Do Over: Experiencing New Life in Christ
There is so much we could say and discuss about the truths and wonders of salvation, and in the last six weeks we’ve been able to touch on six of those great truths. The goal has been for us to understand what Christ has done for us and how we can live out that salvation on a daily basis. We are not saved simply for some future event, but we are saved to live in Christ and for Christ now.
1. You can’t meet God’s standard on your own.
2. Jesus offers you His gift of a right relationship with God.
3. Even at our worst, God loves us.
4. Sin is no longer your master; Christ is.
5. We are not alone in facing our ongoing struggle with sin.
6. God’s Holy Spirit lives in you and empowers you.
Our final lesson presents the extreme importance of the Holy Spirit. We all need His presence and His power, and without Him, it would be utterly impossible for us to live the Christian life and serve God. Just as we cannot save ourselves; we cannot live the Christian life ourselves.
Who
do you really depend on in this life and why?
2 Corinthians 13:14 says, May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you.
Paul says we must do two things to experience this powerful friend:
1. Be filled with the Spirit. (Eph. 5:8; Eph. 5:18)
2. Keep in step with the Spirit. (Gal. 5:25)
How can we do this?
- Be honest about your need. (Gal. 3:3) There can be only one person at a time in the driver’s seat of your life. When we are in control, the Holy Spirit will not force His way and take over, though He will let the consequences of our self-control take their toll. He waits for us to be honest about our need.
I. SPIRIT EMPOWERS YOUR WALK – ROMANS 8:8-13
8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 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. 12 So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, 13 for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Have you ever worried about whether or not you really are a Christian?
- A Christian is anyone who has the Spirit of God living in him or her. If you have sincerely trusted Christ for your salvation and acknowledged Him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit has come because Jesus promised He would. When the Holy Spirit is working within you, you will believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that eternal life comes through Him (1 John 5:5); you will begin to act as Christ directs (Rom. 8:5; Gal. 5:22-23); you will find help in your daily problems and in your praying (Rom. 8:26-27); you will be empowered to serve God and do His will (Acts 1:8; Rom. 12:6); and you will become part of God’s plan to build up His church (Eph. 4:12-13).
- Christians are under the direction and protection of the indwelling Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to each Christian at the moment of salvation: “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” (Rom. 8:9) God places His seal on you, marking you as His own. Remember marking your kid’s school gear or sports gear with a sharpie? God’s mark is far superior to a sharpie signature.
In Romans 8:10-11 we read that God has planted His Spirit in your heart, and the Spirit makes you alive.
- I dare say that all Christians wrestle with seasons of sadness, sorrow, apathy, and indifference. We don’t always feel joyful, victorious, or vibrant. Sometimes we walk into a worship service with an icy heart and a cluttered mind. Our souls may feel numb as the opening song begins. But here’s the good news: the Spirit will quicken our souls, revive our minds, and renew our strength.
If the Spirit lives within us, why is it sometimes so difficult to sense His presence?
- One of the Bible's greatest truths is that when we come to Christ and commit our lives to Him, He comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit. In fact, the Bible warns, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9). If you know Jesus, the Holy Spirit already lives within you -- whether you feel His presence or not.
- Why has He been given? The Bible gives several reasons -- but behind them all is our need for God's help. The Holy Spirit, the Bible says, "helps us in our weakness" (Romans 8:26). He convicts us of sin, He opens our eyes to God's truth, He grants us spiritual gifts, He counsels and guides us -- all these and more would be impossible without His help.
- We seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit's power at all times -- not just a taste, but the fullness. We experience this fullness by yielding ourselves and our will to God and to his Holy Spirit.
When are we living in a way not pleasing to God?
- We cannot please God by living to satisfy our own worldly desires.
What is the evidence of belonging to God?
- The presence of the Spirit dwelling within us is proof that we belong to God.
What does living in the Spirit mean in relation to death?
- The way of sin leads to death, but the Spirit gives life.
What does the Spirit empower us to do?
- The Spirit who raised Jesus shall likewise raise all who believe.
What is the believers’ responsibility in relationship to their choice if life practices?
- Those who live in the Spirit are to devote themselves to eliminating sinful practices.
“The Christian life is essentially life in the Spirit, that is to say, a life that is animated, sustained, directed and enriched by the Holy Spirit.”
– John Stott
– John Stott
II. SPIRIT AFFIRMS YOUR RELATIONSHIP – ROMANS 8:14-17
14 All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, 17 and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
What causes believers to question if they truly belong to God?
