Postale
The Holy Spirit
The reason for exploring
Do you know who the Holy Spirit is? Further down I attempt to list all the places in the Bible where the Holy Spirit is mentioned, because God has told us much about Himself. First consider these two statements by Our Saviour.
John 14:15-16 "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."
John 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."
What an extraordinary thing for Jesus to say that He must ascend so that the Father can send the Holy Spirit, the paraclete. We know that the Holy Spirit is with Jesus, in Jesus, but clearly something new is going to happen. After the Holy Spirit comes very visibly at the beginning of Acts, Jesus gives direction to Saint Paul (which puts him on a par with the other Apostles), and the rest of Acts is full of the Holy Spirit at work. The Spirit comes at Pentecost, which was already the Jewish 'feast of first fruits', approximately seven weeks or 50 days ('pent~') after Passover, and we certainly see fruits in abundance. Luke, the author of Acts, has no hesitation in writing many times about the Holy Spirit and it is repeated in the letters (epistles) of the Apostles. There was clearly no doubt amongst anyone present about His presence and action, and it was utterly amazing. How does the Holy Spirit abide in us now? Was the Holy Spirit with people before Pentecost? It was certainly with John the Baptist of course. Should we look for gifts and fruit as Paul puts it? Can we - should we - ask for comfort, counsel, consolation, even instructions, from Him? The third person of God is a Very Important Person to know, so let us knock and see how the door is opened.
A note from Frank Sheed
Frank Sheed was a great Christian teacher and author. He said “I had used the word “spirit” in a lecture and a questioner said, “What is a spirit?” I answered - a spirit has no shape, no size, no dimensions, does not occupy space. The questioner said, “That’s the best definition of nothing I’ve ever heard.” It shook Sheed, and ultimately made him write a book on it, The Action Of The Holy Spirit. Jesus said “God is spirit.” Sheed continues “We must either clear our minds as to what spirit is, or we must struggle along without understanding a key word in our religion. If we do not give our minds to what Christ is saying, He might as well not have spoken. Given that God is spirit and our soul is spirit, not to have grasped the meaning of spirit could make our religion little more than a halfhearted approach to a dimly realized God.” Well, Sheed throws the gauntlet down, and immediately picks it up of course in his book and does a superb job that I can't emulate. But I also feel obliged to approach this in another way.
Breath, Spirit, Ruach and Pneuma
A lot of people already know that the root of the word 'spirit' is 'spiritus' which is latin for breath and is the same root as respiration and inspiration for example. It has long been understood that spirit also means soul, or life-force. At the outset, we can say that in order to speak a word, you must use breath. If we understand Jesus as God the word, and the Holy Spirit as God the breath, we see a simple and powerful relationship. They work together. Now, God is beyond our understanding, but He does give us help as our loving Father to understand some important things. God is not at all constrained by certain words we use, but when He Himself has given us these words repeatedly, even from His own lips, we can use them with much freedom. We can go a long way with God the Word and God the Breath, and already things don't seem so mysterious. We have our human breath like any animal that respires, but it doesn't help us to be holy. God gives us a breath that helps us be holy - a Holy Breath or Holy Spirit. We need it for the life of our soul as we need to breath air.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is present as a wind. The Hebrew term is "ruach" (רוּחַ), often translated as spirit, wind, or breath. In the New Testament, the Greek word "pneuma" (πνεῦμα) is used (from which we get pneumatic, pneumonia etc.), similarly encompassing the ideas of spirit and breath (ref.). The Holy Spirit is seen in the Old Testament already, so His presence does not depend completely on Jesus' death and resurrection, but it is clearly much more visibly present and at work after Jesus is taken up to the Father. I have listed below places where it is mentioned in the Bible, which include the 'hovering over the waters' when the Earth was formed, blowing away the water after the flood of Noah, blowing away the waters at the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, giving Samson supernatural strength, allowing Elijah and Elisha to perform miracles of faith. It is perhaps most clearly present in its speaking through the Prophets - extraordinary words of prophesy which are at once advice to live a good life and also predictions of the future that come true. Very many of the prophetic words were also directly about Jesus as you can see here.
In the Bible we also frequently see the word 'Spirit' or breath of God in close proximity to the 'Word' of God.
What can we learn from baptism?
There are many commentaries on baptism, and it has caused many disputes over ages although mainly on the periphery. Jesus kept it simple and there is no need for us to overcomplicate it. We are so used to the word ‘baptise’ that it is worth pausing to consider what the word means. Baptise in Greek, βαπτίζω, ‘baptizó’ means to immerse, submerge, to make whelmed or soaked in water. If you have a full immersion baptism then you are soaked and there is no mistaking it. When you are soaked by the Holy Spirit it must soak every part of you. It must penetrate and soak every fibre of your being, and there is no getting it out again, thankfully - He is with you forever. We are physical-spiritual creatures and the physical act we perceive directly with our senses helps us connect with the spiritual act taking place. God's spiritual power is not faint, but our ability to connect with it is not what it should be because that it the faulty human condition. Imagine if we read Jesus in Acts 1:5 as follows: “For John soaked you in water, but in a few days you will be soaked in the Holy Spirit.” It is worth noting that the English phrase 'baptized with water' (such as John 1:33) is, in the Greek, 'baptizein en hydati' or, in literal translations, 'baptized in water'. This is in harmony with being baptised into (εἰς, eis) one body in 1 Corinthians 12:13, where Paul even says that we were made to drink one Spirit. The soaking of John accompanied a desire of the heart to wash away sins because you have turned to God. We know that those who had received the baptism of John also needed to receive another baptism in the Holy Spirit, a soaking in God Himself! Now doesn’t that make the hairs stand up on your skin, if you think about it? And if this soaking seems to dry up a little, there is a never-ending stream of living water that replenishes it, and it will never leave (John 14:16, Ephesians 1:13). As you turn your heart away from sin, turn your heart into this spring, this fountain, this waterfall. Be, and always be, soaked.
