Living in the Spirit
Now the adventure begins! If you’ve chosen Jesus, this is where it gets even better. If you haven’t yet, that’s okay, hopefully this lesson will give you even more insight into the joy of being a Jesus follower!
It’s kind of like getting married. There’s a lot that goes into and leads up to that decision, but after the wedding day is when life together actually begins. And that’s the most exciting part! That’s what this lesson is about, life after choosing Jesus! And to talk about that, we have to talk about the Spirit because that’s how we’ll do it.
We see the Spirit in the very first chapter of the Bible, where it says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the chaotic waters before God brought our world into existence. The word used for Spirit in the original language (Hebrew) is “Ruakh” which also means wind or breath. It describes this energy that can’t be seen but is very much real.
This is the word scripture uses to describe the presence of God.
The Spirit is not an “it” at all. The Spirit is a “he”.
When Jesus was preparing to leave this earth and return to the Father, he told his disciples it’s actually better for them that he’s leaving because he was going to send them a “helper,” the Holy Spirit. (John 16:7)
Then we get this scene after Jesus rises from the dead where he breathes out the Holy Spirit on his disciples (John 20:22). And later we continually see followers of Jesus filled with this same Spirit. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
God planned this from the beginning, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”Ezekiel 36:25-27
So how do we live out this new life for Jesus? We live it out by living in the Spirit. Let’s talk about it!
How does the Spirit guide us into truth?
Why is the truth so important for our lives?
How do we discern what’s from the Spirit and what’s just our own thoughts and feelings?
Who does this verse say does the work of transformation in us?
What is our role?
If God can forgive our sins, why is transformation so important to God?
How is transformation a gift to us?
What does it mean to “put to death the misdeeds of the body? How do we do that by the Spirit instead of just trying harder?
What does it look like to be “led by the Spirit”?
How does the Spirit take away our fear?
How does this change how we relate to God?
What kind of power is this and what are we meant to use it for?
What does it mean to be God’s witness?
What would it look like for you to be God’s witness to the people around you?
How do you think the Spirit can help you?
What does this verse teach us about how the Holy Spirit can help us?
How does this change how you think about witnessing to others?
How does the Spirit bring freedom? From what? And for what?
How is this different, and better, than the “freedom” our culture loves?
What’s most exciting to you about the Spirit?
What questions do you still have?
Spend some time in prayer. Ask the Spirit to speak to you and guide you. Write down what you feel like you hear.