The Holy Spirit makes Jesus Christ known and glorifies him; he persuades human beings of sin, justice and judgment; and imparts new life to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. He permanently dwells in all believers, and from the very moment in which the spiritual birth occurs, he baptizes them to make them members of the Body of Christ; and he seals them as a guarantee of his eternal salvation.
The Holy Spirit gives the power for growth in holiness. Also, according to the sovereign will of God, the Holy Spirit distributes to each believer different spiritual gifts for mutual edification, and Christian service in general. Some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit have no biblical basis for their relevance or necessity today, as they served their purpose during the period of the founding and establishment of the Church.
The Power of the Holy spirit
Power is defined as;
1. The ability to act effectively and
2. The ability to direct or influence the behaviour of others or the course of events.
These two definitions accurately describe the power of the Holy Spirit. Because the power of the Holy Spirit is the power of God, the ability to act and influence is infinite, limitless, and eternal. In this way, the power of the Holy Spirit is different from any other kind of power.
The power of the Spirit was first seen at work effectively in the act of creation, as it was by His power that the world came into being (Genesis 1:1–2; Job 26:13). Not only was the power of the Spirit effective, but it was also more effective than anything known before or since. The power in creation was unique in that it produced everything from nothing. This potent and incomparable power could only belong to God, the Creator.
The creative power of the Spirit is seen in the creation of new life in believers, producing spiritually living beings out of those once dead in sin (John 3:6; Ephesians 2:1–2; Titus 3: 5).
To this day, the salvation of souls is a supernatural work that is only possible thanks to the power of the Holy Spirit when he turns men from darkness to light.
The power to influence the behaviour of others and the course of events is seen throughout the Bible as the Holy Spirit empowering men to carry out God’s will and His predetermined plans. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David with power, enabling him to do wonderful things, sometimes with great hardship and persecution (1 Samuel 16:13). Although the Spirit did not permanently reside in God’s people in the Old Testament, He worked through them and empowered them to accomplish things they could not have accomplished on their own. All of Samson’s feats of strength, for example, are directly attributed to the Spirit coming upon him (Judges 14:6, 19; 15:14).
The power of the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples of Christ to turn the world upside down with the powerful preaching of the gospel. They could not have accomplished this in their own power.
Jesus promised that the Spirit would come, live within them, and empower them in miraculous ways. “But when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will receive power and be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1: 8).
The disciples, who had been in hiding from the Romans after the crucifixion, were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit was manifested to a large number of people that day, resulting in the conversion of approximately 3,000 (Acts 2:41).
Stephen the martyr is a perfect example of the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. Stephen was filled with faith and the power of the Spirit (Acts 6: 5, 8) and did many wonders and signs before the people, who could not resist the power of the Spirit in him (Acts 6:10). When he was falsely accused and sentenced to death, the same power enabled Stephen to die in faith and glorify God to the end (Acts 7:55–56).
The apostle Paul gave all the credit and glory to the Spirit, whose power enabled his message to penetrate the hearts of sinful men and lead them to salvation. He knew that it was not his apologetics, hermeneutics, or persuasiveness that brought people to Christ: “I did not speak to you or preach to you with words of wisdom and eloquence, but with demonstration of the power of the Spirit, so that your faith might not depend on human wisdom, but from the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5).
The power of the Holy Spirit to influence people and change the course of events is also seen in the early church through the dispensation of spiritual gifts, such as speaking in tongues, prophesying, teaching, wisdom, and more (1 Corinthians 12: 7–11). The Holy Spirit is still at work in the world today, accomplishing God’s will through believers. His power guides us, convicts us, teaches us, and equips us to do his work and spread the gospel. He also works on unbelievers who cannot resist his power to carry out God’s plans and purposes.
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Bible verses about the holy spirit
John 14:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Romans 8:26
Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.
Acts 2:38
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
Isaiah 11:2
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 the fear of the Lord.
Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
John 14:15-17
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Luke 11:13
If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
2 Corinthians 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
John 16:12-15
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
John 16:7-15
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. …
Ezekiel 36:26-27
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Romans 8:9
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
1 Corinthians 2:13
And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
Ephesians 1:13
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Acts 4:31
And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts 2:4
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
John 16:13
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
John 15:26
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Acts 5:32
And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
Luke 4:1
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
Acts 2:1-47
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. …
Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
Matthew 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Psalm 51:11
Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
John 14:16-17
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Romans 5:3-5
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Zechariah 4:6
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Acts 2:17-18
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
John 16:7-8
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
Romans 8:14
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Genesis 1:1-2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
1 Corinthians 12:13
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Titus 3:5-6
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, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Luke 1:35
And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Matthew 10:20
For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
2 Timothy 1:7
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
1 Corinthians 2:14
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:11
For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Acts 7:51
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
Psalm 104:30
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.
Galatians 5:16
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
2 Peter 1:21
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
Titus 3:5
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,
Matthew 1:18
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
John 20:22
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 7:37-39
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Ephesians 3:16
That according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
1 Thessalonians 5:19
Do not quench the Spirit.
1 John 2:27
But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
Acts 2:3-4
And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Romans 8:16
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Acts 13:2
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Nehemiah 9:20
You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.
Hebrews 10:29
How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
1 Corinthians 6:11
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 2:10
These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
Hebrews 9:14
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
2 Corinthians 3:6
Who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Luke 24:49
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
2 Corinthians 5:5
He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!
Galatians 5:1-26
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. …
Matthew 3:16-17
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Genesis 6:3
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”
1 Peter 4:14
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
John 20:21-23
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
John 7:38-39
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
1 Thessalonians 1:6
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
John 3:5-8
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Acts 20:28
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.
Acts 2:17
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
Revelation 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
Romans 8:1-2
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Luke 2:25
Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.