THE HOLY SPIRIT
This nine-part series was originally developed for a class environment, and later adapted for use in a prison ministry conducted via correspondence. Because of that background, questions were developed for each lesson for participants to use in a setting conducive to discussion, or as handouts for private use if the lessons are presented as sermons. At the beginning of each part of the series, I will include the outline of the series.
OUTLINE OF THIS SERIES OF STUDIES
Part 1
Introduction, Holy Spirit as deity
Names of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
Part 2
Holy Spirit in the NT (apostles to receive power)
Gabriel’s message to Mary
Foreseen by NT characters—Jesus, John
What we learn from Jesus in John 14,16
The coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost
Baptism in, or by, the Holy Spirit
Baptism of believers
Part 3
If I do not go away the Holy Spirit will not come
Men received and were dependent on the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Guarantee
Grieving the Holy Spirit
The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Being Filled With the Spirit
Part 4
The Holy Spirit in the Functioning of the church (first installment)
(1 Cor 12; Rom 12; Eph 4)
Gifts of the Spirit
The Head
Grace as Gifts (did not delve into each of the gifts, or special aptitudes, given by the Holy Spirit)
Functions “God Has Appointed”
Tongues/prophesying
Part 5
The empowering gifts of the Holy Spirit
Bestowing honor upon less “presentable” members
Order of functions (First apostles, second prophets, third teachers) Teachers discussed in Part 6
Part 6
Teachers
First apostles, second prophets, third teachers.
Part 7
Ministries of the Holy Spirit
Are the Bible and the Holy Spirit the same?
Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Part 8
Fruit of the Spirit
The Spirit vs the Flesh
Attributes of the Holy Spirit
Part 9
Acting in opposition to the Holy Spirit
• Lying to the Holy Spirit
• Resisting the Holy Spirit
• Quenching the Holy Spirit
• Grieving the Holy Spirit
• Defiling the Temple of the Holy Spirit
• Insulting the Spirit of Grace (doing despite)
Intercessor (though mentioned previously)
How Can I Know if I Have the Holy Spirit?
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THE HOLY SPIRIT
Part 2
The Holy Spirit in the New Testament
The existence of the Holy Spirit was known to some characters in the Old Testament, such as David (Psalm 51:11) and Isaiah (Isaiah 63:10-11), and others.
Although the Holy Spirit was active and powerful in the Old Testament, his work is much more fully and plainly described in the New Testament.
Power
The angel Gabriel, speaking to the maiden Mary in her town of Nazareth, told her that she would bear a son, and “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High...” Mary asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:26-35) It is evident from the angel’s words to Mary that the Holy Spirit is a being who has great power.
That power of the Holy Spirit is also seen in Jesus’ words to his disciples right before he ascended to heaven, “...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."
Foreseen by Other New Testament Characters
It wasn’t only the Old Testament prophets who foretold the coming of the Holy Spirit. The first harbinger of the gospel age, John the Baptist, who was preaching and baptizing in the wilderness of Judea, told the crowds of people who came to hear him,
As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Mat 3:11).
Jesus himself spoke to his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit. On the last evening Jesus spent with his disciples, after he served them the last supper and Judas Iscariot had departed, Jesus spoke at length with them, and made it even clearer than ever before that he was going away, and the Holy Spirit would come.
Then he said,
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, that he may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him or know him, but you know him because he abides with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17).
A short time later, Jesus said,
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you (John 14:26).
Still later in the same conversation, he said,
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).
Finally, Jesus told his disciples,
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own initiative, but whatever he hears, he will speak; and he will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take of mine and will disclose it to you. "All things that the Father has are mine; therefore I said that he takes of mine and will disclose it to you (John 16:13-15).
What do we learn from these words of Jesus to his disciples?
• The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father, at Jesus’ request (v 16).
• He would abide with them and in them (v 17).
• He would teach them “all things,” even enabling them to remember all that Jesus said (v 26).
• If Jesus did not go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) would not come (16:7).
• He would guide the disciples into “all truth” (16:13).
• In so doing, the Helper would not speak his own words, but what he hears (16:13).
• What the Helper spoke, he will “take of Jesus.’” (16:15).
Therefore, Jesus showed his disciples that the Holy Spirit would always be with them, and live in them, and be the revealer, or the Spirit, of all truth.
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
Gathering his disciples together for the last time before ascending to heaven, Jesus told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit’s coming.
Gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," he said, "you heard of from he; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Act 1:4-5)
It was only about a week afterward, on the day of Pentecost, that the Holy Spirit came with the sound of a mighty wind and sat upon each of the disciples in the appearance of tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4). The disciples, now empowered by the Holy Spirit, did an amazing thing. They spoke in languages they had not learned! People from at least a dozen regions understood what they were saying in their own native tongues (Acts 2:9-11). Clearly this was the work of the Holy Spirit, exercising the extraordinary power Jesus had spoken of.
