BIG IDEA
God’s Spirit changes everything.
READING
Acts 2; 1 Pet. 1, 2
THOUGHTS
Inside
The moment you put your faith in Jesus, God sends His Spirit to live in you. This is God’s promise to you (Ezek. 36:27; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19–20).
Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38–39
Born
When God’s Spirit comes to live in you, your spirit comes alive. This is called spiritual birth, or being “born again.” This is the start of a new life (John 3:3–7; 1 Pet. 1:23).
It is by his great mercy that we have been born again. 1 Pet. 1:3
Connect
The Spirit connects you to God. Through the Spirit, all God is and all He offers become available directly to you (Gal. 4:6; 1 John 2:27).
For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:6
Filled
As we read God’s Word, spend time with Him in prayer, listen to His nudging, share our faith, and do what He calls us to do, the Spirit continues to fill us with Himself. We are to surrender to God and seek to be continually filled by the Spirit. Over time you will notice yourself challenged to let your weakness and vice be fully controlled by God (John 15:1–17; Acts 4:29–31).
Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Eph. 5:18–19
Change
The Spirit is working to grow and change us to be like Jesus (1 John 3:2) with new thoughts and perspectives (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23–25), new attitudes and motivations (Phil. 2:5–8; 1 Tim. 1:5), and new habits and behaviours (Matt. 6:33; Gal. 5:22). The result of this work is a greater love for God, yourself, and others (Rom. 5:5; Eph. 3:19).
So all of us can see and reflect the image of Jesus who makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his image. 2 Cor. 3:16
Fruit
The Spirit always leads us in the direction that reflects and produces the character and nature of God. This is called the fruit of the Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gen- tleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Gal. 5:22
Gifts
God wants to use us in the lives of others. The Spirit will put a desire in you to serve others in your world in unique ways. This spiritual lens is how God has positioned you to impact others inside and outside the church. The Spirit makes you a gift to the world: at home, in your community, and in your vocation.
We learn that there are ministry (functional) gifts, such as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Eph. 4:11), and motivational (practical) gifts, such as service, exhortation, giving, leadership, mercy, helps, and administration (Rom. 12:3–7). See the Appendix for an explanation of each of these gifts.
Power
The Spirit also wants to work through us in powerful ways. As we pray for the Spirit to completely immerse us, we will see His power overflow through us as we reach out to serve others (Acts 2:2–12; 1 Cor. 12:1–12, 28).
As the Spirit empowers us, we will flow in gifts of wisdom, knowledge, discernment, prophecy, tongues, interpretation, faith, healing, and miracles. See the Appendix for an explanation of each of these gifts in greater detail.
Sometimes, the process of first seeing these extraordinary gifts flow through us is called “Spirit Baptism.” We see in Acts a pattern of people experiencing the power of the Spirit through persistent personal prayer (Acts 2) and having someone pray for them who has already experienced God’s Spirit in these ways (Acts 8:17, 19:1–6; 2 Tim. 1:6). In the early church, it was normative to see tongues expressed first as a sign of Spirit Baptism (Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, 11 , 19; Rom. 8:26, 27; 1 Cor. 14:22).
Guide
The Spirit inside you reminds you of things that God has said in the Bible. The Spirit will give you an inner nudge to challenge you to make the right choices. As you respond to that nudge, you will become more and more aware of the Spirit speaking into your life (John 14:26, 16:7–15).
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13
Eternity
The Spirit is preparing us for life after this life. We have much to look forward to in eternity (1 Cor. 15; 1 John 5).
Now we live with high expectation … and through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this sal- vation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Pet. 1:3–5
In the following sections, you will discover your part in allowing God’s Spirit to work in your life as you learn to love God, yourself, and others. Ask the Spirit of God to baptize you and work super- naturally through you. Ask someone who has experienced the baptism of the Spirit to pray for you.
Discussion
- What changes have you noticed in your life since you decided to follow Jesus?
- Do you realize it is the Spirit at work in your life? Do you sense inner nudges from God?
- Explain the difference between the moment the Spirit comes to live in you and Spirit Baptism.
Other Resources
- List of Spiritual Gifts – mentioned in the teaching
- Other Teachings On The Holy Spirit