Holy Spirit

What Shapes Us: Holy Spirit

WARM-UP

Who is the most powerful and wise character you have seen in a movie or read about? Share stories that show these things about him or her.

What is something that you cannot live without?

If someone were to be with you at all times, who would you want that person to be? Why?

WORD

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. JOH 14:16-17

The life of a Christian is one that is centered in loving God and people. This could be a daunting task, given our limitations and the different circumstances we face every day. The disciples possibly felt the same way when Jesus told them that he would ascend to heaven. But Jesus promised a Helper. Through the Holy Spirit, we find a great source of comfort and joy that Christianity is not lived by our own ability but with God’s presence and power. Today, we will look at the benefits of the Holy Spirit and how these truths help shape our lives.

1 The Holy Spirit indwells believers.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. JOH 14:16-17

One of the greatest blessings in the life of a Christian is the presence of God. Knowing God and having an intimate relationship with him becomes a reality to us because his very Spirit lives in us. As Christians, we are assured of our salvation because the Holy Spirit seals our salvation and bears witness that we are God’s children. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are united with Jesus. We have access to every spiritual blessing that God has for us in Christ. When we’re anxious or afraid, we can find joy, peace, and comfort in the Holy Spirit in us. How have you experienced this in your life?

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in the high and holy place,

and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly,

and to revive the heart of the contrite.” ISA 57:15

Rashi

“I dwell in the high and holy place,” and thence I am with him who is of a contrite and the lowly spirit, upon whom I lower my presence.

Lowly . . . contrite—Suffering from poverty and illnesses.

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. ACT 9:31

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley

So the church—The whole body of Christian believers.

Had peace—Their bitterest persecutor being converted.

And being built up—In holy, loving faith, continually increasing.

And walking in—That is, speaking and acting only from this principle, the fear of God.

And the comfort of the Holy Spirit—An excellent mixture of inward and outward peace, tempered with filial fear.

2 The Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth to believers.

. . . even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. JOH 14:17

A person can read and understand the contents of the Bible. However, the Bible is not meant to be just a source of information about God. It is a revelation of who he is and what he has done. This cannot be accomplished through human ability, but through the work of the Spirit, who reveals the truth to every believer. We are able to understand who God really is because the Holy Spirit opens our eyes and our minds. When we engage the Bible through reading, hearing, and obeying the word, the Holy Spirit helps us to know and understand God’s truth. What does Joh 14:26 say?

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 have said to you. JOH 14:26

Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke

He will teach you all things—If in the things which I have already spoken to you, there appear to you any obscurity, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Counselor, and Instructer, will take away all your doubts, free you from all embarrassment, and give you a perfect understanding in all things: and this Spirit you will shortly receive.

And bring to your remembrance all—Here Christ promises them that inspiration of the Holy Spirit which enabled them not only to give a true history of his life and death, but also gave them the most perfect recollection of all the words which he had spoken to them, so that they have been able to transmit to posterity the identical words which Jesus uttered in his sermons, and in his different discourses with them, the Jews, and others.

And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. MAR 13:11

10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”

11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke

Who has made man’s mouth? etc.—Cannot he who formed the mouth, the whole organs of speech, and has given the gift of speech also, cannot he give utterance? God can take away those gifts and restore them again. Do not provoke him: he who created the eye, the ear, and the mouth, has also made the blind, the deaf, and the mute.

5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley

Then—The poor Gentiles, who before were blind and deaf, shall now have the eyes and ears of their minds opened to see God’s works, and to hear and receive his word.

6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert . . . ISA 35:5-6

12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” EXO 4:10-12

3 The Holy Spirit empowers believers for life, ministry, and mission.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,

17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. JOH 14:16-17

The Holy Spirit is our Helper, someone who empowers believers to face the ups and downs of life with faith and assurance in God. Knowing God’s Spirit will always be with us, we can boldly live a life that is defined by the gospel and confidently pursue his call to be his hands and feet to the people around us. The Holy Spirit empowers us to share who Jesus is to our friends, families, and to the communities around us. What are the other ways the Holy Spirit helps us in pursuing God’s call for us? (1Co 12:4-11; Gal 5:22-23)

. . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. MAT 28:20

John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

Teaching them to observe all—All ordinances, not only baptism, but the Lord’s supper; all positive institutions, and moral duties; all obligations, both to God and men; all relative duties that respect the world, or one another, those that are without, and those that are within; and these are to be taught them, and therefore to be insisted on in the ministry of the word; and not merely in order that they may know them, and have the theory of them, but that the may put them into practice.

All that I have commanded you—Every thing that Christ has commanded, be it what it will, and nothing else; for Christ’s ministers are not to teach for doctrines the commandments of men; or enjoin that on the churches, which is of their own, or other men’s devising, and was never ordered by Christ.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age—Meaning, not merely to the end of their lives, which would be the end of the world to them; nor to the end of the Jewish world, or state, which was not a great way off, though this is sometimes the sense of this phrase; but to the end of the world to come, the gospel church state, which now took place; or to the end of the present world, the universe: not that the apostles should live to the end of it; but that whereas Christ would have a church and people to the end of the world, and the gospel and the ordinances of it should be administered so long, and there should be gospel ministers till that time; Christ’s sense is, that he would grant his presence to them, his immediate disciples, and to all that should succeed them in future generations, to the end of time: and which is to be understood not of his corporeal presence, which they should not have till then, but of his spiritual presence; and that he would be with them, in a spiritual sense, to assist them in their work, to comfort them under all discouragements, to supply them with his grace, and to protect them from all enemies, and preserve from all evils; which is a great encouragement both to administer the word and ordinances, and attend on them.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

They still bear fruit in old age;

they are ever full of sap and green . . . PSA 92:15

Rashi

Full of sap—They are ever full of sap and green, and then they will declare that the Lord is upright.

23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. GAL 5:22-23

APPLICATION

How does knowing that the Holy Spirit dwells in you affect the way you see yourself and the way you live?

Are there aspects of God or his word that you have a hard time understanding and accepting? As you spend time reading the word and in prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

How can the Holy Spirit help you pursue your calling this season? What are the gifts he has given you and how can you grow in them?

PRAYER

Thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, helping us live a holy life and empowering us to boldly proclaim Christ to the world. Pray for an increasing awareness of his presence in our lives.

Ask God to increase your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, that you would hear his guidance, and for the grace to obey and live according to the Spirit.

Pray for God to reveal to you the spiritual gifts he has blessed you with as you obey his call and mission to preach the gospel to and serve those around you.