THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRITLesson #11

MEMORY VERSE:

John 14:15-17

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

A) KEY SCRIPTURES

John 14:12, 15–27

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you.

18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Acts 1:4–8

4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with[b] the Holy Spirit.”

6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

John 16:5–15

5 but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

1 Corinthians 2:9–16

9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”[a]—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—

10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.[b] 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?”[c]

But we have the mind of Christ.

B) INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit is not a vague influence or mystic idea, He is a person.

He can communicate and make Himself real to us. We cannot necessarily see Him, but He can make a great impression on our lives through our inner being.

He is the third member of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is

eternal (Hebrews 9:14)

omnipresent – present everywhere (Psalm 139:7),

omniscient – all knowing (1 Corinthians 2:10),

omnipotent – all powerful (Luke 1:35).

He shows personality attributes;

intellect (Romans 8:27),

will (1 Corinthians 12:11),

sensitivity (Ephesians 4:30).

He is right inside our life situations, communicating with us, opening Himself up to us and looking for us to open ourselves to Him in response. He is a person and He speaks to us personally.

Every believer should know the reality and power of the Holy Spirit, bringing life right into the centre of their being and strength into their lives (John 7:38–39). Without the Holy Spirit we could never live in the power of God, or know God’s strength in our daily lives. For full enjoyment and fulfilment in our human existence we need this great gift of the Holy Spirit from God our Father.

C) THE BIBLE DESCRIBES THE HOLY SPIRIT IN DIFFERENT WAYS

(i) Through different names; e.g.:

What does each name reveal to you about the Holy Spirit, what he does, what his personality is like etc.?

–  The Good Spirit (Nehemiah 9:20).

–  The Spirit of God (Matthew 3:16).

–  The Counsellor ( John 14:16,26).

–  The Spirit of Truth ( John 16:13).

–  The Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).

–  The Spirit of sonship (Romans 8:15).

–  The Spirit of Grace (Hebrews 10:29).

(ii) Through symbols:

What does each of these tell you about the Holy Spirit, what he does, what his personality is like?

Perhaps think of other words that might describe the word used e.g. wind - disturb, refresh, cool etc.

–  Dove (Matthew 3:16).

–  Voice (1 Kings 19:12).

–  Seal (Ephesians 1:13).

–  Water and living water (Isaiah 44:3; John 7:37 – 39).

–  Wind (Acts 2:2).

–  Oil (1 Samuel 16:13).

–  Fire (Acts 2:3).

D) THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOU

He enables us to drive out demons (Matthew 12:28).

He enables us to speak as God would have us speak (Mark 13:11).

He enables us to be born again (John 3:5–8).

He will be our Counsellor for ever (John 14:16).

He lives in us (John 14:17).

He teaches us (John 14:26; John 16:13–14).

He convicts (John 16:8–11).

He gives us the power to be God’s witnesses (Acts 1:8).

He enables God’s love to be poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5).

He testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16).

He helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26).

He enables righteousness and peace in us (Romans 14:17).

He enables us to overflow with hope (Romans 15:13).

He sanctifies us (Romans 15:16).

He gives various gifts as He determines (1 Corinthians 12:4–11).

He enables the fruit of the Spirit in us (Galatians 5:22–23).

He enables joy in us (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

E) FOUR IMPORTANT REASONS WHY YOU NEED THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE

(i) He gives you…Power to become

We only recognise the Father by the power of the HS - and become his sons.

The Holy Spirit awakens our spiritual need and points us to Jesus, and therefore back to God (John 1:12–13).

With the Holy Spirit working in us, we can accomplish what in our own strength we could never do.

(ii) The Holy Spirit gives us…Power to be

He gives us power for our daily living - so that we can live a life of faith, and become examples of what it means to live a new life in Jesus day by day.

Our flesh is weak so God has opened to us the channel of divine power. God Himself dwells in our hearts (Ephesians 3:16 –17).

(iii) The Holy Spirit gives us… Power to overcome

Every Christian believer lives in a war zone. Before we became Christians we were on Satan’s side, but when we chose to follow Jesus we were put on the winning side, God’s side (Ephesians 2:1–5).

