Pre-reading for this lesson is Genesis 1 and 2, Psalm 65 and Chapter 15 (part b) of “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem: “Creation is Distinct from God Yet Always Dependent on God”. Also pre-reading is Psalm 103:19-22, Matthew 4:1-12, Revelation 15 and “Jesus: Infinitely Superior to Angels” by John Piper.

The Bible begins with these words:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

God must have existed prior to His creation to be its Creator. The Psalms have much to say about God’s creative power bringing everything into existence. The heavens and the earth testify that God is Sovereign and has all power and authority over His creation.

God not only created the visible world, but many things that are unseen. God is the sovereign ruler of both the seen and the unseen worlds.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will. 22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the LORD, O my soul.” Psalm 103:19-22

One important part of the unseen creation is the created beings called angels. We often may try to help someone or we may feel helpless in certain life situations. Have we forgotten that angels are everywhere? Do we realize God’s angels serve and minister to believers?

“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1
Lesson 2: God – Be Armed! Lesson #2
Lesson 3: Jesus – Be Armed! Lesson #3
Lesson 4: Holy Spirit – Be Armed! Lesson #4

I had such a hard time in the past with studying the Holy Spirit because 1) pneumatology was not highly regarded by my church (and even despised) and 2) we always asked the wrong question. We normally asked “What is the Holy Spirit?”. So we didn’t really get the correct answers. We should have been asking “Who is the Holy Spirit?” and “What does the Holy Spirit do?”.

The pre-reading for this lesson was John 14:15-21 and John 16:1-15, as well as chapter 1 of “The Mystery of the Holy Spirit” by R. C. Sproul. The discussions centered around the names for the Holy Spirit, the nature of the Person of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The memory verse for this lesson is John 15:26 “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”

This lesson 4 supplemented my own study of the Holy Spirit, which has been ongoing for several months now. I am convinced that a church body must introduce Jesus to people who don’t know him. And just as important, if not more, a church body must introduce the Holy Spirit to people who know Jesus. Yes, the Spirit is present the moment we believe, “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Yet it is possible to live many years as a Christian without meeting the Spirit face to face. We can keep the Spirit in the background of our lives, resisting (Acts 7:51), quenching (1 Thessalonians 5:19), grieving (Ephesians 4:30), insulting (Hebrews 10:29) or even blaspheming (Matthew 12:31-32) the Holy Spirit.

Christians can live (but don’t have to) like wounded soldiers, dwelling in the sacrifice and suffering of our Christian life, missing the greater joy, power, peace, purpose and hope our Lord wants us to have. When we hinder the work of the Spirit in our Christian lives, we are like Apollos in Acts 18 who was well-versed in Scripture, but only knew John’s baptism. It is clear to me that Priscilla and Aquila introduced Apollos to the Holy Spirit (or at least he met the Holy Spirit through their help).

Acts 18:24-28 “24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”

When a Christian realizes the Holy Spirit is present, waiting to do amazing work, he or she is able to go beyond “speaking boldly in the synagogue”. A person who submits to the Holy Spirit is able to powerfully understand the Scriptures and prove that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person becomes a “great help to those who by grace had believed”. In other words, Christians can only be effective evangelists and disciple-makers when they submit to the Holy Spirit.

R.C. Sproul’s description of his intense prayer and vow to God to win his unbelieving fiancé to Christ is a similar story. R.C. tried so hard to introduce Christ to his unbelieving girlfriend. He wrote: “I locked myself in my room and entered into a vigil of intercessory prayer. I made the pleas of the importunate widow in Jesus’ parable seem mild by comparison.” He loved this woman so much! He had already proposed to her and she was now his fiancé. He desperately tried everything he could to make her believe before they were married so that they would not be “unequally yoked”. In fact he envisioned that he would write her name in the Book of Life himself! He reminded himself of Matthew 11:12 “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.” Yet she did not believe. Only when this woman went to a prayer meeting and met God herself did she believe. At that prayer meeting she said, “Now I know who the Holy Spirit is.” R.C. noted that these were not the words of a trained theologian, but the observation of a fresh convert to the Christian faith.

