How the Holy Spirit Makes You Stronger

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Start with Application Testimony

[Give people an opportunity to share a testimony from last week’s exhortation]

Last week’s exhortation: Read Psalm 139 and spend time reflecting on the reality that God has placed His Spirit within you. Then ask the Holy Spirit to correct you and direct you.

INTRO

We are going verse-by-verse, in a topical study through I & II Corinthians

Current Topic: Living by the Spirit - Exploring how to live as a Christian

Last lesson we talked about the ministry of the Holy Spirit and how He enacts the promises of God in our lives, by being the real presence of God with us and in us.

READ

2 Corinthians 4 CSB

1 Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up. 2 Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth. 3 But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. 6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that Jesus’s life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. 15 Indeed, everything is for your benefit so that, as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

EXAMINE

#1 | The Holy Spirit brings a greater awareness

Not just knowledge of goodness, but a passion for holiness.

2 Corinthians 4:1–2 “...since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy… we have renounced secret and shameful things, not acting deceitfully or distorting the word of God, but commending ourselves before God to everyone’s conscience by an open display of the truth.”

The Holy Spirit brings us to a new standard of living that doesn’t make any compromise with sin.

He doesn’t just give us understanding, He gives us revelation.

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.”

The Spirit gives a knowledge that goes beyond description and intellectual study. It is a deep knowing and comprehension of the things of God.

This is like the difference between reading about something and seeing it for yourself.

#2 | The Holy Spirit highlights our fragility

Our fragility is on purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:7 “Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that...”

As frustrating as our weaknesses and limitations can be, they are not on accident. God has made us weak and limited on purpose.

Therefore we must accept our limits and frailties as a gift from God.

Our fragility is for a purpose.

2 Corinthians 4:7–10 “...so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9 we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10 We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body.”

Our weakness and limitations...

...teach us to rely on God’s power, rather than our own.

...provide the opportunity for us to experience the resurrection power of Jesus.

...prove that the power people see is coming from God and not from us.

Consider 2 Corinthians 12:9 “...he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”

#3 | The Holy Spirit produces endurance in us

He works to strengthen our core.

2 Corinthians 4:16 “Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.”

While we suffer pain and exhaustion from our circumstances, the Holy Spirit works on our mind and spirit, making us stronger, healthier, and more resilient.

He reveals what’s really going on.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

When we are suffering, heart broken, and disappointing, we lose perspective on everything else, and that is dangerous.

The Holy Spirit enables us to see beyond our present pains and sufferings, and grasp the bigger picture of what is really going on “behind the scenes.”

REFLECT

Let’s take a moment to pray

Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight and draw our attention to what He wants us to see and understand today

APPLY

Process the passage together with these questions:

[Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want people to feel the liberty to explore the topics of the passage that stand out to them. Select the questions from below that you think are right for the conversation, or add your own. Questions should be focused, yet open-ended. Wherever the conversation goes, help your group “land the plane” on the core idea of the lesson when you wrap up.]

When Paul referred to “our momentary light afflictions” in verse 17, he was referring to the kinds of things he later lists in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. Read that. Does it challenge your perspective on your own circumstances? How so?

In verse 12 Paul said, “...death is at work in us, but life in you.” Have you considered how God uses your suffering to bless others? How does that process also bless you?

What common lies keep us from admitting to our weaknesses and accepting our limits?

Where we want to “land the plane”

One of the biggest problems in our lives is our lack of insight, both externally and internally. We don’t understand what’s really going on around us and we don’t understand what’s really going on inside of us. By giving us a greater awareness of the truth, a more honest inventory of ourselves, and revealing the larger picture of God’s plan, the Holy Spirit prepares us to live in the power and truth of God.

Exhortation for the Week

Embrace your weaknesses and limits as opportunities to rely on the power of God, rather than on your own.