The Holy Spirit - Sections I and II

In Bible study we've been studying the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. These are some of the point and verses that I am going back over from study and would like to share with anyone who is willing to take the time to read this. I've been reminded lately that if I'm feeling far from God (and I have been) that it's not because He left me...but because I walked away from Him. He is ever calling us back into a deep and intimate relationship with Him and He's given us the Holy Spirit to help in the areas we are weak. Here are the verses and points from our study!

The Holy Spirit

The goal of this section is to understand the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. We will strive to understand His deity, attributes, activity in the world and ministry to the saved community The hope is to enlighten and encourage believers to understand the power the Spirit provides to live the Christian life.


I. The Holy Spirit is fully God...

• He is given equal association with the Father and Son...

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"; Acts5:3-4 "But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." (showing that when they lied to the Holy Spirit, they lied to God because they are one in the same); 1 Corinthians 6:11 "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God."; 2 Corinthians 13:14 "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."

• He Is given the same attributes as the Father and the Son (This will be studied later in section II)
  

II. The Holy Spirit's ministry in the Old Testament

• The Spirit only indwelt certain people...

Genesis 41:38 "Then Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?"; Numbers 27:18 "So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.."; Ezekiel 2:2 "As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me.."; Daniel 4:8, 5:11-14, 6:3 "As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to...", "There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned and he will declare the interpretation. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.", "Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and satraps because he possessed an extraordinary spirit, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire kingdom."

• The Spirit departed some due to disobedience...

1 Samuel 16:14 "Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him.", Psalm 51:11 "Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me."

• The Spirit rested (temporary) upon certain people...

Judges 3:10 "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he judged Israel. When he went out to war, the LORD gave Cushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia into his hand, so that he prevailed over Cushan-rishathaim."; Judges 6:34 So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon; and he blew a trumpet, and the Abiezrites were called together to follow him."; Judges 11:29 "Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon."; Judges 13:25 "And the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol. "; Judges 14:6 "The Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, so that he tore him as one tears a young goat though he had nothing in his hand; but he did not tell his father or mother what he had done."; 1 Samuel 10:9-10 "Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them."; 1 Samuel 16:13-14 "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrorized him."

• The Spirit filled certain people...

Exodus 31:1-3 "Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship"; Exodus 35:30-31 "Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, "See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship"

• Promise of the Spirit's permanent indwelling in fulfillment of the New Covenant...

God promised Abraham, in Genesis 12:1-3 ("Now the LORD said to Abram, Go forth from your country, And from your ,relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.") a land, a nation and blessings. The Abrahamic covenant was later in specifics known as the Palestinian (land) covenant (Ezekiel 16:60 "Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you."; *more to come), Davidic (throne) Covenant (2 Samuel 7:11, 13, 16,"even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you...He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever...Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever." 2 Samuel 23:5 "Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, Ordered in all things, and secured; For all my salvation and all my desire, Will He not indeed make it grow?", Isaiah 55:3 "Incline your ear and come to Me listen, that you may live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, According to the faithful mercies shown to David. Jeremiah 31:35-37 "Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: If this fixed order departs From before Me," declares the LORD, Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever."Thus says the LORD, If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done," declares the LORD." Jeremiah 33:20-21 "Thus says the LORD, 'If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers." Ezekiel 37:15 "They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever.") and the New (blessings and descendants) Covenant (Isaiah 61:8 "For I, the LORD, love justice, I hate robbery in the burnt offering; and I will faithfully give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them"; Jeremiah 31:31-40 Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Thus says the LORD, Who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: If this fixed order departs from before Me, declares the LORD, Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever."Thus says the LORD, If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done," declares the LORD. Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate the measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever."; Jeremiah 32:40 "I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me."; Jeremiah 50:5 "They will ask for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten." ; Hebrews 8:6-13 " But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH; NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT, AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD. FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN, AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, 'KNOW THE LORD,' FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM. FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE." When He said, A new covenant, He has made the first obsolete But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear."; Hebrews 13:20 "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord").
In the New Covenant the Spirit would be poured our on believers (Isaiah 32:15 "Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered as a forest."; Isaiah 44:3 "'For I will pour out water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring and My blessing on your descendants"; Ezekiel 36:27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."; Ezekiel 37:14 "I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it," declares the LORD.'"; Ezekiel 39:29 "I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD."; Joel 2:28-29 "It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.").


