Lesson 4-A: Receive the Life and Power of Christ
Purpose: to help the disciple understand and experience a Spirit-filled life
Objectives:
1. to explain who the Holy Spirit is
2. to show that all Christians are indwelt with the Spirit
3. to show how God's omnipotence relates to the Spirit-filled life
4. to explain how a person can be filled with the Spirit
Introduction: Every Christian throughout history has struggled
with temptation and sin. In fact, the only man who
was ever able to conquer sin was Christ Himself. But God knows how
frail we are; so He comes and dwells in us in
the form of Christ's Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to give us His strength
to overcome our sinfulness. Since God is
omnipotent, or all-powerful, we have literally all the power in the
world available to help us grow into the image of
Christ.
Today let's look at God's power and at His Holy Spirit. Once again we'll
find that understanding more of His character will
help us grow ourselves.
Q. Who is the Holy Spirit?
A. God is one
God, but He exists in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy
Spirit. The
first two we're familiar with; but the third, the Holy Spirit, is often
more misunderstood. The
Holy Spirit
is God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son, the third person of
the Trinity. He is not
an "it" or a
ghost, but a person with "personality." He has an intellect, will, and
emotion, just like the
Father and the
Son.
Read John 16:5-14
Q. How does this passage describe the ministry of the Holy Spirit?
A. He convicts
the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (v.8).
He guided the apostles into all truth and disclosed what is to come (v.
13).
He came to glorify Christ (v. 14).
Read Ephesians 1:13-14
Q. Many times
the Bible speaks of the Spirit's dwelling within us. When does a person
receive the
Holy Spirit?
A. When he or she becomes a Christian.
Read Romans 8:9-10
Q. Has every Christian received the Holy Spirit?
A. Yes.
(Optional question:
Have you ever had doubts about whether or not you've received the Holy
Spirit?
Why or why not?)
Q. Is it possible to be a Christian without having received the Holy Spirit?
A. No (Romans 8:9b; John 3:30).
Read Romans 8:11
Q. What is one result of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you?
A. Life (v. 11).
Read Galatians 5:16, 17
Q. What is another result?
A. Power to overcome the deeds of the flesh.
Q. How would this help you mature into the image of Christ?
A. It helps you
overcome the desires of your flesh, which you cannot overcome on your own
willpower, thereby
freeing you to grow more into the image of Christ.
Q. What are some areas of our lives where we need the power of the Holy Spirit?
A. [Let the group give examples.]
Read Galatians 5:19-21, 22-23
Q. What is the flesh?
A. The old sin nature which enslaved us before we received the Holy Spirit in salvation.
Q. What does the flesh give us desires to do?
A. Look at the
list in vv. 19-21. This is not an exhaustive list but a representative
one of typical deeds
provoked by
our sin nature.
Q. What does the Holy Spirit give us desires to do?
A. The fruit of the Holy Spirit listed in vv. 22-23. It is the Holy Spirit's fruit, so only He can produce it.
Q. Once again,
how can a person grow in the qualities listed in vv. 22-23 and overcome
those in vv.
19-21?
A. By walking
in the Spirit (v. 16). This is not to say that the flesh has no influence
over us once we
become Christians,
but that the flesh can no longer control us (Romans 6:6).
Q. Have you noticed
your desires changing since you became a Christian? In what ways? Have
you
noticed any
changes in your "fruits" or any other changes brou ght by the Holy Spirit's
presence in your
life?
Read Colossians 1:29
Q. How did Paul find strength to labor for Christ?
A. He labored with God's power which mightily worked within him.
The exciting thing is that all the power
of the almighty God is now available to us to help us overcome sin and
become more Christlike. Read Ephesians
3:20-21.
Read Jeremiah 32:17, 27
Q. Will there
ever be a sin too embedded or too hopeless for us to overcome through the
power of
God's Spirit
within us?
A. No. Nothing is too difficult for God.
Here we see how another of God's attributes,
His omnipotence or all-powerfulness, affects our relationship with
Him.
Read Ephesians 1:18-21
Q. What does God want us to understand about His power?
A. That God's same power is available to us today as that which raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Read Ephesians 3:14-16
Q. How is this power made available to us as believers?
A. It comes from the holy Spirit who dwells within us and strengthens us in our inner being.
Q. If all this
power is made available to us when we accept Christ, then how do we come
to
experience it
consistently?
A. [Let them answer.]
Read Galatians 3:2-5
Q. According to v. 3, what problem was Paul concerned about in the Galatian church?
A. Though they
had received the Holy Spirit by faith (through dependence on God), they
were now
trying to live
the Christian life through their own effort.
Q. How then should they have been living the Christian life?
A. By faith, depending on God to empower them through His Spirit.
Read 1 John 5:14,15
Q. What is one of the best ways to express faith or dependence on God to empower us?
A. Since we know
that it is God's desire to empower us with the Holy Spirit, one of the
best ways to
express our
faith and dependence on Him is to, by prayer, express our dependence on
Him and ask
Him to empower
us.
Q. Have you been
trying to grow as a Christian more by relying on your own strength or on
the Holy
Spirit? When
is it easiest for you to rely on the Holy Spirit's power instead of on
your own? When is it
most difficult?
Is there an area of your life you haven't been willing to surrender to
His control? (a
decision, your
dating life, your career decisions, your study habits?) Do you find this
an area of great
struggle? Let's
take some time to pray about this and to ask God to empower us to live
for Him through
the power of
the Spirit.
We have seen in our Bible study together
that the Holy Spirit is God, that as God He is all-powerful, and that He
takes up residence in our lives after we
become Christians (repent and believe). It is the Holy Spirit who gives
us
new desires and gives us the power to overcome
sinful desires in our lives. We receive this power when we let Him
control our lives and ask Him to strengthen
us.
Assignment: Read Ephesians 4:17-5:10 and write down what you
learn about the differences between the lifestyles
of the flesh and of the Spirit. Examine your own lifestyle in light
of these observations.