- Paul uses adoption or “son ship” to illustrate the new believers’ new relationship with God. In Roman culture, the adopted person lost all rights to his old family and gained all the rights of a legitimate child in his new family. He became a full heir to his new father’s estate. Likewise, when a person becomes a Christian, he or she gains all the privileges and responsibilities of a child in God’s family. One of the outstanding privileges is being led by the Spirit (Gal. 4:5-6). We may not always feel as though we belong to God, but the Holy Spirit is our witness. His inward presence reminds us of who we are and encourages us with God’s love (5:5).
- Because we are God’s children, we share in great treasures as co-heirs. God has already given us His best gifts: His Son, forgiveness, and eternal life; and He encourages us to ask Him for whatever we need.
What kinds of suffering are we to endure?
- There is a price for being identified with Jesus. Along with the great treasures, Paul mentions the suffering that Christians must face. For first-century believers, there was economic and social persecution, and some even faced death. We too must pay a price for following Jesus. In many parts of today’s world, Christians face pressures just as severe as those faced by Christ’s first followers. Even in countries where Christianity is tolerated or encouraged, Christians must not become complacent. To live as Jesus did – serving others, giving up one’s own rights, resisting pressures to conform to the world – always wxacts a price. Nothing we suffer, however, can compare to the great price that Jesus paid to save us.
Here's more information on the five most dangerous places in the world for followers of Jesus.
1. NORTH KOREA
Illegal to be a Christian or take part in any Christian activity
Three generations of a family may be imprisoned for one member owning a Bible
Estimated 70,000 Christians held in prison labor camps
2. SOMALIA
Christianity associated with oppression from European colonial powers
Suggested death penalty for being a Christian
Anti-Christian violence inflicted by militant groups who operate freely in the absence of an effective government
3. SYRIA
Tens of thousands of Christians displaced by threats and violence
City of Homs nearly cleared of 50-60,000 Christians
Many churches bombed
4. IRAQ
Christians increasingly persecuted since First Gulf War in 1990
Surge in kidnappings, threats and murders after Second Gulf War in 2003
Christian population at 25% of 1990 level
5. AFGHANISTAN
Government threatens death penalty to converts from Islam
Christians number 1,200 in entire country
No church buildings
How does the Spirit let me know that I am truly saved?
- He guides. (v. 14) A Christian can be confident of knowing the Father when he or she senses the guiding hand of the Spirit. Our task is to keep ourselves in a position where we can readily know His guidance. Position yourself within earshot of the Father.
- He dispels fear. (v. 15) The Spirit confirms our salvation by freeing us from the nagging sensation of fear. When we are barraged by anxiety, we can be sure the flesh has gained the upper hand in our souls. The Spirit puts a stop to fear that threatens to swallow our courage. He reminds us we are children of the King. We are spiritually adopted. The Father takes us as His own.
- He provides an inner testimony. (v. 15) The Holy Spirit affects the heart as well as the mind: When a Christian feels compelled to give away grace, love, and encouragement, he or she knows the Spirit fuels that desire. As a Christian grows increasingly outraged toward evil, immorality, and injustice, the Spirit of Truth is gaining ground in his soul. When a Christian willingly suffers and says no to her self-centered way of the past, she is assured that this present pain will lead her to a future inheritance prepared by her Father.
What assurance do we have that we are God’s children? What promise do we have as God’s child? What does it mean to suffer with Christ?
- Through the Spirit we become children of God who have an intimate relationship with God the Father.
- As His children, we are beneficiaries of all His goodness and His manifold blessing.
- Also as His children, we suffer with Christ, but we can anticipate sharing in His glory.
- The sufferings for Christ in this life are no comparison to the glorious blessing He will reveal to us in eternity.
Paul says we should think of our salvation as:
- Past – because we were saved the moment we believed in Jesus Christ as Savior, our new life (eternal life) begins at that moment.
- Present – because we are being saved – this is the process of sanctification.
- Future – because we have not fully received all the benefits and blessing of salvation that will be ours when Christ’s new kingdom is completely established.
While we can be confident of our salvation, we still look ahead with hope and trust toward that complete change of body and personality that lies beyond this life, when we will be like Christ (1 John 3:2).
III. SPIRIT STRENGTHENS YOUR PRAYERS – ROMANS 8:26-27
26 In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. 27 And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
As a believer, you are not left to your own resources to cope with problems. Even when you don’t know the right words to pray, the Holy Spirit prays with and for you, and God answers. With God helping you to pray, you don’t need to be afraid to come before Him. Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for you “in accordance with God’s will.” Then, when you bring your requests to God, trust that He will always do what is best.
The Spirit in My Life
Check an action of God’s Spirit that is most meaningful to me:
- ‡God’s Spirit lives in me.
- God’s Spirit is life.
- God’s Spirit leads me.
- God’s Spirit adopts me into His family.
- God’s Spirit helps me in my weakness.
- ‡God’s Spirit intercedes for me.
Why is that action of God’s Spirit so meaningful? __________
How would your life be different if you were more aware of the Spirit’s activity?
On whom can we depend when we struggle with how to pray?
What does the Spirit do on our behalf?
Let’s conclude by choosing at least one action we’ll take to let the Holy Spirit guide and protect us.
Live It Out
Conclude:
You are not alone. There is no power stronger than the Holy Spirit. In what way is the Lord leading you to alter your rhythm and routine?
This session has reminded us that God has not left us on our own to figure out what it means to live as followers of Christ. He has given us His Spirit. If we desire to be surrendered to Christ in holy living and faithful service, then we must live in the Spirit rather than by our own selfish ways and desires that come from the flesh, our fallen nature.
What evidence can you point to in your life that indicates that you are no longer walking according to the flesh but are living under the control of the Spirit?
The Holy Spirit lives inside the Christian and guides the actions of those who desire His presence. The Spirit empowers the believer to step outside his comfort zone to do extraordinary acts of faith for God. Being filled with the Spirit involves transforming our minds to the mind of Christ as we engage in spiritual activities. Walking in the Spirit leads to a sense of peace and joy, as we partner with God in His glorious plans. Violating our conscience through acts of disobedience lead to a loss of filling by the Holy Spirit, which takes away our joy and peace. Although God will not take the Holy Spirit away from a disciple of Jesus Christ, the continual practice of sin and a lack of spiritual activities will lead to a life that is no different than the life of a non-believer.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
In 1 Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul tells us not to be ignorant about the things of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one sent to reveal Jesus to us and to represent Him here on earth; He is the one who teaches us the truths of the Kingdom of God; He is our guide for our Christian walk; He intercedes on our behalf and pleads before God when we don’t know how to pray as we ought to; He empowers us to release God’s love; He is the one whose mighty strength and power was exerted in raising Christ from the dead and who now dwells, with that same power, in each believer.
He anoints us as sons and daughters of God to manifest His presence, and gives us particular spiritual abilities to build up the body of Christ and draw people to the Lord. He wants pour forth from us like a river (flood) continually, and we are to be continually filled with Him and lean on Him, claiming His power every day.
As you are continually filled with the Holy Spirit, the Bible comes alive, prayer becomes dynamic, your witness becomes effective and obeying God becomes a joy. We also begin to mature in our spiritual lives.
The Holy Spirit is given to make the Christian life experiential. The Christian life is meant to be an experience , not just a religion, and the Holy Spirit helps to make Jesus real, not just in our understanding, but in our very day to day lives.
Indwelling
At the moment you become a Christian believer, through the miracle of a new spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your spirit. He is the source of the on-going process of you being changed and transformed into being more Christ-like in your attitudes, emotions and actions. Every believer has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and one’s growth in the Lord is an on-going process that lasts a life-time.
He is with you always; He goes where you go, He sees what you see, He hears what you hear. Your physical body is now a temple – a house, a dwelling, within which the Holy Spirit dwells. You don’t have to beg or plead or tarry for Him to come, He’s already there if you are a believer.
Most of the time this happens without a dramatic experience. You don’t look any different, you don’t sound any different, you don’t “smell” any different and you don’t feel too different. As time passes you begin to see the changes the Spirit produces, but initially – when the Spirit comes you might not know anything had happened if you hadn’t read it in the word.
This is called the Indwelling Holy Spirit – the Spirit in you.
Empowering
Now, in contrast to this, there is the Empowering of the Holy Spirit– which is almost always experiential. When the Spirit comes upon you in power you know something has happened. It is evident to you and it is evident to those around you. Jesus told his disciples, who already believed in Him, to wait in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. Soon after that, the Spirit was poured out in power on the day of Pentecost.
Receiving the Holy Spirit in this way allows Him to use you as a vessel for signs and wonders, for miracles and healing and for prophecy and boldness in praying and witnessing - doing the works of the Kingdom! There will be a release of the various supernatural manifestations of the Spirit (as in 1 Corinthians 12): tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits, faith performing of miracles and gifts of healing.
You might say that the Spirit is in you – for you and on you - for others.
