Who Is the Holy Spirit?

By ZOE Ministries International

Has the subject of the Trinity ever brought confusion and frustration? The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are uniquely the same, and yet they have different roles. During this study you will have the opportunity to examine what the Bible says about one person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit.

Out of God’s great love for the world, He sent His one and only Son as a living sacrifice in order to bring mankind back into relationship with Himself. Jesus, out of love and obedience to His Father, came to earth to fulfill God’s plan and offered Himself as the once and for all sacrifice. Before Jesus’ death, He told His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to live in them and be with them forever. After Jesus’ resurrection, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live in all people who believe in Jesus as Lord.
What would it be like to know the Holy Spirit as an attentive friend and counselor? To walk with him through life’s valleys? To accept his invitations to challenging and exciting adventure? This illuminating study, intended for individuals or groups, contains six lessons designed to enrich our understanding of God as Holy Spirit—his divinity, personality and role with respect to us.
All that is required is a Bible and an inquiring heart. After you read the questions posed in each lesson, consider recording your response to the questions in a personal journal. As you explore the scriptures about the Holy Spirit, you will learn about his work of transforming us to radiate the character of Jesus, giving us understanding of truths in the Bible, and providing guidance, comfort, peace and healing. We trust that as you meditate on these verses, the Holy Spirit will, over time, draw you into an even closer relationship with him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ZOE Ministries International
• Release date: Aug 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310190551

ZOE Ministries International

In 1985, ZOE Ministries International was birthed as a Colorado nonprofit ministry to train and equip people to hear, know and follow God’s voice in all areas of life and ministry. God loves to speak and ZOE Ministries International loves to disciple people to listen for and recognize His voice in an ever-closer relationship with Him—a relationship that ignites passion to serve Him, and that enables responsive believers to impart God’s life and blessing to others in the power of the Holy Spirit. Uniquely, ZOE’s scripturally based courses are designed to fine tune our understanding of God’s plans for us personally and to bring out individual gifts and callings rather than to merely impart information.

Book preview

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

DISCOVERING THE GIFT OF OUR DIVINE HELPER

PART 3: CAPTIVATED BY THEIR CHARACTER

Zoe Ministries International

www.zoeministries.org

Copyright

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2010, 2014

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

This manual or parts thereof may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of ZOE Ministries International, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

ZOE Ministries International

P.O. Box 17036

Boulder, CO 80308-0036 USA

[e-mail]

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ® NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

The Trinity by David L. Jenkins reprinted with permission from David L. Jenkins.

Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit by Susan Maycinik is used by permission of Discipleship Journal. Copyright © Issue 91, 1996, The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. To subscribe, visit www.navpress.com or call [phone].

Nine Things that Grieve the Holy Spirit by Lorraine Pintus is used by permission of Discipleship Journal. Copyright © Issue 91, 1996, The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. To subscribe, visit www.navpress.com or call [phone].

Still More Things That Grieve the Holy Spirit is reprinted from The Gentle Love of the Holy Spirit by A.B. Simpson, copyright © 1983 by Zur Ltd. Originally published in 1889 under the title Walking in the Spirit. Used by permission of WingSpread Publishers, a division of Zur Ltd., 800.884.4571.

The Baptism by the Holy Spirit by Malcolm Smith is reprinted with permission from Malcolm Smith.

Spirit at Work by Craig Keener is used by permission of Discipleship Journal. Copyright © Issue 91, 1996, The Navigators. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. To subscribe, visit www.navpress.com or call [phone].

Rev. 04/14

Dedication

It is with great love that we dedicate this course to Polly Wyant Thomas. Every day, this woman came before the throne of the Almighty King, praying for the staff, board and class members of ZOE Ministries International. Her vision for this ministry went beyond what the normal eye could see. Polly’s tenacity before the throne was awe-inspiring. She was similar to Anna, the New Testament prophetess, who never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.

We greatly miss our precious Polly and her love for intercession on behalf of ZOE. However, we do know that she is now enjoying the beautiful presence of the Lord she knew so well here on earth. We thank You, Jesus, for giving us Polly!

Acknowledgments

ZOE Ministries International equips, trains and sends believers into the world to minister by the leading of the Holy Spirit. This dedicated ministry encourages God’s people to use their gifts and talents in building the body of Christ for His glory. For that purpose, and with the Holy Spirit’s leading, ZOE Ministries compiled this study guide. We wish to thank many faithful individuals for their support, time and talents, and to give our Lord all the praise and glory for this work!

