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Here’s the best top-twenty list you’ll ever read. The Bible is filled with vivid descriptions of the nature, role and power of the Holy Spirit. He is dynamic and divine! The list below touches on just a few of those descriptions which pertain the Holy Spirit as a liberator and change agent in our lives. He provides the strength for tackling addictions. He is the key that unshackles us from our ongoing slavery to sin. Keep in mind that this list is not for getting a handle on the Holy Spirit (as if we could) but, more importantly, for Him to get a better handle on us.
1. The Holy Spirit is a person. The apostle Paul spoke of Him personally as one having a will: “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.” (1 Corinthians 12:1). And He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).
2. He is divine. He is mentioned along side the Father and the Son on equal terms in Matthew 28:19 (the Great Commission) and in 2 Corinthians 13:14 (see the benediction at the end of this article). He is called “eternal” in Hebrews 9:14. He is equated with “the Most High” in Luke 1:35. He is omnipresent (“Where can I go from your Spirit?” Psalm 139:7).
3. The Spirit of God gives strength for battle. He came upon Gideon and he mobilized and prepared himself for battle (Judges 6:34f). He came upon Samson, to stir him (Judges 13:25), to tear apart a lion (14:6), to slay 30 men (14:19), and to break free of ropes (15:14). We cannot fight our battles without Him: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6). We especially need His help in our ongoing struggle with sin. Paul wrote, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness...” (Romans 8:26).
4. He is the “enemy” of the rebellious. After Isaiah sang about the kindness of the Lord; His love, mercy and redemption, he mentioned a painful irony: “Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.” (Isaiah 63:10).
5. The Holy Spirit is illusive and free! We cannot contain the Holy Spirit nor do our expectations control Him: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8). Note: both “wind” and “spirit” in the verse above are translated from the same Greek word (pneuma).
6. He lives in us. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:17). God’s Spirit lives in our bodies as “a temple of the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 6:19). Paul wrote; “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Romans 8:11).
7. The Love of God is poured out in our hearts “through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5).
8. He gives life! “...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Also, Paul told the church at Rome, “...the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2). Later, he wrote, “For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13). And the life He gives is eternal! Paul said, “The one who sows to please the Sprit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8).
9. He will guide us to truth. Jesus promised, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13). He’s a teacher. Jesus said, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26). He gets His point across! He wields the word of God like a sword, cutting us to the heart (Eph. 6:17). According to Paul, the Scriptures are the very voice of the Holy Spirit (Acts 28:25).
10. He is an advocate (“Counselor”) on our behalf (John 14:16 & 26). Some translate this title (the ‘Paraklete’) as; “Comforter” or “Helper.” Jesus said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7).
11. He convicts us of sin. Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “When he comes, he will convict the world with guilt with regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8). Thus, the presence of the Holy Spirit is not always fun--but is vital for faith. However, the Spirit also confirms the conscience. At least Paul’s conscience was confirmed “in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 9:1).
12. The Holy Spirit is a liberator! Listen to Paul, “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17). Paul told the church at Rome, “...the law of the Spirit of life in Christ has set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2). Paul continued, “[You] did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.” (Romans 8:15).
13. He is a hope-giver! “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13).
14. He is a joy-giver. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). In Pisidian Antioch, “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52).
15. He is the author of virtue and character (a spiritual fruit cultivator). “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” (Galatians 5:22).
16. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us. He’s the author of our holiness. Paul wrote, “Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Galatians 5:16). Paul’s mission to the Gentiles was to help them become “...sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:16). For Peter, the elect were chosen through “...the sanctifying work of the Spirit.” (1 Peter 1:2).
17. He controls those whom He fills. Paul wrote; “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.” (Romans 8:9).
18. He is a uniter. Paul referred to “the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3) as something we must maintain (rather than create). He also advised, “...stand firm in one spirit.” (Philippians 1:27).
19. He is an agent of prayer. Paul wrote, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18). Elsewhere, he wrote, “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express... The Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will." (Romans 8:26-27). Jude tells us to, “pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 1:20).
20. He is an inviter! The Spirit and the bride invite us to, “Come... and take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17).
BENEDICTION: “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14).
This is not an exhaustive list, but it offers a
nice start for a serious study of the Holy Spirit.
Joel Mark Solliday , B.A., M.Div., is the editor of Campus CrossWalk and the pulpit minister of the Northern Light Church of Christ in Minnesota. A Pepperdine graduate, he later worked in their Campus Life Office as the Activities Coordinator. He has served as a Missionary in Residence at ACU. He earned his M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary. His wife Katie is a fine school teacher and a great listener.
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