Bible Study #9: The Believer and the Holy Spirit
The First Work of the Holy Spirit in Your Life
Read the following and identify the first work of the Holy Spirit in your life:
John 16:7-11 (also see John 6:44) Helper ( Holy Spirit) will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; about sin that people don’t believe in Jesus; about righteousness (Jesus - Jer 23:5-6) who will be in heaven; and about judgment because father of lies (devil) and all you follow him will be judged
This is the means by which the Father draws people to Jesus for salvation
1 Corinthians 12:3 only by means of the Holy Spirit draw us to Jesus are we able to confess Jesus is Lord - apart from the work of the Holy Spirit we cannot be saved and confess Jesus is Lord
When you believed, repented, and confessed Jesus as Lord, Jesus
baptized you in the Holy Spirit as part of your salvation experience (read
Mark 1:8; Ephesians 1:13). (NOTE: understand Jesus is only one who can baptize in Holy Spirit, this one things made Him superior to John Baptist; show them this happens according to Eph 1:13 when you are saved)
Identify the results of being baptized with the Holy Spirit in the texts below:
Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27-28 Rom 6:3-5 - united with Christ in likeness of His death and resurrection (Note: repeated “with Him”; this passage can refer to inward reality of Holy Spirit baptism or outward symbolism of water baptism.); Gal 3:27-28 - baptized with Christ (our unity with Christ) makes us all one with Christ - unity;
John 14:17; Romans 8:9-11 Holy Spirit indwells us or lives within us (NOTE: unless Holy Spirit indwells you/lives in you - you are not saved!)
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 when we are baptized in Holy Spirit - we are baptized (unified) with the body of Christ (NOTE: Scripture doesn’t teach that the Holy Spirit is the agent of any baptism, but rather what we are baptized into - “by one Spirit” might be better translated as “in one Spirit” which agrees with context - “all made to drink of Spirit”
Titus 3:4-7 God saved us by washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit; (NOTE: see Romans 12:1-2 - transformed by the renewing of the Holy Spirit - Holy Spirit is what enables us to be new creation in God - enables us to live transformed lives
2 Thessalonians 2:13 Holy Spirit sanctifies us - makes us holy, set apart as God’s own special possession
Ephesians 1:13-14 Holy Spirit seals us as pledge of our inheritance (like putting down earnest money to buy a house)
What happens to those who reject the first work of the Holy Spirit to draw
them to Jesus and salvation?
"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. 31 " Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. 32 "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:30-32
What sin will not be forgiven men? Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
How long does this unforgiveness last? This unforgiveness last for all eternity
Study 1 John 5:7-12 and identify what you think it means to blaspheme
(speak) against the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy of Holy Spirit is rejecting the witness of the Holy Spirit (convicting of sin, righteousness and judgment) about Jesus and thus, refusing God’s offer of salvation
By not believing the witness of God (i.e., the Holy Spirit) this person makes God to be a liar
The Primary Work of the Holy Spirit in Believer’s Daily Life
But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man 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 the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:9-12
What was written about the things God has prepared for those who love Him? People in OT times didn’t know things God had planned for them who love Him; (NOTE: “as it is written refers to the OT)
What did God do about our lack of knowledge of these things (see vv10)? God has revealed them to us through His Holy Spirit
Who knows the things of man (see vv11)? Spirit of man - ie. inner man, soul, intellect, decision making
(NOTE: understand they know things in heart no one else knows
Who knows the things of God (see vv11)? Spirit of God - Holy Spirit
According to vv12 why have we received the Spirit of God? We have received the Holy Spirit in order that we might know all things God freely gives us. (NOTE: EMPHASIS - that we can’t know anything about God apart from the Holy Spirit, including the teachings of the Bible)
The primary work of the Spirit is to make known to born again believers
the _____things of God that have been _____freely given to us.
How do the following texts confirm this important truth about the Holy Spirit in
your daily lives?
John 16:13-15 Holy Spirit guides us in all truth - ie Bible and all the will of God,
Holy Spirit will disclose to us what is to come - lets us know what God wants us to know when God wants us to know
1 John 3:24; 4:13 Holy Spirit enables us to know that Jesus and Father abide in us
1 John 2:27 Holy Spirit (our anointing) teaches us about all things
(NOTE: important! this text doesn’t mean we don’t need teachers or to pursue learning the things of God - other texts in Bible make this clear. This means that the ultimate teacher in these learning situations is the Holy Spirit not person teaching)
Romans 8:16 Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit/inner man that we are children of God
T / F: God uses the Holy Spirit to speak to us and reveal His will.
True
Other Important Works of the Holy Spirit in Our Daily Lives
Read the following texts and identify some of the works of the Holy Spirit:
1 Corinthians 12:7-11 Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to serve church for the body’s benefit
Romans 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:9 Holy Spirit teaches us to understand what the love of God truly is
John 15:26-27 Holy Spirit bears witness with us when we witness Jesus to others (NOTE: how does truth should give you greater confidence in witnessing?)
Romans 8:26-27 Holy Spirit prays for us when we don’t know what to pray
Be Filled with the Spirit
Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit
Ephesians 5:18
The Bible commands you to _________filled with the Spirit.
Study the texts below from Acts and determine what the filling of the Spirit
enabled individuals to do or accomplish:
Acts 2:4 Holy Spirit enable the members of the early church to witness to crowd by speaking in other tongues
Acts 4:31 Holy Spirit enable the believers to speak the Word about Jesus with boldness in difficult times
Acts 13:9-10 Holy Spirit enabled Paul to resist the demonic adversary (NOTE: it was hand of the Lord that defeated the enemy - not Paul)
Acts 13:50:52 Holy Spirit filled these believers with joy in the midst of persecutions
From these texts what do you think it means to “be filled with the Spirit”? (NOTE:in each case the individuals were first yielded in obedience to God - following the leadership of the Holy Spirit in them; and then empowered by Holy Spirit to accomplish the works they did)
The Bible teaches us that we as believers can negatively relate to the Holy
Spirit in our daily lives. First, identify these negative ways in the texts below.
Then, rephrase the negative statement into the positive way we should relate:
NEGATIVE POSITIVE
Acts 7:51 resist yield
Ephesians 4:20 grieve please
1 Thessalonians 5:19 quench yield
How does understanding these texts (both the negative and positive) help
confirm your understanding of being filled with the Spirit? (NOTE: when we resist, grieve, and quench the Spirit we are not obedient or yielded to His leadership in our lives; thus the command we must obey to be filled with the Spirit is to yield and obey the leadership of the Holy Spirit)
Who do you think is responsible for you being filled with the Holy Spirit
(remember it’s a command)? (NOTE: understand you are the only one who controls how much you are yielded to the Holy Spirit and thus filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember that God wants to give you the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) you are the limiting factor)
What must you do to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Yield and obey the Holy Spirit as He leads me in all truth and the will of God for my life
Review this study and write below the things about the works of
the Spirit in your life you feel are most important: (the Holy Spirit is foremost important to teach you the things of God)