This week's Bible Study - July 19, 2009
Living in the Spirit
 Quote of the Week:
Sometime back the Associated Press carried this dispatch: "Glasgow, Ky.--Leslie Puckett, after struggling to start his car, lifted the hood and discovered that someone had stolen the motor."
-- Associated Press.
In the past two lessons, we've looked briefly at the first two parts of the Trinity - the Father and the Son. This lesson will take a brief look at the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, for many believers, seems to be an afterthought. When I was growing up, I also heard the Holy Spirit referred to as the Holy Ghost. Apparently, that was more common prior to the 20th century. As a child, I was probably more acquainted with Casper the Friendly Ghost, so I remember thinking of the Holy Ghost in much the same way, which is very far from truth.
The Holy Spirit is perhaps the most misunderstood person of the Trinity, yet he is the one that is most closely associated to us, as believers. There are roles that he performs in our lives that we seem to take for granted. It is helpful to understand some of the roles, so that we can know how much God has provided for us. We tend to take more of life on our own, without realizing that God has given us tremendous resources. This lesson should help us all think of some of the roles of the Holy Spirit. It is by no means exhaustive, but it will probably help you become more cognizant of when the Holy Spirit is active in your life.
Most of us know Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth". I've heard some sports enthusiasts say that this is the first mention of baseball in the Bible - In the big inning. We know of God's role in creation and in the last lesson regarding Christ, we saw that all things were made by him and through him. Here we learn that the Holy Spirit was present even at the start of creation.
As you read through Scripture, and further in this lesson, you will see that Jesus spoke a lot of the role of the Holy Spirit. However, this passage indicates that God's purpose from the beginning included the role of the Spirit. With the Spirit, there is power. There are a few times in the Old Testament where the Spirit of God came upon a person to enable them to accomplish some great feat. And, then, the Spirit would leave that person. The Spirit was present at Creation and has been at work as God had intended in the lives of his people.
We all know what thirst means. Surely, we have all been thirsty at some point. You may not have been in a desert or some other place where water was not available for days, but we all appreciate a drink of water on a hot day, and we all need water for our bodies to function. So, as Jesus speaks, we know of the need of water in our lives.
Jesus spoke of a spiritual thirst, which is similar to physical thirst. As stated, our bodies need water and our bodies actually are largely made up on water. Jesus said that whoever believes in him, according to Scripture, would have streams of living water flow from within. As opposed to physical thirst, where we need to find water to drink, Jesus spoke of spiritual thirst that can be quenched within, by the presence of the Spirit, as streams of living water.
At the time of Jesus, he spoke of the spirit that was to come upon believers (later). As Jesus walked and talked with the people, the spirit was evident in him, but it was not something that was personally evident to any of the believers. That was only after the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ. Then, the Holy Spirit came upon the believers.
How many times have you really felt God leading you to talk to another person? They may be going through a problem or dealing with some issue with which you have experience. Do we see situations come up that we are similar to what we have experienced and are we looking for opportunities to help? Or, are we shying away, because we don't want to drag up the past? On our own, we shy away, but the Holy Spirit encourages us to use our experiences to help others.
Or, perhaps you may feel that God is urging you to share your faith. I know this has happened to me on numerous occasions and I have often shied away because I didn't know exactly what to say. Many people stay quiet because they don't know what to say to others or they feel that they would offend others.
In this passage, Peter and John had been preaching the gospel to many people and thousands of people were responding. The temple guard arrested Peter and John and then put them in jail, for they had been declaring the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When Peter appeared before the high priest; Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit gave a brilliant synopsis of the gospel, and how God had been at work through them. The high priests and others observed the confidence of Peter and John and knew that they were mere uneducated and untrained men. They recognized that they had been with Jesus, so they had nothing to reply. They let them go, but threatened them if they continued to speak as they had. Peter and John said that they could not quit speaking what they had seen and heard.
Peter and John went back to the believers, and related the story. In this passage, they prayed that God would consider the threats, yet enable them to speak with great boldness. (Would you be praying for boldness or would you ask God to keep you from getting arrested again?) They asked God to stretch out his hand and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Jesus. After they had prayed, the meeting place was shaken, and all the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
We may not be able to relate to the miraculous healings, or having to speak before a large authoritative body, but we all come across times where it is difficult for us to say what we know needs to be said. When we are doing God's will, the Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak and will empower us to say the right things. There are times in my life when I tried to do it on my own, and I failed miserably. There have been others times in my life when I trusted the Holy Spirit to speak through me, and He was able to do some miraculous things. You will have confidence beyond what you can imagine.
