There are five major symbols of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Holy Bible; they are:

 

الجمعة, 27 يونيو, 2008

 

Beloved in Christ,

 

There are five major symbols of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Holy Bible; they are:

 

1.   The Wind……….……….

2.   The Oil……….……….

3.   The Dove……………….

4.   The Water………………..

5.   The Fire……….……….

 

The above attachment elaborates on the spiritual/theological significance of each of these symbols and their impact on our spiritual growth.

 

We hope you find these resources effective for both your own spiritual life and your fruitful ministry.

 

1. The Wind
   
   The mighty wind that filled the upper room reveals the power of the Holy Spirit who filled everyone present.  This wind had such a strong sound that filled the whole house and the assembly felt its power.  The Lord tried to explain to Nicodemus the relationship between the wind and our birth of the Spirit, “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  (John 3:8).  Christ our Lord breathed on His disciples and said to them,“Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  (John 20:22-23). It was also mentioned in the book of Ezekiel, in the visions of the dry bones, that the Lord said to him: “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy son of man and say to the breath, ‘thus says the Lord God: ‘Come from the four winds, O breath and breathe on these slain, that they may live.’’” (Ezekiel 37:9).
2. The Oil
   
   In ancient times oil was used in treatment of wounds (Isaiah 1:6; Mark 6:13; James 5:14).  It is used spiritually as a sign of consecration (Genesis 28:18; 35:14).  The oil was used by Samuel the prophet to anoint King Saul and King David (Samuel 10:1,6; 16:13) and the Spirit of God came upon them (Exodus 30:22-29).  Elijah the prophet anointed with oil two kings and the prophet Elisha as commanded by God (1 King 20:15-16; 2 Kings 9:3).
   
   The altar and its Holy Vessels are anointed with the holy oil (the Myron) to be holy for worshipping and offering the sacrifices.  The oil is used for healing the sick in the name of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of unction of the sick (James 5:14).  It was used for lighting the candles; the Holy Spirit enlightens those who keep Him working in them; thus keeping their vessels full of oil (Matthew 25:3-4) and the Holy Spirit makes the believers the light of the world, shining by their good deeds (Matthew 5:14-16).
3. The Dove
   
   The dove is an innocent, meek and harmless bird (Matthew 10:16) and when our Lord was baptised in the river of Jordan by St. John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in a bodily form like a dove (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22).  It is a sign of good news and salvation, as happened with Noah’s dove (Genesis 8:11).  King Solomon addressed the human soul (the bride of Christ) saying, “My dove and my perfect one.” (Song of Solomon 5:2).  When the Holy Spirit dwells inside the believers, they will become innocent, harmless and blameless as doves.
4. The Water
   
   The living water is given by God, as He described Himself as the fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13) because from Him comes the Holy Spirit who gives us life (John 14:26).  When our Lord talked to the Samaritan woman He said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘give Me a drink’, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.” (John 4:10).  He also continued, “Who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”  (John 4:13-14).
   
   The Lord meant by that water, the Holy Spirit whom He gave to His believers.  This is clear from the Lord’s speech to the Jews on the great day of the feast, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”  The gospel added saying, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.”  (John 7:38-39).  For this reason the Church calls baptism (the washing of the second birth), “the birth from the water and the Spirit,” as was said by the Lord to Nicodemus (John 3:5).  It is known that water cleanses our bodies, quenches our thirst and the Holy Spirit washes away our sins and nourishes us and keeps us ready for eternal life.
5. The Fire
   
   The fire is a symbol of the presence of God.  In the Holy Bible the fire has several meanings:
1. The fire of God’s protection and guidance
   
   God was leading Israel in the wilderness of Sinai by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day during the forty years of their travel (Exodus 13:22; Deuteronomy 1:33; Psalm 78:14).
2. The Fire of God’s presence and call
   
   The fire was always kept burning on the altar, a sign of God’s presence (Leviticus 6:12-13).  The Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush and the bush was not consumed (Exodus 3:2-6).  It was mentioned that God is a consuming fire (Exodus 24:17; Hebrews 12:29).  Daniel the prophet, saw the throne of God a fiery flame and its wheels a burning fire (Daniel 7:9).
3. The Fire of cleaning and purifying
   
   When Isaiah the prophet saw the glory of God, he felt unclean and he said, “Woe is me, for I am undone!  Because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.  Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.  And he touched my mouth with it and said; ‘behold this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged.’”  (Isaiah 6:5-7).
4. The fire of accepting the sacrifice
   
   When Moses the prophet and his brother Aaron offered a sacrifice, fire came and consumed the burnt offering that was on the altar (Leviticus 9:24).  David the King, offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, the Lord answered from heaven by fire on the offerings (1 Chronicles 21:26).  The same happened when King Solomon finished building the temple, prayed and offered sacrifices and fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices (2 Chronicles 7:1), when Elijah offered a burnt sacrifice and licked up the water that was in the trench (1 King 18:38).
5. The fire of preaching and evangelism
   
   On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of the Lord in form of tongues of fire and sat upon each of them.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit band began to speak in various languages (Acts 2:3-4).  The Lord has given His disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit, before His crucifixion, saying, “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (John 14:26).  The Holy Spirit guided them into all truth, told them all things to come (John 16:13), as the Lord told them, “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”  (John 16:14).  The Holy Spirit still makes us spiritually fervent, guides us into all truth, and tells us things to come (John 16:13).
6. The fire of punishment for the wicked
   
   The Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens (Genesis 19:24).  When Ahaziah, the evil king of Samaria, sent to Elijah a captain of fifty with his fifty men and asked him to come down from the top of the hill, the man of God was sad for the wickedness of the king.  He let fire to come down from heaven and consumed the captain and his fifty men.  This happened twice.  (2 Kings 1:7-12).
   
   
7. The fire of condemnation
   
   This fire is prepared for Satan and his soldiers, as well as the sinful, the wicked and the unprofitable people.  The Lord will say to them, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”  (Matthew 25:41).  He also declared this to the Jews, saying,“Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.  The Son of Man will send out His angels and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire.”  (Matthew 13:40-42).  It was also revealed to St. John that on the judgement day, the beast, the false prophet, and their followers would be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone, to be tormented forever (Revelation 14:10; 20:20