The Holy Spirit, also known as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter, is a central figure in Christian theology, representing the third person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit is active throughout the Scriptures, from the creation narrative in Genesis to the eschatological visions in Revelation. This entry explores various scriptural references that highlight the role and nature of the Holy Spirit.

Old Testament References

The Holy Spirit is present from the very beginning of the biblical narrative. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God is described as hovering over the waters during the creation: "Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters." This passage underscores the Spirit's role in creation and order.

In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord is often associated with empowering individuals for specific tasks. For example, in Judges 6:34, the Spirit of the Lord comes upon Gideon, enabling him to lead Israel against the Midianites: "So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, and he blew the trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him."

The prophets frequently speak of the Spirit as the source of inspiration and revelation. In Isaiah 61:1, the prophet declares, "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor." This passage is later referenced by Jesus in the New Testament, indicating the Spirit's role in anointing and commissioning for ministry.

New Testament References

The New Testament provides a more developed understanding of the Holy Spirit, particularly in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and the early Church. The Holy Spirit is integral to the conception of Jesus, as described in Matthew 1:18: "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit."

During Jesus' baptism, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, as recorded in Matthew 3:16: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him." This event marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry and signifies the Spirit's role in empowering and affirming His mission.

The Holy Spirit is also promised to the disciples as a Helper and Guide. In John 14:16-17, Jesus assures His followers, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you."

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, marks a pivotal moment in the life of the early Church. The Spirit empowers the apostles to preach the gospel with boldness and perform signs and wonders. Acts 2:4 states, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

Role and Functions

The Holy Spirit plays a multifaceted role in the life of believers and the Church. The Spirit is a source of comfort, guidance, and empowerment. In Romans 8:26, the Spirit is described as interceding for believers: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words."

The Spirit also imparts spiritual gifts for the edification of the Church, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11. These gifts include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, and prophecy, among others, and are distributed according to the Spirit's will.

