God himself, a person you can know and walk with. Jesus promised him to everyone who follows him.
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”
Jesus, John 14:16A better question
Most people search for what the Holy Spirit is, so that's what we called this page. But the Bible talks about the Spirit as someone, not something. Jesus calls him “he,” promises him as a Helper, and wants us to know him personally. So the better question is who he is, and that's the one the rest of this page answers.
One God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit is fully God, just as the Father and Jesus are.
Jesus called him the Helper. Josh says Jesus wants each of us to know the Spirit personally, and to walk with him.
Jesus could only be in one place at a time. The Spirit is with all of his people at once, wherever the church gathers.
The short answerThe Holy Spirit is God himself, third person of the Trinity. He lives in everyone who trusts Jesus, slowly shapes them to look like Jesus, and gives them power to love other people the way Jesus did.
Before Jesus went back to heaven, he promised his friends a Helper. Josh Brake, Pastor of Breakthrough Church, explains it this way: the Helper would be someone just like Jesus in substance, but distinct from Jesus in person.
“Jesus places a very high priority on the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit.”
Josh BrakeOur statement of beliefs puts it in one line: the Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, indwells, instructs, and empowers believers for godly living and service.
Where the Holy Spirit comes from
In Scripture, water is almost always a picture of the Holy Spirit. In a September message, Josh followed it from the first pages of the Bible to the cross.
A river flows out of the garden and gives life to everything. When Adam and Eve sin, they're cut off from the place where the water flows.
God makes a way to live among his people again. Each morning Israel steps out of their tents, sees the cloud of his presence, and remembers who they are: people of God's presence.
The prophet Ezekiel sees a river pouring out of the temple, getting deeper as it goes and turning salt water fresh. Trees grow on its banks, with fruit every month and leaves for healing.
At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stands up and cries out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." John adds that he was talking about the Spirit.
Jesus is the true temple. When a soldier pierces his side on the cross, blood and water come out: blood to wash away sin, and water, the Spirit, to fill us.
A few weeks later the Spirit is poured out on about 120 people praying in Jerusalem, and 3,000 people come to Jesus that day. The river reaches ordinary people, and it still does.
“The cross of Jesus is the fountain from which the Holy Spirit comes.”
Josh Brake, Quenched by the Holy SpiritWhat he does
From Josh's teaching this fall in the book of Acts.
The moment you become a Christian, the Spirit comes to live in you. The Bible calls him a seal and a down payment, God's guarantee of everything still to come. You aren't missing anything.
“Become a Christian, Holy Spirit becomes one with your spirit.”
As you pray, read the Bible, worship, confess your sins and live alongside other believers, the Spirit is at work on the inside. It's slow, ordinary work, and it lasts a lifetime.
“The Spirit in you forms you into the image of Jesus over time.”
The Spirit also comes on people with gifts like healing, prophecy, or knowing something about a person that only God could know, so they can love others in ways they couldn't before.
“The Spirit in you is for you. The Spirit on you is for others.”
Wherever Ezekiel's river went, things lived. Josh describes the Spirit the same way: he heals what's broken and fills the dry places in us.
“He's the spirit of life, and when we are immersed in him, our chaos becomes order and the things in us that are dead come alive.”
Sin and sorrow make us spiritually drowsy. The Spirit wakes us up through repentance and puts a question on our hearts: what's more important than Jesus?
“He helps you see your life in light of eternity.”
Jesus called the Spirit the Helper. When you're carrying a loss, he comes close and suffers with you, sometimes over weeks or months, until your heart comes back to life.
“He says, give me your sorrow, let me suffer with you.”
The Spirit in you is for you. The Spirit on you is for others.Josh Brake, Power: Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The baptism of the Holy Spirit
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit living in them. The book of Acts also talks about the Spirit coming on people with power. Jesus told his first followers not to go anywhere until they had it.
In you
For youOn you
For others
Immersed
You go under, and you come up wet from head to toe. Josh says the baptism of the Spirit works the same way.
“When you come out, you're dripping with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.”
Josh BrakeIt's a gift Jesus gives freely to anyone who asks, however long they've followed him. Being filled doesn't make someone more mature, and Josh is quick to say he doesn't want anyone feeling incomplete without it.
Watch the message
Josh's story
“It was like I was home for the first time in my life.”
Josh was already a Christian when it happened to him. He remembers being in a room with worship music on when the Spirit's presence washed over him. Love filled him, and the things he knew about God started to connect in his heart. Dry places, he says, were quenched.
Hear him tell itAsk him to fill you
You don't need a 40-day fast or a special retreat. Three words and an open heart are enough to start.
In Josh's words, “You just come to the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. His name is Jesus.”
Find a quiet place, open your hands and say, “Come, Holy Spirit.” You might feel everything or nothing at all. He hears you either way.
Come forward at the end of any Saturday gathering. Then, before the sun goes down, offer to pray for someone.
“Holy Spirit, I surrender my heart, my mind and my body to you right now. Spirit of the living God, would you come and breathe fresh life on me?”
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”Acts 1:8 (ESV)
Watch and read
Week 2 · September 26, 2026
Quenched by the Holy Spirit
A river runs through the whole Bible, from Eden to the cross. Josh follows it to show where the Holy Spirit comes from.
Watch and read
Week 3 · October 3, 2026
Power: Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Jesus told his friends to wait for power before they went anywhere. What the baptism of the Holy Spirit is, who it's for and how you'd know.
Watch and read
Week 6 · October 24, 2026
What's More Important Than This?
At Pentecost the Spirit is poured out on ordinary people. Josh on what the prophet Joel says about the days we live in, and how the Spirit wakes us up.
Watch and read
Still wondering about something? Email josh@bd.church or grab a coffee with us.
Yes. Jesus called the Spirit "he" and promised him as a Helper, someone to be with us. Josh says Jesus wants each of us to know the Spirit personally, as a person, and to walk with him.
Yes. We believe in one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is fully God, just as the Father and Jesus are.
"Yes, 100%," is how Josh answers that one. The moment you trust Jesus, the Spirit lives in you and you're not lacking anything.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit is about the Spirit coming on you with power to love and serve other people. Josh calls it one baptism, many fillings: there's a first time, and then you keep being filled as you need it.
They're abilities the Spirit gives so you can love people in ways you couldn't on your own. Josh has talked about healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and words of knowledge, when God shows you something about a person you had no way of knowing. Paul lists more in 1 Corinthians 12.
No. When Josh prays for someone to be baptized in the Spirit, he often asks for the gift of tongues and finds it helpful, but he doesn't believe you have to speak in tongues to be saved or to know you've been baptized in the Spirit. Paul also describes tongues as a way of praying between you and God in 1 Corinthians 14.
Josh's answer is simple. When you share Jesus or pray for someone, does power show up? Do you want to tell people about him? Do you have stories of God doing something through you that you couldn't have done yourself?
You might feel a lot in the moment, or you might feel nothing at all. Josh says both happen, and everything in between.
Yes. Every Saturday gathering ends with a time of prayer, and anyone can come forward. You can also send us a prayer request.
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