Different Spirit

2 Corinthians 11:4-6 - For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.


Romans 14:17-18 - For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”—the things God has prepared for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Application:

· Do I miss completely the essence of Christian living by concerning myself with trivial matters?
· Do I have any conception of how God is blessing me and how He will be blessing me?
· Has God revealed to me what He has prepared for me? I have been given the Holy Spirit who comprehends the depth of God’s nature and His plans of grace.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Holy Spirit

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 - Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.


1 Corinthians 2:4 - My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

2 Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Romans 13:12 - The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Ephesians 6:10,12,14-15 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power…For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Application:

· Unless the Holy Spirit works in my heart, the wisdom and eloquence of a preacher are ineffective
· Do I hate evil?
· God triumphs amid human weakness, embodying the principle of Christ’s crucifixion
· Have I put aside the deeds of darkness? Have I put on the armor of light?
· Do I try to stand on my own against super-human powers? Or, do I rely upon the strength of the Lord’s own might?
· Do I lash out against human opponents as though they were the real enemy? Do I assume the battle is fought with merely human resources?
· Am I withstanding the enemy? Am I giving in to fear?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

With The Spirit Of The Living God

2 Corinthians 3:1-3,6,14,18 - Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts…He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life…But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away…And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


2 Corinthians 5:12 - We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 - “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Ezekiel 36:26 - 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.

Ezekiel 11:19 - I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Application:

· Do I take pride in what is seen rather than what is in the heart?
· Does the law govern my life?
· Is God transforming my mind and heart? Is God bringing about change? What God requires of His people He always provides
· The Spirit alone gives life because only the Spirit can change the heart, enabling me to keep His commands
· Do I have a single-minded commitment to the Lord and to His will?
· Has Christ removed the veil so that I can see the power of the new covenant?
· Do I partake of the glory of God and am I being gradually transformed into the likeness of Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Live By

Galatians 5:16 - So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Romans 8:1-4,13-14 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit…For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

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

Conclusions:

• Live by the Spirit means go on living by the Spirit
• Living by the promptings and power of the Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires
• The law of the Spirit of life is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving
• Paul uses the word law in several different ways in Romans--to mean, a controlling power; God's law; the Pentateuch; the Old Testament as a whole; a principle
• Law of sin and death is the controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death
• The law still plays a role in the life of a believer--not, however, as a means of salvation but as a moral and ethical guide, obeyed out of love for God and by the power that the Spirit provides
• The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us
• God's aim in sending His Son was that believers might be enabled to embody the true and full intentions of the law
• According to the Spirit is how the law's righteous requirements can be fully met--by no longer letting the sinful nature hold sway but by yielding to the directing and empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit
• God is the Father of all in the sense that He created all and His love and providential care are extended to all
• But not all are His children
• Redemption is the restoration and fulfillment of God's purposes in creation and this takes place in Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things are restored or created anew

Application:

• Do you live by the promptings and power of the Spirit?
• Has the controlling power of the Holy Spirit set you free from the controlling power of sin?
• Do you embody the true and full intentions of the law?
• Are you led by the Spirit of God?
• Are you in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Spirit Of His Son

Galatians 4:6-8 - Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.

Romans 5:5 - And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

Romans 8:2 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 - It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid…immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.

2 Thessalonians 1:8 - He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Jeremiah 2:11 - Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.

Conclusions:

• Spirit of His Son is a new guardian identified as the Spirit of God
• The Greek for "calls out" is a vivid verb expressing deep emotion, often used of an inarticulate cry
• The Greek for "calls out" is used of Jesus final cry
• Abba, Father is expressive of an especially close relationship to God
• The believer's hope is not to be equated with unfounded optimism
• On the contrary, the believer's hope is the blessed assurance of our future destiny and is based on God's love which is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit and objectively demonstrated to us in the death of Christ
• Paul has moved from faith to hope to love
• The verb for "has poured out" indicates a present status resulting from a past action
• When we first believed in Christ, the Holy Spirit poured out His love in our hearts and His love for us continues to dwell in us

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Spirit

Galatians 3:1-2,10 - You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?... All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

John 20:22 - And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 2:16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Conclusions:

• The Galatians were not mentally deficient but simply failed to use their powers of perception
• Legalistic Judaizers had bewitched the Galatians
• Portrayed as crucified means to publicly portray or placard as crucified like the bronze snake that Moses displayed on a pole
• From Galatians 3:2 on Paul refers to the Holy Spirit 16 times
• Receive the Holy Spirit anticipates what happens 50 days later on the day of Pentecost
• The disciples needed God’s help to carry out the commission they had just been given
• Rely on observing the law is a reference to legalists—those who refuse God’s offer of grace and insist on pursuing righteousness through works
• No one under the law ever perfectly kept the law because they are under a curse
• God’s blessing has never been earned, but has always been freely given
• Galatians 2:16 is a key verse
• Three times Galatians 2:16 tells us that no one is justified by observing the law, and three times it underscores the indispensable requirement of placing one’s faith in Christ
• Paul is not depreciating the law itself, for he clearly maintained that God’s law is holy, righteous and good
• Paul is arguing against an illegitimate use of the Old Testament law that made the observance of that law the grounds of acceptance with God
• Justified by faith is the essence of the gospel message
• Faith is the means by which justification is received, not its basis

Application:

• Has God helped you to carry out the commission you have been given?
• Are you relying on observing the law?
• Have you put your faith in Christ Jesus?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

In Later Times

1 Timothy 4:1,7 - The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 - However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Mark 13:5 - Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.

Conclusions:

• The Spirit searches all things, not in order to know them, for He knows all things
• Instead the Spirit comprehends the depth of God’s nature and His plans of grace; so He is fully competent to make the revelation claimed in 1 Corinthians 2
• It is clear from such words as watch out, you must be on your guard, so be on your guard, be on guard, be alert, therefore keep watch and watch in Mark 13 that one of the main purposes of the Olivet discourse was to alert the disciples to the danger of deception
• Godliness requires self-discipline

Application:

• Has the Spirit revealed God's nature and His plans for grace to you?
• Are you alert to the danger of deception?
• Do you have nothing to do with godless myths?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible