'Spirit' in the Bible

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And while they were going away, there came to him a man without the power of talking, and with an evil spirit.

And when the evil spirit had been sent out, the man had the power of talking: and they were all surprised, saying, Such a thing has never been seen in Israel.

For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

For John came, taking no food or drink, and they say, He has an evil spirit.

Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.

Then they took to him one with an evil spirit, who was blind and had no power of talking: and he made him well so that he had the power of talking and seeing.

But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.

Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

And a woman of Canaan came out from those parts, crying and saying, Have pity on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is greatly troubled with an unclean spirit.

And Jesus gave orders to the unclean spirit, and it went out of him: and the boy was made well from that hour.

But an evil spirit of this kind is only driven out by prayer and fasting."

He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Jesus shouted again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—

Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:

For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

Now the woman was a Greek, a Syro-phoenician by birth: and she made a request to him that he would send the evil spirit out of her daughter.

And he said to her, For this saying go your way; the evil spirit has gone out of your daughter.

And she went away to her house, and saw the child on the bed, and the evil spirit gone out.

And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

Whenever it brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes stiff. So I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they didn't have the power."

And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

The spirit has often thrown him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us!"

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

When Jesus came home, his disciples asked him privately, "Why couldn't we drive the spirit out?"

"An evil spirit of this kind," He answered, "can only be driven out by prayer."

David himself says by the Holy Spirit:The Lord declared to my Lord,‘Sit at My right handuntil I put Your enemies under Your feet.’

So when they arrest you and hand you over, don’t worry beforehand what you will say. On the contrary, whatever is given to you in that hour—say it. For it isn’t you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

And he takes with him Peter and James and John, and he began to be amazed and oppressed in spirit.

Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.

And Jesus having uttered a loud cry, yielded the spirit,

and the centurion who was standing over-against him, having seen that, having so cried out, he yielded the spirit, said, 'Truly this man was Son of God.'

For he will be great in the sight of the Lordand will never drink wine or beer.He will be filled with the Holy Spiritwhile still in his mother’s womb.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

The angel replied to her:“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.Therefore, the holy One to be bornwill be called the Son of God.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but One is coming who is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven:You are My beloved Son.I take delight in You!

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath 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,

And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,

And Jesus said to him, Be quiet, and come out of him. And when the evil spirit had put him down on the earth in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no damage.

For John the Baptist came, taking no food or drink, and you say, He has an evil spirit.

But as for that in the good ground, it means those who, having listened to the Message with open minds and in a right spirit, hold it fast, and patiently yield a return.

(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)

And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.

I entreated your disciples to expel the spirit, but they could not."

And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.

But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

And he was sending an evil spirit out of a man who was without the power of talking. And it came about that when the spirit had gone the man had the power of talking; and the people were full of wonder.

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.

Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.”

And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.

Now an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony.

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.