God—Guide Eight Phil Benedict

Tahlequah, Oklahoma

United Indian Mission

Greeley, Colorado

These guides are designed to help you to study, to learn, to understand, and to live what God teaches us in his Word, the Bible. God gave us the Bible to teach us how to know and to walk with Him. We can enjoy God’s blessings forever, rather than experiencing his judgement. His Word is eternally true. Take time to carefully read and think about the Scriptures used in this guide. Meditate on them and the truths they teach. Learn to love God and his Word. Regularly ask God for a right understanding of Scriptural truths and then make them part of you. Absorb them. If you go over the material too quickly without much thought, it will have little or no lasting impact on your life. Commit yourself to making Biblical truths the foundation of your life and to putting them into practice every day of your life.

The Holy Spirit is the primary member of the Godhead that deals with man. The Spirit lives in us and gives us the ability to know and to walk with God. This is a rich study. You will be blessed and encouraged to know how much the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives.

Isaiah 11:2 is a very rich verse describing the Spirit. Carefully read this verse.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him -- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD Isaiah 11:2

Note that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. As God, the Spirit knows all. Understanding and wisdom go beyond knowledge. The Spirit who is our counselor knows everything and has understanding and is wise. The Holy Spirit is a counselor that is far better than any human counselor could possibly be. He is also the Spirit of power. When we lack the strength to do His will, He is able give us all the power needed. The Spirit who was able to raise Jesus from the dead (1 Peter 3:18) certainly has the power to strengthen us. Finally, in this verse, He is the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. He gives us a right attitude about God. If we are filled with the Spirit, we have a tremendous awe and respect for God.

What are the six qualities of the Spirit given in Isaiah 11:2?

John 14:16-17, John 15:26, John 16:13, and I John 5:6 all identify the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit cannot lie or deceive. He can be trusted. He will not lead us in the wrong way or give us untruths. It is our responsibility to submit to His direction.

From Ephesians 6:17 we learn that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. The Word of God, which is the Bible, is God’s revelation of truth to man. The Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of truth, uses the Bible which is the Word of truth, to reveal spiritual truth to us. As we will see later, the Spirit gives us understanding of the Word. He illuminates the Word. The Spirit of God will never never lead contrary to the Word of God. A person whose absorption of correct Bible truth is haphazard and irregular cannot expect to be continuously led by or filled with the Holy Spirit.

This writer can vividly remember being told by an individual who vehemently claimed to be "Spirit filled", that he had gone "beyond the Bible". He no longer needed the Bible because he was now "filled with the Spirit". Yet as I talked with Him about spiritual things there was glaring error after error in his understanding of Biblical truth. This kind of an approach to Biblical truth is absolute foolishness and possibly even spiritual suicide. To be led by or filled with the Spirit, we must begin a pattern of rightly understanding, knowing, and loving the Word of God. This takes commitment and discipline.

There is a tremendous amount of Biblical untruth being taught. In churches, on television, on radio, in books and magazines, it seems as if half truths, and outright false teaching is far more prevalent that solid Biblical teaching. It seems as if teaching that is solid and uncompromising is almost rare. We desperately need to be genuinely led by the Spirit of Truth.

If the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, how do we explain why people sometimes have very different, even opposite concepts or beliefs, which they all say came from the Spirit?

Do you regularly read, study, and meditate on the Word of God?

Do you regularly attend a church where you are being taught solid Biblical truth?

Where has your understanding of the Bible come from?

Do you have enough understanding that you recognize half truths or error when you hear it?

Are you growing in your understanding of the Word?

How is the Spirit identified in Isaiah 28:6?

As the Spirit of justice, the Spirit will always do what is right. He will not make a mistake in judgment.

How is the Spirit identified in Hebrews 10:29?

God the Spirit, like God the Father, is the Spirit of grace. He is good to undeserving people. What a blessing that He shows favor to sinful people.

How is the Spirit identified in Romans 1:4?

The Spirit, like other members of the trinity, is pure, separated from even a tint of evil in his character.

How is the Spirit identified in 1 Peter 4:14?

When we suffer because of our faith, it is actually a blessing because the Spirit of God, which is also identified in the verse as the Spirit of glory, rests on us.

How is the Spirit identified in Ephesians 1:17?

We have already seen that He is the Spirit of wisdom. He is also the Spirit of revelation. The Spirit does not keep his qualities to Himself. The Spirit reveals spiritual truth to us. He does not hide them from us. The result is that we will know Him better and better.

Wow, what a Spirit He is!!!

