Great Doctrines of the Bible
Special English Version

Lesson 7
THE HOLY SPIRIT
(Part Two)

INTRODUCTION
This is the second part of three lessons about the Holy Spirit. In lesson 6 we learned that He is a person, not just a power. We learned that the Holy Spirit is God, the third person in the Three-in-One God. In this lesson we will study the work of the Holy Spirit.

IMPORTANCE OF THIS LESSON

• The Bible teaches us about the work of the Holy Spirit. A serious study of both the Old and New Testaments will help us to understand this work.
• The Bible helps us to understand the position the Spirit holds.
• It gives an understanding of what kind of a person He is and how much power He has.
• When we see the work of the Holy Spirit we understand that He is not just a feeling.
• The Holy Spirit is not our conscience, as some people say. The Spirit is a person we can know and love.
• We can depend on Him and obey Him.
• The writer of this lesson prays that you will understand the work of the Holy Spirit.

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THE LESSON

I. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN THE WORLD WAS CREATED

1. The Holy Spirit was part of the Three-in-One God in Genesis.
   1. In Genesis 1:26 the Three-in-One God said “Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness. Man was made like the Three-in-One God.
   2. In Genesis 11:7 He says, “Come, let US go down and confuse their language.”
      The Holy Spirit was part of US and OUR in Genesis 1:26. This means that the Holy Spirit was there when God made the world.
2. The Holy Spirit worked as part of the Three-in-one God when God made all the things we see in this world.
   1. The Spirit of God moved on the waters (Genesis 1:2).
   2. By His Spirit the skies became bright (Job 26:13).
   3. The Lord made the world by speaking. He made all of if by the breath (Spirit) of his mouth (Psalm 33:6).
      • Both the Old and New Testament present the Holy Spirit as the one who works in the place of God. Colossians 1:16-17 and Hebrews 1:2 show that Christ (God the Son) made the world. So we see that all three persons of the Three-in-God worked together. They made the world and everything in it.
3. The Holy Spirit was part of the Three-in-One God who made man.
   1. God breathed the breath of life (Spirit) into the nose of the man and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7).
   2. Job says that the Spirit of God made him. The breath of the God who can do anything He wants to do gave him life (Job 33:4).

II. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. The Holy Spirit was part of the Three-in-One God who made the world and man (Genesis 1:2; 2:7).
2. The Holy Spirit fights with sinners. He holds back sin (Genesis 6:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7). In 2 Thessalonians the person who holds back sin is the Holy Spirit.
3. He LIVED in the believers.
   1. The Spirit of God lived in Joseph (Genesis 41:38).
   2. David did not want God to take the Holy Spirit from Him (Psalm 51:11).
   3. Peter talked about the prophets in the Old Testament. He said that the Spirit of Christ was in them. This Spirit told them to write about the suffering of Christ (I Peter 1:11).
   4. The Holy Spirit lived in Joshua (Numbers 27:18).
4. He came UPON believers and helped them to do great things for God.
   1. He came upon Eldad and Medad, and they spoke prophecies (Numbers 11:26-29).
   2. He came upon Othniel who judged the people and made war (Judges 3:10).
   3. He came upon Gideon and his army won a great victory (Judges 6:34).
   4. He came upon Samson who killed a lion with his hands (Judges 14:6).
   5. He came upon David on a certain day (1 Samuel 16:13).
      • Just like in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit came UPON people and made them able to speak the Word of God. He also made them do other work for God (Acts 1:8). It is important to remember this.
5. He CONTROLLED (filled) believers.
   1. Bezaleel (Exodus 31:3: 35:31).
   2. The Bible says that Joshua was full of the Spirit (Deuteronomy 34:9).
   3. Elijah was filled just like John the Baptist (Luke 1:17).
   4. The people who made the clothes for the High Priest Aaron were filled with the Spirit (Exodus 28:3).
      • The verses above teach us that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit gave wisdom and made people able to do special things for God (Exodus 31:3; 35:31). He gave special strength (Judges 14:6). He made some people able to speak the Word of God and do great things (2 Samuel 23:2; Judges 15:14).
      • You must keep in mind that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit worked according to His own will. He came upon and He controlled any person He wanted to come upon. God never told the Israelites how they could receive the Holy Spirit. God did not tell them how to receive the power of the Spirit. God gave them a promise for the future. God says that in the future the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all people (Isaiah 44:3; Joel 2:28).

III. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN WRITING THE BIBLE

1. The whole Bible has come to us like the breath from the mouth of God (2 Timothy 3:16). The Greek word “theopneustos” means “breathed by God”.
2. Holy men spoke as the Holy Spirit spoke to them. The Holy Spirit did the speaking. The “breath of God” is a picture of the Holy Spirit who does this work of God, the writing of the Bible (2 Peter 1:21).
3. This does not mean that the men who wrote the Bible all wote exactly the same way. Each person wrote in his or her own different way. It means that God made sure that what they wrote was exactly what He wanted them to write.
4. There are no mistakes in the Bible in the way God gave it to them. What the people wrote had no mistakes. It was just like God had written it Himself.
5. It is true that each writer had his own way of writing.
   1. Each writer used the words he knew.
   2. John wrote the Gospel in his own way of writing. He used the words he knew.
      1. John was just a fisherman and had not gone very far in school.
      2. The Gospel of John shows that it was written by a man who had not gone far in school.
   3. Paul was like a graduate from a university.
      1. Paul knew many more words than John did.
      2. Paul wrote the book of Romans by using many difficult words.
      3. He wrote about ideas that were difficult to understand.
   4. We know that each person wrote exactly what God, the Holy Spirit wanted to see on the pages.
6. The words of Revelation 2 and 3 are the words of the Holy Spirit (Revelation 2:11,17; 3:6,13,22).
7. The Spirit guided the writers of the New Testament into all the truth. He showed them the things that will happen in the future (John 16:13).

IV. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST

1. Jesus was born by the power of the Holy Spirit. He worked a miracle in the body of Mary so that she gave birth to Christ. Mary never knew a man (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35).
2. The Holy Spirit came UPON Christ when He was put under the water by John the Baptist (Luke 3:22; Matthew 3:16).
3. At this time God caused Him to be able to do the work which He had come to do. The Holy Spirit is the one who caused Jesus of Nazareth to be able to do it (Acts 10:38).
4. The Holy Spirit guided Christ and He also led Christ (Luke 4:1,14). The Holy Spirit caused Christ to be able to do miracles (Luke 4:18; Matthew 12:28).
5. The Holy Spirit gave Christ wisdom while He was on earth (Matthew 12:17-21).
6. The Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead (Romans 1:4; 8:11).
7. After the resurrection Christ taught His apostles “through the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:2).
8. We should remember that:
   1. As a human being, Christ depended completely on the Holy Spirit for wisdom, for power and to be guided by Him (1 Peter 2:21).
   2. Christ depended on the Holy Spirit for His work and for the way He should live. This shows us that we should depend on the Holy Spirit even more.
   3. The Spirit can do every thing for us that He did for Christ. The Holy Spirit can also cause us to be able to do the work God wants us to do. He can also guide us. He can lead us.

V. THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE NOT BELIEVED IN CHRIST

1. The Holy Spirit is to show them who Christ is. He also wants to make the name of Christ great.
   1. We read that the Helper (Holy Spirit) will come and tell them about Christ (John 15:26).
   2. Jesus said to His followers that the Holy Spirit would not talk about Himself. The Holy Spirit will make the name of Christ great. The Holy Spirit will show them the things they will receive from Christ (John 16:13-14).
   3. In the book of Acts Peter says that he and the other followers saw what Christ did and that the Holy Spirit showed that these things were true. Then he says that God gives the Holy Spirit to the people who obey God (Acts 5:32).
2. Be sure to remember that:
   1. Every teacher should teach that the work of the Holy Spirit today is to make the name of Christ great. We should not trust a teacher who fails to teach this about the Holy Spirit.
   2. The Holy Spirit is called “The Spirit of Truth.” He speaks about the One who is “The Truth” (John 14:17; 15:26; 14:6).
   3. God gives the Holy Spirit to all believers.
      1. The Holy Spirit usually uses believers to speak about Christ to those who have not believed (John 15:26; 16:7-8). It is a great privilege to speak to others about Christ.
      2. It is also a great responsibility. Every believer should tell the people of the world about Christ.
      3. The believer must remember that it is not his word or his power that causes people to repent. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that works in the person who has not believed.
      4. The Holy Spirit helps people to say that Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).
3. The Holy Spirit shows people that they are sinners.
   1. The Holy Spirit shows that the people in this world are guilty of three things (John 16:8-11).
      1. He shows them that they are guilty of sin. They are guilty because they have not believed on Christ.
      2. They are guilty because they are not right with Christ. We know that Christ is righteous because He went back to the Father in heaven. God would not allow an unrighteous person in heaven.
      3. He shows them that they are guilty because they belong to Satan. Satan was defeated at the cross, therefore they should not follow him (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14).
   2. When the Word of God is preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, He will work in the person who has never believed. The sinner knows he is guilty because the Word of God says that he is.
      1. Compare Acts 2:4 with 2:37. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples when they preached. The people were troubled in their hearts when they heard the Word of God.
      2. Compare Acts 4:8 with 4:13. When Peter preached, the Holy Spirit controlled him and sinners were surprised. They were surprised that it was easy for Peter and John to speak.
   3. When the Holy Spirit shows people that they are guilty, they repent and they believe in Christ.
      1. Compare Acts 2:38 with 39. The people asked what they should do. Peter answers them and says that they should repent and be baptized.
      2. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes through the Word of God. We must remember that the WORD is like a knife that the Holy Spirit uses. A person must preach the Word of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. When he does this, people know that they are guilty of sin. Then people will repent and turn to God.

Examination

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