The Didache is a wonderful summary of what we suppose are the most important teachings recorded by the earliest apostles - that is to say the things that also needed to be clarified and perpetuated, perhaps when some other things could be taken for granted. Although we don't have complete copies of the original, a reconstruction by scholar Charles H. Hoole using the fragments and cross-references that remain is less than eight A5-size pages. It refers to baptism (as noted, basically a Greek word for immersion) in running water, and in cold water rather than warm, but if these are not available then pouring water three times on the head is allowed. Saint John Chrysostom refers to immersing the head into water. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer says that a child will be dipped in water, unless they be weak in which case it may be poured on their head; and for ‘persons of riper years’ the Godparents ‘shall dip him in the water, or pour water on him’. John the Baptist (and later, Jesus’ disciples) were practising full immersion and this was common in the first millennium (e.g. here). Pouring over the head is valid; I am simply making the point that Jesus was telling us about a soaking, a complete immersion of our spirit in God's Spirit. When you are baptised, you receive a deep indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Do you have to be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit?
As you will see below, characters in the Old Testament received the Holy Spirit before Jesus took up His human body on Earth. We are only told of a few such people, though, so these were very special people (or situations, since God can and does work through any of us) or theae are simply the cases that it is essential for us to know about. We can also see that the Spirit could leave them, too. It is conceivable that when God 'hardened Pharaoh's heart' or when armies attacking the Jews were confused (etc.) that this was the action of the Holy Spirit in those individuals. However, Jesus clearly said we have to be baptized. There was also clearly an explosion of activity after the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. The early church was launched into the world with extraordinary strength of character and courage, and with extraordinary powers of healing and communication. We do not see tongues of fire these days, but they were so clearly recorded at the time by multiple authors that I find it impossible to dispute them as a fact, and I believe the Gospels in any case. It may be that God's Plan does not need this sustained supernatural action now that the good news (Gospel) has spread so far, and in fact it is good for our souls to struggle. Nevertheless we are assured at every step that we can ask for help and receive what we need.
It is also believed that the Holy Spirit comes at a second 'sacrament' called confirmation, or chrismation, since oil is used to anoint the forehead, rather reminiscent of Ezekiel 9:4. Jesus did not speak about this, but in Acts 8:14-17, some who had only received 'the baptism of John' from Deacon Philip afterwards had hands laid on them by the Apostles. In Acts 10:44, the Holy Spirit comes upon the household of Cornelius before they are baptized. Later, 1 John 2:20,27 uses the term 'chrisma' when speaking about 'the anointing you have received from Him' and it became church teaching early on for there to be an anointing. Without getting into too much discussion for which I am not equipped, let us just say the following about baptism, since we can learn much about the Holy Spirit from what the Bible says straightforwardly.
Orthodoxchristiantheology tells us that the Church Fathers appear to take for granted that baptism consisted of two things:
- A “wiping the slate of clean” moment where previous acts of sin are forgiven.
- An indwelling of the Spirit which enables us to live the life of Christ in a way we could not do so beforehand.
In other words, baptism is a Spirit-driven purification of the mind and soul. For adult converts, which is what most of the early writings on baptism were concerned with, both of the preceding criteria would be relevant. The Roman Catholic Church similarly says that "Immersion in water symbolizes not only death and purification, but also regeneration and renewal. Thus the two principal effects are purification from sins and new birth in the Holy Spirit."
The Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit
This is jumping the gun slightly if we haven't landed what the Holy Spirit is, or does, yet, or how He relates to you. To work through the gifts and fruit is helpful once you feel you know what the Holy Spirit is and does, rather than working backwards from the outward appearances. Saint Paul tells us there are several gifts, and several fruit. A full list is below. You don’t have to read too far into this to see that Saint Paul (or Saint Peter) did not mean his letters to define the exact number or category. Saint Thomas Aquinas is certain that Paul wasn’t being definitive about a certain number. What about courage? Honesty? They would surely be very comfortable in such a list. The Spirit goes deeper than language.
What you can see is that the ‘fruit’ are all something about a person’s character. Hopefully we can imagine our Grandmother, or at least someone’s grandmother, who has had a full life and is at peace with the world and exhibits more or less all of these qualities, just by being alive. Meanwhile the ‘gifts’ are matters of doing something. To say the grandmother is good at administration, or healing, well that is clearly a different sort of quality. Conclusion: (i) the Holy Spirit helps you control your passions to bring you closer to perfection of character; and (ii) it can make you very good at some skill that points you and others to the new life, the good life, better than you would otherwise be. The Holy Spirit builds perfect character and give us supernatural strengths, if you put your free will into it.
