The Holy Spirit

The Spirit in the Old Testament

Genesis opens with the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). The Hebrew word ruach means breath, wind and spirit at once, and Scripture uses all three senses.

In Exodus the Spirit is first said to fill a named man, and remarkably it is an artist: Bezalel, filled with the Spirit of God "with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship" for the work of the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3). In Judges the Spirit clothes Gideon before he sounds the trumpet, and rushes upon Samson in his strength. The Spirit comes powerfully on Saul among the prophets and, after Samuel anoints him, on David from that day forward — and David later pleads, "take not your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11).

The prophets carry the same wind. Elijah is assumed to be caught up by the Spirit; Elisha asks for a double portion of the spirit that rested on him. Micaiah stands alone against four hundred court prophets. Ezekiel is lifted by the Spirit and set down in a valley of dry bones, told to prophesy until breath enters them. Isaiah announces, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor" (Isaiah 61:1). Joel promises a day when God will pour out his Spirit on all flesh — sons and daughters, old and young, servants and free (Joel 2:28-29).

The Spirit in the Gospels

The Spirit opens the New Testament as well. The angel tells Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her (Luke 1:35). John the Baptist is filled with the Spirit from birth and announces one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. Simeon, waiting in the temple, is told by the Spirit that he will not die before he has seen the Lord's Christ. At his baptism the Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove, and the same Spirit leads him into the wilderness.

In the upper room Jesus promises another Helper — the Greek word is Paraklētos, advocate or comforter — who will be with the disciples forever (John 14:16-17), who will teach them all things (John 14:26), and who will guide them into all truth (John 16:13).

Pentecost and the Church

The promise lands at Pentecost. Wind and fire fill the house, and Peter stands to preach that this is what Joel spoke of (Acts 2:1-4). From there the book of Acts is almost a record of the Spirit's movements: Stephen, full of the Spirit, sees heaven opened as he is stoned; Philip is carried by the Spirit from the Ethiopian's chariot; the Spirit falls on Cornelius and his household before they are baptized, settling the question of the Gentiles; and the church at Antioch is told by the Spirit to set apart Barnabas and Paul for the work. The sober counterweight comes early: Ananias and Sapphira are confronted by Peter not for withholding money but for lying to the Holy Spirit — proof that Scripture treats the Spirit as a person who can be wronged.

The Spirit in the Believer

Paul writes that anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him, and that the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to mortal bodies (Romans 8:9-11); that the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26-27); that gifts are distributed by the same Spirit as he wills (1 Corinthians 12:4-11); and that his fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Believers are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, the guarantee of an inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14).

Related Reading

Read on through Pentecost and the First Church, The Martyrdom of Stephen, and the people of In Jerusalem; or see God the Father and Jesus.