Holy Spirit 101 pt. 1

Backround: Jesus is only hours away from being betrayed, put on trial, and put to death. John chapters 14-17 contain His farewell address to his disciples. He has much to share with them but little time to do it in. One of the important matters He wants to make known to the disciples is the Holy Spirit – who He is and what role He will play in their lives and the lives of all believers. Because of the limited time He has as well as the spiritual immaturity of the disciples, Jesus cannot and does not go into great detail about the Holy Spirit. Additional knowledge of the Holy Spirit would come with time. He shares just enough to give his disciples encouragement. So it will be with you and me in this study of the Holy Spirit. We will not be covering every facet of the Holy Spirit. Just as you don’t feed a 32 ounce porterhouse steak to a newborn baby and expect him to digest it, you don’t do an in depth theological exploration of the Holy Spirit in a Bible 101 class. In this study, I will be following Jesus’ example … I will share with you who the Holy Spirit is and what His role is in the life of a follower of Christ.

Read John 14:15-26; 15:26-27

1) In these verses, Jesus repeatedly says that a person who loves Him will do what? Will keep His commandments/word. A person who does not keep His commandments/word does not love Jesus. The key to knowing Jesus … to having a relationship with Jesus is to obey His word. The disciples were probably wondering if Jesus was about to go away, who will teach them His word … who will help them remember everything Jesus taught them? Was Jesus going to abandon them? In John 14:5, Thomas asked the question “Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?”

2) After Jesus leaves His followers who will come to be with them? The Holy Spirit. For how long would he be with them? Forever. Jesus is not going to abandon His followers. They will not be orphans (vs. 18.) From whom will he come from? God the Father (14:16, 26; 15:26.) Just as God sent Jesus to earth to be with humanity (John 3:16), God will send the Holy Spirit to be with humanity. Unlike Jesus, who was on earth for a short period of time, the Holy Spirit will be with humanity forever. (1. Holy Spirit is eternal.)

3) vs. 17. Can the Holy Spirit be seen? No. (2. Holy Spirit is invisible.) Spirit in Greek is Pneuma – associated with a movement of air like breath or the wind which can be felt but not seen. The Holy Spirit will not be a physical being like Jesus. Despite that, a follower of Christ will know Him. How? See Question 4.

4) vs. 17. Where will the Holy Spirit dwell? In the followers of Christ. Greek word for abide/live is Meno – not to depart/continually dwell. The Holy Spirit will not be a transient visitor. He will take up residence within the followers of Christ. (3. Holy Spirit is omnipresent – Everywhere at once)

5) List the three titles Jesus gives the Spirit. What does each title tell us about the character and/or role of the Spirit?

a) Spirit of truth – teach truth and aid Jesus’ followers to remember truth (vs. 26) – The truth about what things? All things about God and Jesus – what it means to be a follower of Jesus. He will do so by 1) helping the followers of Jesus remember His words (14:26) so that they can do what we discussed in Question 1. (See Luke 12:11-12) for an example of Holy Spirit helping the followers of Jesus to remember His words.) The Holy Spirit will teach truth by 2) testifying about Jesus to His followers (15:26.) What does testify mean? Greek word is Martureo – to bear witness that one has seen, heard, or experienced something/someone. Because of the unique nature of their relationship, the Holy Spirit knows Jesus thoroughly. One of his primary responsibilities is to make known this knowledge of Jesus to His followers. (4. Holy Spirit is a teacher.)