Greek | Latin | English | |
1 | ἀγάπη (agape) | caritas | charity |
2 | Χαρά (chara) | gaudium | joy |
3 | εἰρήνη (eirene) | pax | peace |
4 | μακροθυμία (makrothumia) | longanimitas patientia | generosity patience |
5 | χρηστότης (chrestotes) | benignitas | kindness |
6 | ἀγαθωσύνη (agathosune) | bonitas | goodness |
7 | Πραΰτης (prautes) | mansuetudo modestia | gentleness modesty |
8 | Πίστις (pistis) | fides | faithfulness |
9 | ἐγκράτεια (enkrateia) | continentia castitas | self-control chastity |
Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Romans 12:6-8 | 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 | 1 Corinthians 12:28-30 | Ephesians 4:11 | 1 Peter 4:11 |
Prophecy Serving Teaching Exhortation Giving Leadership Mercy | Word of wisdom Word of knowledge Faith Gifts of healings Miracles Prophecy Distinguishing between spirits Tongues Interpretation of tongues | Apostle Prophet Teacher Miracles Kinds of healings Helps Administration Tongues | Apostle Prophet Evangelist Pastor Teacher | Whoever speaks Whoever renders service |
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
This sounds like two elements of preparation for the next life. In the next life we won’t be able to hurt anyone else and we will be only good towards one another. That means firstly, perfection of character. Think of the opposite, the passions - anger, envy, greed and so on - and you can see that these cannot exist in the next life. The closer we get to that state now, the less painful our ‘burning’ or ‘torments’ or 'purgation' will be when we pass over. Secondly it means being capable right now to help direct people away from their own doom and towards the light, to encourage children and to repair the ongoing damage to people and the earth caused by our faults. This means having some inspiration - literally in-breathing, from God to us - to help us do a better job. We do this in concert, as a team, as members of a body. I think both of these aspects also equip us for the next life so that we work for the good of others, but I also think the next life will mean a shift of focus and have lots of wonderful new opportunities. Hopefully we won’t need so many doctors, for example, so they can do something else. In the next life we will be completely harmonious with the Holy Spirit, with God, and in complete peace.
The Holy Spirit in the Bible
The Holy Spirit is in both the Old and New Testaments, which is no surprise since He is God and scripture is God's word, though the Holy Spirit is more clearly visible, or revealed, in the New Testament. God tells us very clearly that the Holy Spirit can act. He can also talk with you, and He can grieve when you act contrary to God's love. He is a Spirit of Truth, power and above all, love. Remember our powers of spiritual communication are weak, after the fall, so when you ask the Holy Spirit something, listen carefully with all your senses; and the longer you know someone, the better you know them, so be patient. Never forget the Spirit is breath and Jesus the Word, one with the Father, and the Spirit is a helper, your helper. The Spirit can act in the following ways, which is simply what it says in the Bible:
1. He dwells in you and helps you turn your character to good, to God.
2. He gives you power and capability beyond your natural power and capability - He gives you supernatural powers. Not in a spooky sense, but simply allowing God to do His work through you. If God doesn't need you to speak in tongues, you won't speak in tongues. If He needs you to tell someone about Jesus Christ, He will certainly help you to do that (by your words or your actions; some say that one of them speaks louder). You need to tune into what God wants, in prayer. He is unlikely to help you in your latest desire unless that is good for your soul or for others, or if you don't pray (ask Him) for it. Jesus taught us that greatness is humility, and we often misunderstand what happiness is about. He will surely help you love people as yourself.
3. He communicates with your spirit. This can be on a deep level, such as giving you a compelling feeling to do something such as read the Bible, or going to see someone, often in a straightforward way. Respond in the way Jesus taught us - with truth, love, humility - and you will be guided. The Holy Spirit already knows where it will lead even if you don't. He can give you a deep feeling of peace that God is in charge. If you are unsure if you are communicating very well, don't forget that God has given us Scripture, lots of it. Read some, contemplate it, and you will be talking with God and hearing what He says to you.
4. He can work physical miracles, like physically transporting Philip or Ezekiel, or blowing water into dry land, or changing matter from one thing to another, though usually only as much as necessary.
5. He can bring together seemingly unrelated chains of events to cause something wonderful to happen. The co-incidence that is a God-incidence. You don't have to look far, if your eyes are open.
6. He can cause people to prophesy - either speak of the future, or (more commonly) speak God's word to those who need to hear it, often in the face of their hostility. Rejoice, says Jesus, if that happens. Isaiah the epic prophet was (some think) sawn in half by King Manasseh because he wouldn't tell the King what he wanted to hear, but "he neither cried aloud nor wept, but his lips spake with the Holy Spirit until he was sawn in twain." There is a better world after this one, if you hold fast to God, which is to love.
The Old Testament
(I have not used capital letters in transliteration since the Hebrew does not distinguish upper- and lower-case. Other transliterations are possible. Still incomplete!)
