Finding The Holy Spirit In The Bible

FINDING THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE BIBLE

I find it amazing how so many people can misinterpret the bible, but then, it is a holy book, set aside by God for those led by His Spirit. I was witnessing to someone of another religion, and he had so many misinterpretations and misrepresentations given to him of Christianity, it is no wonder he didn't want to become a Christian. For example, he was misled to believe we get baptized without clothes, and of course, I set THAT straight! Then he said that he was taught that the angel Gabriel was the Holy Spirit, and of course, I set that straight with him, too! Angels are finite; since the Holy Spirit is God, He is infinite, and was never the angel Gabriel, who brought important messages to cetain biblical figures, such as Daniel: "And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, 'Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.'" (Dan. 8:16) But you know, it would be nice to point out some places to find the Holy Spirit in the bible, and all His different names, and what the titles emphasize. Let's do that, shall we?
"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;" (Eph. 4:4) Here His title is "One Spirit", emphasizing His unity. There is one God, and therefore there is one Spirit of God.  "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." (Rev. 3:1) Here Jesus is speaking of the Holy Spirit, and the emphasis in the title He has given the Spirit is on His perfection, completelness, and omnipresence. Only seven churches are named, but in His perfect omnipresence, He is at all seven simultaneously.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18) Here the Holy Spirit, by His title "the Lord", is given emphasis of His sovereignty.

"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb. 9:14) The title "eternal Spirit" by simple logic emphasizes His eternality. The triune God, which includes the Holy Spirit, is as a circle, with no beginning or end, and thus is this facet of God's essence.

"If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." (1 Pet. 4:14) "Spirit of glory" is quite simply an emphasis of His glory, as we recognize that all glory and honor belongs to God, and as this is so, this is one of a number of perfect titles belonging to God.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." (Rom. 8:2) The emphasis here is on the Spirit's vitality. The Spirit regularly works in the life of a believer, but it is not mechanical, as in manual labor and tools, for we are wonderfully made, and each one of us has a life to live that is not like the lives of others, although we may have similar experiences; yet we will all have different responses to different influences in our environment, so each of us needs a different type of influence upon us to be led in the right way, and herein is the perfection of the beauty of the constant work He does in our lives.

"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." (1 John 2:20) This is an obvious emphasis of His holiness, and as we are anointed with Him, we are guided by Him; He is our internal compass, our disceernment between right and wrong. If we make a mistake, if we sin, He lets us know! The elect are not called so for nothing; we are set apart to God!

We're going to go Old Testament now; He was certainly present there, too, you know! "And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;" (Isa. 11:2) Here of course, the emphasis is on His counsel, omniscience, and wisdom. But there's more to this particular passage, it's about Jesus, too! "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness," (Luke 4:1) This passage in Luke represents the oneness of God; here the Holy Spirit is in Jesus, and likewise, Jesus stated His oneness with our Father God as well; "I and My Father are one." (John 10:30) Looking back in Isa. 11:2, let us also note two other names of the Holy Spirit that Isaiah gives us. Spirit of might refers emphasis to His omnipotence, and Spirit of the fear of the Lord gives us emphasis of His reverence.

"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." (John 14:17) Your natural conclusion would be that this title gives emphasis to His truthfulness. As we already know, God cannot lie! "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;" (Tit. 1:2)

"Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" (Heb. 10:29) Here is a title emphasizing His grace, and this particular passage gives great magnitude to the sin of unbelief.

Shall we look in the Old Testament one more time? "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zech. 12:10) While this passage speaks much of the yet-to-be-born Messiah, Jesus Christ, it also refers to the Holy Spirit as "the Spirit of grace and supplication", and herein we quite naturally derive the emphasis as being on His grace and intercession.

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;" (John 14:16) "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:26) Translated "Paraclete" in Greek, this title given by Christ emphasizes more than His comfort, but also His wisdom, counsel, intercession, omniscience and vitality!

While I have been concentrating on the names by which one may find the Holy Spirit in the bible, I have as yett to address how He appears. The first, is as an invisible force from within; "And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" (1 Sam. 10:10 - 11) In this instance, He came upon Saul, and caused him to prophesy.

In a spectacular show nowhere else written of in Scripture, He appeared as a dove in a triune God display at Jesus' baptism! "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:16 - 17)

He again appeared visually among Jesus' disciples in the book of Acts: "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." (Acts 2:2 - 4)

My final sample of His appearance is this portion of Scripture: "And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." (Rev. 15:8)

So from all this we understand that the Holy Spirit can be found in many places in Scripture, and appear as He wills, and goes by a number of names. God bless us, all His people, that the Spirit should be with us always and forever!