7th October 2025

Many of us, when we think of God, picture the Creator: God the Father, the Maker of heaven and earth, or we remember Jesus Christ, who walked among us, taught and healed, suffered and rose again. The Holy Spirit, however, can feel more mysterious, less tangible, a breath, a flame, a dove, a still small voice. Yet the Holy Spirit is not an abstract force or an impersonal energy. The Spirit is fully God, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. At this point in the Creed, it presents the biblical teaching that the Holy Spirit, with the Father and the Son, is fully God and thus is both the subject and object of our worship. 

Thomas Torrance highlights, ‘Faith in the Holy Spirit is to be held in a Trinitarian frame in accordance with the ordinance of holy baptism into the one name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit…’ ¹  The Trinitarian baptismal formula of our header scripture was of particular importance to the framers of the Creed in upholding the deity of the Holy Spirit, and establishing the doctrine of the Trinity. They also looked to several other passages of scripture, including: Matthew 3:13-17 – where at Jesus’s baptism, the Father acknowledges Jesus as his beloved Son and the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus, anointing him as the Christ; 2 Corinthians 13:14 – where we are told of the Son’s grace, the Father’s love, and of the communion of the Holy Spirit, and 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 – where there are diversities of gifts but they are of the same Spirit, Lord (Son), and God (Father).

Torrance comments, ‘A definite doctrine of the Trinity was found to arise out of a faithful exegetical interpretation of the New Testament…’ ²    The Creed formulates the idea that to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit is to be indwelt by God himself. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is ‘the Lord God in the full reality of his divine life and being…In sending to us his Spirit, God has given us, not just something of himself, but his very Self.’ ³ 

Because the Holy Spirit is fully and wholly God, we confess that he is to be ‘worshipped and glorified’ with the Father and the Son. He is deserving of our deepest reverence and praise. To worship the Spirit is not to divide our allegiance among three gods, but affirms the unity of God and the diversity of God’s self-revelation. The Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son, drawing us into that same love. This unity is not only a theological truth but a model for the church community. Just as the Spirit is united with the Father and the Son, so we are called to live in unity with one another, each with our unique gifts, but all bound together in love, mission, and praise. How, then, shall we respond to the Holy Spirit? Let me suggest three ways to consider:

With worship – The Spirit as wholly God is worthy of our praise and worship.  \
With surrender – The Spirit is to fill our lives, and shape our thoughts, words, and deeds. We are to be open to his leading, and keep in step with him. 
With mission – The Spirit does not fill us for our benefit alone but sends us into the world, empowering us to share the good news of Jesus, to practice compassion, to work for justice, and to extend the kingdom of God. 

May the Spirit gather us as the people of God, fill us with the love of God, and send us with the message of God.

¹  Torrance, T.F.  The Trinitarian Faith, p 193.
²   Ibid. p. 199.
³  Ibid. p. 209.

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church