who is the holy spirit?

Over Thanksgiving break I picked up a copy of "Forgotten God," another Francis Chan book. It's about how we as the modern church have forgotten who the Holy Spirit is and have failed to embrace the Spirit the way Christ intended us to in the gospel of John when he said:

"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you." John 16:7

Jesus himself said it is to our advantage, as believers, that he not be here in physical form, but that the Spirit come and take His place in us. This is so hard for me to understand. Alive with the Spirit. What does that mean? What does that look like? How can it possibly be better for me not to be able to have Jesus physically standing next to me every day and counseling me in how to live? Physical touch is my primary love language. And I often hear myself saying or find myself thinking "If only Jesus were here to hold my hand, all of this all would be so much easier." I long for Jesus to be next to me in the same way I long to be home in heaven.

But again, Christ said it is to my advantage that he leave and send the mighty Counselor in his place. The early church understood the Holy Spirit. If you look at Acts, it's incredible to see what all of the apostles did following Pentacost. I have to wonder what the church would look like today in America if people had even a remote understanding of what it means to be alive with the Spirit. I can't even begin to imagine, but I'm going to spend the rest of December reading this book and studying Acts and appealing to the Spirit to make Himself known to me in a way I have never experienced before. I want to live by the Spirit in a way that it's obvious to every non-believer that steps into my path, in a way that reflects the power of a true and living God unleashed inside of me. I want to move my head knowledge of the Spirit into soul knowledge and I fully expect it to be life changing...

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:5-6