Q. What do you think of when you hear the words, “Holy Spirit”?
Many people think of the Holy Spirit as a “what,” but in reality, the Holy Spirit is a “who”! The Holy Spirit is a real person. When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, the Holy Spirit entered your life and He is enabling you to do God’s work! Without the Holy Spirit, living for Christ is impossible. With Him, you can do anything and everything!
The Bible teaches that God is actually “three-in-one”—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father created and sustains the world. Jesus, God the Son, came to earth in bodily form and saved all of humankind from their sin. And God the Holy Spirit actually lives in each believer helping them to accomplish all that God the Father has for them to do!
Jesus said: “I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:16-17).
Q. What truth do you think God might be currently trying to speak into your life through the work of the Holy Spirit?
At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus was giving His disciples final instructions before He went back to his Father. The disciples were all totally ready to follow Jesus after His resurrection … and ready to give up everything to follow Him.
But Jesus knew they were not ready. Even after three years of Jesus training them, the disciples still didn’t have the necessary strength to live the life Jesus had called them to live. He knew they would fail miserably if they tried to live for Him in their own strength! Jesus knew they needed His power. He told them:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” —Acts 1:8.
Jesus told his disciples to wait for the “promise” He would send them from his Father. In Luke 24:49, He said, “And look I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
The Holy Spirit is called many things in the Bible, but his main role in your life is to be your “Encourager” and “Comforter” as you embark on your new journey with Christ.
Q. What in your life are you currently trying to accomplish for God?
Q. How might allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you make a difference?
When you invited Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit actually entered your life—and He will be with you forever. Imagine that—the Spirit living inside you!
You will never be alone! Ephesians 3:16–17 tells us, “I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he will grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, that Christ will dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love. ”
The Holy Spirit is invisible, but He is a real person. In John 14:16–17, Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept because it does not see him or know him. But you know him because he resides with you and will be in you.”
In My Heart, Christ’s Home, Robert Munger wrote about having Christ control each “room” of a person’s life. Envisioning what it would be like to have Jesus come to the home of our hearts, Munger goes from room to room considering what Christ desires for us. In the living room, we prepare to meet Christ daily. In the dining room, we examine what appetites should and should not control us. Mungar even helps us explore the closets in our lives that Christ can help us cleanout. Think about what it would mean to give Christ control over all of your life! As your invited guest and Lord, Jesus desires to “settle down” in each “room” of your “house.” Christ lives in you through the person of the Holy Spirit and He will take each area of your life which you commit to Him and help you to live for God.
Q. As you consider this concept of your life being like a home, which room comes first to your mind as needing to be under the Holy Spirit’s control?
Read the following verses to learn more about the Holy Spirit:
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.” —1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Q. What does 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 teach you?
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” —Acts 1:8
Q. What does Acts 1:8 teach you?
“But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” —Galatians 5:16
Q. What does Galatians 5:16 teach you?
The Holy Spirit is the one who directs and controls us. Each one of us is like a basketball player who voluntarily puts himself under the control of his coach. The basketball player listens to the coach so he can perform to the best of his ability. The player is not a robot, but he freely chooses to let his coach direct him because he wants to play well.
Application
Q. In what ways is having the Holy Spirit working in your life making a difference?
Q. What can you do to allow the Holy Spirit to have more control over your life?
Additional Study
Read the booklet, My Heart, Christ’s Home by Robert B. Munger. You can access this publication at http://navigatorsdetroit.com/MHCH.pdf.
God’s plan for you is to mold you into the image of Christ. This life-long process is the work of the Holy Spirit … as you allow Him to control your life. The Holy Spirit will gradually conform us into the image of Christ as we submit ourselves to Him. Second Corinthians 3:18 encourages us with these words, “And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
Related Lessons from Series Two: Empowered by Christ
Living “by the Spirit”
When you sincerely ask Jesus to come into your life, the Holy Spirit makes a home in your heart. The moment you surrender your life to Jesus, the Spirit comes in … even if you don’t feel anything. He is there, waiting for you to yield to His power. It is through the Holy Spirit that we receive the ability and power to live the way God wants us to.
Spirit-Controlled vs. Self-Controlled
The Bible describes two types of Christians—those who are Spirit-controlled and those who are self-controlled. Being Spirit-controlled requires allowing the Holy Spirit to control your life. It is a decision, a free choice for you to make. It is done by simply putting your life into the hands of a trustworthy God. Just as you came to Christ by faith for the forgiveness of your sins, you must by faith ask the Holy Spirit to control your life.
Spiritual Breathing
One of the ways you can experience God’s transformation is through a spiritual discipline called “Spiritual Breathing.” In “Spiritual Breathing”, you “exhale”—by confession—sin, and “inhale” —by faith—the Holy Spirit’s control.
The Holy Spirit’s Power to Resist Temptation
It is only through the Holy Spirit’s power that we can resist temptation and live victorious for Christ! Trust God …temptation is normal! Trust God … the Holy Spirit will give you the ability to withstand temptation! Trust God … He will give you a “way out”!
The Holy Spirit’s Power to Overcome Evil
God has given us a way to not only resist temptation but to also overcome evil! Ephesians 6 reveals that we have spiritual weaponry for fighting our spiritual battles! We need to be prepared! Faith, salvation, truth, the Spirit … we seldom think of these as protection—but that is exactly what they are! Make sure you are wearing all the protection God gives for spiritual safety!