Never alone: The Holy Spirit in Our Lives
Christianity is more than a philosophy. It is not a set of rules or a collection of religious practices. At its core, Christianity is a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of His resurrection. Read that word again: relationship!
As followers of Christ, we do not worship a distant God. He is right here with us! The Holy Spirit is the Person of God present with us—the Person of God to whom we relate directly. He guides us, teaches us, empowers us, comforts us, and convicts us of our sins.
Through the six sessions of this study, we will see just how the Holy Spirit works in us and among us. Let’s jump into this study together to see that we are never alone.
Seek God. We seek God and come to know Him because His Holy Spirit is at work in us. He draws us into a relationship through our faith in Christ, and the Holy Spirit guides us to walk with Him.
Never Alone: The Holy Spirit in Our Lives
| Session 1 | Convicted by the Spirit John 15:26-27; 16:7-15 |
| Session 2 | Born Again by the Spirit John 3:1-8,14-17 |
| Session 3 | Indwelt by the Spirit Romans 8:9-17 |
| Session 4 | Filled with the Spirit Ephesians 5:8-21 |
| Special Focus | Interdependent Independence 1 Corinthians 10:23-33 |
| Session 5 | Walking with the Spirit Galatians 5:16-25 |
| Session 6 | United Through the Spirit Corinthians 12:4-14 |
1
Convicted by the Spirit
Question 1:
When have you thought you lost something only to discover it was never lost to begin with?
THE POINT
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and points to the truth of salvation.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings know well the scene where Gandalf is dragged over the edge of a broken bridge. Gandalf held on long enough to charge his friends to fly away. Then he slipped away, presumably never to be seen again. Frodo and his friends escaped with their lives, but Frodo was heartbroken at the loss. Gandalf had been his mentor, guide, and encourager. Frodo was lost without him.
We understand loss. Whether it’s the loss of a parent to death or the loss of a close friend because of a relocation, we know the pain of losing someone meaningful to us. The Gospels describe such a loss for the disciples. Jesus had become their guide, their hope, and their Lord. When He explained He was going to leave them, we sense their confusion and distress. After finding the one they believed to be the Messiah, how could the disciples continue without him?
But Jesus told them He would not leave them alone. He would send His Holy Spirit to be with them. Jesus also promised that He will not leave us alone.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
John 15:26-27
26 “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
Jesus spoke these words during His final Passover meal with His disciples in an upstairs room in Jerusalem (Luke 22:7-13). Jesus knew that in a few hours He would be arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified. He also knew His disciples would be scattered, confused, and afraid. So, as they finished the meal—a meal that Jesus instilled with new significance and meaning (vv. 14-20)—He began what some have called His farewell address. Of the many things Jesus told them that night, perhaps the most poignant moment was when He told them He was leaving them.
We can imagine the confusion of the disciples. One by one, they asked questions, trying to understand what Jesus was telling them. John recorded questions from several disciples and the tender way Jesus answered them. Despite the fear and uncertainty He surely saw in the disciples’ eyes, Jesus told them that He would not leave them alone. And thus, Jesus began to teach the disciples about the Holy Spirit. He used two phrases to describe the Holy Spirit.
Counselor. The Greek word is parakletos and means “one called or sent for to assist another,” “an advocate,” or “one who pleads the cause of another.”1 The role of the Holy Spirit was to be present with those who belong to Jesus. The Spirit would provide the help they needed.
The Spirit of truth. A key role of the Holy Spirit is to give testimony to the truth of Jesus. In John 5:31-39, Jesus identified six witnesses who testified about Him: (1) Himself.; (2) John the Baptist; (3) Jesus’s miracles; (4) The Father; (5) Scripture; and (6) “another” (v. 32). Jesus identified the Holy Spirit as that Other. The Spirit would continue to testify to the truth of Jesus.
Question 2:
How would you describe the job of a counselor?
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be “the one I will send to you from the Father” and the Spirit “proceeds from the Father.” This passage is a picture of the mystery of the Trinity. God is one God who eternally exists as three Persons. Does the Holy Spirit come from the Father or from Jesus? The right answer is: Yes! Both are accurate. As the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit comes from God—Father and Son. Of course, the Holy Spirit is also God. In this same farewell address, Jesus said He would ask the Father to send “another Counselor” (14:16), which referred to “another of the same kind.”2 In other words, Jesus would send someone just like Himself!
Just as Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to His disciples, Jesus sends His Holy Spirit to us. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us. We may feel alone at times, but Jesus has promised never to leave us or abandon us (Heb. 13:5). He is always present with us in the Person of the Counselor.
