Holy Spirit in Christianity

====Acts of the Apostles====
{{Main article|Holy Spirit in the Acts of the Apostles}}
The [[Acts of the Apostles]] has sometimes been called the "Book of the Holy Spirit" or the "Acts of the Holy Spirit".<ref name=Johnson14 /><ref name="Couch120">''A Bible Handbook to the Acts of the Apostles'' by Mal Couch 2004 {{ISBN|0825423910}}, pp. 120–129.</ref> Of the seventy or so occurrences of the word ''Pneuma'' in Acts, fifty-five refer to the Holy Spirit.<ref name=Couch120 />

From the start, in Acts 1:2,<ref name="ReferenceB">[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#1:2|Acts 1:2]]</ref> the reader is reminded that the [[ministry of Jesus]], while he was on earth, was carried out through the power of the Holy Spirit and that the "acts of the apostles" continue the acts of Jesus and are also facilitated by the Holy Spirit.<ref name=Couch120 /> Acts presents the Holy Spirit as the "life principle" of the [[Early Christianity|early Church]] and provides five separate and dramatic instances of its outpouring on believers in Acts 2:1–4,<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#2:1|Acts 2:1–4]]</ref> 4:28–31,<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#4:28|Acts 4:28–31]]</ref> 8:15–17,<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#8:15|Acts 8:15–17]]</ref> 10:44,<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#10:44|Acts 10:44]]</ref> and 19:6.<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#19:6|Acts 19:6]]</ref><ref name="Johnson14">''The Acts of the Apostles'' by Luke Timothy Johnson, Daniel J. Harrington 1992 {{ISBN|0814658075}}, pp. 14–18.</ref>

References to the Holy Spirit appear throughout Acts, for example Acts 1:5 and 8<ref>[[s:Bible (American Standard)/Acts#1:5|Acts 1:5 and 8]]</ref> stating towards the beginning, "For John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit.&nbsp;...Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you", referring to the fulfillment of the prophecy of [[John the Baptist]] in Luke 3:16,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> "he shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit".<ref>''Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles'' by Charles H. Talbert 2005 {{ISBN|1573122777}}, pp. 24–25.</ref>