A Comparative Study of The Holy Spirit and Its Functions from Philo’s and Paul’s Perspectives

The present paper is an attempt to discuss the nature of The Holy Spirit and its functions from the viewpoints of Philo and Paul. According to Philo, The Holy Spirit or The Divine Spirit is only an instrument through which God communicates with man and its only function is prophecy; a function which was part of the Jewish tradition. He also combines The Divine Spirit, which is the cause of prophecy based on the Holy Scripture, with divine inspiration or possession in Plato's philosophy. But according to Paul, The Holy Spirit is not only an effective power ,but it is also considered a person with agency, feeling and emotions. The functions of The Holy Spirit are the ones mentioned in the OldTestament. In fact, Paul has expanded them. He holds that The Holy Spirit has effects such as charity peace and beneficences. What is important is the new meaning which Paul gives to The Holy Spirit. He cites the belief in The Holy Spirit along with the Jews’ belief in one God and the Christian belief in Christ. In fact he paves the way for the formation of the doctrine of trinity.