Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 25
Lesson 25: The Unity of the Church
1. There must be spiritual unity in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 17:21-22.
2. Parts cannot work harmoniously if they do not belong to one another, if they don’t have the same life in them. Ephesians 2:18.
3. Unity must be based on doctrine (a set of beliefs held and taught by a church). John 17: 7-8, John 8:58, Acts 2:42.
4. Before there can be fellowship there must be a community of doctrine. Fellowship is based on the same faith, the same truth, and the same understanding of the truth. 2 John 10-11, 1 John 2:19
5. There is no account of a ‘national church’ in the Scripture. Colossians 3:11
Differences in nationality along with social and racial distinctions are immaterial and should NEVER be mentioned in connection with the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
6. The nation of Israel was the church in the Old Testament.
7. The Church is made up of people who have been born again and have spiritual life, who are members of the mystical body of Christ and gather together in a local assembly with Christ as the head. The Church consists of God’s people who live on earth, but who are also citizens of the Kingdom of God which is not of this world.
Key Thought: The Church operates under the Lordship and in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Next Lesson : The Marks and Government of the Church
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 24
Lesson 24: The Church and the Last Things
Luke 17:20-21—’Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He (Jesus) answered them, “ The Kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, there it is for behold the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
1. What is the Kingdom of God? The Kingdom of God is the rule of God. The Kingdom of God is present wherever God is reigning. (If we regard the Kingdom of God as the rule and reign of God, the Kingdom was here when the Lord Jesus Christ was here in person). The Kingdom of God is present now wherever the Lord Jesus Christ is acknowledged as Lord.
2. The Kingdom of God will come with a greater fullness when everybody and everything will have to acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
3. The church is a part of the Kingdom of God. However, the Kingdom of God is wider and bigger than the church. God rules in places outside of the church, places where He is not acknowledged because all things are in His hands, including history.
4. The church is “called out”, not necessarily out of the world but called out of society for some particular purpose.
5. The church consists of people who belong to the Lord, who are gathered together. The church is a local gathering of saints where the presence and the Lordship of Christ is recognized.
6. One cannot be a Christian without being a member of the church; spiritual and invisible. All Christians are members of the body of Christ.
7. People who are truly born again and spiritual are also members of the unseen spiritual church, the true body of Christ.
8. The church is the Bride of Christ and the Body of Christ—Ephesians 4,5; 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12.
Key Thought: The church has parts scattered abroad and yet there is a central unity in Christ.
Next Lesson: The Unity of the Church
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 23
Lesson 23: The Gifts of the Spirit
Read 1 Corinthians 12th chapter for an outline of the Gifts of the Spirit.
1. Spiritual gifts are different from natural gifts. A spiritual gift is given directly to us by the Holy Spirit.
2. Spiritual gifts are extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians and enabling them to serve the Church of Christ.
3. Spiritual gifts are called charismata; referred to as charismatic gifts. The Holy Spirit decides what gifts to give to a particular person. 1 Corinthians 12:11
4. Each Christian is given, and therefore has, some spiritual gift. As with the human body, there is a special function for every member of the Christian Church. According to Apostle Paul, some gifts are important and some are unimportant, BUT ALL ARE NECESSARY.
5. The spiritual gifts differ in value. 1 Corinthians 12:28– And God has appointed in the church (1)Apostles, (2)Prophets, (3)Teachers, (4)Miracles, (5)Gifts of healing, (6)Gifts of helping, (7)Administration, and (8)various kinds of tongues. Other gifts include: Utterance of Wisdom, Utterance of Knowledge, Faith, the ability to discern spirits, and the interpretation of tongues.
6. Any or all spiritual gift(s) must be used in love. We should never estimate or judge a person’s spirituality solely in terms of their spiritual gift(s).
7. Permanent gifts of the Spirit include: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, the ability to teach, the gift of ministering and helps, the gift of administration and government, the gift of evangelism, the gift of the pastorate, the gift of exhortation, the gift of faith.
Next Lesson: The Church and the Last Things
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 22
Lesson 22: The Sealing and the Earnest continued
“The Holy Spirit is the seal and the earnest given to us by God.”
1. Our salvation is not done, and we are given the Spirit in order that we may know for certain, and begin to experience salvation in the here and now. John 17:3
2. All that we experience in this life in a spiritual sense, is but a foretaste of things to come. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
3. The Holy Spirit’s presence will be felt as He works within us, warning us, urging us forward and enlightening us. He gives us seasons of special blessings as He moves our hearts and gives us glimpses of our Lord.
4. A true experience of the Holy Spirit leads to changes in conduct, behavior and actions; the true experience involves the will, the intellect (mind) and the heart.
5. We must not quench (put a damper on, to fight against) the Holy Spirit. While we are not to quench the Spirit, we must seek to prove all things. So if we have an impulse or feel moved to do something which is prohibited in the Bible, we can be certain it is not the leading of the Spirit. The Word and the Spirit must be taken together.
6. We must realize that there are evil spirits and every spirit is not of God, therefore we must test the spirits.
7. We must avoid grieving the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30. Some ways to grieve the Holy Spirit is: to forget Him, to ignore Him, to neglect His word, failure to do His will after He has made it clear it grieves Him, to be more interested in experiences and power, rather than Him.