The Holy Spirit plays an active role in our salvation. The Spirit automatically does this when we make the choice to put our trust in death of our Lord Jesus Christ as the payment for our sin. It is not something that we seek or even necessarily feel. He just does it when we come to know God.

Read Titus 3:3-8. According to verse 5, what does God do through the Holy Spirit that results in our salvation?

Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. Here we find that it is the Spirit of God who makes us a part of the body of Christ. According to verse 13, what does the Spirit do?

According to these verses, being baptized by the Spirit is to be made part of the body of Christ by the Spirit. This occurs at our salvation. It is not necessarily something we feel or even know it happened.

It should be noted that this is in no way connected to water baptism. Being baptized by the Spirit occurs at salvation. Water baptism takes place later as a public testimony of our identification with the Lord Jesus Christ. It should also be noted that being baptized by the Spirit is in no way connected to "speaking in tongues". This is a teaching in many churches; however, it simply is not a Biblical teaching.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13, God chose us to be saved through what?

The Spirit of God sets us apart from the world and brings us to know God. Once we know God, the Spirit actively leads us in growth in our walk with God.

When we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes in and lives in us. This may be a little hard to grasp, but it is a clear Biblical teaching. This is an amazing truth. God lives in me and you.

Read 2 Timothy 1:13-14. What does verse 14, say about the Spirit?

In these verses, what is Paul (the writer) instructing Timothy to do?

Who gives Timothy the ability to follow those instructions?

What does 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 teach about our bodies?

Since our bodies are the temple of the Spirit of God, how should we treat our bodies?

Read 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. From these verses, what sin should we avoid?

In verse 19, what is the reason given for avoiding immorality?

Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, what should we do with our bodies?

Carefully read Romans 8:9-11. Several times it says something like "if the Spirit of God lives in you". This indicates that not all people have the Spirit in them. From verse 9, who does not have the Spirit living in them?

In verse 11, what does the Spirit do to us if He is in us?

From these verses we learn that if someone does not have the Spirit living in him, he does not know God. If the Spirit does live in him, then he is given life by the Spirit. No unbeliever has the Holy Spirit living in them and all believers do have the Spirit living in them. The Holy Spirit lives in all Christians. He is our permanent companion.

Now carefully read Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 4:30, and 2 Corinthians 1:21-22.

What is the Holy Spirit identified as in each of these verses?

What is a seal? (not one that swims in the ocean - grin)

What does God give us, guaranteeing He will complete his promise of salvation?

From Ephesians 1:13-14, what happens when we believe?

What two things does God do in 1Corinthians 1:22?

Our salvation is as secure as God Himself. The Spirit of God seals us. To lose our salvation, one would have to overpower the Spirit of God. When we die, God will complete our salvation as we go to be with Him forever.

Have you thanked Him lately for your salvation?

Do you worry about whether or not you are saved?

Carefully read John 14:16-17, John 15:26, and John 16:7.

Who did Jesus promise his disciples that He would send after Jesus returned to the Father in heaven?

Depending on which translation you are using, the Spirit in these verses is called a Helper, a Counselor, or a Comforter. The Greek word apparently refers to someone who comes along beside us to lead us and help us. This is a tremendous blessing. We have the Spirit of God beside us at all times continually giving assistance and direction to all who believe on Him.

According to John 14:17, He not only is by our side helping us. Where does He live?

From verse 17, why does He not live in unbelievers?

What a blessing these truths are. The Spirit is both in us and beside us. He is our constant companion and helper. All of what the Spirit is---knowledge, understanding, wisdom, power, the fear of God, truth, grace, justice, holiness, glory and more---is in us giving us continual direction and help. No human can please God by himself. However, we have a tremendous resource living right there in us and by us with everything we need to live for God.

The message in the Bible is not from man but from the Holy Spirit.

... for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke [as they were] moved by the Holy Spirit. II Peter 1:21

Prophecy here is not simply referring to parts of Scripture that tell about the future, but to all of the Word of God spoken by the prophets.

All Scripture is God breathed... II Timothy 3:16

2 Samuel 23:2, Matthew 22:43, Acts 1:16, and Acts 4:25 are all Scriptures that indicate that the Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible. Scriptures are identified as the breath of God. The Spirit led the human writers to receive God’s special revelation and to speak it and write it in their own language and style, without error or omission. The written Word (the Bible) is, in fact, the very words of God. The speakers and writers of God’s words were inspired in the sense that they were acted upon by the Holy Spirit to produce God’s truth in human language.

Now carefully read I Corinthians 2:9-14.

In these verses we find that it is the Spirit of God who is the author of the Word of God that enables us to understand spiritual truth.

In verse 10, who reveals truth to us?

From verse 11, who knows the very thoughts of God?

From verse 12, what have we not received?

From verse 12, why have we received the Spirit?

From verse 13, the Spirit does not rely on what?

From verse 13, what does the Spirit use to teach spiritual truth?

This verse makes reference to "spiritual words". Within Scripture there are certain words that need to be understood if we are to understand the truths taught in the Word of God. Words like grace, redemption, salvation, repentance, believe, and faith all have meanings somewhat different than their everyday usage. A good Bible dictionary such as Ungers Bible Dictionary, or The New Ungers Bible Dictionary can be a big help in understanding the Biblical usage of words.

From verse 14, who does not accept spiritual truth?

From verse 14, why does the unbeliever not accept spiritual truth?

From verse 14, what can only be discerned spiritually?

The fact that the Spirit gives spiritual understanding does not mean that we do not have to study the Word, and it does not mean we will understand everything we read the first time we read it. It often takes time, effort, and meditation on our part. As we do this, there is real satisfaction as we sense the Spirit of God giving us understanding of the Word of God.

Do you take time to study and meditate on the Word of God?

Is the Spirit giving you greater understanding of his Word?

Carefully read Romans 8:26-27.

There are times when we want God to work, but we simply don’t know how we should pray. We just don’t know what is best. There are times in life when our pain is beyond words to express. Romans 8:26-27 states that the Spirit intercedes for us in prayer in ways beyond our human limitations. God so values our prayers that, at times, He, through his own Holy Spirit, does the praying for us.

Note there is no reference here to speaking in tongues in Romans 8:26-27. To read tongues into this passage is to force it into the passage. We take this verse simply as it says. There are times that because of our human weaknesses we simply don’t know how to pray. I suspect anyone who has been a Christian for long has been to that point. The Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God. This is a prayer that we can count on being answered. God will always answer the prayer of his own Holy Spirit.

One tremendous truth is that we have both the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit interceding for us. We can’t lose. We are on the winning side even when we don’t feel like it or when we just can’t understand what is going on.

How do you react to knowing that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you as you pray?

Are you thankful for the intercession of the Holy Spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ?

Are you a thankful or a complaining person?

Is the Word of God at work in your life equipping you to serve?

Every person who accepts the Lord Jesus Christ is also given "spiritual gifts" which enable him to be a productive servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. A "spiritual gift" is a Spirit given and Spirit powered ability to serve Christ. Most are used to build up fellow believers. As we use these abilities to serve fellow believers, we are actually serving the Lord and bringing honor to His name.

There are three major passages that give us the fundamental truths about spiritual gifts. They are Romans 12:4-8, Ephesians 4:11-15, and I Corinthians 12. Some of the gifts mentioned are serving, encouraging, showing mercy, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, faith, administration, wisdom, knowledge, evangelism, being a pastor, and teaching. No particular gift is evidence of salvation or of a deeper more committed or fulfilling walk with God.

In 1 Peter 4:10, what are we to do with the spiritual gift we have received?

From 1 Corinthians 12:7 , the Spirit gives gifts for whose good?

From 1 Corinthians 12: 11, who determines who is to receive what gift?

From 1 Corinthians 4:2 , what does God want from us?

In Ephesians 2:19-22, the believers (the church) at Ephesus are called a building whose cornerstone is the Lord Jesus Christ. They are a temple in which the Spirit of God lives. As we have seen, the Spirit of God lives in individual believers, but He also lives in the church which is an assembly of believers.

In Acts 9:31, what two things did the Spirit do for the church?

What two things resulted from this?

Read Acts 20:25-31. In these verses, who is Paul saying goodbye to?

From verse 28, who is it that calls someone to be a pastor (overseer)?

This is a very important truth. God calls men to be pastors. Only men called by God should become pastors. If one becomes a pastor to gain recognition, authority, prestige, or any other such thing, he is setting himself up for a lot of trouble and a fruitless ministry. The same is true for deacons, teachers and other leaders.

From Acts 13:1-4, how is the Spirit involve in the missions program of a church?

What did the Spirit do?

There are several direct commands given that relate to the Holy Spirit. These commands can be obeyed or disobeyed. God gives these commands for His own glory and for our own good. When we obey, there is blessing. When we disobey, there is fruitlessness and trouble.

In Acts 7:51, it talks about "stiff-necked" people who resisted the Holy Spirit. We can understand why unsaved people resist the Spirit, but it is not so easy to understand why Christians resist the Spirit. However, a sad truth is that many Christians do resist Him.

Is your life one of submission to the leading of the Spirit or one of resisting the Spirit?

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22.

Here we are told not put out the Spirit’s fire or do not quench the Spirit. This is basically the same as resisting the Spirit. Again we look at what surrounds this verse to better understand how to keep the command.

What are we told in verse 16?

What are we instructed to do in verse 17?

What is God’s will in verse 18?

What are we not to ignore or disrespect in verse 20?

Prophesy is the Word of God. Prophets spoke the Word under direct revelation from God. Our record of their teaching is the inspired Word of God. We must not ignore or reject the Word.

What two instructions are given in verse 21?

What is the instruction in verse 22?

The reference to fire here is interesting. Fire will burn if it has the right fuel to burn. The Spirit’s fire will blaze if it has the right fuel. In the context here, the fuel that keeps the Spirit’s fire burning is our rejoicing, our continuing in prayer, our thankfulness, our study of the Word, our holding on to good and avoiding the appearance of evil.

Read Ephesians 4:25-32.

What command is given in verse 30?

Many of us are parents and we know that our children can bring us joy or grief. We know how deep those feeling go. We are God’s children. He is our Father. We bring our Father joy or we bring Him sorrow and grief.

In Ephesians 4:25-32 which is the passage surrounding the command not to grieve the Holy Spirit, there are at least ten commands given. Disobedience to any of these commands will grieve the Spirit of God.

Go through this passage again and write down at least ten instructions for life. Keep in mind that obedience to these commands brings our Father joy. Disobedience brings grief.

Do you regularly bring grief to the heart of God by your actions?

What have you done lately to bring joy to the heart of God?

Read Isaiah 63:7-10. In verses 7-9, what had God done for his people?

What happened in the first part of verse 10?

What was the result in the last part of verse 10?

What two things are we instructed to do in Jude 1:20?

What two things are we instructed to do in Ephesians 6:18?

From Ephesians 6:18, how often are we to pray in the Spirit?

It states in this verse that we are to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. This indicates that we continually pray in the Spirit with requests about situations in our life. In the last phrase of the verse we are to pray in the Spirit specifically for the saints, your brothers and sisters in the Lord.

To pray in the Spirit is to give the Spirit of God freedom to direct our hearts and minds and responding in prayers as He leads us. It is not our own human spirit that directs our prayer but the Holy Spirit. As we pray in this way, the intercession of the Spirit in our prayers becomes very real.

Again, we should note that there is nothing in these verses saying that to pray in the Spirit is to "speak in tongues". To force tongues on these passages is to lose their depth of value and to miss what God is teaching in these powerful verses.

In your own words, describe what it means to pray in the Spirit?

What steps do you need to take to develop this kind of a prayer life?

Carefully read Ephesians 5:15-21 several times.

In verse 15, what does it say about how we should live?

In verse 16, because of evil in the world, what are we to do?

In verse 17 there is a negative and a positive command. What are they?

What two commands are given in verse 18?

What follows these commands in verse 19?

From verse 20, what attitude should we have?

How are we to respond to each other in verse 21?

Central to this whole section is verse 18 where we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The emphasis of the word "filled" is to be completely filled or "filled to the fullest". We are not to be half filled but to be totally and completely filled. If we are completely filled by the Spirit, then we are totally controlled and empowered by the Spirit.

Being filled with the Spirit and obedience to the Word of God is essentially the same thing. To be filled is to eagerly submit to and obey God’s teaching. And our submission must be an eager and cheerful submission rather than a resentful or passive submission. When we eagerly submit and obey, the Spirit has the freedom to lead us and to empower us to be the kind of person God wants us to be. We will do the work God wants us to do.

To be controlled by the Spirit, we must be continually absorbing the Word of God. An individual who does not take the Word of God seriously will never be led or filled with the Spirit of God.

As we allow God to fill us with His Spirit, all of the on-going ministries of the Spirit become fully operational and we function as God wants us to. We have the Spirit giving us knowledge, understanding, wisdom, counsel, power, and a right attitude toward God.

As we begin resisting the Spirit, the Spirit does not have the freedom to operate as He would like. When this happens we begin to operate in our own strength. We lose the power of the Spirit and we feel spiritually empty and dry. Our service produces little or no fruit as we function in our own selves.

Being filled with the Spirit is an on going process. I may be submissive to God today, but allow resentment and rebellion to come in tomorrow. To be continually filled with the Spirit, one must continually submit and be obedient. As soon as we have unconfessed sin in our lives or as soon as we become passive in our commitment to the Lord, then we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to control us.

In Galatians 5:16 and 25 we are instructed to live by the Spirit, and to walk by the Spirit or keep in step with the Spirit. Carefully read these verses.

To live by the Spirit suggests that being filled by the Spirit is a total life truth. The Spirit is to permeate every aspect of our life. It is not a half-hearted sideline to our lives, but the heart and soul of our whole being. Actively seek to bring every aspect of our lives into harmony with the Spirit of God.

To walk in the Spirit or to keep in step with the Spirit, one step at a time. Notice it says to walk in the Spirit, not to take "leaps of faith", or even "to run" in the Spirit. We walk by taking one small step at a time. We can walk in the Spirit by taking it one step at a time. Many make mistakes by thinking big things for God. God wants us to think small, one step at a time. We are led by the Spirit by submitting to God in the step in life I am taking right now. As we submit, step by step, we are walking under the control of the Spirit.

Read Romans 8:5-8. From these verses, describe the differences in a person controlled by the Spirit and the person who is controlled by the flesh (self).

Today, many teach that to be filled with the Spirit means to "speak in tongues". Some teach that you are not saved or you are not a spiritual person if you do not speak in tongues. Some say that the only way to be sure you are saved is to speak in tongues. All of these are false teaching. They are not true Biblical teaching. They are shallow and miss the whole point of being filled with the Spirit. These kinds of teaching may well lead to on-going defeat, not victory, in our walk with God. Living a Godly life or walking with God is not dependent on "speaking in tongues".

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?

There are several places in the Bible where it records people being filled in the Spirit. In each case, the Kingdom of God was advanced.

In Acts 2:4, followers of Jesus were filled with the Spirit, and they "declared the wonders of God" (verse 11). The followers of Christ who were speaking were Galileans (verse 7). However, many people were there who were from other countries and who spoke a different language. The Spirit supernaturally enabled the speakers, who were Galileans, to speak in the native language of those who were visiting and who spoke other languages. Each visitor heard them speaking in his own native tongue. The different languages spoken are listed in

verses 7-11.

As a result of this miracle about three thousand people believed and were baptized.

In Acts 4:8, Peter was filled with the Spirit and he courageously preached the Word of God to the very ones who were responsible for killing Jesus.

In Acts 4:31, followers of Jesus were filled with the Spirit and they all spoke the Word of God boldly.

In Acts 6:1-7, seven men full of the Spirit were chosen to supervise the distribution of food.

In Acts 7:54-60, Stephen was filled with the Spirit and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing beside God. He forgave his killers and then died from rocks being thrown on him.

In Acts 9:17, Paul was filled with the Spirit and God enabled him to see again.

In Acts 13:1, the Antioch church was filled with the Spirit and they sent Paul and Silas out as missionaries.

In Acts 13:9, Paul was filled with the Spirit and he rebuked a sorcerer.

Now read Romans 8:6. What characterizes the mind controlled by the Spirit?

Now carefully read Galatians 5:16-26 several times.

What is the fruit of the sinful nature?

There are similar lists of sinful acts in Revelation 21:8, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

Is your life characterized primarily by the fruit of the Spirit or by the fruit of the sinful nature?

Carefully read John 16:5-11. In this passage the Spirit’s work in the hearts of unbelievers is revealed.

In verse 8, what three things does the Spirit convict the world of?

According to verse 9, why is sin a problem?

When Jesus was on earth He was a shining example of righteousness. His life and message convicted men of their own need of righteousness. Since Jesus was returning to the Father, who would now convict the world of their need of righteousness?

From verse 11, who is already condemned?

If Satan himself will be eternally judged, can anyone else expect to escape judgement?

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness (or their need of righteousness), and of

judgment. In our telling the gospel, we can cooperate with the Spirit by emphasizing these three things. Sin separates us from God and will bring judgment. God offers us His righteousness, providing a way to escape judgment. What a blessing to those of us who know Him. We do not have to fear judgment!!!

Read Revelation 22:17. Here in the last few verses of the Bible, the Spirit invites people to come to the Lord Jesus. After revealing the terrible judgments that will come on the earth, there is an invitation to come. There is a tenderness and an urgency in these verses. At the end of the Bible there is one final appeal to come and take the free gift of life.

If you are reading this guide and have never made the choice to put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, will you make that choice today? You too can have your sin forgiven and be filled with the Spirit of God. Call a Christian friend or pastor or call this writer and we would be thrilled to give you all the help you need to accept Him. You will never regret it.

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October, 2001