John 16:7-11
7 “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”
John 16 begins with Jesus explaining to the disciples how hard their lives would be. It may have been even more startling to the disciples when Jesus told them His departure would actually benefit them. The disciples had chosen to be with Jesus. They had left fishing boats, tax booths, families, and homes to follow Jesus. How on earth could His absence be to their advantage—especially if they would face the hardships He described?
The benefit would come in the presence of the Holy Spirit since the Spirit would be with them in a way that Jesus had not been. During His earthly ministry, Jesus worked to carry out His mission in one specific place at a time. However, the Spirit is different; He moves and works all over the world without concern of time or place to accomplish God’s work.
Jesus described the convicting work of the Holy Spirit that He would send. Convict is a legal term indicating that someone has decided a person is guilty of wrongdoing. We see this convicting work in three ways:
- The Spirit convicts us of sin. The Holy Spirit leads us to understand the evil in our own hearts. In verse 9, Jesus tied our sin to our lack of faith. A lack of faith is not merely experiencing doubt; it involves willfully rejecting the truth of Jesus.
- The Spirit convicts us of righteousness. Jesus was referring to His own righteousness. In fact, in verse 10, Jesus tied the conviction of righteousness to the fact that He was returning to His Father. Jesus’s return to His place at the Father’s right hand attested that He is completely pure, completely righteous.
- The Spirit convicts us of judgment. When we see our sin in contrast to the righteousness of Christ, it is clear that we deserve judgment. In verse 11, Jesus tied our conviction to the judgment of “the ruler of this world,” a reference to the devil. The Holy Spirit convicts us of having in our own hearts the same self-serving rebellion of the devil.
God’s purpose is not to demoralize when the Holy Spirit convicts us. He convicts us in order to draw us to salvation. The intention of Jesus is for us to experience His forgiveness, His redemption, and the eternal life that He bought for us on the cross.
Question 3:
How are people desensitized to the Holy Spirit’s conviction?
John 16:12-15
12 “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you.”
Jesus had explained much to His disciples, but He knew they still could not understand all He wanted them to know. Until they saw the resurrected Jesus standing before them, they were not ready to hear. Jesus could only teach them as much as they could comprehend. When the Holy Spirit—“the Spirit of truth”—came and was with them, He would lead the followers of Christ “into all the truth.” The Spirit would teach them more about the character and person of Christ. Even though the disciples had observed Jesus up close, they could not have wholly understood who He is. They could not have been clear about the mission of Christ to the world. The Spirit would change that, however, revealing truth so that they could understand it.
Question 4:
What practices or disciplines have helped you listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance?
The Spirit would also lead them to deeper truth related to Jesus’s mission in the world. As the apostle John wrote his Gospel account of Jesus, the Spirit of truth reminded him of the words of Jesus. The Spirit showed John a picture of the sacrificial death of Christ. The Spirit showed John how Jesus had been teaching about the life available to anyone who would believe through His death.
The Holy Spirit will only speak what He hears from God. He would never lead them to a different truth than what Jesus had shared with them, but He would continue to deepen their understanding.
Another aspect of the Spirit’s ministry is to bring glory to Christ. His work among both believers and unbelievers is always to draw attention to Jesus, His incarnation, His saving work on the cross, and His coming return.
The Holy Spirit is still the Spirit of truth! He still guides believers to understand Jesus and His mission to reach a lost world with the gospel.
Question 5:
How can our group help one another stay grounded in truth?
Engage
SWEET HOLY SPIRIT
Using this session’s Bible verses, fill in the blanks below. Then offer a prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to work in and through you.
The Holy Spirit’s names:
The C____________________
The Spirit of _________________________
The Holy Spirit’s ministry:
T _____________ about Jesus
C _____________ the world of sin, righteousness, judgment
Guide us into t ____________________
D ________________ what is to come
G _________________ Jesus
My Prayer: _____________________________________
“The Spirit does not merely accuse men of sin; He brings to them an inescapable sense of guilt so that they realize their shame and helplessness before God.”
MERRILL C. TENNEY
LIVE IT OUT
The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and points to the truth of salvation. Choose one of the following applications:
- Respond. If you have never turned away from your sin and accepted the forgiveness of Christ, ask a mature Christian to show you how to do that. You can also find help from the inside cover of this book.
- Listen. Set aside an hour to read God’s Word. Find a place you can be alone. Turn off the noise—TV, cell phones, and the internet. Allow the Spirit to speak to you through the pages of Scripture. Seek His guidance in understanding and applying the truth of God’s Word.
- Practice. If you belong to Christ, God’s Spirit is always present with you. This week, get into the habit of continually turning your thoughts to Christ. Look for what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life and around you. Note the work of the Holy Spirit in your conversations, your tasks, and the world around you.
We all understand how it feels to be alone to one degree or another. Thankfully, for those who follow Christ, we are promised that we are never truly alone. The Holy Spirit’s convicting is just one way that we are reminded of that truth.