The warfare we experience is far tougher after we believe, as satan is attempting to stop us following Jesus.

God makes His power available within us, so that we have the strength and the know-how to defeat the devil, 1 John 4:4,

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

(iv) The Holy Spirit gives us… Power to share

‘‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’’ (Acts 1:8)

The word for ‘power’ here is ‘dunamis’ which is the word from which we get our English word ‘dynamite’.

God wants us to be filled with power so we can witness to the life of Jesus; so that we become like Jesus to other men and women; so that, when we speak, pray and touch men and women in the power of the Holy Spirit, it will be as if Jesus was with them, John 14:12,

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

F ) GIFTS AND FRUIT

God wants to do great things through us, and to give us great things also.

(i)  The gifts of the Spirit

These are supernatural abilities given by God.

Even natural talents need to be surrendered to God before He can use them fully to His glory.

The Holy Spirit is the one who equips us in order to be able to do God’s will and to worship and to serve Him (1 Corinthians 12:7).

The lists of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:7–11 and Romans 12:6–8 help us to understand the range of gifts available to us.

The Father has ensured that His children will lack nothing they need to fulfil His will and purpose, and to be able to witness to the power of Jesus here on earth.

(ii)  The fruit of the Spirit

These are the evidence in our lives of the work of the Holy Spirit in changing us into the likeness and nature of Jesus.

They are listed in Galatians 5:22–23, and together are the character of Jesus.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The Holy Spirit plants the seeds of His fruit in our lives. It is up to us to respond to Him and open ourselves more and more to His holy influence, so that we become more and more like Jesus in our actions and attitudes.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?

(i)  Towards Jesus You will know as never before that Jesus is alive as Lord with power and authority today (Acts 2:32 – 36).

(ii)  Towards God You will experience the depth of God’s love for you (Romans 5:5) and will come into a new assurance of His Fatherhood (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6); you will be set free to love Him and praise Him with joy and confidence (Ephesians 5:18–20).

(iii)  Towards God’s Word You will gain a new appetite for the Bible and a greater ability to use it and to hear God speak to you through it (John 16:13–15; Ephesians 6:17).

(iv)  Towards the Spirit You will become very sensitive to His presence and guidance (Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:14); you will become open to receiving the many and varied gifts of the Spirit.

(iv)  Towards the Spirit You will become very sensitive to His presence and guidance (Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:14); you will become open to receiving the many and varied gifts of the Spirit.

(v)  Towards others You will become more open to other people, more loving towards them, and more eager to be an active part of the church which is Christ’s Body (1 Corinthians 12:12–13).

(vi)  Towards the world You will grow bolder in witnessing for Jesus (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31).

(vii)  Towards spiritual warfare You will become more aware of your authority in Christ Jesus over the enemy, so you can stand and see God’s Kingdom extended (Ephesians 6:10–18; Ephesians 1:17–23).

H)  WHAT ABOUT TONGUES?

You can expect to receive this gift when the Father fills you or baptises you in the Holy Spirit. It is an aid to following Jesus.

–  It is one of the gifts promised by Jesus (Mark 16:17; 1 Corinthians 12:10).

H)  WHAT ABOUT TONGUES?

You can expect to receive this gift when the Father fills you or baptises you in the Holy Spirit. It is an aid to following Jesus.

–  It is one of the gifts promised by Jesus (Mark 16:17; 1 Corinthians 12:10).

–  It is the ability to communicate with God, spirit to Spirit, which edifies you, i.e. builds you up and strengthens your own spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2,4,& 14).

–  It is the gift of a language that is personally yours which you have never learned (Acts 2:4,7 & 8).

–  It is an aid to praying in line with the will of God (Romans 8:26–27).

J) SUMMARY & APPLICATION

1. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune Godhead, who wants to be our Counsellor and lead us to Jesus and to God the Father.

2. The Holy Spirit is the source of power available to a believer, to enable him to do God’s will and be what God wants him to be.

3. Through the Holy Spirit we can have the power and character of Jesus.