What does this mean? To find out, let’s consider some of the roles of the Holy Spirit, as set out in the New Testament. One of the most important of these is clearly the empowerment of believers. Just as the wind fills a boat’s sails, so the Holy Spirit gives direction and movement to the life of faith. Without the Spirit, we become spiritually becalmed. As we have just seen, this idea is present in the Old Testament, but now it becomes clear that, far from being an impersonal force, the Spirit is