What About the Holy Spirit?

Jesus, during the Last Supper and just before being arrested and crucified, was worried about leaving His disciples.  He spoke words of wisdom, reassurance, and comfort, recorded in John chapters 14-17.  Be sure to read these beautiful words, which finish with Jesus’ wonderful prayer for his disciples and “also for all who will ever believe in me”. (John 17:20)   We thank you for Your prayer, Lord Jesus.

As comfort, Jesus promises three times to send the Holy Spirit to us on Earth after He is gone:

John 14:16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.

John 14:26  But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.

John 16:7  But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.

Rest assured, we all can ask for the Holy Spirit, right now:

“But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks.”  (Luke 11:13)

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What does the Holy Spirit do?  The list that follows is incredible, long, and only partial. I’d challenge you to read through the entire list, and count off all the things the Holy Spirit does for us – I found only two things I didn’t want:

The Holy Spirit…

Gives birth to Spiritual life:
John 3:6  …the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

Raised Jesus from the dead and gives us life:
Romans 8:11  The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Fills us with His love:
Romans 5:5  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Produces fruit:
Galatians 5:22  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Helps and prays for us:
Romans 8:26  And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us

Raised Jesus from dead:
Romans 1:4 …He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit

Author of Jesus’ birth:
Matthew 1:18  “she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”

Settled on Jesus:
Matthew 3:16  After His baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him.

Filled Jesus after temptation in the desert:
Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit

Jesus reads:
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”

Filled Jesus with joy:
Luke 10:21  Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit

Helps us recognize Jesus:
1 Corinthians 12:3 …no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

Received thru belief:
Galatians 3:2 You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.

Given upon belief:
Ephesians 1:13 And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit

Received by belief thru faith:
Galatians 3:14 …we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

Our Way to the Father thru Jesus:
Ephesians 2:18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

Gives new birth and life:
Titus 3:5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

Brings glory and life:
2 Corinthians 3:8 Shall we not expect far greater glory in these days when the Holy Spirit is giving life?

Our Advocate & teacher:
John 14:26 “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

Testifies about Jesus in truth:
John 15:26 “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me.”

Sent by Jesus:
John 16:7 “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send Him to you.”

Guides to truth:
John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.”

Gives instructions:
Acts 1:2 …giving His chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

Given by the Father for Jesus to pour out:
Acts 2:33 Now He is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as He had promised, gave Him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

Lives in us:
John 14:17 “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. …you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Will never leave us:
John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.”

Confirms the Gospel with signs:
Hebrews 2:4 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.

Followed by tongues and prophesy:
Acts 19:6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.

Author of tongues:
Acts 2:4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

Warned Paul of future suffering:
Acts 20:23 “the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.”

Casts our demons:
Matthew 12:28 “But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.”

Gives power:
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses”

Given by God:
Acts 5:32 We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”

Source of spiritual gifts:
1 Cor 12:4  There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.

Gifts to help each other:
1 Cor 12:7  A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.

Examples of gifts:
1 Cor 12:8  To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. 9 The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10 He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

Distributes spiritual gifts:
1 Cor 12:11  It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

John the Baptist describes Jesus:
Matthew 3:11 “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Jesus instructs:
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” 

Jesus instructs:
Acts 1:5 “John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Received by laying on hands:
Acts 8:17 Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.

Falls upon those hearing the Gospel message:
Acts 10:44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message.

Falls upon those hearing the Gospel message:
Acts 11:15 “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them

Additional to belief:
Acts 19:2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

Additional to Jesus’ baptism:
Acts 8:16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Additional to water baptism:
Acts 10:47 “Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?”

Additional to water baptism:
Acts 11:16 Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

Confirms God’s acceptance:
Acts 15:8 “God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.”

Fills believers:
Acts 13:52 And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Speaks the message through disciples:
Matthew 10:20 “For it is not you who will be speaking—it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

Empowers preaching:
1 Peter 1:12 And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

Empowers preaching:
1 Corinthians 2:4 And my message and my preaching … relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.

Fills bold preachers:
Acts 4:31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

Teaches us:
Luke 12:12 “…for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”

Directs us for evangelism:
Acts 8:29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

Encourager of the Church:
Acts 9:31 …with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

Received through prayer:
Acts 8:15 …they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit.

Prevents evangelism sometimes:
Acts 16:6 …the Holy Spirit had prevented them from preaching the word

Just in case you thought the Holy Spirit first appeared at Pentecost:

Was present at Creation:
Genesis 1:2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

Gives life to the living things on the Earth:
Psalms 104:28-30 What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.

King David asked:
Psalm 51:11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Spoke through King David:
2 Samuel 23:2 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue.”

Inspires prophets:
2 Peter 1:21 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

Guides us:
Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.

Informed Peter:
Acts 10:19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you.”

Directed Peter:
Acts 11:12 “The Holy Spirit told me to go with them”

Focuses our thoughts:
Romans 8:5 …those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Calls us to God’s work:
Acts 13:2 One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.”

Sends Apostles out:
Acts 13:4 So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit.

Paul describes the appointment of leaders:
Acts 20:28 “…the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders.”

Assures us of truth:
1 Thessalonians 1:5 …the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true.

Brings joy to suffering:
1 Thessalonians 1:6 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you.

Guards to truth:
2 Timothy 1:14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

Lives in us:
1 Corinthians 6:22 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?

Lives in us and gives life to our mortal bodies:
Romans 8:11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Lives in us; teaches us truth:
1 John 2:27 But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true

Lives in us:
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

Lives in us; given by God:
1 Corinthians 6:19 …the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?

Identifies us as God’s; resides in our hearts:
2 Corinthians 1:22 …he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts

Lives in us and controls us:
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not controlled by the flesh but by the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Makes us holy:
Romans 15:16 I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.

Makes us clean, holy, and right with God:
1 Corinthians 6:11 …you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Brings God’s mercy on us:
Hebrews 10:29 …the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.

Leads us as children of God:
Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Previews Glory:
Romans 8:23 …we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory

Helps us live in the Kingdom of God:
Romans 14:17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Helps us love others:
Romans 15:30 …your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.

Gives us confident hope:
Romans 15:13 Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Frees us from addictions:
Ephesians 5:18 Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,

Gives us love for others:
Colossians 1:8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

Builds up faith thru prayer:
Jude 1:20 But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit

Can be sorrowful for us:
Ephesians 4:30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.

Do not resist:
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not try to stop the work of the Holy Spirit.

A guarantee of God’s promises:
2 Corinthians 1:22 God has stamped his seal on us, by giving us the spirit in our hearts as a first payment and guarantee of what is to come.

A guarantee of new Life from God:
2 Corinthians 5:5 …God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee

Be in us and with us, Holy Spirit!

Agree or disagree? I’d be interested in hearing what you think – and especially if you have additions or corrections to my work – if I’m wrong, please tell me!