Why is the dove often used as a symbol for the Holy Spirit?

Hence we read, "And John bore witness, saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not; but He that sent me to baptize with (ἐν) water, He said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding on Him, this is He that baptizeth with (ἐν, the) Holy Spirit. And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God."35

Such was the suited sign for the Saviour. Ravens might have been employed in God's wisdom to feed the famished prophet at another dark day; but not such was the appearance of the Spirit descending from heaven to abide on Jesus. The dove only could be the proper form, emblematic of the spotless purity of Him on Whom He came. Yet did He come upon Him as man, but Jesus was man without sin; as truly man as any other, but how different from all before or after! He was the second Man in bright contrast with the first. And He is the last Adam: in vain does unbelief look for a higher development, overlooking Him in Whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Another thing is, that the form He was pleased to take was intended to mark off, as it were, Him upon whom He so rested, as in the truth and blessedness of His own person. The form, observe, was that of a dove. Does not this set before us, in a very striking way, the blessed, gentle, gracious character of Him who was perfect goodness and grace? Assuredly the gentleness, kindness, tenderness of our Lord Jesus Christ is clearly brought before us in the form the blessed Spirit took. How vividly this stands out in contrast with our ungraciousness, roughness, uncouthness, hardness, and severity, of spirit as well as of word. Oh, the contrast of all that is in us to what was in Him!

Now you get that word which is peculiar to Mark, "straightway," "and straightway coming up out of the water." It is striking how often the word occurs in Mark, and that under various significations: it is characteristic of the gospel. There is one Greek word all through, but various translations of it: "immediately," "straightway," "instantly." "And straightway coming up out of the water," now mark the expression that is used, "he saw the heavens rent asunder," that is the meaning of the word "opened," they were rent asunder. I could not convey to you, beloved friends, the preciousness of that expression to me. It was as if God hasted to proclaim what His heart had found in His own Son; He rends the heavens. I have thought of that word many a time, "O that thou wouldest rend the heavens and come down." But look here, the heavens are rent asunder to let the whole mind of heaven out in its ineffable delight in Jesus Christ. It is one of the most striking and beautiful expressions I know of anywhere in scripture, "the heavens were rent asunder."

And then you have the seal, the Holy Ghost descends on Him. Mark the words, "the Spirit like a dove descending upon upon him," that is the form the descending Spirit took, no doubt expressive of what He was in His own Person. The dove, as you know, was the bird of sorrow and the bird of love, and therefore it was a fitting type of what our Lord Jesus Christ was in His own holy, precious, glorious Person. He is marked off by even the bodily shape that the blessed Spirit was pleased to take. Some one has observed, and I think it is a very precious thought too, that not only was this dove-like form of the Spirit expressive of His Person, but there were in the dove the silver wings, and there was also the sheen of gold there. But I believe most of all and first of all, there was that which our Lord Jesus Christ was personally set forth in the dove-like form the blessed Spirit was pleased to take.

But, returning to the descent of the Spirit upon our Lord at His baptism, we have what I will call your attention to again, for it is most striking. I mean the form in which the Spirit appeared. He descended in bodily shape like a dove. The symbolism here is simple and clear. The dove was the bird used in sacrifice — "two turtle doves." It is also the bird of love — "My love, my dove," as in the Song of Solomon. With equal clearness, it is the bird of sorrow — "We mourned sore as doves." Sacrifice, love, sorrow — these the dove symbolized. But why, then, is the dove used as a type of the Spirit?

This brings us to dwell for a little upon a third feature or object of being filled with the Spirit — to give boldness for confession and testimony. We will read Acts 2:4; "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." The promised time had come and the Spirit had been poured out. His presence was visible and audible, though more yet, it was personal and abiding. It is noticeable and significant that the form in which the Spirit appeared in coming upon the disciples and upon our Lord was entirely different. Upon Him He came as a dove; upon the disciples, as a tongue of fire, upon each one. The reason is simple and beautiful.

The dove in Scripture is the bird of sacrifice. In the burnt-offering more particularly it was used. Further it was the bird of love, and of sorrow. Our blessed Lord was taking His place publicly as the sacrifice. He was, we may say, at His baptism offering Himself to God. What more fitting than that the eternal Spirit through whom that offering was to be exhibited, should come upon Him in the form which set forth the sacrifice, the love which led Him to it, and the sorrow over the sins of men which made it necessary.

Men of this world have adopted the dove as an emblem of peace, but we gather from the record of the dove sent forth from the Ark that Scripture uses it as an emblem of purity. It is well known that the first use of any type in Scripture determines its use throughout the Scriptures. The raven suggests what is impure, but the dove suggests purity. The day had dawned in which God was going to give the Spirit to others, but the One to receive it first, in this way, was the Son of God. We must remember that others would receive the Spirit while still marked by sin within, hence witness is borne that Christ was sinless and pure. With Him therefore the Spirit was seen in the character of a dove, but with others as fire. There was something in all others which was never found in the Son of God, hence the Spirit came upon them in a judicial character, dividing in them between the new nature and the old in view of the testimony.

John the baptist said: ‘I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him’ (John 1:32). The dove is a clean bird. Genesis 8 shows that, unlike the raven, the dove was not comfortable in a surrounding marked by death and uncleanness and hence returned to Noah’s ark until the waters receded (vs. 8–9). But the Spirit could remain[7] on the Lord because He was sinless. The Spirit is pure and holy (Q.7).

John the baptist said: ‘I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and it abode upon him’ (John 1:32). The dove is a clean bird. Genesis 8 shows that, unlike the raven, the dove was not comfortable in a surrounding marked by death and uncleanness and hence returned to Noah’s ark until the waters receded (vs. 8–9). But the Spirit could remain[1] on the Lord because He was sinless. The Spirit is pure and holy.

The dove is a well-known emblem of the Holy Spirit, not only because He came upon Christ "in a bodily shape like a dove," but because of what is said of this bird elsewhere in Scripture.

The dove is commonly taken as the emblem of peace. the Holy Spirit descended on the Lord 'like a dove,' answering to "on earth peace, good will toward men." It is also an emblem of harmlessness: 'wise as serpents, harmless as doves.' Matt. 10:16. In the Canticles the bridegroom three times calls the bride 'my dove,' and says she has 'doves' eyes;' she also says the latter of him. Cant. 1:15; Cant. 2:14; Cant. 4:1; Cant. 5:2, 12; Cant. 6:9. Loving gentleness characterises the dove.