The day you received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, the Holy Spirit of God took up permanent residence inside your body. This third person of the Trinity is perhaps the most misunderstood and ignored part of a Christian’s relationship with God.
The purpose of this lesson is to give you a basic understanding of what the Holy Spirit of God does in your life.
I. The Holy Spirit has a specific residence.
A. The Holy Spirit of God dwells inside your body if you are saved. He came in at the moment of salvation and took up permanent residence.
B. God gave His Spirit to dwell in you. John 14:16-17; Galatians 4:6
C. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:22
II. The Holy Spirit has specific functions.
A. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin. John 16:8-9
1. He convicts the lost of sin to bring them to salvation.
2. He convicts the saved of sin to keep them clean and show them how to live for Jesus Christ.
B. The Holy Spirit creates and regenerates the new believer.
1. The Holy Spirit is active in creation. Revelation 4:11; Job 33:4
2. You became a new creature when you were born again by the Holy Spirit. John 3:3-8
C. The Holy Spirit is the seal of your salvation. Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30
D. The Holy Spirit bears witness to you of your salvation. 1 John 4:13; Romans 8:16
E. The Holy Spirit teaches you the Bible. John 14:26, 16:13-15; I Corinthians 2:9-10
F. The Holy Spirit intercedes in prayer for you. Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 2:18
G. The Holy Spirit comforts you in time of need. John 14:15-18; II Corinthians 1:3-4;
II Timothy 1:7
H. The Holy Spirit empowers you to serve God. Zechariah 4:6; Ephesians 3:16;
II Corinthians 4:7
I. The Holy Spirit gives discernment in decision-making. I Corinthians 2:11-16
III. The Holy Spirit produces specific results.
A. The Holy Spirit of God produces a set of character qualities as you give your life to Him and walk in His power. This set of character qualities is called the fruit (singular) of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. It is singular because ALL of these qualities are produced at the same time by a close relationship with the Holy Spirit.
B. The fruit of the Spirit consists of nine qualities that can be broken down into three categories:
1. INWARD (witness to self)
a. Love
b. Joy
c. Peace
2. OUTWARD (witness to others)
a. Longsuffering
b. Gentleness
c. Goodness
3. UPWARD (witness to God)
a. Faith
b. Meekness
c. Temperance
C. What is “being filled with the Spirit” and how can I accomplish this?
1. Allow God to control your life. The filling of the Holy Spirit is NOT you getting more of the Holy Spirit. You received all of Him at the time of salvation. It is the Holy Spirit getting more of you. Romans 14:7-9
2. Saturate your mind with the Word of God. The result of this will be a joyous heart attitude toward God. (Colossians 3:16) Therefore, a person who saturates his mind with the Word of God will be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)
3. BE PATIENT AND CONSISTENT! Being controlled by the Holy Spirit does not happen overnight. It is a life-long process of spiritual growth through obedience to God’s Word. Galatians 5:16-18, 25; Romans 8:1; John 8:29
a. How do I understand the difference between conviction and guilt?
b. “Conviction” is God pointing out that something is wrong so you can make it right. Isaiah 1:18
c. “Guilty” feelings” are caused by the devil accusing you of being unworthy. If you believe the devil rather than God, your walk with God will be hindered. Revelations 12:10
