Why is the Holy Spirit Described as Coming Like a Dove?

In the past few days, we have been reflecting on the Holy Spirit's presence in and on believers in Christ. Today, I want to go further and hopefully explain how we continue to walk in harmony with the Spirit and stay sensitive to His guidance. When the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus at His baptism, John the Apostle wrote that He came as a dove and remained on Christ.

I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, “the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-33; emphasis added).

Have you ever seen a dove fly down and land on someone? I have never seen this happen, although I have watched pigeons land on people in search of food! When we lived in England, one of our favorite spots to take friends from the US was Trafalgar Square in London. It is a gathering place for all the pigeons! Four pigeons might sit on your arm, and some will even fight for a spot on your head! Sadly, I have never seen a dove resting on a person. Although doves are in the same genus as pigeons, their behavior is quite different. In the Scripture passage above, we see a description of the Holy Spirit descending like a dove upon the Lord Jesus and staying. The Holy Spirit didn't look like a dove; He is described as coming like a dove. What was on John the apostle’s mind when he wrote this Scripture passage above?

Doves are very timid and skittish. By that, I mean that the slightest thing scares them off. Any sudden noises, any quick movement, and they are gone. When we become believers, and the Spirit comes to live in us, He remains with the Christian for the rest of eternity. He will never leave us. But when we disobey the Holy Spirit's leadership and guidance, we can grieve His presence to the extent that we lose something of the intimacy with the Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit, called the anointing by John the apostle, will remain with us:

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in him (1 John 2:27).

The presence of the Holy Spirit must be guarded as a sacred trust and nurtured through sincere repentance. When we sin, we should mourn our stumble, repent—meaning change our mind and direction regarding that sin—and abandon it if we desire close intimacy with Christ and want the Spirit to remain on us. The Spirit descended and stayed on Jesus, indicating that the Holy Spirit felt at home resting on Him. The apostle Paul instructs us: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). The Holy Spirit has feelings, and our actions can hurt Him when we grieve Him. The Greek word translated as "grieve" (lupeo) comes from lupee, meaning “pain” or “sorrow.” It is the opposite of joy.

In addition to grieving the Spirit, we can also quench His presence. Paul the apostle wrote, “Do not put out the Spirit's fire" (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The words put out are translated from the Greek word sbennumi, which means "to quench." In the ancient Greek world, it generally referred to extinguishing a fire or putting out burning objects. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came to the people gathered in the Upper Room as what seemed to be "tongues of fire" (Acts 2:3). Paul's warning not to quench the Spirit can only mean that we might extinguish the Holy Spirit's fire through disobedience. As we mentioned before, all Christians have the Holy Spirit, and He will never leave the believer; however, that anointing and intimacy with Him can be grieved and quenched. More on this tomorrow. Keith Thomas

This meditation is taken from the more in-depth study, The Promised Holy Spirit, part of a series I wrote called, On Fire With the Holy Spirit