When we speak of the Holy Spirit as the “third Person of the Trinity,” we are not describing rank or importance, but relationship and order within the mystery of God Himself. The Trinity is one God in three Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — each fully and eternally God, yet distinct in relation to one another. The Holy Spirit is called “third” not because He is less divine, but because He proceeds from the Father and the Son, completing the eternal communion of love that is God’s very being.
Many people struggle to grasp this mystery, and that’s okay. The Trinity is not meant to be fully analyzed, but adored and experienced. In Scripture, we meet the Holy Spirit as the breath of God moving over the waters of creation (Genesis 1:2), as the one who descends upon Jesus at His baptism, and as the living presence Jesus promises to send to His followers after His Ascension: “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things” (John 14:26). In these moments, we glimpse the Spirit’s place within the divine harmony — the love shared between the Father and the Son, poured out upon us.
The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son — meaning He is the bond of love between them, not a separate being, but the divine gift that flows from their eternal unity. St. Augustine beautifully said that the Holy Spirit is “the mutual love of the Father and the Son.” When we receive the Spirit, we are drawn into that very love — we become partakers in the divine life itself.
So when we call Him the “third Person,” we affirm that the Spirit is personal, not an impersonal force. He speaks, teaches, comforts, and sanctifies. He lives in the Church and in each believer’s heart, guiding us to the truth and transforming us into the likeness of Christ. Without the Spirit, we cannot even say, “Jesus is Lord.” (1 Corinthians 12:3)
To know the Holy Spirit, then, is to know the living God who breathes within us — the God who continues to create, to renew, and to dwell in the hearts of His people. He is not distant or abstract; He is the very presence of divine love alive in the world.
May we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit — not as an idea to understand, but as a Person to welcome. For in receiving Him, we receive the love of the Father and the Son, the very life of God Himself.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Your love.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