In looking back on this event, R.C. Sproul expounded on the Holy Spirit’s person and work in light of 1 Corinthians 2:9-14:

“9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”– 10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 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. 13 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. 14 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. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: 16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”

Names

The names of the Holy Spirit are fascinating. Just as Jesus has many names, so does the Holy Spirit: Names of the Holy Spirit

Person

The Holy Spirit is a person, the third Person of the Trinity (Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 9:6; Acts 5:3-4). The Spirit is not a “force” nor an “energy” (though power does come from the Spirit). In the Scripture, the Spirit is not referred to as an “it” or inanimate object, but as a person. We can lie to the Spirit (Acts 5:3) and we can grieve the Spirit by our actions (Ephesians 4:30).

The Holy Spirit indwells those who have trusted in Christ for their salvation (1 Corinthians 6:19). When people believe in Christ as Lord and Savior, they receive God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), with whom they are sealed. This is a guarantee of the hope of eternal life (Ephesians 1:13-14). Jesus taught his followers that the Holy Spirit would be in them (John 14:17).

Works

Here is a summary of the work of the Holy Spirit (this is not intended to be a complete or comprehensive list):

1. To empower: The Spirit gives life, giving and sustainging human and animal life (Psalm 104:30), new life in regeneration for those who are saved (John 3:6-7), empowerment for service (Deuteronomy 34:9), power to witness (Acts 1:8) and grace distributed in gifts (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4).

2. To purify: The Spirit purifies through convicting (John 16:8-11), sanctification (1 Corinthians 6:11) and bearing fruit (Galatians 5:22-26).

3. To reveal: In the Old Testament, the prophets were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). The New Testament apostles were guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). The Spirit reveals and glorifies Jesus (John 16:14) and bears witness to Jesus (1 John 4:2). The Spirit guides (Galatians 5:16-26), manifests (Romans 5:5; Romans 14:17) and teaches (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:12).

4. To unify: The Spirit does not bring about uniformity but unity in the Lord (Acts 2:44-47; Philippians 2:1-2). When we put the Spirit’s gifts into our Lord’s service, we allow this unifying work to happen (1 Corinthians 12:7) in answer to Jesus’ high priestly prayer (John 17:1-26).

5. To testify: The Holy Spirit gives stronger or weaker evidence of the presence and blessing of God, according to our response to Him. The Spirit can be grieved. We are to set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:4-6) and walk according to His guidance (Romans 8:12-16).

Romans 8:12-17 is a fitting conclusion. Our obligation as Christians is to live according to the Holy Spirit (the wonderful guarantee and deposit and gift God has given!). This obligation is not just to overcome impure sins, but it is also to overcome religious sins. Why do we think we need to let the Spirit purify us, but don’t need to let the Spirit do ministry work? Why do we demand so much control over religious piety, insisting on knowing exactly what will happen through our programs?

“12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 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, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 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.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 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.

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1
Lesson 2: God – Be Armed! Lesson #2
Lesson 3: Jesus – Be Armed! Lesson #3

As I already shared, I learned today about what kinds of questions we should be asking during Bible study discussions. We should be asking discovery and learning-type questions which allow someone to find the truth about Jesus. In contrast, my approach to Bible study for as long as I can remember, was to dictate truth about Jesus. This kind of approach might help me, but is quite ineffective for leading others to a correct understanding of God’s messages.

The pre-reading for today’s lesson is: Colossians 1:15-23, Hebrews 9:11-28, Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and John 15:1-17, as well as chapters 8, 9 and 10of the book “In Christ Alone” by Sinclair B. Ferguson.

The Biblical identity of Jesus is that he is the Son of God. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, prophets like Isaiah foretold Jesus’ identity, purpose and work. Jesus was fully God and fully human. His incarnation was not the beginning of his life. Jesus exists in all eternity and by Him all things were created. Jesus came to be the Messiah, to do the work of saving sinners. Jesus paid the price for sin required due to the Fall of man.

Genesis 15 was shared by Pastor Wayne before the table discussions. This intrigued me greatly, and revealed a wonderful truth about Jesus from Abraham’s covenant with God:

1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the LORD came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the heavens and count the stars–if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” 8 But Abram said, “O Sovereign LORD, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” 9 So the LORD said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. 11 Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the LORD said to him, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates– 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.” Genesis 15:1-21

The covenant in this passage is similar to when a strong nation makes a covenant with a weaker nation. In ancient times, they would seal a covenant with the arrangement of animals cut in two pieces, and a trough of blood down the middle. The two parties would walk through the blood as a sign that “May I become like these animals if I break this covenant.”

The key point about Abraham’s covenant with God is that Abraham did not walk through the trough of blood. Only God went through (shown by the smoking firepot with a blazing torch). Abraham had fallen into a deep sleep! God was the one who went through the trough of blood, demonstrating the taking on the role of both parties. So if the covenant would be broken, God would pay the price. The covenant with Abraham’s descendants was, of course, broken by Abraham and his descendants. Mankind’s sin broke the covenant. And God paid the price as he promised, through Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice once and for all on the cross. Jesus is God who became broken to pay the price for our transgressions and to heal our wounds.

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1
Lesson 2: God – Be Armed! Lesson #2

The pre-reading for this lesson is Genesis 1, Isaiah 6, Acts 17:24-25 and Chapter 9 of “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem (“The Existence of God: How do we know that God exists?” This study presents God as the compassionate, gracious, forgiving, loving, sovereign, powerful, righteous, holy and only God. The nature and attributes of God are discussed in terms of non-communicable (attributes that cannot be given to mankind) and communicable (attributes that God does share with His followers through the Holy Spirit).

Some non-communicable attributes of God, who created the heavens and the earth, are:

1. Independence/self-existence (aseity) – Acts 17:24-25 ” 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.”

2. Unchangeableness/immutability – James 1:17 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

3. Eternity – Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

4. Omnipresence – Deuteronomy 10:14 “To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.”

Some communicable attributes of God are:

1. Goodness – Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

2. Love – 1 John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

3. Mercy – Exodus 34:6 “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,”

4. Holiness – Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”

5. Peace – 1 Corinthians 14:33 “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints,”

6. Justice – Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”

The memory verse for this week is Isaiah 55:8-9 “8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

This week’s challenge questions are: What areas of your life will you let God be Lord of? How will you express His rule in your life?

Christian Doctrine Series:
Lesson 1: Scripture – Be Armed! Lesson #1

Lesson 1 is entitled “Bibliology: Regarding the Scripture”. Required pre-reading for the study was Psalm 119:1-176, Isaiah 55:8-11, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:14-17 and two short publications: “Survey of Bible Doctrine” by Sid Litke and “Leading Even When You Don’t Feel It” by Perry Noble. Today’s post is a sharing of what I learned.

First of all, I learned some new vocabulary. I am not a fan of big words (just ask my wife!), but I see the importance of knowing and using correct words and meanings. The word “eisegesis” is “the interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one’s own ideas” (what someone says the Bible says). The word “exegesis is an “an explanation or critical interpretation of a text” (what the Bible teaches). For more than 20 years, I have had an eisegesis study of the Bible. As such, my Christian life became filled with contradictions. Yet I could not see those contradictions (though I could always sense a dark cloud of confusion and angst caused by the contradictions). Now, as I step back and start to listen to what the Bible teaches about the Bible (exegesis), I can see those contradictions more and more clearly. And the dark cloud is gone! The angst has turned into peace and confidence in the Lord.

Here are some things I wrote down during the discussions at this first lesson Bible study: The Bible is the truth and the complete and final truth. The Bible is our Christian canon. The Bible is the rule and standard I must measure up my beliefs and actions to. Study the Bible for transformation, not information. Let the Bible teach us. Righteousness is being right with God and right with people. Interpret the Bible with the Bible. Teaching, rebuking, correcting and training are good, but not in and of themselves (What good is a boxer who is well-trained but never enters the ring to fight?).