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, it’s as if He drenches us with His power. It’s like being at the sea and having a huge wave come and crash down on you – that’s really being drenched, soaked, and inundated. This is not dependent upon maturity – that’s why you can see a very young Christian exercising great power because the experience is not dependent upon growth. God’s power is freely given to any of His children who truly seek and desire it. We can see that the Corinthian church was very immature in many areas but exercised the supernatural gifts.
God wants His people to have His power and He is willing to pour it out on all who will ask – and will continue to pour it out over and over again. Paul encouraged the believers in the Ephesians’ church to be “continually be being filled”.
50 Things The Holy Spirit Does
1. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
2. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13).
3. He regenerates us (John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5).
4. He glorifies and testifies of Christ (John 15:26; 16:14).
5. He reveals Christ to us and in us (John 16:14-15).
6. He leads us (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18; Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1).
7. He sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 5:16).
8. He empowers us (Luke 4:14; 24:49; Rom. 15:19; Acts 1:8).
9. He fills us (Eph. 5:18; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17).
10. He teaches us to pray (Rom. 8:26-27; Jude 1:20).
11. He bears witness in us that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16).
12. He produces in us the fruit or evidence of His work and presence (Gal. 5:22-23).
13. He distributes spiritual gifts and manifestations (the outshining) of His presence to and through the body (1 Cor. 12:4, 8-10; Heb. 2:4).
14. He anoints us for ministry (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38).
15. He washes and renews us (Titus 3:5).
16. He brings unity and oneness to the body (Eph. 4:3; 2:14-18). Here He plays the same role that He plays in the Godhead. The Spirit is the life that unites Father and Son. He plays the same role in the church. When He is operating in a group of people, He unites them in love. Therefore, a sure evidence of the Holy Spirit working in a group is Love and Unity. Not signs and wonders (those are seasonal and can be counterfeited).
17. He is our guarantee and deposit of the future resurrection (2 Cor. 1:22; 2 Cor. 5:5).
18. He seals us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
19. He sets us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
20. He quickens our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11).
21. He reveals the deep things of God to us (1 Cor. 2:10).
22. He reveals what has been given to us from God (1 Cor. 2:12).
23. He dwells in us (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14; John 14:17).
24. He speaks to, in, and through us (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:11; Heb 3:7; Matt. 10:20; Acts 2:4; 8:29; 10:19; 11:12, 28; 13:2; 16:6,7; 21:4,11).
25. He is the agent by which we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
26. He brings liberty (2 Cor. 3:17).
27. He transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
28. He cries in our hearts, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).
29. He enables us to wait (Gal. 5:5).
30. He supplies us with Christ (Phil. 1:19, KJV).
31. He grants everlasting life (Gal. 6:8).
32. He gives us access to God the Father (Eph. 2:18).
33. He makes us (corporately) God’s habitation (Eph. 2:22).
34. He reveals the mystery of God to us (Eph. 3:5).
35. He strengthens our spirits (Eph. 3:16).
36. He enables us to obey the truth (1 Pet. 1:22).
37. He enables us to know that Jesus abides in us (1 John 3:24; 4:13).
38. He confesses that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:2).
39. He says “Come, Lord Jesus” along with the bride (Rev. 22:17).
40. He dispenses God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5).
41. He bears witness to the truth in our conscience (Rom. 9:1).
42. He teaches us (1 Cor. 2:13; John 14:26).
43. He gives us joy (1 Thess. 1:6).
44. He enables some to preach the gospel (1 Pet. 1:12).
45. He moves us (2 Pet. 1:21).
46. He knows the things of God (1 Cor. 2:11).
47. He casts out demons (Matt. 12:28).
48. He brings things to our remembrance (John 14:26).
49. He comforts us (Acts 9:31).
50. He makes some overseers in the church and sends some out to the work of church planting [through the body] (Acts 20:28; 13:2).
Summary: The Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus Christ and to His body. He reveals Christ to us, gives us His life, and makes Christ alive in us. The Spirit takes the experiences of Jesus . . . His incarnation, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension . . . and brings them into our own experience.
When we are talking about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about the mighty power of God. The Holy Spirit is not an atmosphere or an influence. He is a person. He is God Almighty, and everything God does is done by the Holy Spirit.
Hope to see you this Sunday for our final lesson in this series!
- We are not able to pray properly in our own ability.
What does the Spirit do on our behalf?
- God’s Spirit constantly intercedes on our behalf before the Father, even as we struggle to know how to pray.
