Holy Spirit

[Addressing the crowd on Pentecost, Peter said,] "Exalted to the right hand of God, [Jesus] has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear."

—Acts 2:33 NIV

Key Thought


I believe in the resurrection of Jesus. I believe because of the testimony of Scripture. I believe because of the change in fearful men and women who become bold and courageous witnesses to Jesus and his resurrection. I believe because otherwise...

 

[To the apostles, Jesus said,] "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere — in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

—Acts 1:8 NLT

Key Thought


Everywhere! That pretty much covers the world, doesn't it? The amazing thing is that this ragtag bunch of disciples, who were nobodies from nowhere, did it. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, they...

 

[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...

 

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...

 

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...

 

[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...

 

[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,] "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...

 

[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...