Week 4 - Doctrine: Person and Work of the Holy Spirit Day 1 - Active in Creation Scripture - Genesis 1:1-2, John 15:26, Acts 10:38, Romans 8:2-6, John 3:5-6, & John 14:26 Devotional - The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He proceeds from the Father and the Son. Many people wrongly believe that the Holy Spirit isn't a person but a force. This is false teaching. The Holy Spirit is not an example of God's magic, He is God. The Holy Spirit plays a very active role in the Godhead; He was active in Creation and is still active in the recreation of all things. A few of the ways the Holy Spirit ministers to us is by interceding for us, inspiring scripture, and changing the hearts of sinners. He is called our great Helper and He leads Christians into all godliness. Questions: 1. Who is the Holy Spirit? 2. Is the Holy Spirit just the power of God? 3. What are some of the Jobs that the Holy Spirit has? Day 2 - Conviction of Sin Scripture - John 16:8, 1 Thessalonians 1:5, & Roman's 8:12-16 Devotional - One of the greatest things the Holy Spirit does is convince and convict sinners of their sin. He wakes up the dead hearts of lost sinners and restores them to new life found in Christ. That miracle of new life is called regeneration. Once a person is regenerated, the Holy Spirit’s ministry continues in their life; He further reveals and convinces them of their sinful habits, desires, and beliefs. When He does this it is called conviction of sin. If a Christian repents of the sin that the Holy Spirit has revealed, God is faithful and just to forgive, and will cleanse us from all of our sinful ways. The Spirit adopts us into God's family and we are comforted by believing our Father's promises. Questions: 1. What does conviction mean? 2. Does the Holy Spirit make spiritually dead people alive? 3. Does He continue to convict Christians of their sin? Day 3 - Regeneration Scripture- Roman's 3:10-11, Ezekiel 36:26, Titus 3:5, & Ephesians 2:1-4 Devotional - Regeneration is a supernatural act of the Holy Spirit. Because mankind sinned and rebelled against God, our fellowship with God is broken. We no longer have a peaceful relationship with Him nor do our sinful hearts want one. Some people believe that it is the spiritually dead sinner that seeks to mend the broken relationship between man and God. This is not true. Romans 3 teaches that because the sinful heart hates God, it doesn't want to be in relationship with Him. It is the Holy Spirit that takes a sinful, dead heart and makes it new. Not only does He give us a new heart, but He also gives us new desires. Instead of running from God, we now love Him and want to obey Him. This miracle is called regeneration. Questions: 1. What is the regeneration? 2. Who causes regeneration? 3. Why do we need the Holy Spirit to change us? Day 4 - Illumination of Scripture Scripture - John 14:26, John 16:13, & 1 Corinthians 2:10-12 Devotional - God's Word can seem confusing at times. The Bible contains many different kinds of stories and lots of BIG words. Is it possible for us to understand what it says? Yes! God did not leave us alone, trying to understand it by ourselves. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, sent by Jesus, from the Father to illuminate scripture so we can understand what the Bible says. Illuminate means that God turns on the light of understanding. Just like turning on a light helps you to see, when the Holy Spirit Illuminates the Bible for Christians, we can now see the truth of what God is saying to us. Questions: 1. What does the word “Illuminate” mean? 2. How does the Holy Spirit Illuminate the scriptures for us? 3. With the Spirit's help, can we understand scripture? Day 5 - Walking by the Spirit Scripture - Galatians 5:16-25 Devotional - When a Christian decides to obey God rather than follow the prompting of their sinful hearts, we call that “walking by the Spirit”; This is because the Holy Spirit teaches us to say “no” to sin and “yes” to obedience. Sometimes that is very hard because at times sin can seem exciting. But as our love for God grows deeper, obedience to Him becomes easier. The Holy Spirit guides us in all truth, and the truth sets us free from our sin. Obedience to God always brings Joy but our sin only brings us pain. Walking by the Spirit keeps us from dishonoring God and from unnecessary pain. Questions: 1. What does walking by the Spirit mean? 2. What motivates our hearts to obey? 3. Obedience to God always brings us joy, but what does our sin bring us?