Let’s conclude by choosing at least one action we’ll take to let the Holy Spirit guide and protect us.
Live It Out
- Acknowledge that you are powerless. Confess to God that you need the strength that comes only through His Holy Spirit.
- The next time you pray, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. Follow His guidance.
- Pray as you read. Learn to recognize God’s voice as you read the Bible.
Conclude:
You are not alone. There is no power stronger than the Holy Spirit. In what way is the Lord leading you to alter your rhythm and routine?
This session has reminded us that God has not left us on our own to figure out what it means to live as followers of Christ. He has given us His Spirit. If we desire to be surrendered to Christ in holy living and faithful service, then we must live in the Spirit rather than by our own selfish ways and desires that come from the flesh, our fallen nature.
What evidence can you point to in your life that indicates that you are no longer walking according to the flesh but are living under the control of the Spirit?
Prayer of Commitment
O Holy Spirit, so indwell my life that I may be more like Christ and bring glory to the Father. Amen.
O Holy Spirit, so indwell my life that I may be more like Christ and bring glory to the Father. Amen.
The Holy Spirit lives inside the Christian and guides the actions of those who desire His presence. The Spirit empowers the believer to step outside his comfort zone to do extraordinary acts of faith for God. Being filled with the Spirit involves transforming our minds to the mind of Christ as we engage in spiritual activities. Walking in the Spirit leads to a sense of peace and joy, as we partner with God in His glorious plans. Violating our conscience through acts of disobedience lead to a loss of filling by the Holy Spirit, which takes away our joy and peace. Although God will not take the Holy Spirit away from a disciple of Jesus Christ, the continual practice of sin and a lack of spiritual activities will lead to a life that is no different than the life of a non-believer.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
In 1 Corinthians 12 the Apostle Paul tells us not to be ignorant about the things of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one sent to reveal Jesus to us and to represent Him here on earth; He is the one who teaches us the truths of the Kingdom of God; He is our guide for our Christian walk; He intercedes on our behalf and pleads before God when we don’t know how to pray as we ought to; He empowers us to release God’s love; He is the one whose mighty strength and power was exerted in raising Christ from the dead and who now dwells, with that same power, in each believer.
He anoints us as sons and daughters of God to manifest His presence, and gives us particular spiritual abilities to build up the body of Christ and draw people to the Lord. He wants pour forth from us like a river (flood) continually, and we are to be continually filled with Him and lean on Him, claiming His power every day.
As you are continually filled with the Holy Spirit, the Bible comes alive, prayer becomes dynamic, your witness becomes effective and obeying God becomes a joy. We also begin to mature in our spiritual lives.
The Holy Spirit is given to make the Christian life experiential. The Christian life is meant to be an experience , not just a religion, and the Holy Spirit helps to make Jesus real, not just in our understanding, but in our very day to day lives.
Indwelling
At the moment you become a Christian believer, through the miracle of a new spiritual birth, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your spirit. He is the source of the on-going process of you being changed and transformed into being more Christ-like in your attitudes, emotions and actions. Every believer has the Holy Spirit dwelling within them and one’s growth in the Lord is an on-going process that lasts a life-time.
He is with you always; He goes where you go, He sees what you see, He hears what you hear. Your physical body is now a temple – a house, a dwelling, within which the Holy Spirit dwells. You don’t have to beg or plead or tarry for Him to come, He’s already there if you are a believer.
Most of the time this happens without a dramatic experience. You don’t look any different, you don’t sound any different, you don’t “smell” any different and you don’t feel too different. As time passes you begin to see the changes the Spirit produces, but initially – when the Spirit comes you might not know anything had happened if you hadn’t read it in the word.
This is called the Indwelling Holy Spirit – the Spirit in you.
Empowering
Now, in contrast to this, there is the Empowering of the Holy Spirit– which is almost always experiential. When the Spirit comes upon you in power you know something has happened. It is evident to you and it is evident to those around you. Jesus told his disciples, who already believed in Him, to wait in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. Soon after that, the Spirit was poured out in power on the day of Pentecost.
Receiving the Holy Spirit in this way allows Him to use you as a vessel for signs and wonders, for miracles and healing and for prophecy and boldness in praying and witnessing - doing the works of the Kingdom! There will be a release of the various supernatural manifestations of the Spirit (as in 1 Corinthians 12): tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom, discerning of spirits, faith performing of miracles and gifts of healing.
You might say that the Spirit is in you – for you and on you - for others.
