The Person And Work Of The Holy Spirit

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” (John 16:7-8)

Syllabus: The Person & Work of the Holy Spirit

Lesson Assignments:

I. How the Word “Spirit” Is Used in the Bible 2. The Lord Our God Is One 3. The Divine Personhood of the Holy Spirit 4. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament 5. Jesus & the Holy Spirit 6. The Holy Spirit & the Apostles 7. The Holy Spirit & Revelation 8. The Holy Spirit & the Early Church 9. The Holy Spirit & the Word of God 10. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit II. The Gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) 12. The Holy Spirit & Prayer (Romans 8)

How the Word Spirit Is Used in the Bible

I. The Word “Spirit” Literally Signifies “the Breath”-

A. Both the Hebrew and the Greek words mean a breath or blast of air (any lexicon will confirm). B. It is used to signify the cycle of respiration (Job 9:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; John 20:22). C. The breath and life are closely associated (Job 12:9-10; 33:4; 34:14; Acts 17:25; Revelation 13:15). D. A man is dead when he has breathed his last (Psalm 104:29; 135:15-17).

II. The Word “Spirit” May Signify the Invisible, Immaterial, Eternal Spirit of Man-

A. A man is dead when he breathes his last (Genesis 25:17; Job 3:11; John 19:30, Mark 15:37, 44). B. The departing of the spirit and the final breath are associated in death (James 2:26; Acts 7:59). C. The word spirit signifies our inner man (2 Corinthians 4:16), the heart (Romans 2:28-29), the mind (Romans 7:22-8:16). D. The inner man, as the seat of our intellect, affections and will, serves God (Romans 1:9).

III. The Word “Spirit” May Identify an Angel, a Demon or the Devil-

A. The angels of God are “ministering spirits” (Hebrews 1:7, 14; cf. Psalms 103:20-21; 104:4). B. A demon is an “unclean spirit” (Matthew 12:43-46; Luke 4:33; Mark 1:23-26; 5:2, 8, 12). C. Satan is “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

IV. The Word “Spirit” May Refer to the Very Essence of God-

A. God “is Spirit” (John 4:24); He exists outside the material universe. B. He is “invisible” (Colossians 1:16; Romans 1:20; cf. 1 Timothy 6:16; John 1:18; 1 John 2:5). C. The Holy Spirit “is Spirit” because the Bible says He is God (Acts 5:3-4). D. In John 4:24 “in spirit and in truth” refers to the true spiritual worship which would be revealed by the Holy Spirit in contrast to the carnal ordinances of the Law (cf. John 3:6; 6:63).

V. The Word “Spirit” May Refer to an Attitude-

A. There are several indisputable examples (Galatians 6:1; Romans 11:8; 2 Corinthians 4:13; Ephesians 1:17-18; 4:23; 2 Timothy 1:7). B. Two passages often misunderstood because this fact not observed:

In 1 John 4:6 “the spirit of truth” is not the Holy Spirit (cf. John 14:17) but the mind which is under the sway of the Truth revealed by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 John 4:2-3). The “spirit of antichrist” is not a demon or the Devil, but rather, a mind lost to the error which denies the incarnation (1 John 4:1).
In Galatians 4:6 “the Spirit of His Son” is not the Holy Spirit but the heart of the adopted child of God (v. 5) who in faith can come boldly to the Father (cf. Romans 8:14-16; Mark 14:36). This passage does not teach a personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer.