{"id":2302,"date":"2020-05-20T17:53:41","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T00:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaymenslounge.com\/?p=2302"},"modified":"2020-05-20T18:08:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T01:08:57","slug":"who-and-what-is-the-holy-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaymenslounge.com\/who-and-what-is-the-holy-spirit\/","title":{"rendered":"Who and What is the Holy Spirit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\nhttps:\/\/radiopublic.com\/the-laymens-lounge-GbpY7J\/s1!62fb4\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Laymens Lounge \u2013 I think it would be helpful for listeners to maybe start with the simplest question, and the most, I guess the big picture questions, about the Holy Spirit – and talking with my wife about this, we think that if you could help people with this question it would be amazing: the Son (Jesus) seems most relatable out of the Godhead (God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit), probably because he came in flesh. He’s human, He’s personified it, it’s something that we can easily think of. The second member of the Godhead that seems most relatable is the Father, because most of us have fathers, whether they were loving or not, we have something to work with there. However, with the Spirit there’s nothing. It seems natural for us to think of the Spirit as a \u201cforce\u201d, yet we know the Holy Spirit is not a \u201cforce\u201d, it’s a person. Can you help us try to have something to work with the spirit that’s relatable?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amos Yong \u2013 Thank\nyou for the question, it\u2019s wonderful question, I’m not sure how helpful this\nwill be, but I would say a couple of things: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. First, I do think that the clearest picture of\nthe Spirit at work actually, is in the person of Jesus Himself, meaning that\nJesus is the Christ or the Messiah, or the anointed one. And that anointing is\nthat anointing of the Spirit. So if we want to understand what the Spirit looks\nlike, what the Spirit does, we look at Jesus Christ, the one who was anointed\nas Messiah, to bring about God’s salvation. And so that’s, I think, the\nclearest picture we have in New Testament about the work of the Spirit<\/li>
  2. Then following from that: Jesus Himself said\nthat he would send a spirit and that he would fill his people with a spirit. So\nthe next set of images I think that we can have, if we want to understand what\nthe Spirit is, and what the Spirit does, is by looking at the body of Christ,\nthe body of the Anointed One, the body of Messiah, which is us – one another.\nWe’re not infallible as Jesus himself was, so when we look at the spirit\nmanifests in in through our minds, sometimes there’s a lot of other cloudiness,\nif you will, from that perspective, but guided by who Jesus was and guided by\nthe scriptures I think that once we begin to read, if you will, the scriptures\nand the body of Christ together, we can, if you will, have a set of bifocals,\nright? That can help us to discern the spirit better. Meaning, the scriptures\nhelp us to discern the work of the Spirit in the body and our experience of the\nbody help us to then discern what the Scriptures say about the spirit in this\nsort of mutual Lee dialogical manner. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 Dr. Young when I’m praying, I often pray in the shower, when\nI’m washing my stinky armpits, should I be praying to the spirit? And, if I am,\nin my mind when I’m thinking of the Spirit (because I know we’re told to pray\nfor the spirit) should I be thinking of Jesus? Or should I be thinking of like\nmy local church community?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong\n\u2013  Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes in many\nrespects. Yeah, I mean, I think it’s certainly appropriate to say, \u201cCome Holy\nSpirit\u201d. Just like it is appropriate to say, \u201cCome, Lord Jesus\u201d. Now most of\nthe time when we say \u201cCome, Lord Jesus\u201d, we’re intending what he historic tradition\ncalls the parousia, which is the second coming of the Lord. On the other hand,\nI also think that our praying \u201cCome Lord Jesus\u201d should be open to him being\npresent in our lives through His Spirit, in anticipation of the second coming.