Who is Inside?
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, of the three aspects of the Godhead, The Spirit is probably the least understood – even within many Pentecostal Churches. The Spirit is involved in the in the conversion of a person and their birth into the family of God. The work of the Spirit is also vital in our ongoing growth and development as Christians. We need to be more aware of His work in our lives. We also need to develop a deeper relationship with Him so that we can fully experience power, hope and joy.
Faith Service Worship Vision There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds. These sessions are not about opinion, they are about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others.
Who you believe: Session 6
Ashingdon Elim Bible Study 23 February 2010
Our view of the Holy Spirit may be coloured by our use of the term spirit in casual conversation, for example, “A spirit of expectation swept the crowd as it awaited the arrival of a celebrity” or “the spirit of the times.” We will start with the most important thing to grasp about the Holy Spirit – He is as much of a person as God the Father or God the Son. He is not an impersonal “it”, nor an influence, phantom or apparition. Why is it important that we understand that the Holy Spirit is a person not an it? Some of the biblical metaphors used to describe the spirit are often misinterpreted as describing an impersonal being. Both the Hebrew ruach ( ַחּורrûaħ) and Greek Pneuma (πνεῦμα) are words which are translated as “spirit” mean “breath” or “wind” or “spirit” in the sense of the vitality of living creatures (Genesis 6:17). The context of some passages has led translators to use the phrase “the Spirit Himself ” (Romans 8:16,26). Jesus himself never referred to the Holy Spirit as “it”: “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” John 14:15-17. Misunderstanding may also arise from the fact that the work of the Holy Spirit is not as visible as that of the Father and the Son. When Jesus spoke about the gift of the Spirit He said: “He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come” John 16:13 Can you think of any symbols used in the Bible to describe the Holy Spirit? God is present everywhere in our world through the work of the Holy Spirit. The symbols used in the Bible to describe the influence of the Spirit include oil, fire and water – while these are impersonal the Bible also refers to the Father and the Son in figurative ways – as light, bread of life, living water etc.
Personality = Mind, feelings & will Why is it significant that the Holy Spirit has a personality? The personality of the Holy Spirit is an important term. God was not made in the image of man, man was made in the image of God. The word personality is a descriptive term for the nature of God and the Spirit. The Holy Spirit has a mind, feelings and a will. The Spirit can think, has emotions and the ability to act. 1