There seems to always be interest in the Holy Spirit. But I wonder how much we truly understand about the Holy Spirit. We should start this study by disregarding what someone else may have told us before, what we have read in books, or our own opinion. Our goal is to understand the Holy Spirit more clearly through a careful study of scripture alone.
Ask yourself several questions before going further:
- Who is the Holy Spirit?
- What characteristics of the Holy Spirit can I discover in scripture?
- What role does the Holy Spirit have for a Christian?
- How am I to respond to the Holy Spirit?
- What does it mean to "live" and "walk" by the Spirit?
Now go to scripture for the answers! We will discuss this together on Sunday. Hope to see you there.
Please also remember those people on our prayer list. Romans 8:26-27
According to Acts 5:3, whom did Peter say Ananias had lied to? Then, according to Acts 5:4, whom did Peter say Ananias had lied to?
ReplyDeletePost your answer to the above two questions. What does this teach you about the Holy Spirit?
Also read Acts 5:9. What have you learned?
In Acts 5:3 Ananias sinned/lied against the Holy Ghost/Spirit, in 5:4 he sinned/lied against God.
ReplyDeleteIn Acts 5:9 his wife, Sapphira, was said to have tempted the Spirit of the Lord.
All three, God, Spirit and the Lord are the same in one but all have different functions and are all individuals.
I think we have a lot to learn about the Holy Spirit, and living and walking with it. Ephesians 4:29-30 was referenced today in class, and I had a footnote in my Bible about these verses, and the Holy Spirit departing from us, which made me think about the ability we have to "turn away" from the Spirit:
ReplyDelete"All lying, and corrupt communications, that stir up evil desires and lusts, grieve the Spirit of God. Corrupt passions of bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil- speaking, and malice, grieve the Holy Spirit. Provoke not the holy, blessed Spirit of God to withdraw his presence and his gracious influences. The body will be redeemed from the power of the grave at the resurrection day. Wherever that blessed Spirit dwells as a Sanctifier, he is the earnest of all the joys and glories of that redemption day; and we should be undone, should God take away his Holy Spirit from us."
Maria Crowley
We had a great discussion today, but we really needed more time. There are several scriptures we need to give prayerful study to. One is Hebrews 10:26-31.
ReplyDelete"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Should we walk with the Spirit? Absolutely! I want to RUN with the Spirit! But what about those Christians who have insulted or rejected the Spirit, who had been given to them as a seal of ownership in Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14)? Galatians 5 teaches us that when we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Gal 5:16). The flesh and the Spirit are opposed to each other. Are Christians still sinners? Yes (Romans 3:23)! But we are not opposed to the Spirit. Sin does not rule our lives.
However, there is always the danger that we may choose to reject the Holy Spirit. See I Cor 10:12, Heb 10:12, and Gal 5:4. What describes that person? His/her mind is set on the flesh once again, is hostile toward God, and is not in subjection to God's law (Romans 8:5-8). That person is no longer a child of God. But where is the Spirit in that person's life now? Romans 8:14 provides the answer: "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." The person who is no longer in Christ cannot still have the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, because that promise is only for those who are redeemed in Christ (Eph 1:14).