'Holy' in the Bible

The circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ were these. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they were united in marriage, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

But while he was contemplating this step, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to bring home your wife Mary, for she is with child through the Holy Spirit.

I indeed am baptizing you in water on a profession of repentance; but He who is coming after me is mightier than I: His sandals I am not worthy to carry for a moment; He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and in fire.

Then the Devil took Him to the Holy City and caused Him to stand on the roof of the Temple,

Just so let your light shine before all men, in order that they may see your holy lives and may give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.

"In this manner therefore pray: 'Our Father who art in Heaven, may Thy name be kept holy;

"Give not that which is holy to the dogs, nor throw your pearls to the swine; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and then turn and attack you.

This is why I tell you that men may find forgiveness for every other sin and impious word, but that for impious speaking against the Holy Spirit they shall find no forgiveness.

And whoever shall speak against the Son of Man may obtain forgiveness; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, neither in this nor in the coming age shall he obtain forgiveness."

For I solemnly tell you that many Prophets and holy men have longed to see the sights you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the words you hear, and have not heard them.

"Blind fools! Why, which is greater? --the gold, or the Sanctuary which has made the gold holy?

"You are blind! Why, which is greater? --the offering, or the altar which makes the offering holy?

And coming out of their tombs after Christ's resurrection they entered the holy city and showed themselves to many.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations; baptize them into 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."

"What have you to do with us, Jesus the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--God's Holy One."

but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, he remains for ever unabsolved: he is guilty of a sin of the Ages."

for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing him to be an upright and holy man, and he protected him. After listening to him he was in great perplexity, and yet he found a pleasure in listening.

Every one, however, who has been ashamed of me and of my teachings in this faithless and sinful age, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in His Father's glory with the holy angels."

David himself said, taught by the Holy Spirit, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I have made thy foes a footstool under thy feet.'

When however they are marching you along under arrest, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but speak what is given you when the time comes; for it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; no wine or fermented drink shall he ever drink; but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth.

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for this reason your holy offspring will be called 'the Son of God.'

and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt within her. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,

Because the mighty One has done great things for me--Holy is His name!--

And Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in a rapture of praise.

As He has spoken from all time by the lips of His holy Prophets--

He dealt pitifully with our forefathers, And remembered His holy covenant,

as it is written in the Law of the Lord: "Every first-born male shall be called holy to the Lord."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem of the name of Symeon, an upright and God-fearing man, who was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

To him it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's Anointed One.

he answered the question by saying to them all, "As for me, I am baptizing you with water, but One mightier than I is coming, whose very sandal-strap I am not worthy to unfasten: He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire.

and the Holy Spirit came down in bodily shape, like a dove, upon Him, and a voice came from Heaven, which said, "Thou art My Son, dearly loved: in Thee is My delight."

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led about by the Spirit in the Desert for forty days,

"Ha! Jesus the Nazarene, what have you to do with us? I know who you are--God's Holy One!"

For whoever shall have been ashamed of me and my teachings, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own and the Father's glory and in that of the holy angels.

On that same occasion Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit with rapturous joy. "I give Thee fervent thanks," He exclaimed, "O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from sages and men of understanding, and hast revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for such has been Thy gracious will.

So He said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Father may Thy name be kept holy; let Thy Kingdom come;

If you then, with all your human frailty, know how to give your children gifts that are good for them, how much more certainly will your Father who is in Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

"Moreover every one who shall speak against the Son of Man, may obtain forgiveness; but he who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never obtain forgiveness.

for the Holy Spirit shall teach you at that very moment what you must say."

I did not yet know Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, "'The One on whom you see the Spirit coming down, and remaining, He it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.'

And we have come to believe and know that *you* are indeed the Holy One of God."

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will teach you everything, and will bring to your memories all that I have said to you.

I am now no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to Thee. "Holy Father, keep them true to Thy name--the name which Thou hast given me to bear--that they may be one, even as we are.

Make them holy in the truth: Thy Message is truth.

Having said this He breathed upon them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

after giving instruction through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles whom He had chosen, He was taken up to Heaven.

For John indeed baptized with water, but before many days have passed you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

and yet you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and Samaria and to the remotest parts of the earth."

