When we pray the Nicene Creed, we proclaim: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life.” These words hold a deep and beautiful truth about who the Spirit is and how He works in us. Many people wonder what it really means to call the Spirit “Lord” and “Giver of Life.” This question touches the very heart of how God lives and acts within His creation and within our souls.
To call the Holy Spirit “Lord” is to acknowledge His full divinity. He is not merely a force or influence, but God Himself, equal in glory and majesty with the Father and the Son. In the same way that the Father is called Lord and the Son is called Lord, so too is the Spirit. As St. Paul says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17). The Spirit is not something God sends—He is God sent among us, to dwell in our hearts and guide us into all truth.
When we call Him the “Giver of Life,” we affirm that every breath of existence, both physical and spiritual, comes from Him. In the beginning, it was the Spirit of God who “hovered over the waters” (Genesis 1:2), bringing order and life to the world. That same Spirit breathed life into Adam, making him a living being. And today, it is the Spirit who gives us new life in Christ, transforming hearts and awakening faith. Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail” (John 6:63).
The Holy Spirit not only gives natural life but also divine life — the life of grace that makes us children of God. In baptism, the Spirit brings us into this new life; in the sacraments, He sustains and renews it. The Spirit works quietly, like the breath or the wind, but His power is infinite: He turns sinners into saints, fear into courage, and despair into hope. As the breath of God, He makes the Church alive — not just an institution, but a living body united in love.
So when we proclaim the Spirit as “Lord and Giver of Life,” we are really professing that God Himself dwells within us, making our hearts His temple. Every good desire, every act of love, every spark of faith is a sign that the Spirit is at work. He is the One who makes the dead rise — both in spirit and, one day, in the resurrection of the body.
May we open our hearts to the Spirit who gives life.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful,
and kindle in us the fire of Your love.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