8. Any respect in which the Lord Jesus Christ is not at the center, and our all in all is grievous to the Spirit. He (the Spirit) has come to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Any failure on our part to do that is grievous to the Spirit.
9. We must be led by the Spirit. We must walk by the Spirit. We must walk through the world realizing we are ALWAYS in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Next Lesson : The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 21
Lesson 21: The Sealing and the Earnest
‘And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us and who has also put His seal on us and given us His Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.’ 1Corinthians 1:22-22.
‘In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed in Him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, the praise of His glory.’ Ephesians 1:13-14
1. What is the purpose of a seal? What does it do?
a. A seal authenticates or certifies something.
b. A seal is used to indicate ownership.
c. A seal makes whatever is sealed secure. It ensures no one can interfere with its contents.
2. The Holy Spirit Himself is the authentication or the certification of the fact that we are indeed God’s children. 1 Peter 2:9
3. Christians are people who have been chosen by God. God has set us apart and has granted us all these blessings. The authentication of that is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our being separated unto God should not only be evident to us, but also to others.
4. The presence of the Holy Spirit in us is proof that we are Christians. When He is present, it means God through Christ, has given Him to us. The Holy Spirit is not given to the world.
5. The sealing of the Spirit makes our salvation secure to us. He is the perfect guarantee of our ultimate salvation. 1 Corinthian 1:30
6. Redemption is the complete final salvation when we shall be perfect in body as well as in spirt. The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that this complete final salvation will happen.
7. What is the earnest of the Spirit?
An earnest is a down payment or a deposit. 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 5:5.
The Holy Spirit has been given to us by God in order that we may have an idea as to what awaits us when we come into glory. God has given us the first fruits.
Next Lesson: The Sealing and the Earnest Cont.
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 20
Lesson 20: Baptism and Filling con’t:
1. Seek not an experience, but seek Him. Seek to Know Him, seek to realize His presence, seek to love Him. Seek to die to yourself and everything else that you may live entirely in Him and for Him. Give yourself entirely to Him.
2. If we are only seeking an experience, we are opening ourselves up to counterfeit. If Jesus is at the center, we will be safe.
3. Revival is God pouring out His Spirit. This is the greatest need of the church. We are commanded to seek it and to pray for revival.
3. Revival is God pouring out His Spirit. This is the greatest need of the church. We are commanded to seek it and to pray for revival.
4. The Holy Spirit convicts us. He give us new life, bring us regeneration and union with Christ. One can’t be a Christian without having the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 12:13, John 20:21-22, Acts 1:4-5
5. The filling of the Spirit often happens for a specific service, for some special task allotted to the children of God. John 14:21. The Lord shows Himself to His own.
6. The Holy Spirit is truth and He must come in His own character or not at all.
7. The work of the Holy Spirit is always humbling and humiliating. It brings us to the end of self (selfishness, covetousness, unbelief, falsehoods)… We must submit to Him entirely.
8. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not sanctification. Sanctification begins the moment we are regenerate., the moment we are justified. Sanctification IS NOT AN EXPERIENCE.
9. Men and women may be believers and regenerate and have assurance of salvation and still have not known this spiritual manifestation of Christ in their lives.
Next Lesson: The Sealing and the Earnest
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 19
Lesson 19: Baptism and Filling
(A deep and real experience of the power of salvation is dependent on the knowledge of Biblical doctrines (truths) -and not merely an intellectual or theoretical knowledge).
1. The Holy Spirit is the spiritual manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the heart of believers. It is by the Holy Spirit we are baptized into Christ and in His death. (Romans 6:3, 1 Cor. 12:3, Galatians 3:27, Ephesians 4:5). One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism refers to baptism by the Holy Spirit into Christ.
2. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is an experience in which the Lord Jesus Christ becomes real in a way He has never been before. The Lord Jesus Christ manifests Himself to the believer spiritually, and the result is a great love for Christ is shed abroad in us. This is the birthright of every Christian. Acts 2:39, 1 Peter 1:8
3. On the day of Pentecost the Christian Church was instituted and proclaimed as the body of Christ. The disciples and Apostles in the upper room became the body of Christ when they were baptized into the one body by the Holy Spirit.
4. Filling with the Holy Ghost happens for the sake of service; it gives us power and authority for service. Filling of the Holy Ghost is absolutely necessary for true service. Acts 2:4, 4:31, 13:9, 6:3-5, Ephesians 13:9. The Holy Spirit’s presence is vital to our witness. 1 Cor. 2:4
5. As Christians, we are called upon to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as the Savior of the world, and our Savior and Savior to all who put their faith and trust in Him. Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to do that. Filling is essential to all Christian Service.
6. The filling of the Spirit is essential to a true act of worship.
7. What is the difference between baptism with the Spirit and filling with the Spirit?
a. Baptism is the initial experience.
b. Filling is an experience that can often be repeated.