\nmeaning that the sending of the spirit is also in anticipation of the second coming,\nand as part and parcel of that coming that establishes some of the\npossibilities for, and provides intimations of, what that coming will more\nfully unveil in the future. Now, \u201cCome Holy Spirit\u201d say \u201cCome Body of Christ\u201d\nnot so much there. Although I think it is also appropriate for us as we pray to\nsay that our prayer, while yes, of you as an individual, in the shower – so\nlet’s recognize the personal character of that prayer. But nevertheless, I do\nthink that the prayer of us as individual members of the body of Christ are\nalso at its most, if you will, their fullest, if you will, when they\u2019re prayers\nalso with one another. That’s whether we’re talking about in corporate\ntogetherness, or whether we’re talking about praying with the saints, praying\nwith the tradition, meaning that every individual personal prayer is, in some\nrespects, always part of that broader prayer of the of the people of God – the\nbroader groaning and yearning. So there’s never only an individual prayer\nwithout taking away that the sacredness of your shower time. But that shower\nprayer is really more fully at its fullest, if you will, when it’s consistent\nwith, and calls out with the tradition, the saints and the body of Christ. So\nthat our prayers are always, in that respect, in and with and through your\nbody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 Romans chapter 8 talks about \u201cthe spirit praying through us\u201d.\nAnd I believe it’s Ephesians chapter 6 that talks about \u201cpraying in the Spirit\u201d.\nDo you think it’s an accurate way of viewing prayer, to think of prayer as being,\nI guess, birthed by the Spirit > through the son > to the Father? Do you\nthink that’s a biblical sequence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 I\ndo think that’s biblical. I do think that’s a helpful. Um, I’m not sure that I\nwould say that understanding that sequence, in a technical sense, is either important\nor possible. In the sense that I do think that the scriptures give us a lot of\ndifferent ways to formulate the relationship between, if you will, Father, Son,\nand spirit. So that, in some respects, I’m not sure that there’s only one way\nin which all three relate. So I think my point would be to say that \u201cYes, I can\nGrant what you’ve said, as long as we don’t then make it exclusive in some way.\u201d\nBut more importantly, I do think that there is something fundamental about, if\nyou will, what we do in the spirit, that, in fact, that harkens back to what you\nsaid earlier, or one of you said earlier, that there’s a sense in which\neverything that we do as those who are in the body of Christ, and those who are\nfollowers of Jesus, and those who are part of the people of God, that we are\nonly what we are members of the body of Christ, followers of Jesus, part of the\npeople of God, in and through God’s Spirit. There is no such participation, no\nsuch identity, no such discipleship, apart from the spirit. So that from that\nperspective, this paradox of all of our prayer, all of our faithfulness, our\ndiscipleship, anything that we might do that might have any kind of theological\nsignificance only has significance because we are doing so in part responding\nto, in part enabled by, and in part following the initiative of the Spirit\u2026 Even\nwhen we don’t think about it that way! In other words, we don’t have to recognize\nthat we are doing so in and through the Spirit, but if we’re doing it then its\nonly in and through the Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 Is there a benefit to knowing, the sort of, behind the scenes\ntheology?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 I\nthink that there is. All theological understanding, there is a benefit. It’s\nnot as if those who don’t have the knowledge, don’t get the benefits. But the\nmore that we know, the more that we can benefit. In other words, God will use us,\nGod will work through us according to the level of our knowledge and our\navailability. But it’s true, isn’t it that the more we know, the more we can,\nif you will be receptive and enjoy even and welcome that work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 Formally, for me, there were certain truths in Scripture that\nwere sort of Like on an island, I would say, where the doctrine of\njustification was kind of by itself, but it wasn’t related to anything. And\nthen I would study the doctrine of adoption, but I would study that but it\nwasn’t related to anything. But then once I understood union with Christ, it\nconnected all of these ideas! I’m a child of God because I’m connected, I’m\nliterally part of Jesus, and the Spirit is the one who I believe connected me\nto Christ. So then, back to the idea that we do everything through the Spirit\nis based on the idea that Christ on earth did everything through the Spirit. I\nthink Luke 10 says that \u201che was joyful through the Spiri\u201dt. Hebrews says, \u201cthrough\nthe eternal spirit offered himself unblemished.