The Spirit of God is very involved in our world – doing many things. But the first thing He did was to hold together the newly created earth.
The Bible presents the Spirit of God as an actual Person, not just a cosmic force like, “The ‘force’ be with you. . .” He is a real Person who can feel and think and make decisions. He is a member of the Godhead, one with God, yet a distinct Person within the realm of who God is.
Well, in the creation account the Spirit of God was very active in what was happening. Genesis 1:2 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.” You see, as soon as the earth was created, the Spirit of god hovered over the earth to hold it together and protect it.
The word, Spirit, is the Hebrew word, ruach, which means “wind or breath,” and it comes from a root verb meaning “to blow or breathe.” Now, since a spirit is bodiless and ethereal, resembling the wind, this word also became the word for “spirit.” Genesis 1:2 uses the words, ruach-Elohim, — “the Spirit of God.”
In other words, the Spirit of God in verse 2 is distinguished from “God” in verse 1. There is Elohim, and there is “the Spirit of God.” Now, this means that God is a plural God. There is only one God – but there is more than one Person in the Godhead, and it was the Spirit of God who moved upon the face of the waters.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Say – The Spirit of God lives within us as Christians. Now, that is pretty awesome!