Spirit

When I was growing up, I was part of a church that prayed a little differently than I do today.  Today, I usually find myself ending a time of prayer "In Jesus' Name."  Back then, we prayed everything in the "Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  It was an important reminder that God is Three Persons, but One God.  I still see this in the descriptors of God today.

When I look at Scripture, though, I find many more descriptors of God than just Father, Son and Spirit.  YHWH (Yahweh, or Jehovah) is the most common Old Testament description.  God is also described as Creator, Redeemer, Ruler, the one who sets captives free, and much, much, more.  We cannot describe, much less comprehend, and infinite God.

While I was preparing for this series, I looked up some of these descriptors.  I also looked up the "big three" of Father, Son, and Spirit.  I was a bit surprised with what I found.  You see, I know Jesus was prophesied about throughout the Old Testament and discussed freely in the New Testament.  We had done a series on the Son last summer.  Many, many Scriptures point to the Son.  When I think of the Father, I think about God sitting as King in on His Throne, with angels and saints singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord."  I think of God the Ruler.  I also think about God the Father who receives prodigal children home with open, loving arms even though they do not deserve the Father's love.  None of this surprised me.  Here was the surprise.  The term "Father" is only used a few times and the word "Son" is never used in the Old Testament to describe God.  

The word "Spirit," however, is used consistently all the way through the Scriptures to describe our infinite God.  This makes sense when you think about it.  It's hard to imagine God in the flesh being everywhere at the same time, but it's easy to imagine a Spirit being that way.  It's hard to picture a Father or a Son living forever in the past, but Spirit can easily make the trek into past eternity.  Spirit is the most common descriptor of the three throughout Scripture...starting back in the very beginning.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2 NIV)

How about you?  Do you try to imagine an unimaginable God?  Do you picture God as Father?  as Son?  as Spirit?  Are you ready to expand your picture of the Spirit of God?