*this concludes sections I and II. More to come....please continue to follow along with me! :)

Sanctification

In our care group (a weekly meeting for the members of our church) last month we were given chapter six from Jerry Bridges book entitled “The Discipline of Grace”. This chapter was on the sanctification that God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, continues to work in the lives of all His children.
Growing up in a Christian home, with a father who takes very serious his job as the spiritual leader, this was not a new concept for me. Yet, when it comes to hearing and meditating on God’s grace in our lives, whether it be justification (which happens the moment we are saved), or sanctification (the ongoing process by which Christ makes us a little more like Himself each day), we can never be reminded of it enough. It’s the reason we that we don’t have to fear death and God’s wrath, the reason we should keep pressing on when discouraged, the reason we can find purpose in this life. Below is a few quotes and verses that have been a blessing to me over the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy them (everything in purple writing is quoted from John Piper’s book).

“Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us whereby our inner being is progressively changed, freeing us more and more from sinful traits and developing within us over time the virtues of Christ like character.
However, though sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, it does involve our wholehearted response in obedience and the regular use of the spiritual disciplines that are instruments of sanctification.”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws”

“Renewing grace works as great a change in the soul as the turning of a dead stone into living flesh” ~Matthew Henery

Titus 3:5 “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

“Regeneration is an act of God’s Spirit (upon salvation), sanctification is a work of God’s Spirit…In regeneration we become new born babies; in sanctification we attain the stature of full grown men of Christ.” ~William Plumer

“God never gives justification without sanctification.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." 1 Corinthians 6:11 “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

“If we are going to become more and more like Him, we must grow towards that same goal of seeking His will. To be more like Jesus is not just to stop committing a few obvious sins such as lying, cheating, gossiping, and thinking impure thoughts. To be like Jesus is to always seek to do the will of the Father. That is a very high standard. We frequently desire to do our own will, resulting in actions that may not appear to be sinful in themselves, but they are sinful if they are not the Father’s will. To become like Jesus, then, is to come to the place where we delight to do the will of God, however sacrificial or unpleasant that will may seem to us at the time.”

This is one of those things that push aside all the fluff we as Christians fill our lives with. We all know the right lingo to use so that people think we have a heart for God, but do our actions match our words? It’s a huge theory today, that knowing Christ makes you happy. But does it? Christ never promised happiness in this life, He promised joy. And as believers, we can have joy no matter what our circumstances are. So what will our answer be to this question.........???

“What is our aim? Is it to please the father in all we do, or is it to just get through life as comfortably as we can?”

“There will always be conflict within us between the “flesh”, or the sinful nature, and the Holy Spirit.” Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the will is present in me, but the doing of good is not.”

“There must be a constant and increasing appreciation that though sin still remains it does not have the mastery. It is one thing for sin to live in us, it us another for us to live in sin.”
This is one of my favorite quotes… “Sin is like a defeated army in a civil war that, instead of surrendering and laying down it’s arms, simply fades into the countryside, from which in continues to wage a guerrilla war of harassment and sabotage against the government forces. Sin as a reigning power is defeated in the life of a believer, but it will never surrender. It will continue to harass us as long as we live.”

2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” “The verb being transformed is passive, that is, something is being done to us, not by us. This does not mean we have no responsibility in sanctification. It means that in the final analysis it is the Spirit of God who transforms us. I can to some degree change my conduct, but only God can change my heart.”

I’ll end with this verse….Philippians 1:6 “…being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” We are blessed are we not??? Blessings!

Rightly Accused, But Not Condemned

I was reading in John this morning where the scribes and Pharisees, in an effort to trap Jesus, bring to him a women caught in adultery, and ask if they should put her to death as required by Jewish law?? Jesus’ answer to them was “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her (John 8:7).” One by one the stones were dropped and the crowd dispersed until there was none remaining, except for Jesus and the woman. Jesus than says to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus looked at her and said, “Neither do I condemn you; go. From now on sin no more (John 8:10-12).” Wow, what amazing words. By law the people did have the right to put her to death. And Christ, holy and righteous, had every right to condemn her. Yet, he says to her, “I condemn you not”.

I’ve read this story before, but for some reason, Christ’s words stood out so much more to me this morning. I wondered how many times Satan had come before the threshold of Heaven and hurled accusations about me at Christ. Not accusing me with lies, but with true things that I’ve done. Things, that Christ would be totally righteous in punishing me for. Yet, through His kindness, Christ has looked at him (though grieved by my sin) and declared, “Yes! I know, but My blood covers it, and I will not condemn her.” What grace and mercy we have in our Savior. How amazing that a holy and sinless God would look at us, in our sin, and chose to only see His Son. How amazing, that instead of bringing punishment, He declares us righteous. What grace, what mercy. May that realization bring us to the place of utter surrender, that our desire would be (through His strength and powder) to go and sin no more.

