The Biblical Teachings on the Holy Spirit
The Bible is filled with numerous references on the Holy Spirit, detailing its role in the world and, especially, in the believer’s life. According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, the Godhead revealed in three Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
Scripture teaches us that the Holy Spirit is omnipresence, omnipotent, and omniscient; not just a spirit in the sense of a non-physical entity but rather a powerful Person of the Godhead (Hebrews 9:14). Multiple passages detail how the Holy Spirit is actively involved in the work of creation, sustenance, and transformation of the human heart.
For instance, Romans 8:16 tells us, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Here we see that the Holy Spirit plays a vital role in conferring assurance of salvation and guiding believers in their faith journey. Similarly, in Titus 3:5, Paul tells Titus that “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
The Bible is laiden with passages about the Holy Spirit and the power He has to transform lives. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer and helps to provide strength, upholding a person in their faith journey. Strength from the Holy Spirit is a cornerstone of Christianity, offering joy, hope and patience in the face of life’s struggles. It is thus no surprise that the believer must constantly strive to “walk by the Spirit” in order to be obedient to God’s will (Galatians 5:16).
In the Christian’s life, the Holy Spirit grants spiritual gifts, empowers to be witnesses of Christ, draws us closer to God by enabling us to understand and apply his truths, and helps us love and serve others (1 Corinthians 12:7–10; Acts 1:8).
Ultimately, the Holy Spirit provides a living connection to God that comes from the experience of passionately knowing Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit makes the believer a part of divinely orchestrated events that produce incredible transformations that move us closer to God. Thus we understand that the Bible reveals the nature, power,persistence and permanence of the Holy Spirit and the variety of ministries He has to Christians. All of these teach us to live lives of covenant love and loyalty with God by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Fruits of the Holy Spirit
In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul says the following: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” These fruit of the Spirit or character qualities are an indicator of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life. These also serve as important guideposts for Christians, helping them to stay on the path of righteousness.
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit brings into believers the “fruit of the Spirit”, which refers to the character of Jesus that the believer develops. Addressing this issue in Galatians, Paul said “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” in verse16. He then goes on to list nine distinct qualities of fruit which result from the Spirit’s work in a believer’s life. Paul’s instruction was that the Spirit-filled believer is to demonstrate and exhibit these qualities to the world.
When a believer allows the Spirit to lead, His presence leads to the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit which starts to manifest in their daily lives. The result is that the believer increasingly lives in obedience to God and away from the sinful desires of the flesh. When a person grows in the Spirit, they come to walk obediently and will demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
An often overlooked teaching from the Bible on the Holy Spirit, is His role in giving various gifts to believers. These gifts are a result of placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ and come from the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer. This is described in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.
Here Paul writes that the gifts are given to the members of the body of the church, the Body of Christ, and that they are given in “varied measure”. This implies that not all believers will have the same level or intensity of the same gift. Additionally, he was adamant that all these gifts were given for the building up of the Body of Christ. This means then that each gift from the Holy Spirit should be seen as a blessing and a benefit to the entire church and should be used for the advancement of the ministry of the church.
In 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, Paul lays out nine different gifts that the Holy Spirit bestows upon the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor-teachers, healings, miracles, discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Each of these gifts is vital to the life of the believer and the church, and they are all intended to be used to glorify God and build up the church.
The Power of the Holy Spirit
The bible teaches extensively on the power and authority of the Holy Spirit. One key example is when Jesus gave the commission to the apostles in Matthew 28:18-20, to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. This verse alone highlights the power that the Holy Spirit has to transform the lives of people and its importance in the life of a believer.
In Genesis 1:2, the Bible also speaks of the Spirit as the one responsible for creating the world. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. This communicates that the power of the Holy Spirit is dynamic, transcendent and more powerful than anything we can imagine.
The Holy Spirit is the source of the Christian’s power. In Luke 4:14-19, Jesus reads from Isaiah 61:1-2, talking about the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit that He brought. Jesus was demonstrating that it was the power of the Holy Spirit which He came to demonstrate. He spoke prophetically of what was to come and of titles that were attributed to Him, such as the prince of peace and the everlasting Father.
The Bible also speaks of Jesus being “anointed by the Holy Spirit” (Acts 10:38). His anointing was what enabled Him to heal the sick, cast out demons, and perform other mighty works. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was able to do such amazing and powerful things. The power of the Holy Spirit is the same power that enables the believer to do great and mighty works to the glory of God.
The Holy Spirit’s Role in Our Lives
The Bible speaks of the crucial role that the Holy Spirit plays in the lives of believers. In Galatians 5:25, Paul states “if we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit”. This is an admonition to live according to the Spirit’s promptings and leadings. It is key for us to allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives, if we want to follow God’s will.
The role of the Spirit in our lives is to pattern our lives after the example of Jesus, which includes following His teachings and commands. Jesus said in John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing.”
Knowing this, the believer needs to starve the flesh and feed their Spirit, allowing the Spirit to take over and manuever their lives towards righteousness (Romans 8:5-8). This can only be accomplished by denying yourself and walking by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit plays a critical role in making this happen, as He works in and through the believer to make them into the likeness of Christ.
The Holy Spirit Interceding for Us
In the Bible, there are numerous references to the Holy Spirit’s intercessory role. One such example is seen in Romans 8:26,27 which reads: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit is constantly interceding on the believer’s behalf. 1 John 2:1 says “but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”. This is a reminder of the power of the Spirit to intercede for us with cries that cannot be uttered. There is no need to fear because of the assurance that the Holy Spirit is there to intercede on behalf of the believer, praying with groanings that “cannot be uttered”.
The Holy Spirit stands in defense of the believer before the throne of grace and speaks on the believer’s behalf. The Spirit can pray and intercede for us when we are too weak, too fearful, or too confused to pray for ourselves. The Holy Spirit is the protector of the believer and is always meant to be a source of comfort and strength in the believer’s life.
The Power to Receive Christ
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit does not bring about salvation itself, but it does initiate the process by convicting us of our sins and driving us to repentance. The Spirit’s presence is required before someone can experience true conversion in fulfilling the plan of salvation.
John 6:44 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” This verse speaks of the Father drawing a person to Jesus, enabling them to repent and receive the gift of salvation. It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to illuminate us and to bring us in obedience to God. The Spirit is the one who enables us to see our own need for a Savior and to surrender our lives to Jesus.
The Holy Spirit works in us to produce the
