Ministries of the Holy Spirit

What are the ministries of the Holy Spirit to the person at the point of salvation?

1. ____________________ is that work of the Holy Spirit whereby a person, who places his/her faith in the saving work (the death payment) of Christ on the cross (for all his/her sins), receives a new life, a spiritual nature (2 Cor. 5:17), and a new and eternal relationship to God (Jn. 1:12). It’s to give (spiritual) life back to.

Jn. 3:3-8 Unless a person is what (vss. 3, 5), can’t he/she see or enter into the kingdom of God?

[Nicodemus initially thought that being born again was to be physically born a second time – vs. 4. (To be “born of water” means to be physically “born out of the water sac of your mother’s womb.”) But Jesus corrects him and states that a person who’s been born physically (“born of water”) now needs to be born spiritually (“of the Spirit”) in order to enter God’s kingdom. This interpretation is confirmed by Jesus in vss. 6, 7.].

Titus 3:5 How did God save us?

[“washing of regeneration” – is the washing/cleansing of our sins by the blood of Christ and our faith in His blood payment for the forgiveness of all our sins, Rev. 1:5; Acts 15:9; Col. 2:13, 14.].

2. ____________________ is that work of the Holy Spirit whereby a person, who places his faith in the saving work of Christ on the cross, is permanently indwelt by the Spirit from that time on. (Old Testament believers merely had the Holy Spirit come upon them temporarily for whatever period of time that God had a work to accomplish through them and then He left – Psa. 51:11; 1 Sam. 16:14; 11:6; 18:12).

Jn. 7:38, 39 Who were to receive the Holy Spirit?

Why had Jesus’ disciples not received the Holy Spirit yet?

[“glorified” – manifesting all that He is; magnified; made splendid/beautiful; resurrected and ascended to heaven – Jn. 14:17, 26; 12:16; 16:5, 7; Acts 1:11, 16 – Vine’s An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, pp. 482, 483.].

Jn. 14:16, 17, 26 Up until Pentecost the Holy Spirit had only come upon believers, but after Jesus’ glorification, where was the Holy Spirit to reside?

Rom. 8:9, 11 When doesn’t a person belong to Christ or God (or when is a person not a Christian)?

1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 3:16 Even though these Christians at Corinth were sinful (3:1-3), what did Paul say about their bodies/lives (all of them, new and old, carnal and spiritual believers)?

Gal. 3:2, 7; 4:6; Acts 11:17; 10:45 How did these people receive the Spirit (also see Rom. 10:17)?

[“faith in Christ” – 2:16, 20; 3:1, 26].

Why did God send forth the Spirit of His Son into their hearts?

1 Jn. 3:24; 4:13 How do we (believers) know that God abides in us and we in Him?

3. ____________________ is that work of the Holy Spirit whereby a person, who places his faith in the saving work of Christ on the cross, is placed into the body of Christ spiritually, which is the Church, and is made one with all the other believers in Christ.

[The following 4 unique passages: Acts 1:4, 5 with 2:1-5; 8:14-17; 10:1, 44, 45; and 19:1-6 show that the Holy Spirit is for all believers, whether Jew, Samaritan, Gentile, or Old Testament believer under John the Baptist’s ministry. Since that time, however, from Pentecost in Acts 2 and shortly thereafter in Acts 10, all believers are baptized in the Holy Spirit at the moment they receive/believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior.].

[“baptizo” – means to dip, immerse, or place a person or thing into a new environment or into union with something else so as to alter its condition or its relationship to its previous environment or condition. Its significance is that of identification with the object it’s placed into.].

1 Cor. 12:13 By one Spirit, what has happened to all believers regardless of their race or position in life?

[“baptized” – placed into spiritually].

Gal. 3:26-28 Who have clothed themselves with Christ (begun acting as Christ would act)?

Acts 11:15-17 When did the Holy Spirit baptize these believers?

[“after believing” is the Greek word “pisteusasin”, which is in the first aorist participle form in the dative case, meaning “upon completion of the act of believing”. The dative case means that “believing” is the object of the preposition “after”].

Rom. 6:3, 4 What is the effect of our having been baptized/identified with/placed into Christ?

4. _______________ is that work of the Holy Spirit whereby a person, who places his faith in the saving work of Christ on the cross, is secured through ownership by the Holy Spirit and brought to God on the day of redemption. (Gk. “sphragizo” – “to seal” indicates ownership and security, together with destination.).

Eph. 1:13 With the Holy Spirit of promise, what happened to those who believed the gospel?

[“sealed” – secured and protected by the authority and ownership of God].

Eph. 4:30 These believers were sealed by the Holy Spirit for what?

[“the day of redemption” – is the rapture of believers into heaven, Rom. 8:23; 1 Thes. 4:14-17; Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 15:35-44, 50-55].

The above 4 ministries of the Holy Spirit constitute the guarantee or pledge (earnest) by God that believers are to have His promise of eternal life in heaven.

2 Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:1-5 What did God give us (believers) the Spirit as in our hearts?

[Gk. “arrabona” – pledge; deposit; a down payment which obligates the payer to make further payments, guaranteeing what is to come, Rom. 8:23, that is, the redemption/rapture of our bodies to heaven.].

What are the commands of God in regard to the Christian’s relationship to the Holy Spirit?

1. ____________________ is that work of the Holy Spirit whereby a person, is controlled, directed, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and thereby has the capacity to live a holy life that’s obedient to God’s will.

[This can occur at any time – e.g., Luke 1:15.].

Eph. 5:18 What are believers commanded to do (last part of verse)?

[The present tense of the imperative verb makes this a continuing obligation for believers, even as we see the same Christians being filled on more than one occasion – Acts 2:4; 4:31].

What are some areas of our lives that the Spirit should be in control of (vs. 19)?

Acts 4:31 What was the result of being filled with the Spirit in the lives of these people (e.g., 13:9-12)?

2. ____________________ in the Spirit is being directed step by step by the Holy Spirit according to the will and Word of God so as to enable the believer to live a holy life.

Gal. 5:16, 17 When will we not carry out the desire of the flesh?

Gal. 5:25 What should we do if/since the source of our Christian life is the Spirit?

3. Eph. 6:18; Jude 1:20 What are we told to do?

Why do you think this is so (see also Rom. 8:26)?

4. Eph. 4:3 What should we be diligent to do?
How does a Christian help to preserve the unity of the Spirit (1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 2:2 with 1:27; Titus 1:9; 2:1; 3:10; 2 Tim. 2:25, 26; Rom. 16:17, 18)?

5. Eph. 4:30 What are we told not to do?

[We “grieve” the Spirit when we go ahead and sin, doing what we shouldn’t do.].

6. 1 Thes. 5:19 What are we told not to do?

[We “quench” the Spirit when we resist Him and don’t obey Him; not doing what we should do – Jas. 4:17].

What is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to the world?

________________________________________ Jn. 16:8-11 What will He do (vs. 8)?

What are some of the things that the Holy Spirit has done and/or is now doing, especially with those who have followed or are following God (in the passages below)?

1 Pet. 1:10, 11

2 Pet. 1:20, 21

Ex. 28:3

Judges 3:10

Matt. 1:18

Lk. 2:26, 27

Matt. 4:1

Acts 1:8

Acts 8:29-37

Acts 8:39

Acts 16:6, 7

Acts 9:31

Acts 20:28, 17

Gal. 5:17, 18

1 Cor. 2:9-13

Rom. 5:5

Rom. 8:16

Rom. 8:14

Rom. 8:26, 27

Rom. 15:13

Gal. 5:22, 23

2 Thes. 2:13

What are the gifts of the Spirit as listed below?

Rom. 12:6-8

1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28

[Except for “faith”, “teacher”, “helps”, and “administration”, the rest of the spiritual gifts in 1 Cor. 12 ended in the 1^st century.].

Eph. 4:11