\u201d John 3 says that \u201cthe Spirit\nhas been poured out upon the sun without measure.\u201d And so, if you pay close\nattention, you realize that Jesus did everything through the Spirit. And so it\nfollows that if I’m in Christ, and I also do everything through the Spirit\nbecause I’m connected to Christ, it would be it would be a contradiction If I’m\nin Christ, and I’m not functioning through the Spirit, just like Christ always\ndid. Is that right?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 Yeah.\nIt goes back to what you said earlier, that before you, you understood\njustification, and adoption, etc, etc. And then you started seeing that they\nwere connected, which actually is one of the secrets, if you will, of what the\nSpirit does, the Spirit of God does, right. I mean, so in my book, the Spirit\nof Love that you referred to, I talk about how the theological tradition has\nlong taught that the Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son,\nand that’s scripturally based and you can look it up in my book for the\nscriptural references. But beyond that, you could also say that the Spirit is\nhow God relates to God’s creation, and you can look in my book there’s I’ll\ngive you some scripture references for that. And you can also see how the\nspirit not only relates, if you will, between the Godhead, and between God and\ncreation, but that the Spirit relates creatures to each other within creation.\nIn other words, the Spirit is a great connector connecting in multiple domains\ndimensions and directions. And it’s in part for that reason that once we, if\nyou will, experience more and more the fullness of the Spirit – connections\nalways continue to open up: connections between us and God, connections between\nus and ourselves, I mean, we are actually rather complicated and complex\ncreatures ourselves. Some of us have fragmented personalities, I’m not talking\nabout DSM diagnosis, I’m just talking about how we’re just complex creatures\nand the spirit enables further cohesion amongst ourselves without eliminating,\nif you will, the distinctive parts of ourselves that make up who we are. And\nthen the spirit enables creatures to relate to each other. Right, the body of\nChrist for instance, the spirit enables us to relate to those outside the body of\nChrist. The spirit enables us to relate like the Good Samaritan to Jews or\nwhoever we are to those outside our tribe. The spirit enables us to relate to\nthe created materiality of the world, its creatures, its non-human creatures,\nthe environment itself. In other words, it’s life in the spirit that gives us\ndeeper and ever-increasing awareness and sensibility of our interrelatedness is\nthe way I would put it, with God, with within ourselves with others with the\nworld. So that’s, I think that what you were gesturing toward, and when you\nfirst started out that, you know, if you will, in our own way, in our own\ndiscursively: Yeah, there’s a atonement over here and justification over there\nand sanctification somewhere in the back shelf. But life in the spirit means\nthat all of a sudden they start interrelating. And yeah, that’s why\ntheologically to move in a new methodological direction is very confusing\nbecause theologically, we want to keep everything so have nice and neatly\ndefined and separated. Yeah. But the spirit just simply moves us into life into\nconnecting someone I think one of you said earlier, the letter of Scripture\nwith the real world of buzzing and booming and dynamic creatures in action. And\nthat’s what we are.  So pneumology is\nsimply now attempting to think God’s thoughts after our acting – after our\nafter our responding to and relating to God. And I think I think New pneumology\nhelps us to begins to acclimatize us to doing that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 In marriage, you become one flesh. That’s what Scripture says\nand there’s a union there. And what I want to try to do is help people\nunderstand what the Spirit is. I think Romans eight also talks about the spirit\nbeing this spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. And I want to know if this\nis correct: Can people see that we all have a spirit, the scripture says, we\nhave a spirit – And so Christ has a spirit – And the father also has a spirit.\nBut they are one. And so I ask: Are the father and the son one because they\nshare the same spirit, namely, the Holy Spirit?