Acts: The Holy Spirit and What He Does (Wednesday Evening Bible Study)

The Holy Spirit and What He Does

• True & False Quiz:
  • The holy Spirit has His own unique personality- T
  • The main job of the holy Spirit is to work miracles in people’s lives-F
  • The Holy Spirit did not indwell people until after Jesus’ ascension-T
  • A person must have the Holy Spirit to be saved-T
  • The Holy Spirit will always bring you joy & comfort-F
  • The work of the Holy Spirit is different in the N.T. versus the O.T.-T
  • The baptism, filling and indwelling of the Spirit all mean the same thing-F
• How important is the Holy Spirit to our salvation?
  • Romans 8:9
  • 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
• The Person of the Holy Spirit
  • Personality Attributes-
  • Romans 8:27 & 1 Corinthians 2:11
    • 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
    • 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
  • What two things are shown here that the Holy Spirit has? 
  • A mind and knowledge…
    • the Holy Spirit has the knowledge of God
  • Does the Holy Spirit have here love and affection?
    • See Romans 15:30
    • 30 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf.
    • Love and affection, the love of the spirit
  • What does the Holy Spirit have a will?
    • See 1 Corinthians 12:11 
    • 11 One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills.
      • A will, Just as He determines
  • Since the Holy Spirit has a mind, knowledge and a will, consider the following verses…
  • What can happen to the Spirit? Ephesians 4:30, Acts 7:51, Acts 5:3
    • Ephesians 4:30
    • 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.
      • He can be grieved
    • Acts 7:51
    • 51 “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also.
      • He can be resisted.
    • Acts 5:3
    • 3 “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?
      • He Can be lied to.   
  • So all of things we can do to a  person.
• What are the Divine attributes of the Holy Spirit
  • Is the Holy Spirit eternal?
    • See Hebrews 9:14 
    • 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works so that we can serve the living God?
  • Is the Holy Spirit omnipresent and omniscient?
    • See Psalm 139:7-10 & 1 Corinthians 2:10-11
    • Psalm 139:7-10
    • Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I fly on the wings of the dawn and settle down on the western horizon, 10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.
    • 1 Cor. 2:10-11
    • 10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
  • Does the Holy Spirit have the power of God?
    • See Luke 1:35
    • 35 The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
      • Note: The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is also called or described as:  the Spirit of Grace, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of glory, and the Spirit of Life. Who else would we use words like these to describe? God the Father and Jesus.
  • How do we often see the Holy Spirit mentioned with
    • God the Father and Jesus the Son?
• The Work of the Holy Spirit
  • Where do we first find the Holy Spirit in the Bible?
    • Genesis 1:2
    • 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
  • What was the Holy Spirit doing? Was the Holy Spirit involved in creation? I think so as well as the Father and the Son.  In Genesis 1:26… “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…  Who is the, us?
  • Then in Genesis 2:7
    • Father, Son and Spirit are involved in the giving of life.
    • 7 Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
  • What does the Holy Spirit give?
    • See Romans 8:11 and John 6:63
    • what do we see the Spirit doing?
      • The Spirit gives life
      • Romans 8:11 
      • 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.
      • John 6:63 
      • 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
  • How does the Spirit’s creative ability affect use personally?
    • See Titus 3:5 
    • 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
    • The Spirit brings rebirth and renewal often called regeneration…
      • The New creation we become in Christ. What we see here is Christian baptism and the giving of the Spirit.
  • NOTE: So the Holy Spirit is involved with creation at the beginning, with the giving of life and our recreation in Christ.
• How Do We Receive the Holy Spirit
  • See John 16:8  & Hebrews 4:12
    • John 16:8 
    • 8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment 
    • Being convicted of their sins. What are they exposed to bring this about? 
    • Hebrews 4:12 12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
    • When someone sees their sin as wrong what do we call that?
      • Conviction… they hear God’s Word, the gospel, Where they learn Jesus died for their sin so they could be forgiven.
      • The Holy Spirit works through the Word to bring about conviction.
  • What does conviction need to lead to?
    • See Galatians 3:5 
    • 5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—
      • There must be belief in the gospel message.
  • Belief in the gospel leads to the question, what must I do?
    • See Acts 2:38
    • 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
  • Conviction and belief leads to Repentance and baptism into Jesus Christ, where ones receives the Holy Spirit. This would be the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
  • Can I have the Holy Spirit and refuse to obey the Lord?
    • See John 14:23
    • 23 Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
  • What does the indwelling of the Holy Spirit do for you?
    • See Ephesians 1:13-14  
    • 13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.
  • What is the seal here?
    • The Holy Spirit, which proves and identifies we belong to the Lord. The Holy Spirit marks God as our owner.
  • Who is the deposit here?
    • Again the Holy Spirit. 
  • What is the Holy Spirit deposit doing?
    • Guaranteeing our inheritance. 
  • Until when?
    • Our redemption as God possession… 
  • When does that happen?
    • When Jesus returns and our redemption is totally complete with a new Body fit for eternity.
  • All this means a person is saved, a relationship between us and God, it is the new covenant we have entered into thru the blood of Christ. It is our adoption into God’s eternal family.  This is not hocus-pocus, nor mechanical.
  • If we receive the seal and the deposit of the Holy Spirit are we still free moral agents?
    • Yes we are free to choose how we will live.  The Spirit is given with conditions and remains with conditions.
  • Can I know I have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
    • See 1 John 3:23-24
    • 23 Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us. 
  • Self-test:
    • Meet the conditions of Acts 2:38.  
    • Do you believe in Jesus? Do you love God’s people?
    • Does your life reflect the fruit of the Spirit?  
    • See Galatians 5:22-23 
    • 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
• TAKEAWAYS
  • The Holy Spirit is a person, not an “it.” He is a Deity, God.
  • The Holy Spirit stands behind scripture. 
  • The Holy Spirit takes part in bringing us to salvation.
  • The Holy Spirit to mark us as belonging to God must indwell us.
  • Luke 11:13 
  • 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”