Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit moves through scripture as Yahweh's own life turned outward — the breath that hovers over the unformed waters, that comes mightily on judges and kings, that speaks through the prophets, that rests on the chosen Servant, that is poured out on all flesh, that indwells, leads, teaches, and bears witness within those who belong to Christ. The Spirit is not a separate deity but God acting in person; he is what John summarizes as "God is spirit" (John 4:24), and what Paul confesses as the agent who shares the work of the Father and the Son in the one work of grace.

The Spirit at Creation and in Common Life

Scripture's first mention of the Spirit stands at the beginning of the world: "And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Gen 1:2). The Spirit is associated with the gift of human understanding from the beginning as well: "But there is a spirit in common man, And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding" (Job 32:8). And the Spirit is the boundary that fences how long Yahweh will bear with rebellion: "My spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh: and his days will be 120 years" (Gen 6:3).

Within Israel's history the Spirit is what equips human beings for tasks beyond their own ability — judgment, war, prophecy, the work of the kingdom. "And the Spirit of Yahweh came upon him, and he judged Israel" (Judg 3:10). "But the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet" (Judg 6:34). Of Samson, "the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him, and he rent him as he would have rent a young goat" (Judg 14:6); and again at Ashkelon, "the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on him" (Judg 14:19). At Gibeah a band of prophets meets Saul, and "the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them" (1Sam 10:10); and on hearing the threat against Jabesh-gilead, "the Spirit of God came mightily on Saul ... and his anger was greatly kindled" (1Sam 11:6). When Samuel anoints David, "the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on David from that day forward" (1Sam 16:13), and even Saul's messengers, sent to seize David, fall under the same descent: "the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied" (1Sam 19:20). The pattern continues in the prophetic generations; on Azariah son of Oded "the Spirit of God came" (2Chr 15:1), and "the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest" (2Chr 24:20). Of Balaam, "the Spirit of God came upon him" (Num 24:2). Of the seventy elders the same word stands: "Yahweh ... took of the Spirit that was on him, and put it on the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied" (Num 11:25).

God Is Spirit

Jesus' word at the well names the Spirit-character of God himself: "God is spirit: and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). Paul, expounding the new covenant, joins this confession to the resurrection life of Christ: "Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, [there] is liberty" (2Cor 3:17). The triadic confession appears explicitly in benediction and address: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you⁺" (2Cor 13:13); the elect are addressed "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, to obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (1Pet 1:2).

The Spirit on the Prophets, and the Inspiration of Scripture

The voice of God in scripture comes through the Spirit. "Yet many years you bore with them, and testified against them by your Spirit through your prophets" (Neh 9:30); "God, having of old time spoken to the fathers in the prophets by diverse portions and in diverse manners" (Heb 1:1). The prophet's own testimony confirms the same source. David's last words begin, "The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me, And his word was on my tongue" (2Sam 23:2). Micah declares, "But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Yahweh, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin" (Mic 3:8). Ezekiel reports, "And the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, Speak, Thus says Yahweh" (Ezek 11:5); Jahaziel rises in the assembly because "on Jahaziel ... came the Spirit of Yahweh in the midst of the assembly" (2Chr 20:14). Yahweh's promise to the prophet pairs Spirit and word: "I have put my words in your mouth" (Jer 1:9); "I will make my words in your mouth fire" (Jer 5:14); "Now therefore go, and [my Speech] will be with your mouth, and teach you what you will speak" (Ex 4:12); "I have put my words in your mouth, and have covered you in the shadow of my hand" (Isa 51:16). The same authority belongs to Micaiah son of Imlah: "As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I will speak" (1Kgs 22:14).

The New Testament summary places the whole prophetic corpus under the same Spirit: "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spoke from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2Pet 1:20-21).

The Spirit on the Christ

The prophets foretell that one is coming on whom the Spirit will rest without measure. "And the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh" (Isa 11:2). "Look, my slave, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights: [my Speech has] put my Spirit on him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles" (Isa 42:1). The chosen Servant takes up the same word in his own mouth: "The Spirit of the Sovereign Yahweh is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives" (Isa 61:1). This is what Jesus reads in the Nazareth synagogue: "The Spirit of Yahweh is on me, Because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor: He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are bruised" (Luke 4:18).

The descent at the Jordan answers the prophets. Mark records: "And immediately coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens rent apart, and the Spirit as a dove descending on him" (Mark 1:10); John bears the same witness: "I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it stayed on him" (John 1:32). The same Spirit is at work in the cross itself: it is "through the eternal Spirit" that Christ "offered himself without blemish to God" (Heb 9:14), and it is the Spirit through whom he is made alive: "being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" (1Pet 3:18).

