What are the eight symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible?
The eight Holy Spirit symbols,
- Dove
- Fire
- Cloud
- Breath, wind
- Water
- Oil
- Light
- Seal
, each reveals different aspects of the Holy Spirit. The symbolism goes deep into the biblical stories, helping you build connections from the Old Testament to the New Testament and back to your life.
This article contains fascinating and inspiring information that is also very actionable. You can invoke the different aspects of the Holy Spirit in your prayers to Him.
Let’s dive in!
Contents
Holy Spirit as dove
One of the most well-known symbols of the Holy Spirit is the dove. The symbol originates from Jesus’ baptism scene, where the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove.
Matthew 3:16-17
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him. Behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Once you learn the dove’s meaning in the Bible (internal)—new creation, innocence, purity, and love—you can use this information in your prayers to the Holy Spirit, e.g., by asking Him to renew you today in Christ, make you more holy and pure, and show you the ways to love your God and your neighbor.
An excellent example of this kind of prayer is St. Augustine’s prayer to the Holy Spirit:
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
That I always may be holy.
Holy Spirit as water
The Holy Spirit as water represents the life-giving power of water, washing, cleansing, and new creation.
In the baptism, you are washed off and cleansed from the old life, ready for the new one now united with Christ.
John 7:38-39 equates the Holy Spirit with living water, which you see running through the New Jerusalem in Revelation 22:1-2.
John 7:38-39
He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.” But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn’t yet glorified.
The Old Testament prophesied about pouring out the Spirit like water (Joel 2:28-29, Isaiah 44:3), God sprinkling clean water, and sealing the believers with the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Water has always been central to God’s presence and the sanctuaries where man has worshiped God.
- The Garden of Eden was watered by a river that was divided into four rivers, symbolically watering the whole earth.
- Noah’s Flood represents baptism.
- The Patriarchs dug wells in their sanctuaries.
- Isaac, Moses, and Jacob met their wives at a well. Angel of the LORD met a woman at a well/spring, and so did Jesus.
- Israelites were baptized in the Red Sea and in the Jordan River.
- The Tabernacle had a water laver for purification purposes.
- The Temple had a bronze sea carried by 12 oxen representing the 12 tribes of Israel.
- Ezekiel’s visionary Temple had an ever-deepening river flowing from the Temple to the world.
- John the Baptist prepared Israel for the Messiah by baptizing them. He baptized Jesus, too.
- Jesus commands to baptize Christians in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible’s water symbolism is so rich that we have dedicated a whole article to it. You can access it by clicking the link in the previous sentence.
Pray the Holy Spirit to renew, purify, and empower you so that the stream of living water that flows from you will become a river.
Holy Spirit as cloud
Another familiar symbol of the Holy Spirit is the cloud. It represents God’s guidance, protection, and presence.
The cloud symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who reveals and veils God’s glory and guides believers into a deeper understanding of Christ.
The cloud is frequently associated with divine manifestations. It connects key moments in salvation history from the Old Testament, where the cloud led and shielded Israel, to the New Testament, where it overshadowed Jesus at His Transfiguration and took Him to heaven in His ascension.
The most well-known image of the cloud symbolizing the Holy Spirit comes from Jesus’ transfiguration scene. In this Trinitarian passage, the Son is transfigured on earth, the Holy Spirit as the cloud overshadows Jesus and his three disciples, and the Father speaks from the cloud, announcing, “This is My beloved Son.”
Luke 9:34-35
While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!”
We have dedicated a whole article to clouds in the Bible (internal), which goes deeper into how the cloud symbolizes the Holy Spirit and God’s presence. You can access it from the above link.
Holy Spirit as breath, wind
The meaning of the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” are synonymous with “breath” or “wind.”
The wind and breath represent sovereignty, power, and the invisible nature of the Holy Spirit and His works.
In John 3:8, Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to the wind and explains that we do not completely understand the Spirit’s work.
John 3:8
The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
In John 20:22, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit on His disciples.
John 20:22
When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit!
The presence of the Holy Spirit is described as “a sound like the rushing of a mighty wind.”
Acts 2:1–4
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Spirit as wind is the giver and sustainer of physical and spiritual life.