Bible ref. | The action of the Holy Spirit | Hebrew Transliteration |
Genesis 1:2 | The Spirit (ruach) of God (elohim) hovers over the waters of the deep at the formation of the Earth. God (elohim) then proceeds to speak, and what God says becomes reality. If we really see the Holy Spirit as the breath of God, his words are like vibrations and vortexes in this breath, carried by this breath, and they coalesce reality into wonderful existence. | ruach |
Genesis 3:8 | The word ‘ruach’ is used to describe ‘in the cool’ of the day in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps not the Holy Spirit, but very evocative of an essential and beautiful quality. | ruach |
Genesis 6:3 | God tells us that His Spirit will not wrestle with humans forever, and he limits their lives to 120 years. | ruhi |
Genesis 8:1 | God causes a wind to blow and drive away the waters after the flood of Noah. | ruach |
Genesis 41:38 | Pharaoh declares that Joseph is a man in whom is the Spirit of God. | ruach |
Exodus 10:13 | God brings an east wind on which is borne a plague of locusts. | ruach |
Exodus 14:26 | The Holy Spirit drives the waters back at the Exodus at exactly the right time and allows the Hebrews to escape certain death. | ruach |
Exodus 28:3 | The artisans who make the priestly garments for Aaron are filled with a spirit of wisdom. | ruach |
Exodus 31:1-3 Exodus 35:30-35 | Bezaleel is filled with the Spirit of God - in wisdom, understanding, knowledge, all kinds of workmanship, to work in gold, silver and brass, to cut stones and to carve timber. God also puts wisdom into those who are wise-hearted (i.e. they have capacity, and God fills it) so that they can all fashion the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. | ruach |
Exodus 36:1 | A second reference to Bezaleel, Aholiab and the other artisans. | ruach |
Numbers 11:31 | The Holy Spirit blows quail from the sea to the Israelites for food after they complain about manna. | ruach |
Numbers 11:25-26 | God takes the Spirit that is upon Moses and places it on seventy elders in the tabernacle and on another two men in the camp, and they prophesy continually. | ruach |
Numbers 24:2-3 | The Holy Spirit comes upon Balaam who prophesies about the future glory of Israel. | ruach |
Numbers 27:18 | God says that Joshua has the Spirit and that Moses is to give Joshua authority over the people of Israel in a ceremony. This will become important later, when Joshua leads them into the promised land. | ruach |
Judges 3:10 | After eight years of captivity during which the Hebrews appeal to God for help, Othniel receives the Spirit of God and delivers them into forty years of peaceful freedom. | ruach |
Judges 6:34 | The Israelites are about to be invaded by the Midianites and Amalekites and the Spirit of God comes upon Gideon. He will save Israel, but he asks for two miracles before agreeing to lead them. Gideon is very aware of his own weaknesses yet God triumphs through him - all the more. | ruach |
Judges 11:29 | The Spirit of God comes upon Jephthah, once a great captain, and he comes out of seclusion to lead the Israelites to success against an invasion by the Ammonites. He makes an unnecessary and tragic vow which shows the seriousness of promises to God. | ruach |
Judges 14:6,19 Judges 15:14 … | The Spirit of God comes upon Samson and allows him to kill a lion with his bare hands. It comes again allowing him to slay thirty men and do other feats of strength and bravery. It leaves him, though, and he is captured and blinded. In his last hour being made sport of in a great house, he calls upon the Lord to avenge his blindness by restoring his strength and he pushes out the house’s main pillars, killing himself and many Philistines. | ruach |
1 Samuel 10:10 | The Spirit of God comes upon Saul, who prophesies. | ruach |
1 Samuel 16:13-14 | The Spirit of the Lord comes to David when he is anointed by Samuel at God’s direction, out of eight of Jesse’s sons, ‘from that day forward’. In the next verse, the Spirit of the Lord leaves Saul, and he is troubled by a distressing spirit. | ruach |
1 Samuel 19:20 | Saul tries to kill David, who flees to Samuel who heads a group of prophets. When Saul sends messengers to David and Samuel, his messengers begin prophesying as well, and this happens three times. Saul then goes himself and also starts prophesying, naked. | ruach |
2 Samuel 22:16 | God's breath can expose the foundations of the Earth - King David celebrates God's power when he is delivered from all his enemies. Samuel is relating David writing Psalm 18 - compare them! | minnismat |
1 Kings 18:12 | Elijah wants to confront the King by sending Obadiah with a message. Obadiah believes that the Spirit of the Lord will take Elijah away after he tells the king where Elijah is, and then the king will kill Obadiah, but Elijah tells Obadiah to trust him. Elijah does not go away. | ruach |
1 Kings 19:11-12 | Elijah witnesses a mighty wind that tore into the mountains around him, but we are specifically told God was not in this wind - He reveals Himself in a still, small voice instead. In breath and word. | ruach |
2 Kings 2:9 | Elisha asks for a double portion of the Spirit that he sees in Elijah. Elijah says that this will be so if Elisha sees him when he is taken from Elisha. This then happens as Elijah is taken up in a chariot of fire. Elisha works many miracles of nature, of freeing children from debt, of fertility, of resurrection, of curing poison, of curing leprosy, of making an axe float, of bewildering an army and causing another to flee leaving their goods. After his death, his bones revive a dead man. | ruach |
2 Kings 2:16 | The sons of the prophets of Jericho seek Elijah because they think the Spirit of God might have taken him away to a valley or mountain. | ruach |
1 Chronicles 12:18 | The Holy Spirit moves Amasai to help David defend against threats from other tribes. | ruach |
