THE HOLY SPIRIT GAVE US A SPIRITUAL BIRTH
John 3:3-6 (Tap to Expand)
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]” 4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit.
Birth from above.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (Tap to Expand)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
New creation
THE HOLY SPIRIT, JESUS, AND THE FATHER
When the disciples begin to understand that Jesus will no longer be with them, they are scared…
John 14:15-21 (Tap to Expand)
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
- Jesus describes the work of the HS…to live with us and
- We see the relationship between Father, Son, and Spirit
- We see our own connection to God through obedience
- The Holy Spirit is defined by Jesus to be our counselor
John 14:25-26 (Tap to Expand)
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit continues to teach us and remind us
THE HOLY SPIRIT’S POWER OVER SIN
When we became disciples, we witnessed the power of God enable us to overcome our sinful nature through faith, repentance, and our new birth. We were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 3:3 (Tap to Expand)
3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?[a]
We cannot live a powerful Christian life without the Spirit
Galatians 4:6-7 (Tap to Expand)
6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,[a] Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Because of our adoption as God’s sons, we were given the HS
Galatians 5:13-25 (Tap to Expand)
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[c] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
- Our sinful nature is in conflict with the Holy Spirit
- Only one can reign in our life at any given time
- We choose which one we obey and it kills the other
Romans 8:5-8 (Tap to Expand)
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
- What are you consumed with?
- Life & peace come from being consumed with the Spirit’s desires
Romans 8:26-27 (Tap to Expand)
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
- The Spirit even fills in the gaps when we are weak!
THE HOLY SPIRIT CLEANSING WORK
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (Tap to Expand)
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits[a] to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
- A very powerful connection between God’s will, the Spirit cleansing work, and our faith that bring about salvation. We believe and act, the Spirit continues to cleanse and mature, all according to God’s choice!.
Titus 3:4-7 (Tap to Expand)
4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
Again, we see God’s kindness and mercy connecting with the cleansing of our sin at baptism and the renewal of the Holy Spirit.
THE HOLY SPIRIT GUARANTEES OUR ETERNAL INHERITANCE
Ephesians 1:13-14 (Tap to Expand)
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
When we became Christians, we were marked with a seal
The Holy Spirit is God’s deposit in us
It guarantees our passage into our inheritance, heaven
THE HOLY SPIRIT CONFIRMED THE ARRIVAL OF THE KINGDOM
Ephesians 3:14-19 (Tap to Expand)
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
- God’s Spirit gives us spiritual power
- It connects us to the love of Christ through our faith
- It enlightens us to grow in understanding of what we have received