I believe the Holy Spirit exists because the Bible exists. Not just claiming to be the Word of God, the Bible claims to be written by men under the influence of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21). If there is no Holy Spirit, the claims would be lies, the Bible a fraud. Either this is true, or it is false; there is no other option. How then, would we know for sure if the Bible were written by mere men, or "holy men of God moved by the Spirit?" We would have to prove the Bible contains certain information, and use that information in such a way to leave no doubt that the Bible is beyond human invention. If it does contain such peculiarities, then we can know it came from God. If it came from God, it must be true; and if it is true, its claim of being the product of inspiration of the Spirit must be true. Obviously, if the Bible is the product of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit must exist.

There are several ways to show the Bible came from God, but one will have to suffice for lack of space. The predictive prophecies of the Bible have no equal in human literature; consider this one by notorious Nostradamus: "The great man will be struck down in the day by a thunderbolt, The evil deed predicted by the bearer of a petition" (Nostradamus' Centuries, C1Q26). Some are adamant to say this must be a prediction of the death of JFK, the "bearer" being so-called "prophet" Jean Dixon. It seems to fit, but it could also refer to Abraham Lincoln, who dreamed of his death prior to the event; the dream could be his "messenger." We can be extremely liberal due to the vague language characteristic of Nostradamus' writings. On the other hand, the Bible is filled with prophecies, some of which are broad, but many of which are extremely pointed. Take for instance this prophecy of Isaiah (44:28). "Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." The man of God not only described the redemption of Israel from Babylonian captivity, and the laying of the foundation only in this period, he also called the world leader who would "instigate" this, Cyrus, by name. Ezra the scribe recorded the fulfillment of this prophecy beginning with 1:1 of the book ascribed to him. What is the significance of this? Cyrus was born over 100 years after the prophet Isaiah made this prophecy! This type of predictive prophecy made and fulfilled is of the utmost significance! It could only be explained by Divine knowledge!

Having proved that the Bible must have come from God (and God cannot lie, Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18), we can rely upon the truthfulness of its claim of authorship by the Holy Spirit. If the Bible is true (which it is), and claims to be written by the Holy Spirit (which it does), the Holy Spirit must exist! This is just one of the reasons I believe in the Holy Spirit.