2 Chronicles 15:1 | The Holy Spirit moves Azariah to tell all of Judah and Benjamin to turn to God, to be strong and take courage, for their work will be rewarded. | ruach |
2 Chronicles 18:23 | The king’s prophet Zedekiah strikes Micah and asks Micah how it is that the Spirit of God has passed from him to Micah, since Micah is prophesying truth and the other prophets are now prophesying deception. | ruach |
2 Chronicles 20:14 | The Judeans are threatened by the Ammonites and Moabites. The Holy Spirit comes upon Jahaziel who speaks to Judah, Jerusalem and the King “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s”. They are exhorted to confront the attackers. They go out singing “Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever” and as they sing, their enemies destroy one another, without the Israelites having to fight. | ruach |
2 Chronicles 24:20 | The Judeans, including King Joash, turn away from the Temple and towards idol worship. Prophets are sent to warn them but are ignored. The Holy Spirit comes upon Zechariah, the son of the priest Jehoida, who tells them clearly to turn back (repent). Joash kills Zechariah, and Jehoida asks the Lord to see this and bring justice. By the end of the year, a small number of Syrians smash the Judeans and kill their princes and King Joash. | ruach |
Job 4:9 | Those who sow iniquity perish by the breath of God. | minnismat |
Job 27:3 | Job asserts that he will not speak unjustly or with deceit as long as the Spirit of God is in his nostrils. | ruach |
Job 33:4 | Job says that the Spirit of God has made him and the breath of the Almighty gives him life. | ruach minnismat |
Job 37:10 | Ice is made by the breath of God. | minnismat |
Job 12:9-10 | Not the Holy Spirit, but it is worth repeating “Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” | |
Psalm 18:15 | “… And the foundations of the world were laid bare At Your rebuke, O LORD, At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.” | ruach |
Psalm 41:9 | King David prophesies that Judas will betray Jesus. Peter later says this was the Holy Spirit at work (Acts 1:8). | |
Psalm 51:10-12 | King David’s epic and public psalm about repentance; “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” The first ‘ruach’ refers to a right spirit within David; the second ruach is preceded by Hebrew ‘qadseka’ i.e. spirit ‘of your holiness’; the third ruach is followed by ‘Hebrew ‘yiseka’ i.e. spirit of your salvation. | ruach |
Isaiah 11:2 | Jesus will come and upon Him will rest the Spirit of God; the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of God. | ruach |
Isaiah 40:7 | The Spirit of God can wither grass and a flower, but the word of God stands forever. | ruach |
Isaiah 40:13 | Isaiah is prophesying Jesus the shepherd and architect with sheer poetry (40:10-12). Isaiah says “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has informed Him?” This seems a statement of the transcendence of God above any other thought or being. | ruach |
Isaiah 42:1 | God tells us of His chosen servant; God has put His Holy Spirit in Him. This is, of course, a prophesy of Jesus. | ruhi |
Isaiah 44:3 | “I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring…” | ruhi |
Isaiah 59:19 | God will come like a torrent being driven by the Spirit. | ruach |
Isaiah 59:21 | God declares that His Spirit is upon Isaiah, and that He has put His words in Isaiah’s mouth - what a lovely convergence of God’s breath and words in the great prophet! Some sources hold that Isaiah was killed by King Manasseh who did not like his prophesies; Isaiah hid in a tree (presumably in a hollow trunk) but the edge of his cloak was observed and the king had the tree sawn in two with Isaiah inside. The ‘Ascension of Isaiah’ records him being sawn in two, and Isaiah “neither cried aloud nor wept, but his lips spake with the Holy Spirit until he was sawn in twain.” | ruhi |
Isaiah 61:1 | The Spirit of God is upon Isaiah to proclaim good news to the poor - using many phrases that echo the Sermon on the Mount. | ruach |
Isaiah 63:10-14 | Isaiah recounts how the Hebrews grieved the Holy Spirit by their ungrateful rebellion, but when they recalled God’s favour, the Spirit of God gave them rest. | qodesh ruach |
Ezekiel 2:2 | The Spirit comes into Ezekiel as he is told to stand in the presence of God and listen to his mission. | ruach |
Ezekiel 3:11-14 | The Spirit of God lifted up Ezekiel and carried him away. It seems to be connected to the adjacent verses which refer to a great, quaking voice. | ruach |
Ezekiel 3:23-24 | Ezekiel falls upon his face when he encounters the glory of God, and the Spirit comes into him and sets him on his feet and gives him a mission. | ruach |
Ezekiel 8:3 Ezekiel 11:1 | The Spirit lifts up Ezekiel and transports him to Jerusalem. | ruach |
Ezekiel 36:26-27 | God speaks of restoring His people to show His glory; He will replace their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh and place His Holy Spirit in them so that they walk in his statutes. | ruhi |
Ezekiel 37:1-10 | The Spirit of God brings Ezekiel to the Valley of Bones where he tells the bones that God will breathe into them and bring them to life. After the bones are clothed in flesh, God tells Ezekiel that he must command ‘the breath’ (ruah) to enter the bodies, which Ezekiel does and they come to life. This is fascinating to see God giving Ezekiel power over His Spirit. It surely is a helper when employed in God’s work. | ruach |
Daniel 4:8-9,18 | Nebuchadnezzar asserts that Daniel ‘has the spirit of the holy gods’ in him. | ruach |
Micah 3:8 | Micah is filled with power by the Spirit of God and also justice and strength which allows him and directs him to tell Israel of their wrongdoing and need to turn around (repent). | ruach |
The New Testament
(I have not used capital letters in transliteration since the original Greek does not distinguish upper- and lower-case. Still incomplete!)
