Mark Heber Miller says. If God can be compared to being the Mind, Christ being the Word, then the Spirit is the Action. For instance, God thinks about what is needed, Christ speaks the need and the Spirit puts it to action. All of them are equal and share the same mind. It is also this combination that we know as the Holy Trinity; God being the brain, Christ being the spoken request and word, and the Spirit being and putting the words into action, yet all have the same mind. There is no hierarchy, for all three are equal, all have the same power.
Imagine it this way. You write a letter of complaint to a company and they reply. The return correspondence explains what's been done and how they resolved the complaint. In this comparison it is God who decides what is needed to be done, the actions to fix and resolve are the Spirit, and the written letter to you is Christ, but all are the one business/company (You could compare this to prayer too).
These are my conclusions on the Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity. I hope that this helps you understand these concepts. For further information, you may like to read my article, Searching for God.