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Yeah. Well,\nI guess I would say that that’s a very good reformed question, which means\nactually that it doesn’t give forth any good answers. Let me come at that\nquestion another way. That’s a very good scholastic question, which therefore\ndoesn’t give forth very many good answers to those outside the Scholastic\narena. Or, let me put it again in another way that certain true discursive\ntraditions will frame the conversation in certain ways that lead to questions\nsuch as the ones that you asked. And while those discussions of traditions,\ntherefore, also, in some respects give some answers to those questions, they’re\nnever fully satisfactory\u2026 Those questions only arise given certain\npresuppositions and certain contexts of conversation. So my point would be\nsomething like: to ask whether or not the Spirit of God is the same as the\nSpirit of Christ is the same as the Holy Spirit is to ask a question that can\nbe answered both Yes, and both No, but in different ways. And so it’s not to\nsay that either one of those is right or wrong. It’s simply to say that well,\nit depends on what the context of the conversation that the question is being\nasked\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 I think I think the real question is, can the Holy Spirit make\na martini so big that Jesus couldn’t drink it? Would we all agree that that’s\nthe most pressing? Seriously though here\u2019s an easy one: I have a disagreeable\npersonality. I’m, I’m beating myself and, you know, putting in stones in my\nmouth and trying to be you know, try to just be a nicer guy, just a better\nhusband. Not such a lazy Dad, you know. And every morning in the shower,\nbecause I know this promise that says if you’re filled with the Spirit, you \u201cwon’t\nfulfill the desires of the flesh\u201d. And then I often pray that back to God and\nthen I, I pray back these things requesting the promised fruits of the Spirit\nof love, joy, peace and patience. And I pray and I say I want to be filled with\nthe Spirit so that I will be up just like a nicer guy, a better husband and\nthat I will have love joy, peace, patience, but no sooner do I get out and dry\nmyself off that I’m you know, shouting out my wife saying \u201cYou put too much\nsalt these eggs woman!\u201d So what am I doing wrong? What should the Christians\nexpectation be? How do we get filled with the Spirit? And what is expected? And\nwhat of those of us who are praying for that and we just still seem like jerks?\nAre we not filled with the Spirit? Is there something Im missing. Any thoughts\non that?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 Ah,\na couple maybe. First of all, just go hug and kiss your wife and lover. Put\nyour arms around her and tell her how wonderful She is. The second thing I\nwould say would be yes, there is a sense in which we have already received the\nSpirit. There is a sense in which we are continuing to receive more and more of\nthe spirit and there’s a sense in which we are yet to fully receive Spirit. And\nall of those are true. To put it in reformed terms: I was saved, I’m being\nsaved, and I will be saved. And so, just because we have already received the\nSpirit, doesn’t mean that there is not more of the spirit to be received in\nsome way. And here, there are a lot of different discursive traditions,\nCatholic, Lutheran, reformed, Wesleyan, etc, that give us different language\nconceptual metaphors to talk about that. Whether it’s the filling metaphor,\nwhether it’s the baptism metaphor, whether it’s, in other words, have lots of\ndifferent ways to keep conceptualizing what that means and all of those have\nsomething to offer. Which is then also not to say that we haven’t received the\nSpirit in some significant substantive full way, right? So this paradox, I\nmean, there’s no such thing as partially receiving the spirit. But then there’s\nalso no such thing as not needing to continue to be open to more of what that filling\nreception means can be expressed, can be manifest, can be worked out, can be\nenjoyed, and so on. And then there’s the full sense in which we are waiting for\nthat down deposit, you know, that, that deposit fully flowers to bear full\nfruition, coming to full fruition. So, that’s what life in the spirit is. It’s,\nin that respect, recognizing where new creation on the one hand, on the other\nhand, recognizing that we are continually being reformed and transformed, on\nthe other hand, and recognizing on the third hand, that there’s a future that’s\ncoming, in which our transformation will be complete. Sometimes I do think it’s\ngood to be exasperated because our exasperation is a sign that we need to\nattend to some things. Other times, it’s a matter of not beating ourselves up\nwhen we are, you know, feeling like we’re falling short, because that’s part of\nwhat the spiritual life entails \u2013 its recognizing