NEW TESTAMENT - GREEK | Greek transliteration | |
Matthew 1:18 | Matthew explains how Mary was found ‘in womb’ by the Holy Spirit. | pneumatos hagiou |
Matthew 1:20 | An angel of the Lord tells Joseph that what is conceived in Mary is of the Holy Spirit (literally “that indeed in her having been conceived from Spirit is Holy”) | pneumatos … hagiou |
Luke 1:15 | An angel tells Zechariah that John the Baptist will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. | pneumatos hagiou |
Luke 1:35 | The Angel Gabriel announces that the Holy Spirit will come upon the Virgin Mary to conceive Jesus in her womb. It seems that the English word ‘come’ is a pale reflection of the Greek eperchomai, which means ‘supervene, arrive, occur, impend, attack, influence’. https://biblehub.com/greek/1904.htm | pneuma hagion |
Luke 1:41-42 | Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit when she hears the greeting of Mary. | pneumatos hagiou |
Luke 1:67 | Once Zechariah confirms that John the Baptist will be named John, his mouth is opened and he is filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks a great prophesy about Jesus Christ being the fulfilment of God’s promise. | pneumatos hagiou |
Luke 2:25-27 | The ‘Spirit was Holy upon’ Simeon, and had revealed to him that he would see Christ before he died. ‘In the Spirit’ he came into the temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus in. The Holy Spirit has given him a message and prompted him to ensure the promise is fulfilled. It rather looks as though Anna is also possessed of the Spirit when she prophesies in verse 38, although the Spirit is not explicitly mentioned. | pneuma en hagion tou pneumatos tou hagiou to pneumati |
Luke 4:1-2 | Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit and is led by the Spirit into the wilderness where He is tempted by the devil for forty days. | pneumatos hagiou pneuma |
John 3:6 | Flesh is born of flesh, and Spirit gives birth to spirit. | tou pneumatos |
John 4:24 | God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth. | pneumati ho theos |
John 6:63 | The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. | to pneuma pneuma |
John 7:39 | “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” | tou pneumatos pneuma |
John 14:16-17 | “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” | parakleton to pneuma tes aletheias |
John 14:26 | Jesus tells the Apostles that the Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance everything He has told them. | parakletos to pneuma to hagion |
John 15:26 | “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” | parakletos to pneuma tes aletheias |
John 16:13 | Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. | to pneuma tes aletheias |
Acts 1:2 | The author [Luke] describes Jesus as having been given instructions by the Holy Spirit. This seems quite profound. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 1:5 | Jesus’ words - literally “you with the Spirit will be baptised Holy”. | pneumati … hagio |
Acts 1:8 | Empowers the Apostles to bear witness of Jesus Christ. | tou hagiou pneumatos |
Acts 1:16 | Peter recalls that the Holy Spirit spoke through David concerning Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. | to pneuma to hagion |
PENTECOST | ||
Acts 2:1-3 | Pentecost - after 9 days of prayer after Jesus is taken up, there is a roar of wind and tongues of fire appear over those in the upper room - the Apostles, the Virgin Mary and probably others. | Implied |
Acts 2:4 | Apostles can speak in other languages - continuing Jesus’ words in Acts 1:8. | pneumatos hagiou; [then contracted to] to pneuma |
Acts 2:17 | In the last days God will pour out His Spirit and there will be visions and prophecies. | tou pneumatos |
Acts 2:18 | Even on servants will He pour out His Spirit for visions and prophecies. | tou pneumatos |
Acts 2:33 | The promise of the Father is to send the Holy Spirit which is poured out by Jesus. | tou pneumatos tou hagio |
Acts 2:38 | Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive the Holy Spirit, you and your children, and all those at a distance who worship our God. | tou hagiou pneumatos |
Acts 2:42-47, 4:32 | Many wonders and signs are done by the Apostles. Although the Spirit is not explicitly mentioned, the fact that awe, wonders and signs were ‘through’ the Apostles shortly after Peter’s great speech at Pentecost means it is undoubtedly the Holy Spirit. People’s characters change; they learn, they distribute wealth, they meet in the Temple and share bread at home with joy and simplicity, they praise God and are well liked. | Implied |
Acts 3:6 | Peter, with John, heals a cripple. | Implied |
Acts 4:8 | Gives Peter extraordinary power of speech under inquisition. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 4:25 | Interesting - the KJV, NKJV and ESV translations manage to lose the ‘Holy Spirit’ from this verse. It says that God, by the Holy Spirit, gave David prophetic words. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 4:31 | Works to help the Apostles speak the word of God with boldness. | tou hagiou pneumatos |
Acts 5:3 | Peter asks Ananias why he lies to the Holy Spirit about his offering to the Church. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 5:12-16 | All those seeking healing or with unclean spirits were healed. | Implied |
Acts 7:51 | Stephen accuses the Sanhedrin of always resisting the Holy Spirit, of persecuting the prophets. | to pneumati to hagio |
Acts 7:55 | Filled with the Holy Spirit before the Sanhedrin, Stephen is able to see Jesus in God's glory in heaven. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 7:59 | This is not the Holy Spirit: Stephen asks Jesus to take his own spirit (pneuma). I include it to show that it is clearly a different usage to ‘Holy Spirit’. Pneuma is also the word used to record what Jesus said on the cross (“into Your hands I commit My Spirit”, Luke 23:46) and e.g. in the cleansing of unclean spirits (pneumata) in Acts 8:7. | |
Acts 8:15, 17 | Peter and John pray that Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit, then lay hands on them and they receive the Holy Spirit. | pneuma hagion |
Acts 8:18 | Simon wants to buy the Spirit just mentioned. Pneuma is used which is an obvious contraction in context, since pneuma hagion is used immediately before and after in the same story. | pneuma [contraction] |
Acts 8:19 | Simon asks to pay for the Holy Spirit. | pneuma hagion |
Acts 8:29 | Instructs Deacon Philip to instruct and baptise the Ethiopian eunuch, and miraculously transports Philip away again. Here pneuma is at first used which is obviously the Holy Spirit in the context of Isaiah and in supernatural instructions to Philip. | to pneuma |
Acts 8:39 | After Deacon Philip has baptised the Ethiopian Eunuch, the pneuma kyriou ‘Spirit of the Lord’ carries Philip away. | pneuma kyriou |
