Holy Spirit

[Jesus said,] "John baptized in water; you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit. And soon."

—Acts 1:5 MESSAGE

Key Thought​

"Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, ..." (Acts 1:4 NLT). These were Jesus' words to his closest followers. Now we understand why. When John the Baptizer came, he spoke of one who would baptize in the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:7-8). Soon after Jesus ascended back to heaven, the kingdom of God would break into the...

 

Once when [Jesus] was eating with [the disciples], he commanded them, "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before."

—Acts 1:4 NLT

Key Thought​

While the apostles were to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:18-20), the Lord also told them to wait — not to leave Jerusalem before receiving the promised gift from the Father. This promised gift is the Holy Spirit. The apostles needed the power the...

 

[Luke wrote,] In my [gospel] I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit.

—Acts 1:1-2 NLT

Key Thought​

God's leaders in the Old Testament spoke through the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God in human flesh, so Luke emphasized that Jesus' words carried the authority of God — giving "instructions through the Holy...

 

[Jesus said,] "You're the first to hear and see [the fulfillment of the prophecies about the Messiah]. You're the witnesses. What comes next is very important: I am sending what my Father promised to you, so stay here in the city until [the Holy Spirit] arrives, until you're equipped with power from on high."

—Luke 24:48-49 MESSAGE

Key Thought​

"You're the witnesses!" Jesus wanted his closest followers to know that they had experienced some things that were...

 

[Jesus said,] "Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because [the teachers of the law] were saying, "He has an impure spirit."

—Mark 3:28-30 NIV

Key Thought​

The first part of this Scripture strikes fear in some folks because they sometimes are afraid they may be guilty of this sin. However, in this...

 

[Stephen said to the Sanhedrin,] "You stubborn people! You are heathens at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That's what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn't persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One — the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God's law, even though you received it from the hands of angels."

—Acts 7:51-53 NLT

Key...​

 

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.

—1 Thessalonians 5:19-22 NIV

Key Thought​

We can quench — or turn off — the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our churches. We can do this by accepting things that seem spiritual but are actually evil. We also can do this by despising what is true and good. John warned Jesus' followers to test the spirits to make sure they were not...

 

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

—1 Corinthians 2:12 NIV

Key Thought​

We sometimes get frustrated when people outside of Christ do not seem to be able to understand the teaching of Scripture. However, we must not forget that there are two realities to the truth of Scripture that non-believers do not experience. First, the Holy Spirit, who inspired Scripture and uses...

 

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.

—1 Corinthians 2:4-5 NIV

Key Thought​

When the good news of Jesus is preached, the Holy Spirit is at work making the message powerful. The "demonstration of the Spirit's power" may refer to miracles that accompanied the preaching of the message of Jesus (Hebrews 2:1-4). However, in the...

 

But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses...