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Lesson A 4 - The Work of the Spirit in Conversion

A. Have several in your group describe the work the Holy Spirit did in bringing them into a relationship with Jesus Christ:

B. Read John 3:1-8. The Holy Spirit plays a very important role in the spiritual birth of man, a transformation Jesus calls “being born again”. See if you can identify that role by working through the following questions:

• 1. Who was Nicodemus and what would you guess would be his level of Scripture knowledge? (vs.1,2; see also John 3:10)
• 2. What do you suppose would be his understanding of who Jesus was? (vs.2a)
• 3. Jesus answers Nicodemus even before he can ask the question he brought with him. Can you figure out, based on the Lord's answer, the question Nicodemus brought?:
• 4. With what did Nicodemus quite naturally confuse spiritual birth? How does Jesus explain* the difference between the two? (vs. 4)
• 5. In what ways would the physical birth process (being born the first time) compare with the spiritual birth process (being born again)?

    a) How many individuals are involved at the start? Who are they?
        (1) Physical Birth…
        (2) Spiritual Birth…

            c) What happens when the process is complete?
                (1) Physical Birth…
                (2) Spiritual Birth…

C. Read I John 3:9,10.

• 1. What kind of children result from a person being born of the Spirit? To whom are they related?
• 2. When a person is born of the Spirit, what remains within that person?
• 3. Based on the picture we have here in this passage, would it be reasonable to expect that we could get ride of this “seed”?

E. Read John 16:7,8 and Titus 3:5,6: What does the Holy Spirit actu-ally do to prepare us for being born again believers?:

F. Consider carefully the following statement: “The Holy Spirit goes ahead and prepares the heart of every individual to whom a Gospel presentation is made. Not all respond, but all are prepared.” Do you agree or disagree?

G. Identify one unbelieving person in whose life the Spirit is working, and bring them before the Lord in prayer...