Living with the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:16-24 New International Version (NIV)
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh 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, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
- What is the Holy Spirit?
Holy Spirit is One of Three (God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit)
We meet God when we read the scriptures. When God created this world, He created man in “our” image and to man, he entrusted the world He created. However, as man disobeyed God and thus sinned against Him, God gave man the commandments through Moses. Yet, still man sinned, so God gave man the process of reconciliation through sacrifices. Even when this did not work, God once and for all sent His one and only Son to give us remission of our sins.
We look towards this Jesus. As Jesus obeyed God’s words and spread this Gospel, he brought us in fellowship with God. However, man still did not leave his sinful ways. Eventually Jesus sacrificed himself for all of man’s sins in accordance with God’s will.
Hebrews 9:12 (NIV)
12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[a] eternal redemption.
This was the sacrifice upon the cross. By Jesus’ death upon the cross, man received remission of sins and God was glorified. Jesus' ministry is the death upon the cross, the ability to be victorious over death, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. So after the Resurrection, Jesus told us that the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, will come to be with us.
The Counselor will be with us eternally. He will witness of Jesus. He will teach and remind us of Jesus’ teachings.
John 14:16 (NIV) 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—
John 15:26 (NIV) 26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
John 14:26 (NIV) 26 But the Advocate, 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.
John 16:7 (NIV) 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
- In the old testament, the Holy Spirit was with God the Father in the beginning. Genesis 1:26 (NIV) 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
- In the new testament, the Holy Spirit discerns the things in our lives and allows us to overcome the limitations of our knowledge and guides us to live a pure spiritual life.
- What does it mean to live with the Holy Spirit?
- It is to receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit
Romans 7:18
John 14:28
Acts 16:10
Romans 8:26
- It is to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit
Philippians 3:17 17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Luke 6:44 (NIV) 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.
- It is to witness of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit
Acts 2:1-14
Acts 2:41
Acts 3:1-10
Acts6:7
- What do we need to do to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit?
- We need to spread the seeds of faith
John 14:17 (NIV) 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[a] in you.
Romans 8:9 (NIV)9 You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ.
Romans 4:21 (NIV) 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
John 3:16 (NIV) 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.
Romans 1:1-3 (NIV) 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David,
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (NIV) 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared.
- We need to receive the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 (NIV) 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.”
- We must overcome the temptations of our flesh and this world.
John 15:2 (NIV) 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.
Application
- Do you live a life of following the Holy Spirit as Jesus has commanded you? Or do you live according to your own will and judgment? Let everything be given to the Holy Spirit and be led by the Holy Spirit.
- Are you bearing the fruits of the Holy Spirit in your life?
In Matthew 3:10, it says 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Do you hear God's warning? The Lord is coming soon to check on how fruitful you have been. Luke 13:6 (NIV) 6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.
- How can you overcome yourselves, the world, and the temptation of transgressions, to bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Always meditate on the Bible, pray upon the words, and ask for help from the Holy Spirit.
