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Life in the Spirit

Study & Application Questions

 

October 5th, 2003

 

 

Why we need a series on the Holy Spirit.

 

 

John 16:13-14 (ESV)
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

 

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 

 

Why have a series on the Holy Spirit?

HE IS GOD AND WE MUST WORSHIP HIM

HE IS GOOD, WE MUST ENJOY HIM.

 

Questions:

 

  1. Do you related to the Holy Spirit as God or as a force?
  2. What scriptures inform this practice?
  3. How do you need to change?
  4. What are the implications for our lives that the Holy Spirit is a person and is God?  Answer in terms of relationship and worship.
  5. What aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry do you enjoy most?
  6. What ministry of the Holy Spirit do you understand least?
  7. What ministry of the Holy Spirit is weakest in your life?
  8. How can you change.
  9. What in particular are you looking to learn through this series?

Additional Notes

 

 

October 19th, 2003

 

The Stones of the Temple Made Alive:

 The Holy Spirit, God Saving Sinners

 

 

Titus 3:1-8 (ESV)
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.

 

Additional Notes

Regeneration Results in Radically Renewed Relationships

 

Investigation:

  1. What is the overall context of this passage?
  2. What application is Paul seeking to make for the Cretans?
  3. How many persons of the Trinity are mentioned in this passage?
  4. Can you explain the terms saved, regeneration, justification, grace?
  5. What “saying” is Paul talking about?
  6. Why talk about salvation when good works is the object?

 

Understanding:

  1. How does the Trinity cooperate in bringing about our salvation?
  2. Does the Holy Spirit save us?
  3. What happens in regeneration?  Can you point to any other passages?
  4. Why must regeneration precede repentance and faith and thus justification?

 

Applying:

  1. Have you been born again?  How can you tell?
  2. How does being born again help you relate to others better?
  3. In what relationships have you seen slander, quarreling, rudeness or lack of courtesy?
  4. How will the truth of regeneration and salvation change this?
  5. Do you understand the point that because we are born again we are living supernatural lives?
  6. Are you uncomfortable with any aspect of the modern charismatic movement?
  7. How can we avoid fearing “charismaniac” abuses while actively pursuing biblical supernatural lives?

 

October 26th, 2003

The Stones of the Temple baptized:

baptism in the spirit, our new covenant blessing:

Power, purity and the paraclete

Acts 1:1-11 (ESV)
1 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

 

Additional Notes

Understanding

  1. What command did Jesus give to the disciples? Why?
  2. What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised?
  3. Can you find cross references?
  4. What does the Old Testament indicate about a promise of God pouring out His Spirit on His people?
  5. Why were the disciples asking about the restoration of Israel in light of the promise of the Spirit?
  6. How is the baptism of the Spirit related to the end times?
  7. What was the result of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

 

Applying

  1. Was this baptism only for the apostles or is it for us?
  2. What might the Old Testament saints think about the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
  3. What do you think about the term "baptism in the Holy Spirit"?
  4. Do you have any conceptions about the Holy Spirit that might not be biblical?
  5. Do you need to grow in your wonder at the gift of the Holy Spirit?
  6. In what ways have you quenched the Spirit?
  7. How can you better fan the flame of the Spirit?
  8. What aspect of the ministry of the Spirit do you desire to experience more?
  9. Share this with another and pray together.

 

November 9th, 2003

The Stones of the Temple baptized:

baptism in the spirit, our new covenant blessing:

Power, purity and the paraclete

 

the baptism in the spirit is a new covenant blessing for all believers, that we may experience His power, His purity and His Presence.

 

Power

 

Acts 1:7-10 (ESV)
7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (ESV)
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another Main Pointhecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

 

Purity

Galatians 5 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

Romans 8:9-17 (ESV)
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

 

 “For him [Paul] life in the Spirit meant embracing both fruit and gifts simultaneously and vigorously – what I have come to call life in the radical middle.  The Spirit as an experienced and empowering reality was for Paul and his churches the key player in all of Christian life, from beginning to end.  The Spirit covered the whole waterfront; power for life, growth, fruit, gifts, prayer, witness, and everything else….. But if the empowering, experienced dimension of life in the Spirit is often missed on the one side, too often missing on both sides are two further matters that, for Paul, lie at the very heart of faith.  First, the Spirit as person , the promised return of God’s own personal presence with his people; second, the Spirit as eschatological fulfillment, who both reconstitutes God’s people anew and empowers us to live the life of the future in our between-the-times existence – between the time of Christ’s first and second coming.”

Gordon Fee, Paul, the Spirit and People of God, p. xv.

 

His presence

 

John 14:15-17 (ESV)
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper(Paraclete), to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

 

Understanding

  1. What verses indicate that the baptism of the Spirit is given for the purpose of power? purity? His presence?
  2. Is it accurate to say these are the main ministries of the Spirit for new covenant believers?
  3. Any other key verses?

Applying

  1. Do you sense or observe the Holy Spirit's ministry in you? through you?  How so?
  2. Have you been able to share about God's grace with non-Christians lately?
  3. In what ways do you most effectively serve others in or outside the church?
  4. How can you grow in the practice of these gifts?
  5. Are there any gifts that you long to have?
  6. How can we both long for more gifts and giftedness yet remain content?
  7. What areas of purity is God working on right now?
  8. What are some steps you have taken to keep in step with the Spirit in regards to purity?
  9. In what ways have you experienced the fellowship of the Holy Spirit?
  10. What scriptures is He making alive for you right now?

 

Nov. 16th, 2004

Speakin about Joy Unspeakable

 

 

Text

 

Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

Main point: Joy is the fruit of a life rooted in God.  do you know this joy?

 

 

November 23rd, 2004

Peace from the God of Peace

 

One in every eight Americans age 18-54 suffers from an anxiety disorder. This totals over 19 million people.

Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

Main Point:  In order to experience the peace of God we must reject anxiety and receive God’s provision.

 

Questions:

  1. Define anxiety.  Describe its symptoms.
  2. What does prayer and supplication with thanksgiving look like?
  3. Why are we to do more than just ask for something?
  4. Describe the peace of God.  What does it do for the believer?
  5. What tempts you towards anxiety?
  6. What are you saying about God at that moment?  What promises of God are you denying?
  7. How can you grow in prayer so as to decrease in anxiety?
  8. Find someone else to share this with and pray together.