"Brethren, it was necessary that the Scripture should be fulfilled--the prediction, I mean, which the Holy Spirit uttered by the lips of David, about Judas, who acted as guide to those who arrested Jesus.

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in foreign languages according as the Spirit gave them words to utter.

For Thou wilt not leave me in the Unseen World forsaken, nor give up Thy holy One to undergo decay.

"Being therefore lifted high by the mighty hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out this which you see and hear.

"Repent," replied Peter, "and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, with a view to the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, you disowned the holy and righteous One, and asked as a favour the release of a murderer.

Heaven must receive Him until those times of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy Prophets--the times of the reconstitution of all things.

Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he replied, "Rulers and Elders of the people,

and didst say through the Holy Spirit by the lips of our forefather David Thy servant, "'Why have the nations stamped and raged, and the peoples formed futile plans?

"They did indeed assemble in this city in hostility to Thy holy Servant Jesus whom Thou hadst anointed--Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and also the tribes of Israel--

whilst Thou stretchest out Thine arm to cure men, and to give signs and marvels through the name of Thy holy Servant Jesus."

When they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were, one and all, filled with the Holy Spirit, and proceeded to tell God's Message with boldness.

"Ananias," said Peter, "why has Satan taken possession of your heart, that you should try to deceive the Holy Spirit and dishonestly keep back part of the price paid you for this land?

And we--and the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him--are witnesses as to these things."

The suggestion met with general approval, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch.

Here they brought forward false witnesses who declared, "This fellow is incessantly speaking against the Holy Place and the Law.

"'Take off your shoes,' said the Lord, 'for the spot on which you are standing is holy ground.

"O stiff-necked men, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you also are continually at strife with the Holy Spirit--just as your forefathers were.

But, full of the Holy Spirit and looking up to Heaven, Stephen saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God's right hand.

They, when they came down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit:

Then the Apostles placed their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

"Give me too," he said, "that power, so that every one on whom I place my hands will receive the Holy Spirit."

So Ananias went and entered the house; and, laying his two hands upon Saul, said, "Saul, brother, the Lord--even Jesus who appeared to you on your journey--has sent me, that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

The Church, however, throughout the whole of Judaea, Galilee and Samaria, had peace and was spiritually built up; and grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and receiving encouragement from the Holy Spirit.

Their reply was, "Cornelius, a Captain, an upright and God-fearing man, of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and listen to what you have to say."

It tells how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, so that He went about everywhere doing acts of kindness, and curing all who were being continually oppressed by the Devil--for God was with Jesus.

While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all who were listening to the Message.

And all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out.

"Can any one forbid the use of water, and object to these persons being baptized--men who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?"

"And," said Peter, "no sooner had I begun to speak than the Holy Spirit fell upon them, just as He fell upon us at the first.

Then I remembered the Lord's words, how He used to say, "'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.'

For he was a good man, and was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith; and the number of believers in the Lord greatly increased.

While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."

They therefore, being thus sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleuceia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.

Then Saul, who is also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, fixing his eyes on Elymas,

And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, never again to be in the position of one soon to return to decay, He speaks thus: 'I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.'

Because in another Psalm also He says, 'Thou wilt not give up Thy Holy One to undergo decay.'

and as for the disciples, they were more and more filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

And God, who knows all hearts, gave His testimony in their favour by bestowing the Holy Spirit on them just as He did on us;

For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no burden heavier than these necessary requirements--

Then Paul and his companions passed through Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Message in the province of Asia.

"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you first believed?" he asked them. "No," they replied, "we did not even hear that there is a Holy Spirit."

and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

except that the Holy Spirit, at town after town, testifies to me that imprisonment and suffering are awaiting me.

"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

When he arrived he took Paul's loincloth, and bound his own feet and arms with it, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So will the Jews in Jerusalem bind the owner of this loincloth, and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"

They laid hands on him, crying out, "Men of Israel, help! help! This is the man who goes everywhere preaching to everybody against the Jewish people and the Law and this place. And besides, he has even brought Gentiles into the Temple and has desecrated this holy place."

Unable to agree among themselves, they at last left him, but not before Paul had spoken a parting word to them, saying, "Right well did the Holy Spirit say to your forefathers through the Prophet Isaiah:

which God had already promised through His Prophets in Holy Writ, concerning His Son,

For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentile nations because of you, as Holy Writ declares.