Isaiah 42:5
God Yahweh,
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
he who spread out the earth and that which comes out of it,
he who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk in it, says:
When God created man, He breathed into Adam the breath of life (Genesis 2:7), which is His Spirit. In the Old Testament, the word “spirit” (rûaḥ) is often translated as “wind” or “breath.”
Genesis 2:7
Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Job 33:4 further clarifies the connection of God’s Spirit and His breath as a giver of life.
Job 33:4
The Spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Holy Spirit as fire
The symbolism of the Holy Spirit as fire comes mainly from Luke 3:16, Acts 2:1-4, and Revelation 4:5.
The fire represents the Holy Spirit’s purifying, refining, and empowering aspect.
One of the Holy Spirit’s works is convicting the world of sin. For some, this is a calling to repentance and to light and holiness through the Spirit’s refining fire. For others, the conviction feels like a devouring fire.
Once God gifts you the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will continue refining and purifying you through sanctification (1 Peter 1:2). This is done “by the Spirit of Justice and by the Spirit of Fire/Burning” (Isaiah 4:4 below).
Luke 3:16
John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.
Acts 2:1–4
When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The seven lamps of fire, which are the seven Spirits of God, are the Holy Spirit. The seven Spirits of God are also mentioned in Revelation 1:4–5, Revelation 3:1, and Revelation 5:6. The number seven represents the perfection of the Holy Spirit.
Revelation 4:5
Out of the throne proceed lightnings, sounds, and thunders. There were seven lamps of fire burning before his throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to sanctify you and your actions. Let Him guide you closer to God’s glory.
Holy Spirit as oil
The symbolism of the Holy Spirit as oil represents anointing. Anointing is a physical act involving smearing, rubbing, or pouring sacred oil on someone or something.
- Kings were anointed (1 Samuel 16:13)
- Priests were anointed. (Exodus 28:41)
- Prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:16)
- The altar was made holy by anointing it with oil. (Exodus 29:36)
Anointing sets apart, positions to a specific purpose, empowers, and purifies.
Jesus, the Anointed One (meaning Messiah, Christ, Psalm 2:2), was anointed by the Holy Spirit and positioned to His ministry to preach the good news and to destroy the works of the devil (internal).
Acts 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the broken hearted,
to proclaim release to the captives,
recovering of sight to the blind,
to deliver those who are crushed,
Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness and set apart from His fellows.
Psalm 45:7
You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
Anointing from the Holy One gives you spiritual knowledge.
1 John 2:20
You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
If you or someone else is struggling with what they would do next in their lives, pray to the Holy Spirit to help and give this person a purpose and direction. Ask the Holy Spirit to anoint you with the oil of gladness so that you will smile more today.
Holy Spirit as light
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
On day 1, after creating the heavens and the earth, God illuminates the dark earth with His uncreated light radiating from the Holy Spirit, hovering over the dark waters. The light on day 1 is God’s uncreated light, His glory because the Bible ends similarly as it begins, and in Revelation 21:23 (and Revelation 22:5), God’s glory illuminates the world.
Read more: 7 days of creation and The creation day 1-7 pattern in the Bible
Once the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you, you can see spiritual truths better. In 1 Corinthians 2:16, St. Paul talks about the believers having “the mind of Christ.”
The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Spirit of Truth, enlightens, teaches, and reveals spiritual knowledge. At the very elementary level, this means knowing what sin is; therefore, the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin (John 16:8).
John 15:26
When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
1 John 2:20
You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12
But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except God’s Spirit. 12 But we received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.
Holy Spirit as seal
The symbolism of the Holy Spirit as a seal comes from Ephesians 1:13-14, where St. Paul explains how the believers in the New Covenant are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
The seal is a mark of ownership. You must have seen how, in ancient times, letters were sealed so that the receiver recognized the sender, the letter’s authenticity, and that it hadn’t been read. The seal gave the receiver security about the letter and the sender.
The seal of the Holy Spirit shows God’s ownership and guarantees an inheritance if we don’t squander it by turning away from Him.
Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:22
who also sealed us and gave us the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.
The Holy Spirit in your heart is a down payment for the adoption that guarantees you will be clothed in glory and your earthly tent will be “swallowed up by life.”
2 Corinthians 5:4-5
For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.
Learn more about the Holy Spirit.