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is involved in the sanctification process, transforming believers into the likeness of Christ. In Galatians 5:22-23, the fruit of the Spirit is described as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit is a dynamic and essential presence throughout the Scriptures, actively involved in creation, revelation, empowerment, and sanctification. The Spirit's work is foundational to the life of Jesus, the mission of the Church, and the spiritual growth of believers.Genesis 1:2
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
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Genesis 6:3
And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
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Genesis 41:38
And Pharaoh said to his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?
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Exodus 31:3
And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
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Exodus 35:31
And he has filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;
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Numbers 27:18
And the LORD said to Moses, Take you Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand on him;
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Nehemiah 9:20
You gave also your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst.
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Job 16:19
Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high.
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Job 32:8
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding.
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Job 33:4
The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life.
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Psalm 51:11,12
Cast me not away from your presence; and take not your holy spirit from me.
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Psalm 103:9
He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
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Psalm 139:7
Where shall I go from your spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence?
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Isaiah 4:4
When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the middle thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
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Isaiah 6:8
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
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Isaiah 11:2
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
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Isaiah 28:6
And for a spirit of judgment to him that sits in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
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Isaiah 30:1
Woe to the rebellious children, said the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
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Isaiah 32:15
Until the spirit be poured on us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.
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Isaiah 40:13
Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor has taught him?
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Isaiah 42:1
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit on him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
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Isaiah 44:3,4
For I will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground: I will pour my spirit on your seed, and my blessing on your offspring:
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Isaiah 48:16
Come you near to me, hear you this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, has sent me.
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Isaiah 51:12
I, even I, am he that comforts you: who are you, that you should be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;
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Isaiah 54:13
And all your children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of your children.
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Isaiah 59:19,21
So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.
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Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on me; because the LORD has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
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Isaiah 63:10,11,14
But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
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Ezekiel 36:27
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them.
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Ezekiel 37:9,14
Then said he to me, Prophesy to the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus said the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.
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Ezekiel 39:29
Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit on the house of Israel, said the Lord GOD.
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Joel 2:28,29
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
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Micah 2:7
O you that are named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the LORD straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walks uprightly?
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Micah 3:8
But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.
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Haggai 2:5
According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remains among you: fear you not.
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Zechariah 4:1-7
And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.
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Zechariah 12:10
And I will pour on the house of David, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look on me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
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Matthew 1:18,20
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
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Matthew 3:11,16,17
I indeed baptize you with water to repentance. but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
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Matthew 4:1
Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
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Matthew 10:20
For it is not you that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.
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Matthew 12:28
But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come to you.
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Matthew 28:19
Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
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Mark 1:10
And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending on him:
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Mark 12:36
For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit you on my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.
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Mark 13:11
But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what you shall speak, neither do you premeditate: but whatever shall be given you in that hour, that speak you: for it is not you that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
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Luke 1:15,35,67
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
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Luke 2:25-27
And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was on him.
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Luke 3:22
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove on him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.
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Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
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Luke 11:13
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
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Luke 12:12
For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what you ought to say.
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Luke 24:49
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father on you: but tarry you in the city of Jerusalem, until you be endued with power from on high.
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John 1:9,32,33
That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world.
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John 3:5,6,34
Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
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John 4:14
But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
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John 6:45,63
It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that has heard, and has learned of the Father, comes to me.
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John 7:38,39
He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
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John 14:16,17,26
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
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John 15:26
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me:
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John 16:7-14
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send him to you.
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John 20:22
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, Receive you the Holy Ghost:
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Acts 1:2,5,8,16
Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen:
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Acts 2:2-4,33,38
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
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Acts 4:8,31
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said to them, You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
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Acts 5:3,4,9,32
But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
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Acts 6:5
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:
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Acts 7:51
You stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you.
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Acts 8:15-19
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
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Acts 9:31
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
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Acts 10:19,20,44-47
While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men seek you.
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Acts 11:15,16,24
And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
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Acts 13:2,4,9,52
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
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Acts 15:8,28
And God, which knows the hearts, bore them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did to us;
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Acts 16:6,7
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
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Acts 19:2-6
He said to them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said to him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
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Acts 20:28
Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.
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Romans 1:4
And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
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Romans 5:3-5
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience;
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Romans 8:1-27
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
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Romans 9:1
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
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Romans 11:33,34
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
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Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
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Romans 15:13,16,18,19,30
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
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1 Corinthians 2:4,10-14
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
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1 Corinthians 3:16
Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
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1 Corinthians 6:11,19
And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
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1 Corinthians 12:3-11
Why I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
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2 Corinthians 1:22
Who has also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
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2 Corinthians 3:3,6,8,17,18
For as much as you are manifestly declared to be the letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
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2 Corinthians 5:5
Now he that has worked us for the selfsame thing is God, who also has given to us the earnest of the Spirit.
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2 Corinthians 6:4,6
But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
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2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
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Galatians 3:2,3,14
This only would I learn of you, Received you the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
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Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
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Galatians 5:5,17,18,22,23,25
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
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Galatians 6:8
For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
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Ephesians 1:12-14,17
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
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Ephesians 2:18,22
For through him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
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Ephesians 3:5,16
Which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
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Ephesians 4:3,4,30
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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Ephesians 5:9,18
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
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Ephesians 6:17,18
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
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Philippians 1:19
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
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Philippians 2:1
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
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Colossians 1:8
Who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
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1 Thessalonians 1:5,6
For our gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
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1 Thessalonians 4:8,9
He therefore that despises, despises not man, but God, who has also given to us his holy Spirit.
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1 Thessalonians 5:19
Quench not the Spirit.
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2 Thessalonians 2:13
But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brothers beloved of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
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1 Timothy 4:1
Now th

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The Internal Witness of the Holy Spirit
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/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 1/9 the internal witness of.htm

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Of the Holy Spirit and the Mystery of the Trinity.
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/.../augustine/a treatise on faith and the creed /chapter 9 of the holy spirit.htm

The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
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/.../evans/the great doctrines of the bible/the doctrine of the holy.htm

Snares of Satan.
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Snares of Satan
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