1This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” 2I have warned previously, and I warn again, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now and to all the rest that if I come again, I will not spare, 3seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me who is not weak, but is powerful in you. 4For he was crucified through weakness, yet he lives through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live with him through the power of God toward you.
5Examine your own selves, whether you are in the faith. Test your own selves. Or don’t you know about your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. 6But I hope that you will know that we aren’t disqualified.
7Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that you may do that which is honorable, though we may seem to have failed. 8For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. 9For we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray for this: your becoming perfect. 10For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.
11Finally, brothers, rejoice! Be perfected. Be comforted. Be of the same mind. Live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12Greet one another with a holy kiss.
13All the saints greet you.
14The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s love, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
The Holy Spirit is eternally God and the third person of the Trinity. As such, He is fully divine with all of the nature, attributes, and perfections of God. The Spirit of God is the one through whom God empowers His people, reveals His will, has revealed His Word, and imparts His personal presence among His people. He regenerates believers and works to glorify Jesus Christ.
In the New Testament, the Greek word πνεῦμα pneuma (wind, spirit) has similar meaning and range of use. However, the Spirit is given an increasingly prominent role as He empowers and leads Jesus (Luke 3:22, 4:1-2) as well as permanently living in believers and empowering them for service in the Church (Jn. 20:22, 1 Cor. 12:7-11, 1 Jn. 3:24). More often than not the Spirit of God is known in the New Testament as the Holy Spirit, and clearly revealed to be God Himself, though He is also known by other designations, which will be evident in going to the verses that concern the third person of the undivided Trinity. Though His work of revelation ceased with the completion of the New Testament, He continues to work to illuminate the hearts of His people to understand and apply the Scriptures (1 Cor. 2:6-16).