Holy Spirit

We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit.

—1 Corinthians 15:45 MESSAGE

Key Thought


Adam needed for God to breathe the breath of life into him. Jesus, "the Last Adam", triumphed over death and poured out life through the Spirit both at Pentecost (Acts 2) and also subsequently when people committed themselves to him, including at our own conversion (Titus 3:3-7). Jesus breathed this new life into us...

 

For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, ...

—Philippians 3:3 NLT

Key Thought


Our identity as God's children is defined by the presence of the Holy Spirit as we worship and continually offer ourselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1), not by our race or by a physical mark on our bodies. Those who have the Spirit are the children of God (John...

 

On the Lord's Day I [John] was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: ...

—Revelation 1:10-11a NIV

Key Thought


The Lord's Day, Sunday, the first day of the week, is special for all of us who recognize Jesus as Lord. Special because Jesus rose on that day. Special because it was the day in consecutive weeks after his resurrection that he met and ate with his closest followers. Special because we gather with others and worship in...

 

Then [John] saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered, but it was now standing between the throne and the four living beings and among the twenty-four elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the sevenfold Spirit of God that is sent out into every part of the earth.

—Revelation 5:6 NLT

Key Thought


God's presence is made available in all places on earth through the Holy Spirit. If we pause and think of the magnitude of this simple...

 

From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God.

—Revelation 4:5 NLT

Key Thought


Glory! If we read all of Revelation 4, we are given a picture of God's glorious presence. The description is awesome and really beyond imagining. The focus, however, is clear: God is holy and worthy to receive honor, power, and praise. He holds the future in his hands...

 

This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

—Revelation 1:4-5 NLT

Key Thought...

 

[God] has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

—2 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

Key Thought


With the coming of Jesus and the outpouring of the Spirit, God brought his promised new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-32). This new covenant does not revolve around the giving of a law. It is "not of the letter" of the law commanding certain behaviors, but it revolves around the...

 

Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others — ignoring God! — harvests a crop of weeds. All he'll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.

—Galatians 6:7-8 MESSAGE

Key Thought


While we must commit to following Jesus as Lord, the power to...

 

[God said through Ezekiel to the Israelites in exile,] "I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD."

—Ezekiel 37:14 NIV

Key Thought


Just as for the Israelites in exile, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2) brought new life. The Spirit also brought us new life in our own conversion (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:3-7). God promised...

 

[God] said to me [Ezekiel], "Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, 'GOD, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!'" So I prophesied, just as he commanded me. The breath entered them and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army.

—Ezekiel 37:9-10 MESSAGE

Key Thought


God took the dust of the ground and shaped it and breathed into it the breath of life, and "the...