Today we live in a world where people, even Christians, are running around seeking the Holy Spirit, but not necessarily seeking Christ. One such group is a group sometimes known as neo-pentecostals, or crazy pentecostals, who even equate the Holy Spirit to drunkenness or smoking drugs and speak about the Spirit in a loose and disrespectful way. Because they do not seek Christ they can receive a spirit of counterfeit or delusion. This may be in the form of an evil spirit which masquerades as the Holy Spirit, or their own subjective consciousness and feelings which they mistake for the Holy Spirit. It is easy to seek a "Holy Spirit" which has nothing to do with Christ. To be sure we are of the right spirit, we must seek none other than Christ. For this reason we should know the difference between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ.
There is and there is not a difference
On the one hand, there is no difference between the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ as they are the one and the same third person of the Trinity. Let us make that clear from the start.
On the other hand, there is a difference. Sometimes the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit and other times the "Spirit of Christ" (Phil 1:19, Rom 8:9, Rom 8:10).
Why does the author of Scripture say "Spirit of Christ", why not just say "Holy Spirit" and be consistent? God's Word is precise, accurate and every word is there for a reason. "Spirit of Christ" is not merely a slang term for the Holy Spirit, it has a very definitive and specific meaning and reason for being there.
The difference
The term Holy Spirit says two things 1) holiness, and 2), spirit. As sinful human beings, a) we are not holy, and b) we are not spirit.
For this reason it can be very hard for us to relate to the Holy Spirit as He is described in the Old Testament.
The author of Scripture uses the term "Spirit of Christ", which is more relatable to us. Christ is the one whom we can relate to because He is God who came down to our level of humanity, yet being without sin. Only Christ is the mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). The reason that Christ is qualifed to be the mediator is because He is both God and man. Jesus is the ladder in Jacob's vision upon whom angels ascended and descended (Genesis 28:12, John 1:51). The Bible also says that Jesus became a life giving spirit (1 Cor 15:45). The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of the man who is both God and man. The Spirit of Christ is the life giving spirit which the man Jesus Christ became (1 Cor 15:45). Therefore the Spirit of Christ, is the Spirit of the ladder which connects Heaven and Earth, and this is why the Holy Spirit must be involved in everything we do, especially prayer, because without the Spirit we have no access to Heaven.
To be accurate, Christians do not merely receive the Holy Spirit of the Old Testament but the Spirit of the New Testament, the Spirit of Christ. In the Old Testament, no one could receive the Holy Spirit into their being for regeneration because mankind is sinful and God's Spirit is Holy. The Spirit's influence was only acting upon specific individuals for acts of power or service (1 Sam 16:13). In contrast, the new testament reveals God's regeneration by the Spirit (2 Cor 5:17) which was prophesied in the Old Testament (Eze 36:26). But God could not just put His Holy Spirit within sinful man. Jesus Christ had to come to die, to bridge the gap between God and mankind. In fact, Christ Himself, His person, is the bridge, the ladder between God and man, as He is both the Son of God and son of man. Therefore the Spirit by which humans are regenerated is not merely the Holy Spirit of the Old Testament. The Spirit is in fact the Spirit of Christ, the mediator between God and man.
Again, I will re-iterate that the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ is the same Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. However, to us regenerated, born again believers, the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the person of Jesus Christ, who is knowable and relatable to us. For this reason, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ understands us completely and is even able to pray for us (Rom 8:27). The Holy Spirit understands our human pain and suffering and shortcomings, because He is the Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit knows what it is like to live a human life on the Earth, because He is the Spirit of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the man who did not condemn (Rom 8:1, John 8:1-11). Unlike the Spirit of the Old Testament, the Spirit of the New Testament is fully qualified to be our comforter because He is the Spirit of Christ who went to the cross (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit was active and present with Christ on the cross. The Spirit knows what it is like to suffer and die on a cross and be resurrected again because He was there (Rom 8:11, 1 Cor 2:10). The Holy Spirit is more than able to be our comforter and relate to us in our human condition and human life. In fact, knowing Christ by the Spirit is no less advantageous than knowing Christ in the flesh, as the apostle Paul can testify (Gal 1:12), because the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.
The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ, connects humanity to God, or Earth to Heaven, like Jacob's ladder. Whenever we walk or live in the Spirit of Christ, we have a direct connection with Heaven, and even the angels ascend and descend to serve us (Heb 1:14, Psalm 91:11, Gal 5:16). No longer should we regard the Holy Spirit as merely the mysterious force or power of the Old Testament. He is in fact the very presence of Christ with us (Col 1:27, 2 Cor 13:5). If we genuinely seek Christ, we will receive the true Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, who brings God into man, and man into God, Earth to Heaven and Heaven to Earth. But if we seek anything or anyone other than Christ, we are bound to receive a spirit of deception.
don't understand it fully, but accept it..thanks I was afraid I was the only one that didn't comprehend throughly