that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 This is something that Joe and I have this conversation about,\nlike, three times a week\u2026 At the end of the day, I just, I basically am running\nwith this one passage where it says \u201cif you’re filled with the Spirit you won’t\nfulfill the desires of the flesh\u201d and the reality is, it seems like no matter\nhow much I pray for the Spirit I still end up fulfilling the desires of my\nflesh\u2026 I’m in a season in my life where I’m often praying for the spirit to\nfill me, whereas prior to last, you know, a year ago, I was praying often that\nI would just have integrity and be a good man and glorify the Father yet I see\nno tangible difference between praying either one of those.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 I\nwould say don’t despair, in that prayer, number one. Number two, I do think\nthat you know, different traditions will talk about different ways in which the\nSpirit is manifest differently. And so sometimes I do wonder whether or not\u2026 We\ntalked earlier about how the spirit is manifest in the body of Christ that\nwe’re a part of. And I do think that as we cross paths with those members of\nthe body that we don’t, that we are unfamiliar with or haven’t had connections\nto, as we cross those paths and interact with these people, God expands our\nunderstanding God enriches our lives or maybe our practices. So my point would\nbe that: I think part of the journey involves us, yes, being faithful in the ecclesiastical\ncontexts in which will be located on the one hand, but also on the other hand,\nsay \u201cokay, well, what other contexts might be available to me for me to have koinonia,\nfor me to rub shoulders with, for me to pursue God with, for me to experience\nGod’s many members of the body and there different gifts through\u2026\u201d In other\nwords, if I if I’m just limited in my ecclesial life to a certain form, well,\nokay, you’ll be limited in your ecclesiastical life to that certain form. But\nas we continue, and I’m not just saying church hop, I’m not saying that, but\nmaybe part of what you’re hungry for is to say, \u201cWhat other ways might God\ncontinue to expand and fill me which comes in part through these members of the\nbody?\u201d not always, because God can sometimes you know, introduce surprises in\nour lives quite apart from any, if you will, ecclesial connectivities. But I\nalso think that the that’s, in part, what the nature of the body and its many\nmembers in its many gifts are. So hanging out with different members of the\nbody on a consistent basis over time, will nurture and allow cultivation of\ndifferent expressions, manifestations, gifts, etc. for the goodness of the\nbody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 If someone’s flipping through their phone and sees a podcast,\nthat’s about the spirit and they listen to it, and it’s just a mom, like, can\nyou bring to the ground as well as you can? The person who just wants to live\nlike Christ? How do they? It seems like it is done through the Spirit\u2026 There’s\nverses that say, like Colossians 1:8 says \u201cwe heard of your love through the\nSpirit\u201d, and I think it’s Romans 15:30 where Paul urges them to \u201cpray through\nthe love of the Spirit.\u201d We know that love is a fruit of the spirit – love is\nnot a fruit of fallen nature\u2026 How do we, I guess the word is access? Or how do\nwe empower ourselves? Timothy talks about how the Spirit gives us power and love.\nI know there’s not a formula, but is there a disposition like should we be\nseeking the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 Yeah,\nwell, thanks for asking. I actually really appreciate, I think it was Joe, who\nsaid earlier\u2026 Although I’m confusing Joe and Jason now because your voices\nsound kind of\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The\nLaymens Lounge \u2013 [Jason] I’m the handsome one. Hehehe <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013\nI knew it! But, in any case, the previous comment was: I’ve been praying for\nthe spirit and, you know, more intentionally, and I and I think there is\nsomething important about that. On the other hand, I also think that there’s a\nsense in which we can ask ourselves be filled of God: of His Son Jesus, and of\nhis spirit that doesn’t necessarily need to focus on, if you will, \u201cthe spirit\u201d.