A Summary of Christian Doctrine
An Adult Bible Study on the Basics of the Christian Faith

Lesson 6 - The Holy Spirit and Sanctification

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, true God with the Father and the Son.

Matthew 28: 19
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," *

Acts 5: 3-4
"Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4. Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.'"

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised that He would not leave His people alone.

John 14: 15-18
"‘If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – 17. the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.'"

John 14: 25-27
"‘All this I have spoken while still with you. 26. 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. 27. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.'"

Acts 1: 4-8
"On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 6. So when they met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' 7. He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8.. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'"

Acts 2: 1-4
"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

What does the Holy Spirit work in people in order to make us possessors of the salvation which Jesus Christ earned for us through His life, death, and resurrection?

Faith

What is faith?

1. Accepts the forgiveness of sins.
Romans 3:28
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

John 3: 16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

2. Is given to us by the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 12: 3
"Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit.

I Corinthians 2: 14
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Ephesians 2: 1
"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,"(New King James Version)

3. Is sure of heaven, for Christ's sake
Titus 1: 2
"...a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,..."

Romans 8: 38-39
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39. neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
4. Is seen in the way the Christian lives
James 2: 14-18
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15. Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17. In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do."

Ephesians 2: 8-10
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — 9. not by works, so that no one can boast. 10. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

What is the special work of the Holy Spirit?

Sanctification

The word sanctification is used in two ways. In the wider sense the whole work of the Holy Spirit by which He brings us to faith and also enables us to lead a godly life; in the narrow sense that part of the Holy Spirit's work by which He directs and empowers the believer to lead a godly life.

Romans 1: 16
"I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."

2 Thessalonians 2: 14
"He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6
"For God , who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

Psalm 51: 13
"Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you."

John 3: 5-6
"Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.'"

Psalm 51: 10
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."
Romans 8: 9
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

Galatians 5: 18-23
"18. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20. idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21. and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Romans 12: 1-3
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — which is your spiritual worship. 2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. 3. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

Romans 6: 17-18
"But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

2 Corinthians 5: 17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

Romans 15: 13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

* All references are taken from the New International Version of the Bible, published by Zondervan Publishing House in 1984 unless otherwise noted.