The Holy Spirit

God, our Creator, realizes that we all face circumstances which are difficult and at times overwhelming for us. Throughout our lives, challenges will arise that will appear insurmountable. Knowing our weaknesses and limitations, God offers each of us a helper for these kinds of situations. This helper is called the Holy Spirit

Introduction

While in school, have you ever come up against a subject that was difficult for you to understand? Did it seem that matter how hard you studied to understand, it just wouldn't sink in? If you have ever been in such a circumstance, you can appreciate the value of having someone to help you understand.

God, our Creator, realizes that we all face circumstances which are difficult and at times overwhelming for us. Throughout our lives, challenges will arise that will appear insurmountable. Knowing our weaknesses and limitations, God offers each of us a "helper" for these kinds of situations. This "helper" is called the Holy Spirit.

When the term "Holy Spirit" is used, do you understand what is meant? In this issue of Teen Bible Study, we will discuss what the Holy Spirit is and its importance to each of us.

What Is the Holy Spirit?

JOHN 4:24: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

1. What does the word "spirit" tell us?

COMMENT: Spirit describes the very essence of God. Just as God is invisible so is the Holy Spirit. The word "spirit" is translated from the Greek word for wind (pneuma) which conveys to us something we cannot see and, like the wind, is a powerful force.

Pneuma can also be translated as "breath" (Revelation 11:11And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
See All...). As breath is essential to physical life, so is God's Spirit to spiritual life.

REVELATION 15:4: "Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy."

2. What does the word "holy" mean?

3. What is holy besides God? Compare Exodus 15:11Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
See All... and 1 Samuel 2:2There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.
See All....

COMMENT: God is spirit and He alone is holy. The term "Holy Spirit" then is an invisible power like the wind that is holy because it comes from God (John 15:26But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
See All...). "Comforter" is another name for God's Holy Spirit.

PSALM 139:7-8: " Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there."

4. Where do we find God's Spirit?

COMMENT: Through the Holy Spirit, God is everywhere in the universe.

Is the Holy Spirit A Person?

JOHN 17:1: "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You…."

1. To whom did Christ pray?

2. To whom did Christ teach the disciples to pray? Read Matthew 6:6-9 [6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
[7] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
[8] Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
[9] After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

See All....

COMMENT: Jesus never gave any indication that His disciples should pray to the Holy Spirit. However, we are told to ask the Father in Jesus' name (John 15:16Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
See All...; 16:23).

MATTHEW 1:20: "But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.'"

3. How was Jesus conceived in His mother's womb?

4. Does Jesus refer to the Holy Spirit as His father? Consider John 8:19Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
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COMMENT: It was through the Holy Spirit that Christ was conceived in Mary's womb. Yet He does not refer to the Holy Spirit as His Father. Clearly, the Holy Spirit is not a person but the power God the Father uses to accomplish His will.

GALATIANS 1:1: "Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead)…."

5. For whom did Paul serve as an Apostle?

6. As Paul sent greetings to the churches of God did he mention the Holy Spirit? Read the opening verses to Paul's epistles, such as, 1 Corinthians 1:3Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
See All... and Ephesians 1:2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
See All.... Why is there no mention of the Holy Spirit?

COMMENT: Paul offers greetings from God the Father and Jesus Christ to the churches in each of his letters. He never offers greetings from the Holy Spirit. These examples help us to see that the Holy Spirit is not a person.

The Holy Spirit, the Power of God

GENESIS 1:2: "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

1. In what condition do we find the earth in Genesis 1:2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
See All...?

2. What do we find above the waters?

3. What did God accomplish through the Holy Spirit? Read also Jeremiah 32:17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:
See All... and Psalm 104:30Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
See All....

4. How did God use His Spirit of power to bring various creations into existence? Consider Psalm 148:1-5 [1] Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
[2] Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
[3] Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
[4] Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.
[5] Let them praise the name of the LORD: for he commanded, and they were created.

See All... and Psalm 33:6-9 [6] By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
[7] He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
[8] Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
[9] For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

See All..., then answer.

COMMENT: The Bible tells us that God created all things including the earth through the Holy Spirit. The Spirit proceeds from God and fills the entire universe, much like air is present everywhere on earth. God's Spirit is the instrument or means by which God creates.

Does Man Need God's Spirit?

ROMANS 8:7: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

1. We have noted that God is holy, but what is man's nature?

2. What is his heart like? Consider Jeremiah 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
See All... before answering.

3. What does God want man to become? Read Leviticus 11:44-45 [44] For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[45] For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.

See All... and Matthew 5:48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
See All....

4. Can man become holy on his own? How does Paul's experience as recorded in Romans 7:22-24 [22] For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
[23] But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
[24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

See All... reveal the answer?

COMMENT: These verses show us that humans who want to do good face battles between good and evil. It seems that even when we want to do what is right, it proves an impossible task. The Apostle Paul poses the question, "How can I overcome my nature and become holy and pleasing to God?"

5. How does anything become holy? Can even dirt be holy? What does Moses' experience in Exodus 3:4-5 [4] And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
[5] And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

See All... reveal?

COMMENT: The ground on which Moses stood was not holy apart from God. It was God's presence on that ground and His presence alone that can make anything holy.

6. How can a person overcome his nature which is most often at odds with God? What was Paul's answer in Romans 7:25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
See All...?

7. How does Christ help us win in this battle? Read the next verse which is Romans 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
See All....

COMMENT: We are able to overcome our nature by Christ living in us through the Holy Spirit. Clearly, man cannot become holy, as God is holy, without help. It is God in us that make us holy.

Help for Mankind: Power from God

LUKE 24:49: "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

ACTS 1:8: "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…."

1. What promise did God give to His people?

2. What is the source of the power?

ACTS 2:38-39: "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'"

3. How can we receive God's Holy Spirit?

4. Do we earn God's Spirit or is it a gift?

5. Is the Holy Spirit available to you as a young person?

What Are the Benefits of God's Spirit?

2 PETER 1:3-4: "as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

1. How beneficial is the Holy Spirit to those who receive it?

2. Are we God's people without the Holy Spirit dwelling in us? Read Romans 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
See All..., 16-17.

3. Besides power, what does the Holy Spirit impart to Christians? See 2 Timothy 1:7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
See All....

4. How is it possible for Christians to do what God asks them to do? Consider Romans 15:19Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
See All....

5. From where does the ability to understand spiritual things come? Read John 16:12-13 [12] I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

See All... and 1 Corinthians 2:9-14 [9] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
[10] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
[11] For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
[12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
[13] Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
[14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

See All....

6. Where can we find help in our weaknesses? Read Romans 8:26Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
See All....

7. What fruits does God's Spirit produce in our lives? List those found in Galatians 5:22-23 [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
[23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

See All....

Summary

1. How is God omnipresent (everywhere at all times)?

2. What are some things God has done by the power of the Holy Spirit?

3. By what power can we become holy?

4. How does one receive the Holy Spirit?

5. Is the Holy Spirit best described as a person or a force? What evidence can you give for your answer?