Peter quickly explained (Acts 2:14-21) to the crowd that had gathered that these were not inebriated men speaking (which would not have enabled them to speak in unlearned languages), but was in fact the “pouring out of the Spirit” that Joel the prophet had foretold hundreds of years earlier:
It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29)
We know from Peter’s words to the crowd in Jerusalem that Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled on the Pentecost following the ascension of Jesus (Acts 2:1-21). What occurred had been referred to at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as “baptism” with the Holy Spirit, and fire (Matthew 3:11) by John the Baptist. It happened exactly in the way John said, in fulfillment of earlier prophecies and all that Jesus had told the disciples in his final talk and prayer with them on the final evening, before being arrested (John 13-17).
Baptism in, or by, the Holy Spirit
There are two instances in the Bible of Holy Spirit baptism—first, as just described, for the Jews on the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2. Once the Holy Spirit fell upon those assembled, Peter started preaching in verse 14. The arrival of the Holy Spirit came before anybody started preaching.
It was Peter who first declared the gospel, and what they should all do having realized that they had put to death the very Son of God, the Messiah. There were Jews present from “every nation under heaven” (verse 5). All Jews knew that the Messiah was coming someday, but had very different ideas about what to expect, some of them having motives that conflicted with the existence of any Messiah who might threaten their power. But Peter’s words persuaded 3,000 (verse 41) that Jesus, who they had crucified less than two months ago, was indeed that Messiah! They repented and were baptized, as Peter told them (verse 38). But it was not the individual choices of the new believers to be baptized in obedience to Peter’s instruction that was the awaited “baptism of the Holy Spirit,” but his appearance before Peter began to speak. That was not a water baptism, but an immersion, or “clothing” with power, as Jesus had told them to expect in Luke 24:49:
And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
That power was demonstrated first in the apostles by the Spirit’s empowering them to speak and be understood in the languages of many regions present in Jerusalem at the time, and in to enunciate the first declaration of the gospel to the Jews—that gospel that Paul later wrote was the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16).
There was a second baptism of the Holy Spirit. The first baptism ushered Jews into the church that Jesus had told the disciples he would build when they were at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:18). It was the mob of Jews who had been responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, and although others were present at the time (verses 9-11), it was to the Jews—the house of Israel--that Peter spoke, saying,
Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified."
The prophet Joel foresaw the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on “all mankind,” not just on the literal descendants of Abraham (Joel 2:28-29). The gospel was yet to be declared to gentiles.
Peter was also chosen to bring the gospel to the gentiles with the conversion of Cornelius. The Holy Spirit fell on those present exactly the same way it did with the Jews on the day of Pentecost, (Acts 10). Having heard the same gospel Peter had earlier spoken the Jews on the day of Pentecost, those of Cornelieus’ household spoke in tongues, just as the disciples had done then. The Jews who were present with Peter recognized that the Holy Spirit had been “poured out,” on these gentiles, further fulfilling Joel’s prophecy.
Act 10:45 All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
After this event, as recorded in Acts 11, Peter was telling about the event to his brethren. In Acts 11:15, we see Peter saying, "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning."
The baptism of the Holy Spirit only happened on these two occasions. It was something no man had any control over. In both instances it was completely unexpected. In both instances it was the first thing to happen in the chain of events leading to the conversion of both--first Jews and then Gentiles all over the world.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not something we can administer today. The gospel has been preached and the way of salvation offered to Jews and gentiles alike, all in God’s time.
Ephesians 4:5 teaches us that there is only one baptism. We know from Matthew 3:11 that Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit, and later on in Matthew 28:19 we are commanded by Jesus to teach and baptize all people on earth. Jesus baptized with the Holy Spirit, (Luke 3:16), so that leaves only one baptism. The "one baptism" of scripture must therefore be the water baptism Jesus commanded his apostles in Matthew 28:19 to administer. Peter teaches us in Acts 2:38 that it is for the remission of sin and later in 1 Peter 3:21 he teaches us that it "does also now save us." Baptism in water is the only one we can obey today.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Part 2 Questions
Questions:
1. Speaking to his disciples for the last time, what all did Jesus say the Holy Spirit would do?
2. What indications do we have of the Holy Spirit’s power?
3. What was the first thing at the coming of the Holy Spirit that showed this was no ordinary event?
4. What similarities did the happenings at the conversion of Cornelius, have to the day of Pentecost?
5. Jesus said the disciples would be his witnesses where?
Answer True or False by circling T or F:
1. T F The angel who spoke to Mary, the mother of Jesus, spoke about the Holy Spirit.
2. T F If Jesus did not go away, the Holy Spirit would not come.
3. T F The baptism of the Holy Spirit is done in water.
4. T F The apostles displayed the Holy Spirit’s power in spite of being intoxicated.
5. T F In all, there are four occasions of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Discussion:
1. Can anyone today be baptized with the Holy Spirit? Why, or why not?
2. Do we have any way of knowing why the gentiles were brought into the church later than Jews? ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬(Stretch your mind question! Not covered in lesson)
3. Did the Holy Spirit operate differently in the New Testament than he had done in the old?
(Another stretch question!)