The Promise of Outpouring

The Old Testament holds out the Spirit as a future, public gift on the people. "until the Spirit is poured on us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field" (Isa 32:15). "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring" (Isa 44:3). "And as for me, this is my covenant with them, says Yahweh: my Spirit who is on you, and my words which I have put in your mouth, will not depart out of your mouth" (Isa 59:21). "And I will put my Spirit inside you⁺, and cause you⁺ to walk in my statutes, and you⁺ will keep my ordinances, and do them" (Ezek 36:27). "And I will put my Spirit in you⁺, and you⁺ will live, and I will place you⁺ in your⁺ own land" (Ezek 37:14). "I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Sovereign Yahweh" (Ezek 39:29). "And it will come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your⁺ sons and your⁺ daughters will prophesy, your⁺ old men will dream dreams, your⁺ young men will see visions" (Joel 2:28); "and also on the male slaves and on the female slaves in those days I will pour out my Spirit" (Joel 2:29). "And I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication" (Zech 12:10). The agency is contrasted with raw force: "Not by might, nor by power, but by [my Speech], says Yahweh of hosts" (Zech 4:6).

In Jesus' own teaching the gift is what the Father gives those who ask: "If you⁺ then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your⁺ children, how much more will [your⁺] heavenly Father give good [things] to those who ask him" (Luke 11:13). And in the upper room the promise is specifically tied to his departure: "It is expedient for you⁺ that I go away; for if I don't go away, the Supporter will not come to you⁺; but if I go, I will send him to you⁺" (John 16:7). Paul confirms the outpouring as already accomplished in Christ: God "saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Tit 3:5-6).

The Supporter and the Spirit of Truth

In the Farewell Discourse, Jesus names the coming Spirit with a series of titles. He is the Supporter — "I will pray the Father, and he will give you⁺ another Supporter, that he may be with you⁺ forever" (John 14:16) — and the Spirit of truth — "[even] the Spirit of truth: whom the world can't receive; for it does not see him, neither knows him: you⁺ know him; for he stays with you⁺, and will be in you⁺" (John 14:17). His coming will not leave the disciples orphaned: "I will not leave you⁺ desolate: I come to you⁺" (John 14:18); "In that day you⁺ will know that I am in my Father, and you⁺ in me, and I in you⁺" (John 14:20).

The Supporter's office is taught in stages. He is the Father's gift in the Son's name, and his work is teaching and remembrance: "But the Spirit, the Supporter, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you⁺ all things, and bring to your⁺ remembrance all that I said to you⁺" (John 14:26). He proceeds from the Father and bears witness to the Son: "When the Supporter has come, whom I will send to you⁺ from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness of me" (John 15:26). His coming carries a ministry to the world: "And he, when he has come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8). And his ministry to the disciples is guidance into all the truth: "Nevertheless when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you⁺ into all the truth: for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he will hear, he will speak: and he will declare to you⁺ the things that are to come" (John 16:13). His relation to the Son is one of glorifying: "He will glorify me: for he will take of mine, and will declare [it] to you⁺. All things that the Father has are mine: therefore I said, that he takes of mine, and will declare [it] to you⁺" (John 16:14-15).

The Spirit Indwelling Believers

The promised gift takes up residence in those who belong to Christ. "Don't you⁺ know that you⁺ are a temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwells in you⁺?" (1Cor 3:16). "Or don't you⁺ know that your⁺ body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you⁺, whom you⁺ have from God? And you⁺ are not your⁺ own" (1Cor 6:19). "But you⁺ are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you⁺. But if any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of his" (Rom 8:9). "That good thing which was committed to [you] guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us" (2Tim 1:14). The same indwelling is the seal and pledge of inheritance: "in whom, having also believed, you⁺ were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is a security deposit of our inheritance, to the redemption of [God's] own possession" (Eph 1:13-14). The whole body shares the same baptism: "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and were all made to drink of one Spirit" (1Cor 12:13). The believer's rule of life follows directly from this presence: "And don't be drunk with wine, in which is riot, but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18).

The Spirit's indwelling carries an anointing that Paul and John both describe in teaching terms: "And you⁺ have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you⁺ know" (1John 2:20). "And as for you⁺, the anointing which you⁺ received of him stays in you⁺ ... his anointing teaches you⁺ concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie" (1John 2:27). The Spirit teaches the church the things of God: "Which things also we speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Spirit teaches; combining spiritual things with spiritual [words]" (1Cor 2:13); "the Holy Spirit will teach you⁺ in that very hour what you⁺ ought to say" (Luke 12:12); and in the same vein, "I will give you⁺ a mouth and wisdom, which all your⁺ adversaries will not be able to withstand or to gainsay" (Luke 21:15). Israel had already known a foretaste of the same teaching ministry: "You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them" (Neh 9:20).