\nBut it’s really the cry that says, \u201cLord, manifest more and more of yourself to\nme\u201d. And I think that’s really the posture at the end of the day. Because\nsometimes we can seek after, if you will, an image or a conceptual reality or a\nlabel, whereas I think what you’re both saying, you’re talking about the mother\nwho chances upon the podcast, want the Spirit. And, you know, in fact, I just\ncame back from a weekend with my 26 year old daughter who has a 21 month old\ndaughter, and a two month old son. And her husband is gone 12 hours a day at\nhis job. And you know what she’s doing for 12 hours a day and she’s got no time\nfor technical disputations, you know, about pneumatology? Whereas what she\nreally wants is a sense of God’s presence. What she really needs is the joy of\nthe Lord that is her strength. Yeah, and that’s a cry for God. We may not even\nhave the language to say \u201ccome Holy Spirit\u201d, but we’re saying, \u201cGod, I need\nyou.\u201d And I think that that cry actually is a cry that, if we actually understood,\ncan help us to be open to how God might be present in, what we might otherwise\ncall, the mundaneness of life, right? In other words, we, maybe we’re looking\nfor expressions that have some presuppositions behind them. Maybe we have\ncertain assumptions about what is or is not the Spirit. And so when we pray,\ncome Holy Spirit, we expect those things as opposed to how God might want to\nmanifest God’s self in our circumstances. My point is simply that, as we go\nback to what we said in the very beginning, Jesus Himself said, in the parable\nof the sheep and the goats that he was actually present when they weren’t\nactually attending to his presence. They weren’t actually cognizant of that\npresence. They weren’t ready to receive His presence manifest in, what we might\notherwise call the mundaneness of life, right? People who are hungry, people\nwho are in prison, people who are sick\u2026 I mean, she\u2019s got sick kids all the\ntime, right? and she doesn’t think that she’s experiencing the Holy Spirit\nunless we begin to alert ourselves and pray and say, Lord, show me your\npresence in this moment. And then all of a sudden tending to her sick children\nbecomes an act of engaging with the divine reality in her midst. Whereas if we\npraying come Holy Spirit, while nursing our child, we might neglect that the\nreality of the Spirit’s presence in that act, possibly. So, I guess my point\nwould be to say is I want to just continue to affirm that crying out for God’s\nmanifest presence crying out for more of God, for whether you’re a mom or\nwhether you’re a plumber or whether you’re whatever it is you’re doing, if your\nheart is simply saying, Lord, I want more of you Then that’s what God wants to\nreveal to us. whatever we’re doing wherever we’re at in life, whatever our\nknowledge, our state of knowledge is, maybe that prayer is simply a reminder to\nlook and ask and say, \u201cLord, where are you right now, in this moment?\u201d \u201cHow do\nI see you here?\u201d Notice I didn’t say, \u201cGod, how do I bring you here?\u201d \u2013 I said \u201cHow\ndo I see you here?\u201d Meaning that God’s already there. The spirits already there.\nThe Prayer is simply how do I realize that more substantively and palpably,\nthat I currently do. I think that’s really the prayer of all of us, right? We\nall want God’s manifest presence; we know in our heads that he’s here but we\ndon’t often pause and slow down long enough to actually attend to what here is,\nand how God is present here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Laymens Lounge \u2013 Thank you Dr. Amos young. Thank you so much. If any of you guys were stirred, we want to encourage you to go read your Bible. Go Pray. And you could you could Google \u201cDr. Amos Young\u201d (and it’s \u201cYong\u201d, not \u201cYoung\u201d). He’s got a book called theology in Down syndrome (linked below), another one called the Bible, disability and the church (also linked below). And right now, for $0.99 on Kindle, who is the Holy Spirit a walk with the apostles (link below). Dr. Young, we are really grateful. Hopefully we can have more chats like this.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amos Yong \u2013 Thank\nyou both. God bless you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We may not even have the language to say \u201ccome Holy Spirit\u201d, but we’re saying, \u201cGod, I need you.\u201d And I think that that cry actually is a cry that, if we actually understood, can help us to be open to how God might be present in, what we might otherwise call, the mundaneness of life, right?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,85,16],"tags":[57],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWho and What is the Holy Spirit? - The Laymen's Lounge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaymenslounge.com\/who-and-what-is-the-holy-spirit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who and What is the Holy Spirit? 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