III- The Doctrine Of The Holy Spirit
1. Q. Who is the Holy Spirit?
ANSWER: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, truly God and therefore co-equal with the Father and the Son (Mt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4 Cor. 13:14). Since He is spirit, He does not have to be seen or felt in order to be close to us. Since He is holy, He must be met on “holy ground.” This is why people who have not separated themselves from sin lack the awareness of His presence.
2. Q. What were His roles as a member of the Godhead during the Old testament era?
ANSWER: He acted with the Father and Son in creation (Gen. 1:2), equipped people to do God’s service (Ex. 31:1-5; Num. 11:16-17), renewed nature (Ps. 104:30), and came upon Israel’s kings (1 Sam. 16:13). He also inspired Israel’s prophets and the men who wrote the Scriptures (1 Pet. 1:10:12; 2 Pet. 1:21), and worked in the hearts of people to lead them to believe God and do His will (Acts 7:51).
3. Q. What is the Holy Spirit’s relationship to the church, the body of Christ?
ANSWER: The Holy Spirit gave birth to the church (Acts 2:1-47), baptizes believers into the church (1 Cor. 12:13), abides in the church (1 Cor. 3:16), and unifies the church (Eph. 2:22; 4:3-4). He also gives gifts to the church (1 Cor. 12:4-11), provides leaders for the church (Acts 20:28), directs the work of the church (Acts 13:2), and uses the church to hold back or hinder evil in the world. (2 Th. 2:7).
4. Q. What does the Holy Spirit do for those who have not made peace with God?
ANSWER: He draws their attention to Christ (Jn. 16:13-14), empowers God’s messengers (1 Th. 1:5), brings conviction to sinners (Jn. 16:8-11), and produces the new birth (Jn. 3:5; Ti. 3:5). For these reasons, no person is too bad or too hardened to be converted to Christ. God sent His Spirit into the world to come to the rescue of all kinds of people even the worst and most hateful.
5. Q. What does the Holy Spirit do in the lives of believers?
ANSWER: He permanently indwells believers to mark us out as God’s possession (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19) and He seals us to guarantee our ultimate salvation (2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). He fills us when we yield to him, giving us power for life and ministry (Acts 6:3; 13:9-12; Eph. 5:18-21). He also produces Christian character in us (Gal.5:22-23), teaches us when we cannot pray (Rom. 8:26-27), guides us (Rom. 8:14), and equips us to serve one another (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:1-31).
6. Q. In what ways can we harm ourselves by sinning against the Holy Spirit?
ANSWER: We are warned about sinning against the Holy Spirit by grieving Him through disobedience (Eph. 4:30), lying to Him (Acts 5:3), quenching Him with a negative attitude (1 Th. 5:19), and insulting him (Heb 10:29).
ANSWER: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, truly God and therefore co-equal with the Father and the Son (Mt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4 Cor. 13:14). Since He is spirit, He does not have to be seen or felt in order to be close to us. Since He is holy, He must be met on “holy ground.” This is why people who have not separated themselves from sin lack the awareness of His presence.
2. Q. What were His roles as a member of the Godhead during the Old testament era?
ANSWER: He acted with the Father and Son in creation (Gen. 1:2), equipped people to do God’s service (Ex. 31:1-5; Num. 11:16-17), renewed nature (Ps. 104:30), and came upon Israel’s kings (1 Sam. 16:13). He also inspired Israel’s prophets and the men who wrote the Scriptures (1 Pet. 1:10:12; 2 Pet. 1:21), and worked in the hearts of people to lead them to believe God and do His will (Acts 7:51).
3. Q. What is the Holy Spirit’s relationship to the church, the body of Christ?
ANSWER: The Holy Spirit gave birth to the church (Acts 2:1-47), baptizes believers into the church (1 Cor. 12:13), abides in the church (1 Cor. 3:16), and unifies the church (Eph. 2:22; 4:3-4). He also gives gifts to the church (1 Cor. 12:4-11), provides leaders for the church (Acts 20:28), directs the work of the church (Acts 13:2), and uses the church to hold back or hinder evil in the world. (2 Th. 2:7).
4. Q. What does the Holy Spirit do for those who have not made peace with God?
ANSWER: He draws their attention to Christ (Jn. 16:13-14), empowers God’s messengers (1 Th. 1:5), brings conviction to sinners (Jn. 16:8-11), and produces the new birth (Jn. 3:5; Ti. 3:5). For these reasons, no person is too bad or too hardened to be converted to Christ. God sent His Spirit into the world to come to the rescue of all kinds of people even the worst and most hateful.
5. Q. What does the Holy Spirit do in the lives of believers?
ANSWER: He permanently indwells believers to mark us out as God’s possession (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19) and He seals us to guarantee our ultimate salvation (2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). He fills us when we yield to him, giving us power for life and ministry (Acts 6:3; 13:9-12; Eph. 5:18-21). He also produces Christian character in us (Gal.5:22-23), teaches us when we cannot pray (Rom. 8:26-27), guides us (Rom. 8:14), and equips us to serve one another (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:1-31).
6. Q. In what ways can we harm ourselves by sinning against the Holy Spirit?
ANSWER: We are warned about sinning against the Holy Spirit by grieving Him through disobedience (Eph. 4:30), lying to Him (Acts 5:3), quenching Him with a negative attitude (1 Th. 5:19), and insulting him (Heb 10:29).