Acts 9:17 | Ananias lays his hands upon Saul so that Saul receives the Holy Spirit. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 9:31 | The churches in Judea, Galilee and Samaria are multiplied in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. | to hagio pneumatos |
Acts 10:19 | While Peter is unsure of the message of eating, the Holy Spirit tells him that three men are come for him - those sent by Cornelius after he receives a vision of an angel. He is strengthened. “Behold, three men seek thee. Arise, therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing, for I have sent them.” It is the Holy Spirit that has sent them. Pneuma alone is used, but in context - including messengers mysteriously appearing - it is obviously the Holy Spirit. | to pneuma |
Acts 10:38 | A reminder that Jesus was anointed with God the Holy Spirit and power. | [Theos] pneumati hagio |
Acts 10:44 and 11:15 | As Peter preaches, the Holy Spirit comes upon all the Gentiles with Cornelius before they are baptised ‘as He did also upon us in the beginning’ (Acts 11:15, in tongues of fire), and some speak in tongues. Peter commands that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. It seems plausible that some in Cornelius’ household on the coast don’t speak Aramaic or Hebrew while some in Peter’s group only speak those languages, so when the gentiles can be understood as praising God, it is clear that they are ‘speaking in tongues’. Peter repeats that the baptism of water is to be followed by a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has a baptism of water, and God anoints Him with the Holy Spirit. | tou hagiou tou pneumatos |
Acts 10:47 | Peter says that the Holy Spirit has ‘received’ Cornelius’ household, and they must immediately be baptised with water in the name of Jesus Christ. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 11:12 | Peter recalls being sent by the Spirit to Cornelius. | to pneuma |
Acts 11:15 | Peter recalls the Holy Spirit descending on Cornelius’ household. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 11:16 | Peter recalls Jesus’ words ‘you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’ | pneumati hagio |
Acts 11:24 | Barnabus was filled with the Holy Spirit and many people were added to the Lord after his encouragement. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 11:28-29 | Causes Agabus to prophesy that there will be a great famine, causing serious preparations to be made. | tou pneumatos |
Acts 13:2 | The Holy Spirit instructs the church at Antioch that Barnabus and Saul be set aside for His work and sends them to Cyprus, after fasting and laying on of hands. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 13:9-11 | Empowers Paul to overcome a bad magician using blindness so that the Proconsul of Paphos comes to God. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 13:52 | After shaking the dust of Iconium off their feet, having suffered persecution due to the rumour-mongering to the women and men by the Jews, they were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. | pneumatos hagiou |
Acts 15:8 | Peter recalls that Gentiles have received the Holy Spirit the same as Jews. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 15:28 | Guides the apostles to make rules about eating. | to pneumati to hagio |
Acts 16:6 | The Holy Spirit forbids them to preach in Asia (Turkey). | tou hagiou pneumatos |
Acts 16:7 | The ‘Spirit of Jesus’ did not allow them to go to Bithynia. Note that the KJV merely has ‘Spirit’ but more recent translations have ‘Spirit of Jesus’ as the Greek. Shortly after, Paul receives a vision of a man asking Paul to help those in Macedonia. They concluded that God had clearly directed them. | pneuma iesou |
Acts 16:16 | Not the Holy Spirit - a girl is possessed of the ‘spirit of python’ by which she tells fortunes. Python is a reference to a real or mythical snake that guarded the Oracle at Delphi, who was a real historical figure, and this phrase is understood to mean ‘spirit of divination’. Paul then ‘turns to the spirit’ [of python] and commands it to leave the possessed girl in the name of Jesus Christ. | |
Acts 17:16 | Not the Holy Spirit - Paul’s spirit is provoked by the utter idolatry in Athens. The text refers to ‘his spirit’ - ‘pneuma auto’. | |
Acts 18:25 | Apollos was fervent in spirit (to pneumati), but had only the baptism of John. Although KJV has ‘fervent in the spirit’, most translations have simply ‘fervent in spirit’. Interestingly we do not find out if he is ultimately baptised in the Holy Spirit, and it reads as though he didn’t have it before the baptism of John, but he is very well spoken of by Paul later so it seems certain that he must have received the Holy Spirit at some point (remembering that the Holy Spirit acted in some people separately to being ‘sent by the Father’ at Pentecost). Apollos’ knowledge of the Bible was profound and he ‘greatly helped those who had believed through grace’; he ‘spoke boldly in the synagogue’; he ‘watered the seed that Paul planted’; and Paul asked that he ‘lack nothing’. He was clearly a great help to those who had faith but lacked Biblical knowledge. Faith is enough to save you, but you are greatly helped by knowledge of the Bible. | |
Acts 19:2 | Paul asks baptized disciples at Ephesus whether they received the Holy Spirit, and the say they do not know of a Holy Spirit. | pneuma hagion |
Acts 19:6 | Paul lays his hands on disciples at Ephesus who are in the baptism of John and they received tongues of fire and prophesy. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 19:12 | Not the Holy Spirit - Paul’s handkerchiefs drive out evil spirits ‘pneumata ta ponera’. | |
Acts 19:15 | Not the Holy Spirit - an evil spirit speaks ‘to pneuma to poneron’. | |
Acts 19:21 | Paul “purposed in the spirit” to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. Most commentaries interpret this primarily as Paul’s own spirit, which is being guided by the Holy Spirit (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/acts/19-21.htm), but it is short of stating a strong intervention. Perhaps the Holy Spirit does not need to lead Paul by the hand so much now. The NIV simply has ‘Paul decided’, but this seems weak to me; no better than saying ‘Paul went’. | |
Acts 20:22,23 | Paul goes “bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem”, acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is calling him to witness in every city with bonds and afflictions - which he counts as nothing since he is determined to finish his course with joy. Commentaries tend to see ‘bound in the spirit’ (pneumati) as Paul’s own spirit, since he then specifically mentions the Holy Spirit (to pneuma to hagion) separately in second half of the sentence. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 20:28 | Paul states that the Holy Spirit has made the elders overseers of the flock. | to pneuma to hagion |
