Who is God?
“Knowing God is the most important thing in life. God created people fundamentally for relationship with himself.”
“Our primary purpose is to glorify and delight in God through a deep personal knowledge of Him. Meaningful relationship with God is dependent on correct knowledge of Him.” – ESV Study Bible
- The goal of this series is not only to know more about God but to know God more.These 4 weeks will give us a much greater understanding of God but will also leave us with much more to seek in Him. We will see that God is both incomprehensible and knowable.
Know and Love God
Mark 12:28-31 – 28One of the teachers of the lawcame and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29“The most important one,”answered Jesus,“is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’31The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. His primary role is to do the will of the Father and the Son and to apply the work of God the Son.
Believers Have the Holy Spirit
- Spirit Born
- John 3:3-6 – 3Jesus replied,“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
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!”
5Jesus answered,“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spiritgives birth to spirit.
- Spirit Filled
- Romans 8:9 – 9You, however, are not in the realm of the fleshbut are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you.And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,they do not belong to Christ.
- Spirit Led
- Romans 8:14 – 14For those who are led by the Spirit of Godare the children of God.
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
- John 14:15-27 – 15“If you love me, keep my commands.16And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another advocateto help you and be with you forever—17the 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 bein you.18I will not leave you as
orphans;I will come to you.19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you
will see me.Because I live, you also will live.20On that dayyou will realize that I am in
my Father,and you are in me, and I am in you.21Whoever 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.”
22Then Judas(not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself
to us and not to the world?”
23Jesus replied,“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching.My Father will love them,
and we will come to them and make our home with them.24Anyone who does not love
me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to
the Father who sent me.
25“All this I have spoken while still with you.26But the Advocate,the Holy Spirit, whom
the Father will send in my name,will teach you all thingsand will remind you of
everything I have said to you.27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.I do not
give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubledand do not be afraid.
Jesus Tells of the Works of the Holy Spirit
- John 15:26-16:15 – 26“When the Advocatecomes, whom I will send to you from the
Father—the Spirit of truthwho goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.27And
you also must testify,for you have been with me from the beginning.
16“All thisI have told you so that you will not fall away.2They will put you out of the
synagogue;in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are
offering a service to God.3They will do such things because they have not known the
Father or me.4I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will
rememberthat I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning
because I was with you,5but now I am going to him who sent me.None of you asks
me, ‘Where are you going?’6Rather, you are filled with griefbecause I have said these
things.7But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go
away, the Advocatewill not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.8When he
comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and
judgment:9about sin,because people do not believe in me;10about
righteousness,because I am going to the Father,where you can see me no
longer;11and about judgment, because the prince of this worldnow stands condemned.
12“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.13But when he, the
Spirit of truth,comes, he will guide you into all the truth.He will not speak on his own;
he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.14He will
glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to
you.15All that belongs to the Father is mine.That is why I said the Spirit will receive
from me what he will make known to you.
- “Testify about me.”
- Gifts to Testify
- 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 – Now about the gifts of the Spirit,brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.2You know that when you were pagans,somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.3Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,”and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,”except by the Holy Spirit.
4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spiritdistributes them.5There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.6There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyoneit is the same Godat work.
7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.8To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom,to another a message of knowledgeby means of the same Spirit,9to another faithby the same Spirit, to another gifts of healingby that one Spirit,10to another miraculous powers,to another prophecy,to another distinguishing between spirits,to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a]and to still another the interpretation of tongues.11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit,and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
- Fruit to Testify
- Galatians 5:16-25 – 16So I say, walk by the Spirit,and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17For 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.18But if you are led by the Spirit,you are not under the law.
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality,impurity and debauchery;20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions21and 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.
22But the fruitof the Spirit is love,joy, peace,forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23gentleness and self-control.Against such things there is no law.24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the fleshwith its passions and desires.25Since we live by the Spirit,let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Every Member is a Minister on Mission
- 2 Timothy 1:7 – 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid,but gives us power,love and self-discipline.