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, it’s as if He drenches us with His power. It’s like being at the sea and having a huge wave come and crash down on you – that’s really being drenched, soaked, and inundated. This is not dependent upon maturity – that’s why you can see a very young Christian exercising great power because the experience is not dependent upon growth. God’s power is freely given to any of His children who truly seek and desire it. We can see that the Corinthian church was very immature in many areas but exercised the supernatural gifts.
God wants His people to have His power and He is willing to pour it out on all who will ask – and will continue to pour it out over and over again. Paul encouraged the believers in the Ephesians’ church to be “continually be being filled”.
50 Things The Holy Spirit Does
1. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).
2. He guides us into all truth (John 16:13).
3. He regenerates us (John 3:5-8; Titus 3:5).
4. He glorifies and testifies of Christ (John 15:26; 16:14).
5. He reveals Christ to us and in us (John 16:14-15).
6. He leads us (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18; Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:1).
7. He sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 5:16).
8. He empowers us (Luke 4:14; 24:49; Rom. 15:19; Acts 1:8).
9. He fills us (Eph. 5:18; Acts 2:4; 4:8, 31; 9:17).
10. He teaches us to pray (Rom. 8:26-27; Jude 1:20).
11. He bears witness in us that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16).
12. He produces in us the fruit or evidence of His work and presence (Gal. 5:22-23).
13. He distributes spiritual gifts and manifestations (the outshining) of His presence to and through the body (1 Cor. 12:4, 8-10; Heb. 2:4).
14. He anoints us for ministry (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38).
15. He washes and renews us (Titus 3:5).
16. He brings unity and oneness to the body (Eph. 4:3; 2:14-18). Here He plays the same role that He plays in the Godhead. The Spirit is the life that unites Father and Son. He plays the same role in the church. When He is operating in a group of people, He unites them in love. Therefore, a sure evidence of the Holy Spirit working in a group is Love and Unity. Not signs and wonders (those are seasonal and can be counterfeited).
17. He is our guarantee and deposit of the future resurrection (2 Cor. 1:22; 2 Cor. 5:5).
18. He seals us unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
19. He sets us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
20. He quickens our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11).
21. He reveals the deep things of God to us (1 Cor. 2:10).
22. He reveals what has been given to us from God (1 Cor. 2:12).
23. He dwells in us (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14; John 14:17).
24. He speaks to, in, and through us (1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:11; Heb 3:7; Matt. 10:20; Acts 2:4; 8:29; 10:19; 11:12, 28; 13:2; 16:6,7; 21:4,11).
25. He is the agent by which we are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
26. He brings liberty (2 Cor. 3:17).
27. He transforms us into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18).
28. He cries in our hearts, “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6).
29. He enables us to wait (Gal. 5:5).
30. He supplies us with Christ (Phil. 1:19, KJV).
31. He grants everlasting life (Gal. 6:8).
32. He gives us access to God the Father (Eph. 2:18).
33. He makes us (corporately) God’s habitation (Eph. 2:22).
34. He reveals the mystery of God to us (Eph. 3:5).
35. He strengthens our spirits (Eph. 3:16).
36. He enables us to obey the truth (1 Pet. 1:22).
37. He enables us to know that Jesus abides in us (1 John 3:24; 4:13).
38. He confesses that Jesus came in the flesh (1 John 4:2).
39. He says “Come, Lord Jesus” along with the bride (Rev. 22:17).
40. He dispenses God’s love into our hearts (Rom. 5:5).
41. He bears witness to the truth in our conscience (Rom. 9:1).
42. He teaches us (1 Cor. 2:13; John 14:26).
43. He gives us joy (1 Thess. 1:6).
44. He enables some to preach the gospel (1 Pet. 1:12).
45. He moves us (2 Pet. 1:21).
46. He knows the things of God (1 Cor. 2:11).
47. He casts out demons (Matt. 12:28).
48. He brings things to our remembrance (John 14:26).
49. He comforts us (Acts 9:31).
50. He makes some overseers in the church and sends some out to the work of church planting [through the body] (Acts 20:28; 13:2).
Summary: The Holy Spirit unites us to Jesus Christ and to His body. He reveals Christ to us, gives us His life, and makes Christ alive in us. The Spirit takes the experiences of Jesus . . . His incarnation, ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension . . . and brings them into our own experience.
When we are talking about the Holy Spirit, we are talking about the mighty power of God. The Holy Spirit is not an atmosphere or an influence. He is a person. He is God Almighty, and everything God does is done by the Holy Spirit.
Hope to see you this Sunday for our final lesson in this series!
In His Love,
David & Susan
