Study Guide
Holy Spirit The
STUDY #1|INTRODUCING HIM
Taught by Martyn Lloyd
Bible Class is the teaching ministry of Salisbury Christian Church 56 Henson Rd Salisbury QLD 4107 AUSTRALIA contact@salisburychristianchurch.com.au www.bibleclass.com.au Page 1
Introducing the Holy Spirit His Personality 1. Holiness • The Holy Spirit is so named because He communicates the Holiness of God. • Wherever God is, Holiness is the supreme characteristic of His person (eg Isaiah 6:1-7). 2. Humility • The Holy Spirit's greatest works are done in secret insofar as they are hidden from human witnesses, for example: >> The Creation of the World >> The Incarnation of Christ >> The Resurrection of Christ >> The Regeneration of Sinners • When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit does a work which yields external, visible results over time, but even this work is one of humility because the Spirit is conforming that person to Christ. >> "He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you." (John 16:14).
Features of His work 1. The Power of God • The Holy Spirit is the agent by which the work of God is given mighty power. 2. The Character of God • Where the Holy Spirit infuses the power of God, the character of God radiates out of the object of that power. 3. The Fullness of God • Points (1) and (2) can be summarised by saying that the Holy Spirit fills with the fullness of God. 4. Fellowship with God • The Holy Spirit is also the key architect in the establishment of those means by which God and mankind may enjoy communion and fellowship together. • The Creation as a grand environment in which God and mankind could be together. • The tabernacle as a facility through which God would dwell with His people in a fuller way. • The New Jerusalem, where full realisation of communion and fellowship will be known. • The Christian whose body is the temple of the Holy Spirit facilitating a walk of fellowship between them and God which was never in existence before. (Scriptures referenced in audio)
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Examples of His work 1. Creation • The Holy Spirit empowers and catlyses the word of God in creation.
>> "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘let there be light’ and there was light." (Genesis 1:1-3)
• The Holy Spirit causes God’s character to shine forth from the creation.
>> "For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made." (Romans 1:20) >> "The heavens declare the glory of God." (Psalm 19:1)
• The fullness of God is thus brought to an empty, formless mass. 2. Giving Life • The Holy Spirit imparts the power of life itself, into the otherwise dead bodies of Adam and Jesus.
>> "Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature." (Genesis 2:7) >> "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit." (1 Peter 3:18)
• The Holy Spirit causes God’s character to shine forth from those bodies as Adam becomes God’s image bearer and Christ receives a glorified body, also after the image of God. >> "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." (Genesis 1:27) >> "...we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body..." (Philippians 3:20-21)
• The fullness of God in life itself is thus brought to otherwise dead things. 3. Regeneration • God acts on an individual in the power of the Holy Spirit, to quicken them from spiritual death.
>> "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins... But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1, 4)
• The Holy Spirit causes God’s character to shine forth from that individual as an initial act of regeneration gives way to sanctification and fruit-bearing. >> The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
• The fullness of God (in Christ) is thus brought to an otherwise spiritually dead person. >> "For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." (John 1:16)
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The Holy Spirit in the Redemption of the Individual 1. The Beauty of Being Blessed by God • When God saves an individual, it is His intention to make them fully, finally blessed.
>> "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:1-10)
• The blessings of the Beatitudes have both a present and an ultimate, final fulfillment. • The truly blessed is the one whom God has brought/is bringing to the final state of blessedness, described by the package of descriptive terms in the second part of each Beatitude statement. 2. Seeing the Face of God • The sublime and final fulfilment of God’s intention to make us blessed is realised when we see God. To be able to see God is to be purified from all sin and raised to final glory. >> "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8) >> "Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure." (1 John 3:2-3)
3. Revealing the Face of God • The work of the Holy Spirit is to change us by one degree of glory at a time, in a pattern of purification which springs from the hope we have in seeing God and being finally blessed and glorified. • The Holy Spirit’s sanctification of us will ultimately see us before God, "as He is... as He is pure." Our lives here on earth reflect progress toward that hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit. >> "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:17)
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The Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ • The Lord and the Spirit are not made the same in 2 Corinthians 3:17, but rather they are brought together to draw out an important point: that the Lord Jesus is the example of this in human flesh and His example was forged by the work of the Holy Spirit upon Him. 1. His Companion >> "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (Luke 4:18-19)
2. Sent to be our Companion >> "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,to be with you forever, 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." (John 14:15-16) >> "I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." (John 16:7)
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