8. Even Jesus did not enter into His ministry until the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him. He even told His disciples whom He had trained for 3 years, not to start their ministry, nor attempt to witness of Him, until they had received the power which the Holy Spirit would give them.
9. We should realize the necessity of seeking this filling of the Spirit and of the His power before we attempt any task for the Kingdom of God, whatever it may be!
Next : Baptism and Filling of the Spirit continued
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 18
Lesson 18: The Mighty Process of the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:2—”For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”
1. Because we are all born in Adam, the law of sin dominates the lives of unbelievers, mastering and controlling them. Christians are no longer in that position. We have died with Christ, we have risen with Him, and that is the law of life in Christ. The moment we are in Christ, we have finished with the law of sin and death.
2. The moment we are in Christ, we have finished with the law of sin and death. We are no longer under the dominion of sin or of Satan or under the law. WE ARE UNDER GRACE. And that is why there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus has once, forever, and finally set us free, liberated me from the law of sin and death.
3. The whole of the word, everything in the Bible ministers to our sanctification. Sanctification is that life process of growth and development which starts the moment we are saved, the moment we are justified, the moment we are regenerated.
4. When we are born, we are born into Adam and have reaped the consequences of what Adam did (His disobedience). The result of the fall of Adam is that the entire person (my spirit and my body) has been involved.
5. When we come to Christ, we reap the consequences of what Christ has done. When we became Christians, Christ has redeemed our spirits perfectly, but my body (flesh) remains under sin’s dominion. We are saved, we are redeemed, but we are still in this body and our body is still under the dominion of sin and trying to drag me down. Romans 8:10. The body is spiritually dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Therefore we must put to death the deeds of our body.
6. Christ works on our wills. He creates desires for holiness. He reveals sin to us and creates the desire for purity and the life of God. He gives us strength and power, enabling us to do good. If we are relying on our own attempts to carry out the law to deliver us, we are doomed. Romans 6:14
7. We as believers are joined to Christ from the moment of rebirth, regeneration and union, sanctification begins which leads to a perfected redemption and salvation, including even the body which remains under the dominion of sin until we die.
Next Lesson: Baptism and Filling
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 17
Lesson 17:
The Doctrine of Sanctification
(God’s Work and Ours)
1. God’s purpose in doing everything He did in the Old Testament is ultimately our sanctification. His purpose when He sent forth His Son made of a woman under the law was still our sanctification. Everything God has done about us and our has it’s end and object of our sanctification.
1 Thessalonians 4:3, Galatians 4:4
2. As Christians we are joined to Christ and all the benefits of this union are mine. God’s purpose in the whole of salvation, in everything He has done in His Son and by the Holy Spirit is our sanctification. Sanctification is the end of the whole process of salvation.
3. To truly seek forgiveness means we have seen something of the holiness of God and the holiness of God’s law. We see ourselves as sinners.
4. The end of all evangelism should be to reconcile men and women to God, and to separate them unto Him.
5. There is one reason, and one reason only why we all should be Sanctified and Holy:
Not that we may be happy, Nor that we may get rid of our problems, BUT because God is holy, because we are God’s people, because Christ has died for us and purchased us with His blood. We do not belong to ourselves. We have no right to live a sinful life.
6. The moment I am born again and have received the Holy Spirit, this process of separating me has already started, and I cannot be regenerate without the process of sanctification having already started to work within me.
7. The conflict between the flesh and the Spirit has already begun and that is the fight to separate us from the world and unto God.
8. Regeneration is entirely the action of God. Justification is God pronouncing us to be just and righteous. Adoption is God’s declaration to us that we are His children. Repentance and faith are works started by the Holy Spirit leading us to confess our sins and repent.
9. Sanctification is God’s work from the beginning to the end. It is something that is started by God, continued by God, and is perfected by God Himself. Sanctification is the work of God in us, through and by the Holy Spirit.
Next Lesson: The Mighty Process of the Holy Spirit
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2 Lesson 16
The Doctrine of Sanctification
(Being Declared Holy)
1. Sanctification is what God does about sin in the life of the believer. It means to set apart of God and for His service (Exodus 28:29). Sanctification is that gracious and continuous operation of the Holy Spirit by which He delivers the justified sinner from the pollution of sin, renews His whole nature in the image of God and enables Him to perform good works.
2. Sanctification is IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS. God looks at us in our sin and applies to us the righteousness of Christ and DECLARES US TO BE JUST.
3. To set apart is separation from everything that is profane or unclean or impure. It means anything that is devoted entirely to God, presented to God that He may use it for His service. John 10:36
4. Being set apart for God does not make us holy, we are REGARDED as holy. It means a certain work of purification and cleansing goes on within us, which makes us conform more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ and changes us into His image from glory to glory.
5. What is our position as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ?
a. We have a new nature.
b. We are born again.
c. We are in union with Christ.
d. We are DECLARED TO BE RIGHTEOUS.
e. We are adopted into the family of God.
f. We still have sin in our lives. We have not suddenly been made perfect.
5. Sanctification is God’s way of dealing with the problem of sin and our regeneration and justification. Sanctification must always be in regards to our relationship to God, our standing in His presence.
Next Lesson: Sanctification, God’s Work and Ours