Forgotten God: Session #1
Notes
Transcript
Session #1: I’ve Got Jesus. Why Do I Need the Spirit?
Session #1: I’ve Got Jesus. Why Do I Need the Spirit?
For more information on the material in this session, read the Introduction and chapter 1 of the book Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit.
Have you ever felt like you’re missing something? Like you’re getting by, but your life lacks something crucial, something extraordinary?
Somehow, we in the American church have managed to systematically neglect the power of the Holy Spirit. And the sad thing is that many people haven’t even noticed. An increasing number of us recognize that there’s a problem, but most of us still have no idea what we’re missing out on.
In general, we don’t value the Holy Spirit. But Jesus did: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all” (). And from a biblical standpoint, you simply cannot live the Christian life without the Spirit of God. Paul says, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (). We have no idea the power available to us through the Spirit. tells us, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Think of the power that it took to raise Jesus from the dead. Paul says that the same Holy Spirit who brings life out of death lives inside of us!
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
How have we missed this? I’m guessing that you’ve heard these verses before. But most of us have probably come to accept our experience of the Christian life as normal. It’s time to question what we’ve always thought. None of us is as biblical in our thinking as we’d like to believe.
Think about it for a minute. Why do you believe what you believe? What process do you follow in forming your beliefs? Most of us would probably say that our beliefs are based on the Word of God, but really, our beliefs are often born more out of convenience and consistency than a careful study of the Scriptures. This is certainly true when it comes to our views about the Holy Spirit.
Chances are, you owe most of what you believe about the Holy Spirit to what you’ve seen and heard from the people around you. It’s important to learn from other people, but at times we need to challenge our way of thinking. We are all in constant need of bringing our lives in line with the Scriptures.
1. Take a minute and list some of your beliefs about the Holy Spirit. (Even if you don’t consider yourself a theologian, most of us have at least a few ideas about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does.)
2. Being as open as possible, do you think your beliefs are shaped more by the Scriptures or by what you’ve come to experience as the normal Christian life? What makes you say that?
At some point, we all need to get past what we think we know about the Spirit. If we are going to rediscover the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, we will need to begin listening to His voice and following His leading—not in the ways we think He should speak and lead, but in whatever He may call us to do.
If you have the Forgotten God DVD Study Resource, watch the video for session 1 now, particularly if you are meeting with a group. After the video, work through the rest of this section.
In the busyness of our lives, we have developed a remarkable ability to miss the obvious. We overanalyze the things that don’t deserve a second thought, and we blow right past the clear, obvious, important things in life.
We assume that we know what the Christian life ought to look like. But have you ever sat down and considered the way Scripture describes the Spirit-filled life?
3. The following passages offer a brief overview of what the Holy Spirit does in a person’s life. Quickly flip through these passages and make some notes. (If you don’t want to look up all of these passages, feel free to choose just a few at random.)
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit (to be baptized in). You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you to be my witnesses [everywhere].
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”
All were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. There were speaking in different languages that could be understood. What were they declaring? The wonders of God in our own tongues!.
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
They were filled with the Holy spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
. . . who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. . . . those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires. . . the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. . . . controlled . . . by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
4. If you disregarded your own experiences and just read these passages, what would you expect to observe as the Holy Spirit entered a person’s life?
5. For so many people in the church today, everyday life does not match these biblical descriptions. Why do you think that is?
The statement is so familiar to us that we sometimes overlook its significance: “The Spirit of God dwells in you” (). One obvious truth that we frequently overlook is that there should be a huge difference between someone who has the Spirit of God living inside of them and someone who does not.
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
Have you ever observed Christians and non-Christians interacting? In many cases, it is all but impossible to discern who has the Spirit and who doesn’t. Sure, the Christians may be a little nicer or more morally conscientious, but is that really all the Holy Spirit came to do in our lives? Shouldn’t the difference be supernatural?
Read
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Paul is telling the Galatians what the Christian life ought to look like. In Christ, we have been set free from the law. But without the law, how do we please God? How do we love our neighbors as ourselves? For Paul, the answer is simple: Walk by the Spirit.
6. According to , what does it look like to walk by the Spirit?
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
7. Based on what Paul says here, what should distinguish a Spirit-filled person from a non-Christian?
If the Holy Spirit is being neglected in our churches and in our lives, is it any wonder that we don’t look much different from the rest of the world? Too often we work in our own strength to be the kind of people who stand out—the kind of people who look like Jesus. This is the right goal, but when we try to do this without relying on the Spirit, we’re missing the whole point. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that although we want to live out the attributes of , we don’t rely on the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of the Spirit?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Look at again: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Perhaps we’ve gotten so caught up in trying to live the Christian life that we’ve overlooked the Source. Life-change comes through the power of the Holy Spirit. At times we try so hard—but if we have forgotten about the Holy Spirit, then we’re missing the whole point.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
8. Every day, people try to live the “Spirit-filled” life without the Spirit. Based on your experience, what good things can we accomplish merely through human strength?
9. If the Spirit works through us, how should the supernatural results differ from what we can accomplish on our own?
I know that there are people in the church who live every day in the power of the Spirit, depending on and following Him in every aspect of life. Maybe you’re one of those blessed few. Praise God if that’s the case! But we all have room to grow. None of us has too much of the Spirit. We are all in danger of pursuing supernatural results through our own strength.
It’s time for us to stop assuming that we know About the Holy Spirit. Some of us need to study a little deeper and find out who the spirit is and what he does. This is an important step in the process. But all of us Need to begin applying the obvious biblical truths about the Holy Spirit to our lives. Maybe you haven't missed the obvious doctrinally-- maybe you've missed it practically. Until we actually apply a truth to our lives, we can't claim to believe it -- at least not with my integrity.
Look again at the fruit of the spirit listed in . add to that list a host of other godly characteristics that we are called to pursue (such as faith, hope, compassion). these are not just abstract concepts. These fruits should be evident in our actions toward the people around us.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
10. Don't just think about what the Holy Spirit can do for you. What are some clear and practical ways that the spirit can work through you to bless the people around you?
Chapter one of the book Forgotten God ends with the confusion a Caterpillar must experience:
For all is Caterpillar life, it crawls around a small Patch of dirt and up and down a few plants. Then one day it takes a nap. A long nap. And then, what in the world must go through its head when it wakes up to discover it can fly? What happened to its dirty, plump little worm body? What does it think when it sees its tiny new body and gorgeous wings?
As believers, we ought to experience the same kind of astonishment when the Holy Spirit enters our bodies. We should be stunned in disbelief over becoming a “new creation” with the spirit living in us. As the Caterpillar finds its new ability to fly, we should be thrilled over our spirit-empowered ability to live differently and faithfully. (Forgotten God, 37)
11. For all practical purposes, we Seem to have forgotten that the Holy Spirit is powerful -- He radically transforms lives. Are you open to being transformed, no matter what that may mean for your life? If you do want to be changed, why do you desire this? If you don't, what is keeping you from desiring change?
12. Spend some time praying that God will give you the humility to be open to what he wants to teach you -- even if it means you've spent years overlooking the obvious. Then ask him to begin using these truths to change the way you live.
Journal some reflections on . . .
I've got Jesus. Why do I need the spirit?