Introduction/March 1-Romans 5

Introduction:

True confessions. I find myself forgetting about the Holy Spirit.  I mean, I know He is part of the Trinity and that He is in my soul.  But do I in fact limit Him and His abilities?  Am I alone in this? I found a wee chart in my Bible (The MacArthur Study Bible), that listed out ministries of the Holy Spirit.  And honestly I was a bit perplexed because I had never thought of Him in that light.  And so, I went down the chart one ministry at a time and read the verses that they said supported that ministry as evidence.  And I was just taken aback.  Yes, yes He does have ministries!  As I sat down to write this study I was just floored by all that He does!

Truth be told, by the time I was coming to the end of my first draft, I had four lessons left to do: Where did He start, Convicts of Sin, Salvation/ Restoration and He Helps.  And just prior to that, Maine experienced a devastating event.  And not only was it super close to home, it also was a direct blow to a community that I love so dearly.  That community had 4 hard losses that would impact us for a long time and I will have to see their families weep for a very long time. And as I write this intro, I am mentally preparing for all the funerals that are coming.  I know, I am writing the intro as the “endtro”.  It’s weird.  But here we are.

(Some time passes)

Now, I am currently sitting here at my sunroom table just having completed the last lessons for this study.  When Sharon and I talked about a study last summer I had no idea that this first topical study would be so timely for myself.  So, in a way, this study has become a letter to me from the Holy Spirit.  It’s a letter reminding me that I am in fact not alone.  That God is with me through His Spirit.  That God is with me because of His son Jesus. Because God has sent the Helper who will walk with me until the day of restoration.

So, let these lessons be a letter of sorts to you, too.  My prayer for you this month is just that.  A reminder that you are not alone, not for a second, not for a moment.  God is with you.

Let’s start this study off with this passage. Because this is just so comforting.  It’s our call as Jesus followers and it’s His promise to us, His children.

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.  And you know the way to where I am going…”

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him…”

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.”

John 14:1-24

May the grace of Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all,

Melissa

March 1 – Romans 5

Lesson:  Holy Spirit Who, What?

Dear Lord, bless our time with you today.  Meet us where we are at, guide our minds, and hold our hearts as we search for Your truth.

First, do your own quiet time and 4R journaling.  When you are complete, come back here for the lesson.

Request Gods’ help

Read Romans 5

Record a verse that stands out to you

Respond to God

As we go through this study, I want to prepare you for change.  Our studies are generally fairly quick ones that can be done in 10-15 minutes, but this one ended up being so different.  I was given many words to share with you, to share with myself.  Some lessons will be short while others long.  Some give the opportunity for note taking while others give the opportunity of lots of Bible reading.  And prayerfully, I pray that you will be greatly blessed.  So, let’s begin shall we?!

Who is the Holy Spirit? Honestly, some people have not even thought of Him as a person – thinking of Him as a “what” instead of a “who”! We know the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  And we probably know the Father and Son very intimately, but can we say the same for the Holy Spirit?  Just who is He and what does He do?  Let’s look at a few scriptures to catch a glimpse of how He is described.

Habakkuk 2:19: Breath

Genesis 8:1: Wind

Job 34:14-15: Vital force in living humans

Numbers 14:24: A person’s character

John 4:24: Is of God!

Wow, He is pretty diverse!  These are just a few characteristics of the Spirit and in the next weeks we will be learning so much more about Him!  But let’s take a moment to wrap our heads around just who He is.  We know His name: the Spirit.  But who does God say that He is?

As we work our way through this study we will run into many, many passages that point out that the Holy Spirit is God in spirit form.  He is a presence, a helper, while we wait for Jesus’ return for us.   In Psalms 104:30, the Psalmist clearly understands and expresses that the Holy Spirit was directly involved in creation.  And in Thessalonians it is explained that the Spirit can do what only God can do.  Thus He must be God in spirit form!

All of this can be mind boggling, but if we think of it as three entities working together and doing the same thing, it’s a little easier.  Robert Rothwell wrote for “Ligonier” this past spring and this is what he said about it.  “In this common working, the three persons of the Trinity are not like a committee doing different things to collectively accomplish the same goal. Instead, the three persons do the same thing, but each does the work according to His personal property. The Father works from Himself, the Son works from the Father, and the Spirit works from the Father and the Son.”

I really like how he described it. They are sameness, united, doing the same works, yet they are each distinct.  And it’s all about revealing something about the other; I found some great passages that highlight those revealings.  Let’s walk through them together.

1 Corinthians 2:7 – God planned redemption: something about God was revealed.

1 Timothy 1:15 – Jesus accomplished redemption: something was revealed about the Son.

Titus 3:5 – The Holy Spirit applies the redemption: something was revealed about the Spirit.

So, all three are working together for our good, working together to reveal to us who they are and who we are in them.  I mean, that’s a lot of… a lot!  We have one more day of learning about the Holy Spirit before we get into His various ministries.  In the meantime, take a moment to soak in the fact that the Spirit of God is within you. At this very present moment.  You, friend, are not alone.

Dear Heavenly Father,  we praise You for You are the giver of life.  We thank You for You have given us that life!  Because of You we can live a life never again to be apart from You.  Our adoption is sealed, we have been guaranteed.  And we are Yours.

(Further reading: Psalm 51; Matthew 18 )

What’s next?

As the Spirit leads, in the comment section below, share what He has laid on your heart.

Then join us again tomorrow to learn about from where the Holy Spirit came.