Below is a story, written by Josh Harris, that I first read a few years ago. It's called "The Room" and I know it's something we can all relate to. If you can watch short videos, please watch it (it's so powerful in media form) by clicking here, if not, please continue scrolling down for the story in written form. Blessings!

Abraham and Lessons In Trust

While driving home a few weeks ago, my mom and I were talking about waiting on God and trusting His timing for things in life. She reminded me of the story of Abraham and the problems that exist to this day because of his impatience (you’ll see what I’m referring to at the end of this post). Talking about his life inspired me to study it out, both the blessings and consequences that were obtained by the decisions he made.

Starting in Genesis chapter 12, God calls Abraham out of the land of Ur, the land he grew up in, the land of his father’s fathers; to embark on a journey to a place where he had never seen, following a God whom his family had never served. And you know what? Abraham followed the Lord. Packing up his family and leaving all that was familiar, he began his pilgrimage, having faith in God’s goodness. In many ways Abraham’s life parallels ours; it was full of ups and downs in regards to His trust in the Lord. In this instance his trust in God is evident and his obedience in following the Lord without knowing the outcome is to be emulated. Yet Abraham, not unlike the rest of us, reached a point where he lost sight of God’s sovereignty and began to grow impatient. We as humans are so locked into time that it can seem, to our finite minds, like God has forgotten us or is slow to keep His promises. 2 Corinthians 3:9 says “The Lord is not slow about His promises as some count slowness…” I think many times what we think of as God forgetting us, is really Him working in us. Often times He knows that what we might want at the moment, we’re not ready for yet and He uses those moments to teach us and prepare us for what He wants to give us. I love the way my friend summed it up when He said, “God might not work by your clock. He works in his time and even though it would seem He does nothing, he is either testing us or waiting for the perfect time to intervene so you will realizes it was not you who did it, it was your Heavenly Father who let you do it."
~ Carson Fogarty

Which brings me to my next chapter in Abraham’s life; looking in Genesis 13:16, we find the account of God’s next promise. “I will make your decedents as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your decedents can also be numbered.” Yet when Abraham is eighty-five, Sarah is still barren and the couple still childless. Like we often do, human intellect begins to fill the place where trust should rule and panic begins to set in. So out of frustration, Sarah gives her maid servant Hagar to Abram that she might bare a child for them. Abraham takes Hagar and through their relationship Ishmael is born. In chapter 17, starting in verse two, God reminds Abraham (now ninety-nine) of His promise. “I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.” Then in verse sixteen God restates, “I will bless her (Sarah), and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her and she shall be the mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Abraham, still battling disbelief, asks God starting in verse seventeen, “…will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? And Abraham said to God, Oh that Ishmael might live before you! But God said to Abraham, No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly.” Moving ahead to chapter twenty-one, we find that God, true to His word, opens Sarah womb. And at the age of ninety-one, Isaac is born.

Though Abraham’s lessons in trusting and obeying the Lord were not over, he was able to see the fulfillment of part of God’s promises with the birth of Isaac. There is yet another promise that we now see God has brought to fulfillment; that being, the decedents of both Isaac, child of promise; and Ishmael, born out of man’s impatience; have grown in to large nations. And to this day, the repercussions of Abraham’s choice to do thing’s his way lives on in the wars between the Arab nations (from Ishmael) and Israel (from Isaac).


One of the reasons this has been such a blessing for me to study is because I’m so impatience. If things aren’t happening the way I think they should, I’m so tempted to think I need to do something, in my own strength, to try to change them or make them happen. Especially as women, hoping to be helpmates someday, this is not a good thing to struggle with. The struggle to trust in the Lord versus having things our way is a battle I think is fought on a daily basis. The story of Abraham was a reminder to me that there are consequences when we decide we have a better plan than God. Just watch the news today and you’ll see proof of that. I’m not saying that it’s easy, the reason that I read through Genesis is because it’s not. We can trust though that when God does bring His plans to fruition, it’ll be worth all the waiting. I really believe that if I was always able to keep a true focus on God’s character and who He was, than trusting Him wouldn’t be such a struggle. If you get the chance, take some time to study the life of Abraham and others in God’s word like Him. What an awesome gift we were given to be able to see and learn of God’s character through the lives of those who walked before us. May you glean from His word all that He has to teach you. And may you “trust in the Lord with ALL your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.”
Blessings!!