Holy Spirit: Encyclopedia II - Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit in the Bible

Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit in the Bible

In mainstream Christianity, the Holy Spirit is one person of the Trinity, co-equal with the Father (God) and the Son (Jesus).

Christians believe it is the Holy Spirit who leads people to faith in Jesus and the one who gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Spirit dwells inside every true Christian, each one's body being His temple (First Epistle to the Corinthians 3:16). He is depicted as a 'Counsellor' or 'Helper' (paracletus in Latin, derived from Greek), guiding them in the way of the truth. The Spirit's action in one's life is believed to produce positive results, known as the Fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit is also believed to give gifts (i.e. abilities) to Christians. These may include the charismatic gifts such as prophecy, tongues, healing, and knowledge. Christians holding a view known as cessationism believe these gifts were given only in New Testament times. Christians almost universally agree that certain more mundane "spiritual gifts" are still in effect today, including the gifts of ministry, teaching, giving, leadership, and mercy (see, e.g. Romans 12:6-8). In some sects of Christianity, the experience of the Holy Spirit is referred to as being "anointed". In the African American Gospel music tradition, the experience of the Holy Spirit is referred to as 'getting happy'.

Christians believe that it is the Holy Spirit whom Jesus mentions as the promised "Comforter" (i.e. "strengthener", "fortifier") in John 14:26. After his resurrection, Christ told his disciples that they would be "baptized with the Holy Ghost", and would receive power from this event (Acts 1:4-8); a promise that was fulfilled in the events recounted in the second chapter of Acts. On the first Pentecost, Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem when a mighty wind was heard and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard the disciples speaking, and each of them heard them speaking in his or her native language.

In John's Gospel, emphasis is placed not upon what the Holy Spirit did for Jesus, but upon Jesus giving the Spirit to His disciples. This "Higher" Christology, most influential in later development of Trinitarian doctrine, sees Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, and as coming among mankind in order to grant the Spirit of God to humanity.

Although the language used to describe Jesus' receiving the Spirit in John's Gospel is parallel to the accounts in the other three Gospels, John relates this with the aim of showing that Jesus is specially in possession of the Spirit for the purpose of granting the Spirit to His followers, uniting them with Himself, and in Himself also uniting them with the Father. (See Raymond Brown, "The Gospel According to John", chapter on Pneumatology). In John, the gift of the Spirit is equivalent to eternal life, knowledge of God, power to obey, and communion with one another and with the Father.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "The Holy Spirit in the Bible", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki