Bible Study - THE HOLY SPIRIT PPP - Person
Sermon-Based Bible Study – October 24, 2021
- What is something God has done for you that you are thankful for, or are celebrating? How have you experienced God’s love and faithfulness this week?
- Where are you experiencing stress, anxiety or discouragement? How would you like to see God move in your life or in the life of someone close to you?
- What did you hear in this week’s sermon that was new or particularly interesting? Did anything stand out to you as puzzling or troubling?
- Is thinking of the Holy Spirit as a “person” new for you?
- Chris mentioned that Jesus spoke of the Spirit as a “he” more than an “it.” R.A. Torrey said “If we think of the Holy Spirit, as so many do, as merely a power or influence, our constant thought will be, ‘How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?’ ” Why would conceiving of the Holy Spirit as merely power or influence, tend to make you more egocentric or self-centered?
- R.A. Torrey went on to say, “if we think of Him (Holy Spirit) in the Biblical way as a Divine Person, our thought will rather be, ‘How can the Holy Spirit have more of me?’” Why would that be true? Why would conceiving of the Holy Spirit make you less egocentric or self-centered?
- Read 2 Corinthians 12:14. Have you ever experienced “the fellowship of the Holy Spirit?” Is the presence or work of the Holy Spirit in your life something Jesus intended for you to experience viscerally, or is it more of an intellectual premise, or spiritual promise He wants you to simply accept as being true?
- Several characteristics of the Holy Spirit found in scripture help us to understand that the Holy Spirit is a person, namely: He has a will (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:7,11); He has desires (Gal. 5:16-17); He loves (Rom. 15:13); He has intellect (John 14:25; 15:26); He prays (Rom. 8:26); and He speaks (John 16:13; Gal. 4:6-7). Which of these aspects of the Holy Spirit have you experienced? How might you discover or come to understand those you have not experienced?
- The scripture also speaks of some negative ways we can respond to or relate to the Holy Spirit, namely: we can grieve Him (Eph. 4:30); we can insult Him (Heb. 10:29); we can resist Him (Acts 7:51); and we can quench Him (1 Thess. 5:19). Have you ever reacted to, or related to the Holy Spirit in one of these ways? Was it intentional? Inadvertent? What happened? How can you guard against doing that again?
- What is a simple, next step you could take in obedience to what the Spirit is saying to you through this time in the Word? Who would benefit, or be interested in hearing about what you’ve learned in this study?