The Work of the Holy Spirit

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6. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all involved in the plan of salvation. We will explore the Holy Spirit’s role in our salvation.

1. What is the Work of the Holy Spirit?

 John 16:7-11 The Holy Spirit convicts of sin because of unbelief in Jesus; He points out the sins of the people in order to bring them to the point of seeing themselves as sinners and accept Jesus as their Savior.

He convicts of righteousness because Jesus ascended to heaven and we can no longer see Him.

During His earthly life, Jesus embodied the principles of righteousness; by looking at Him men could see what constituted a righteous life. Now we need the Spirit to convict us about what is a Christ-like life.

He convicts of judgment, telling us about the consequences of our choices. If we refuse to listen to Him convicting us of sin and righteousness, we will be judged just as Satan was judged.

The Spirit’s work does not end when you accept Jesus as your personal Savior. After working from without He starts working from the inside out.

2. When does Aperson Receive the Holy Spirit? What Assurance does the Spirit Give Us?

 Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:14-17 A person receives the Holy Spirit after hearing the gospel and believing. Believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit; at that time, people used to seal an object to signify that it was their property.

Through the seal of the Spirit, God shows us that we are His own.

The Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance. A person pays a down payment as a sign that he is committed to pay the entire sum of money to get that thing. God has poured out His Spirit on believers as a guarantee that He has bought them and will redeem them when Jesus comes back.

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of adoption and He assures us that we are sons and daughters of God, adopted back in His family through Jesus’ sacrifice.

If we are the sons of God, we have the same Father Jesus has; He is our brother (see Hebrews 2:11).

We are joint heirs with Christ: since brothers are entitled to the same inheritance, one day we will receive the same inheritance Jesus received at His resurrection: a glorified body and eternal life. 2 6. The Work of the Holy Spirit – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019

3. What is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Our Conversion?

 John 3:3-8 Jesus referred to the conversion experience as the new birth. When you believe in Jesus you receive Him in the heart and are born again, or born of God (see John 1:12-13). As it is impossible for a person to enter in his mother’s womb and be born again, so our hearts cannot be regenerated without God’s intervention.

Without the new birth, it is impossible to enter into God’s kingdom. We are born with a sinful (or carnal) nature and therefore we need to be born by the Spirit. Spirit and flesh are opposite in nature, awake opposite desires and lead to opposite eternal destinies.

Even if we may not understand the process that generates wind, we can observe its effects. So, the effects the Holy Spirit produces in the life are evident.

4. CONSIDER THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE FLESH AND THE SPIRIT  Galatians 5:16-25 The long list of the works of the flesh is what we naturally produce when not controlled by the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is what He produces when we allow Him to work in us.

When a person is converted, he receives a new nature, the spiritual nature; but God does not remove the carnal nature. The two natures are at war: the Christian life is the good fight of faith.

The nature that is more abundantly fed will be the stronger. The carnal nature is to be crucified, that means to be kept under control by the Holy Spirit.

5. What does It Mean to Walk According to the Spirit?

 Romans 8:1,5-9 If you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are no longer under condemnation and you choose to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. You can choose what to set your mind on: the carnal person sets his mind on carnal things, the spiritual person on spiritual things.

The carnal mind leads to death because it is enmity against God and Jesus cannot save the person who chooses to remain separated from Him.

To be in Christ is to be a new person. Referring to the spiritual nature the Bible talks about a new spirit, heart, mind, creature and man (see Ezekiel 36:26-27, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-24).

Walking according to the Spirit means to examine your life in the light of the Word of God and be willing to give up habits that are contrary to God’s will. The Holy Spirit gives new desires, tastes, inclinations, purposes and habits, all in harmony with God’s will. 6. The Work of the Holy Spirit – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 3 Jesus wants to do more than just deliver from the condemnation sin brings: He wants to deliver you from the power that sin exerted in your life, that you may love the things that He loves and hate sin as He hates it.

6. What Characteristic Has the New Man?

 Colossians 3:5-10 The new man is created by God and transformed according to His image. As a parent teaches his child to follow his example, so our Heavenly Father wants to teach us to become like Him.

Satan had rebelled and spread lies about God’s character. God created man in his image and He wanted the universe to look to Adam, Eve and their offspring and see His loving character reproduced in them. Satan spoiled God’s plan and marred His image in us. Through the plan of salvation God aims to restore His image in us that we may reflect His character.

7. HOW CAN YOU BE TRANSFORMED INTO JESUS ’ IMAGE?

 2 Corinthians 3:18 You are transformed into the image of what your mind beholds. It is a general principle whether for good or for bad. Therefore, by beholding in the Bible Jesus’ glory, i.e. His character, we are transformed into His image, “from glory to glory”, that means through a process.

The Holy Spirit brings about this transformation through the Word of God. As a newborn needs milk and then food to grow into a mature man, so a new convert needs the Word of God to grow and become spiritually mature, a Christ-like person (see 1 Peter 2:2-3 and Ephesians 4:13).

8. HOW CAN YOU REPRODUCE JESUS ’ CHARACTER?

 John 15:4-8 As the branch is completely dependent on the vine to bear fruit, so you are dependent on Christ to live the Christian life. You can’t imitate Christ’s life but you can let Him abide in you and reproduce His own life through you (see Galatians 2:20). Christ abides in the heart by faith: faith in His willingness and power to abide in you and transform you (see Ephesians 3:16-17).

Abiding in Christ means that your mind is focused on His Word and reaches out to Him in prayer to draw strength. Receiving Christ’s robe of righteousness means more than just being forgiven: with it you receive His strength to overcome temptation as He overcame.

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