Acts 21:4 | Through the spirit, the disciples at Tyre tell Paul not to go to Jerusalem. It seems natural that this means ‘not just yet’. The Holy Spirit is helping to synchronise events, that is other lines of causation. I wonder if we saw God doing this during the Exodus, when the Israelites take a little time to get to the crossing point where they will pass through the water. I suspect there are a lot of examples of people waiting for the right time in the Bible, all part of God’s plan, and certainly patience is a quality and a mark of trust in God. | tou pneumatos |
Acts 21:11 | Agabus graphically tells Paul that the Holy Spirit is saying that Paul will be bound by the Jews if he goes to Jerusalem, and handed over to the Gentiles. | tou pneumatos |
Acts 23:8 | Not the Holy Spirit - the word ‘spirit’ (pneuma) is used to describe the Pharisees belief in a resurrection, in angels and in spirits (which the Sadducees deny). It is possible to read it as ‘a resurrection - of angel and spirit’ which implies two facets to a resurrection especially because the word ‘amphotera’ is used which normally means ‘both’ (not so much three terms) but this then makes ‘angel’ hard to interpret - body? The ‘Pulpit Commentary’ wonders whether there is a connection with the slightly mysterious reference to Peter escaped from prison ‘they thought it was his angel’ (Acts 12:15). It would be profitable to research what Pharisees actually believed to help resolve this. | |
Acts 23:9 | Commentaries do not call this the Holy Spirit, but a re-expression of the type of unresurrected spirit just described in Acts 23:8. It is an expression of the Pharisees, whose doctrine Luke and Paul do not subscribe to anyway, so it secondary, and it would be better to approach this from the direction of what we think the Pharisees actually believed. | |
Acts 28:25 | Paul recalls that the Holy Spirit spoke through Isaiah saying that the Jews would reject the words of Jesus and so salvation would be sent to the Gentiles. | to pneuma to hagion |
Romans 8:9 | "You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ." | pneuma theou pneuma christou |
Romans 8:11 | “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” | to pneuma autou pneumatos |
Romans 8:13 | You will live if you allow the Spirit to conquer the flesh. | pneumati |
Romans 8:14-15 | As many as are led by the Spirit of God have received the Spirit of divine adoption as sons by whom we cry Abba, Father! | pneumati theou pneuma huiothesias |
Romans 8:16 | The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. | to pneuma |
Romans 8:26 | “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” | to pneuma |
Romans 8:27 | The Father knows the mind of the Spirit; He knows that He intercedes in harmony with His Own will and purpose, and for His Own children. [Cambridge Bible] | tou pneumatos |
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 | God is revealed through the Spirit; man does not know the depths of the Spirit; The Spirit of God knows all things. | to pneumatos to pneuma to theou pneuma |
1 Corinthians 2:14 | The most learned and the most acute rational person will not discern God unless they listen to God’s Spirit with their Spirit. [Cambridge Bible] | tou pneumatos tou theou |
1 Corinthians 3:16 | You are the Temple of God and the Spirit dwells in you. | to pneuma tou theou |
1 Corinthians 6:19 | Paul tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and that we should not sin against our own body, which has been bought at a price by God. I read this to say that our bodies are not ours, but they belong to God and are permeated by the Holy Spirit of God. | hagio pneumatos |
1 Corinthians 12:3 | If you speak in the Spirit you will not curse Jesus, and you will say Jesus is Lord. | pneumati theou pneumati hagio |
1 Corinthians 12:8-10 | The Spirit gives gifts: wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. | tou pneumatos pneuma pneumati |
1 Corinthians 12:13 | Paul explains that were baptized into one body and made to drink one Spirit. | pneuma |
1 Corinthians 14:15-17 | This is about tongues, about private experience with the Spirit versus public experience with the Spirit so that others understand what you say. ‘I will pray with the Spirit, and I will pray with my mind; I will sing praise with the Spirit, and I will sing praise with my mind.’ Paul seems to cautious about people speaking incoherently. He says “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” but also “But in the church I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” | to pneumati en pneumati |
2 Corinthians 3:17 | "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." | pneuma kyriou |
2 Corinthians 3:18 | As we see the glory of God, we are transformed in glory by the Spirit of God. | kyriou pneumatos |
Galatians 3:2-5 | You cannot earn the Holy Spirit through the law, and obeying the law alone leaves only a sense of wrath and damnation in the conscience. The Spirit comes from hearing the Gospel. [Gill’s Exposition] | pneuma pneumati pneuma |
Galatians 4:6 | “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” | theos to pneuma tou huiou |
Galations 5:17 | “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” | tou pneumatos pneuma |
Galatians 5:25 | “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” The Spirit means doing, as much as being. | pneumati |
Ephesians 4:30 | “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Immediately before this Paul says ‘let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth’, and immediately after ‘Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.’ Surely these verses are telling us how the Holy Spirit will help us speak and act kindly. | to pneuma to hagion tou theou |
Ephesians 6:18 | Pray ‘in the Spirit’ with all kinds of requests, and for all the Lord’s people. | pneumati |
1 Thessalonians 1:5 | “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance…”. Word, breath and power in close proximity. | pneumati hagio |
1 Timothy 3:16, 4:1 | Paul speaks of Jesus being justified in the Spirit and the Spirit speaking prophesy. | pneuma |
2 Timothy 1:14 | Paul tells Timothy to keep safe the words of faith entrusted to them by Jesus by the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. An indwelling, but also a proximity of breath and words again. | pneumatos hagiou |
1 Peter 1:11 | Peter refers to the Spirit that was in the prophets as the Spirit of Christ. This makes perfect sense if the Spirit is breath and Christ the word. | pneuma christou |
1 Peter 4:14 | If you are reproached for the name of Christ, be happy, for the spirit of God rests on you. | tou theou pneuma |
1 John 4:2-3 | Every spirit (person) that acknowledges that Jesus Christ is God has the Spirit of God, and every one who does not confess this is not of God. | to pneuma to theou |
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