Table of Contents

Participant Version

Lesson 1 The Holy Spirit is God

Lesson 2 The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Lesson 3 The Holy Spirit is a Person

Lesson 4 The Holy Spirit-A Close Friend

Lesson 5 The Holy Spirit-In Christ and the Believer

Lesson 6 The Holy Spirit's Word in Our Lives

For Further Study

Endnotes

Leader’s Guide

Facilitator Version

Lesson 1 The Holy Spirit is God

Lesson 2 The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Lesson 3 The Holy Spirit is a Person

Lesson 4 The Holy Spirit-A Close Friend

Lesson 5 The Holy Spirit-In Christ and the Believer

Lesson 6 The Holy Spirit's Word in Our Lives

Other Resources

About Zoe Ministries International

About This Study

Who Is the Holy Spirit? is Part Three of a three-part study on the Trinity titled Captivated by Their Character.

Captivated by Their Character is designed to enrich your understanding of who God is—His character, His desires and plans. As you proceed through this Study Guide, you will examine what God says about Himself in the Bible. May God show you some glimpses of Himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Captivated by Their Character attempts to do the impossible! It tries to explain an invisible, dynamic God, who has revealed Himself to us humans as three persons. Although our finite minds may never fully plumb the depths of the mystery of God’s full identity, we can gather some clues. The three different parts in the study correspond to the three members of the Trinity. We suggest that you proceed through them in the arranged order—Who Is Jesus, Who Is God the Father, Who Is the Holy Spirit. Each part contains six lessons.

Each lesson in Who Is the Holy Spirit provides key scriptures and corresponding questions that reveal the identity, personality and work of the Holy Spirit. A related article is included with each lesson. May you come to know His complete goodness and passionate love for you.

For Self-Study

All that is required for this study is a Bible and an inquiring heart. After you read the questions posed in each lesson, record your response to the questions in the space provided or in a separate journal. We trust that as you meditate on the verses, God will, over time, draw you into an even closer relationship with Him.

For Lesson 1-6, you will find an additional Facilitator´s Version at the back of the book. We suggest that you complete the Participant’s Version by reading the scriptures listed and prayerfully answering the questions on your own. When you are finished, you can read the Facilitator’s Version to perhaps gain new understanding.

For Use in a Small Group

For guidance in using this study in a small group setting, see the Leader’s Guide section found in the back of this book. There is a Facilitator’s Version of Lesson 6 for your use, located after the Leader’s Guide.

Foreword

Has the subject of the Trinity ever brought confusion and frustration? The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are uniquely the same, and yet they have different roles. During this part of the study you will have the opportunity to examine what the Bible says about one person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit.

Out of God’s great love for the world, He sent His one and only Son as a living sacrifice in order to bring mankind back into relationship with Himself. Jesus, out of love and obedience to His Father, came to earth to fulfill God’s plan and offered Himself as the once and for all sacrifice.

Before Jesus’ death, He told His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to live in them and be with them forever. After Jesus’ resurrection, the Father sent the Holy Spirit to live in all people who believe in Jesus as Lord. We would be totally lost without the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.

The Trinity, three in one, may be a mystery; however, upon studying each person in the Trinity, we firmly believe that you will be captivated by their character. Our prayer is that God, by His Holy Spirit, will teach you all things, for His glory!

Dick and Ginny Chanda

Founding Directors

ZOE Ministries International

Introduction

Jesus said, And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.

John 14:16-17a

Jesus said, But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26"

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT? He is the Counselor, Comforter and Helper! He teaches and guides us! The Father sent Him to be with us permanently! This course introduces you to the Holy Spirit, who comes to life and empowers us to become more like Jesus! Come get acquainted with the Holy Spirit and see how He relates to us as our Helper.

For Self-Study

It is strongly recommended that you complete the Who Is Jesus? And Who Is God the Father? courses before beginning this course.

You will need a Bible for this course. As you proceed through each lesson, prayerfully read the scriptures listed and record your response to the questions in the space provided.

There are two versions for each lesson. We suggest that you complete the Participant’s Version, answering the questions on your own. When you are finished,