THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD AND EMPOWERS US TO LIVE LIFE
The BIG IDEA:
The Holy Spirit is God and He lives in you to empower you to live life to the fullest.
The PROBLEM:
We don’t experience the power of the Holy Spirit because of lack of knowledge or sin in our lives.
Our RESPONSE:
To understand biblically who the Holy Spirit is and to desire to experience His power in our lives.
The IMAGE:
Just like a lightbulb without power doesn’t shine, we cannot live the Christian life without the Holy Spirit. It’s not really the bulb that makes the light, it’s the electricity that makes it shine. In the same way, If we allow the Holy Spirit to live through us, we will shine to those around us.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TOPIC:
The Holy Spirit is God himself, the third person in the Trinity. But we often struggle in our relationship with God because we don’t understand who the Spirit is and what he wants to do in our lives. This study helps us discover who the Spirit is. It helps us understand that the Spirit wants to be at the center or “on the throne” of our lives, live the Christian life through us, and put Jesus on display in our lives.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
What I want the group to know and understand: Who the Holy Spirit is and what He has come to do.
What I want the group to experience: The Holy Spirit as the power source of the Christian life.
How I want the group to respond: To be filled with the Holy Spirit and experience his power as the daily source to live the Christian life.
Omar recently became a follower of Christ, but lately he’s been having a hard time in his relationship with God. He feels thankful that God has forgiven his sins, and he wants to keep growing spiritually. But he feels like he’s hit a wall. He’s struggling because he wonders if he has what it takes to be the kind, loving, unselfish person he believes God wants him to be. He keeps struggling with the same sins and can’t seem to make himself be the person that he wants to be. In what ways can you relate to Omar’s experience?
Who is the Holy Spirit? is he a who? Is he a what? Is he a ghost? When Jesus left the earth, he said that he had to leave so that the Holy Spirit could come. Why is this Holy Spirit so important? The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the power source to our spiritual life. It’s like the electricity to a lightbulb. Without electricity, the lightbulb is powerless and useless. In the same way, without the Holy Spirit guiding our lives, a Christian will have no power to live the kind of life God calls us to live. He will just feel defeated and always kinda stuck. Let’s take a look at what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit and why he is so important to our lives.
According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit is God who lives inside of every Christian and empowers us to live the Christian life.
1. Read 1 Corinthians 2:10. How does God’s Spirit help us experience God’s plans for us?
He searches the depths of God and helps us understand spiritual things that we didn’t understand before.
2. Read John 14:15-17 and John 16:13-14. Based on these verses, what are some of the ways you would expect God’s Spirit to work in your life as you trust in him?
Allow the group to discuss. He would grow our love for God and empower us to keep his commands, help us, be with us and in us, guide us into God’s truth, and put Jesus on display in our lives.
Three Types of People
As your group talks about each of these different people, draw that person in the throne circles along with their corresponding “cross” and “self”. If they are using the student notes, have them draw the crosses, “S’s” and arrows in on their sheet.
3. NATURAL PERSON – Read 1 Corinthians 2:14. How does this verse describe people who don’t have God’s Spirit?
They don’t accept the things of God and think they’re crazy. They can’t understand the things of God because only the Spirit of God living in a person who has trusted in Jesus gives that kind of insight.
4. SPIRITUAL PERSON – Read 1 Corinthians 2:15-16. How do these verses describe people who have God’s Spirit “on the throne” of their lives, filling, controlling, and empowering them?
Verse 15 says they can size up things from God’s perspective. But people who don’t know Jesus can’t figure them out. Verse 16 says they have a share in the mind of Christ that gives them power to see their lives from God’s point of view.
5. WORLDLY PERSON – Read 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. How do these verses describe worldly people who have God’s Spirit but remain “on the throne” of their lives?
They’re not ready for Christian maturity because they’re full of jealousy and conflict in their relationships. In spite of having God’s Spirit, they don’t look much different than people without the Spirit because they’re not letting God’s Spirit control and empower them.
6. As you consider the people described in 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3, (the circles) which one best describes you and why?
Allow the group to discuss.
7. Which kind of person would you like to be and why?
Allow the group to discuss.
8. So, how do you get from one to the other? Putting Christ back on the throne of your life is also called “being filled with the Spirit”. You are filled with the Spirit in the same way that you become a Christian in the first place – by faith. If you would like Christ to, again, sit on the throne of your life, take a moment now to silently:
9. Think of a situation you’re facing that calls for God’s power. As you pray and ask God to fill you with his Spirit (be “on the throne”), how would you envision him showing up in this situation based on today’s discussion?
Find more resources and ideas for teaching this study online at thrivestudies.com/holyspirit or cru.org/highschool
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