The Spirit Gives Life and Leads

The Spirit is the source of new and resurrection life. "It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I have spoken to you⁺ are spirit, and are life" (John 6:63). "Except one be born of water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:5-6). "Not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life" (2Cor 3:6). "But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you⁺, he who raised up Christ from the dead will give life also to your⁺ mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you⁺" (Rom 8:11).

Romans 8 gathers the Spirit's life-giving leadership into the longest single discourse on the topic. The freedom is foundational: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made you free from the law of sin and of death" (Rom 8:1-2). The walk follows: "that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who don't walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For those who are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace" (Rom 8:4-6). The mortifying work is the believer's, but the agency is the Spirit's: "if by the Spirit you⁺ put to death the activities of the body, you⁺ will live" (Rom 8:13). And the leadership establishes sonship: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" (Rom 8:14); "But if you⁺ are led by the Spirit, you⁺ are not under the law" (Gal 5:18). The fruit is the visible effect of that walk: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law" (Gal 5:22-23).

The Spirit and the Believer's Adoption

The same Spirit testifies to the believer's place in the family. "For you⁺ didn't receive the spirit of slavery again to fear; but you⁺ received the spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, Abba, Father" (Rom 8:15); "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God" (Rom 8:16); "And because you⁺ are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal 4:6). The same internal testimony is John's mark of remaining in God: "hereby we know that he stays in us, by the Spirit whom he gave us" (1John 3:24); "hereby we know that we stay in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit" (1John 4:13). Hope is established on the same ground: "and hope does not put to shame; because the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Rom 5:5); "Now may the God of hope fill you⁺ with all joy and peace in believing, that you⁺ may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom 15:13).

The Spirit in Prayer and Intercession

The same indwelling Spirit prays in the believer where the believer cannot pray. "And in like manner the Spirit also helps our infirmity: for we don't know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for [us] with groanings which can't be uttered; and he who searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God" (Rom 8:26-27).

The Diversity of Gifts

Within the body the Spirit's work is plural in form and one in source. "no man can say, Lord Jesus, but in the Holy Spirit. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are diversities of servings, and the same Lord. And there are diversities of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all. But to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit as well" (1Cor 12:3-7). The catalogue of gifts that follows — wisdom, knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation — is bound under the same hand: "but the one and the same Spirit works all these, dividing to each individually even as he wills" (1Cor 12:11).

The Sword of the Spirit

The Spirit's instrument of warfare is the word. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph 6:17). "For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb 4:12). The same image is fixed on the Christ in the prophets and apocalypse: "with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked" (Isa 11:4); "the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth" (2Thess 2:8); "out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword" (Rev 1:16); "These things says he who has the sharp two-edged sword" (Rev 2:12); "I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth" (Rev 2:16).

The Sin Against and the Withdrawal of the Spirit

Scripture is also clear that the Spirit can be sinned against and grieved away. The Old Testament records the indictment in Isaiah: "But they rebelled, and grieved his Holy Spirit: therefore [his Speech] was turned to be their enemy, [and] himself fought against them" (Isa 63:10). Saul provides the case-history: "Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh troubled him" (1Sam 16:14); David's penitential prayer rests on the same fear: "Don't cast me away from your presence; And don't take your Holy Spirit from me" (Ps 51:11).

The New Testament imperatives follow the same line. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you⁺ were sealed to the day of redemption" (Eph 4:30). "Do not quench the Spirit" (1Thess 5:19). The most severe form of the sin is the deliberate, settled blasphemy: "but whoever will blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29); and Hebrews warns of the same gravity in apostasy from grace: "of how much sorer punishment, do you⁺ think, he will be judged worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God ... and has done despite to the Spirit of grace?" (Heb 10:29). John names a "sin to death" that is not in view in ordinary intercession: "If any man sees his brother sinning a sin not to death, he will ask, and [God] will give him life ... There is sin to death: [but] that's not what I am saying he should ask about" (1John 5:16). Within the same letter, the test of "spirits" is the confession of Christ in the flesh: "Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God ... every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God" (1John 4:1-2); and the church learns to discern as a body: "We are of God ... By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (1John 4:6).

The Spirit's Closing Word

Scripture's final word leaves the Spirit speaking with the church to the world. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he who hears, let him say, Come. And he who is thirsty, let him come: he who will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev 22:17).