Another thing that the Holy Spirit will do in your life is to bring conviction. Every person has some level of conscience, as to right and wrong. They may differ in their thoughts regarding what is right and wrong. However, in the life of a believer, there is the added input from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not intended to be a watchdog that is watching every movement you make, but you will find the pull of the Holy Spirit when you are doing things that you know you shouldn't.
In Acts 5, there is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. They were a couple that was involved with a group of believers that was said to be of one heart and soul. All things were considered common property, so that when needs existed, everyone pitched in. As needs came up, people would sell some of their possessions and the proceeds would be distributed to those in need.
Ananias and Sapphira had some property of their own. They sold it, and kept back a portion of their profit for themselves. They laid the other part at the feet of the apostles to be used to help meet needs. In one sense, there seems to be very little that they did wrong. They were trying to help, but the intention that they had was to make others think that they were 'fully' in, while keeping some back for themselves. As far as they knew, nobody else knew. In verse 8, Sapphira had told them that the money that they gave was what they sold it for (which was certainly a lie).
Peter confronted them. He asked how Satan had filled their hearts to the point of lying to the Holy Spirit and keeping some of their money for themselves. In selling the land, but keeping some of the money (but having others assume they gave it all), they had not lied to men, but God. Both Ananias and Sapphira ended up dying when they were found out.
We probably all can relate to Ananias and Sapphira - at least the holding back part. Most of us have tired to make people think we are someone that we are not. We may try and give of what we have so that we would be noticed, but only give a very little. We may think that we are fooling other people, but in essence, we are lying to the Holy Spirit. I believe that the discrepancy that Ananias and Sapphira had between what they sold their land and what they gave to the church weighed heavily on their mind. I believe the Holy Spirit was working, but they chose their own way and received their own fate.
Can you imagine if we had the same fate when we did similar? Probably we have not sold property and made others think we were giving it all, but holding back. But, we all probably have done similar things, in lying to ourselves and others (even if they didn't know it) - and feeling miserable. The Holy Spirit will convict you when you are in the wrong. He goes where you go, and he knows what is going on. You can't leave him behind.
In this passage, we read about the different spiritual gifts that believers have. This is beyond just our normal talents and things that we like to do or are good at. These are gifts that God has given us to be who he has called us to be. These gifts are different from person to person. It isn't that each of us has one spiritual gift, but we may be more pronounced in one over another. There are at least 21 gifts mentioned in the New Testament and they fall in three basic categories - Ministry (Office - apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher), Motivational (Practical - service, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, helps, administration) and Charismatic (Spiritual - wisdom, knowledge, discernment, prophecy, tongues, interpretation, faith, healing and miracles). You can find these in Ephesians 4:11, Romans 12:3-7 and 1 Corinthians 12:1-12 and 28.
These gifts are empowered by the same Spirit from person to person. As such, when these gifts are used, they are for the same purpose and they build upon one another. When you have a gift in any of these areas (and potentially several gifts), there is the same God working in all of us. This would imply that we not value our gifts above others, or use our gifts for personal gain. They all are used to work together towards a common purpose. And it is the common Holy Spirit that is present in each of our lives, as believers, that helps to achieve that purpose.
Closing
In conclusion, we see that the Holy Spirit has always been part of God's plan to enable believers. The Spirit was present at creation, and is cognizant of the things of God. The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus Christ to be a comfort and guide to the disciples, once he went away. The Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to stand up to the authorities and speak the gospel clearly. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. We may be able to fool others, but we always have the presence of the Holy Spirit, moving in our lives. And, the Holy Spirit is responsible for the spiritual gifts that we have all been given.
You can read through this and agree that is what the Bible says and you see how the Holy Spirit worked in the midst of those people. But, as a believer, are you cognizant of the role of the Holy Spirit in your life? There is no greater gift that God has given to mankind that the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in your life to certify and assure your eternal state as a child of God. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of truth. When you read the Bible, it is the presence of the Spirit that enables you to understand and interpret God's Word. The Holy Spirit will make your pathway clear; without the Holy Spirit's leading, we are surely to fall into error.
If you live your life, believing in Jesus, but denying the role of the Holy Spirit, you will always question your faith and you will most likely fall away from belief. These functions that the Holy Spirit does - you cannot do on your own. Thank God for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit and His work in your life.
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