Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2: Lesson 2
Lesson 2: The Deity of the Holy Spirit
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to produce holiness and order in all that He does in the application of Christ’s work of salvation.
1. Scripture tells us there is only ONE God. But that there are THREE PERSONS in that Godhead: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. God the Holy Spirit is fully God. We can’t understand this, we must accept it based on the authority of the Scripture.
2. The three persons in the Godhead are co-equal and co-eternal. However, there are divisions of work in the Godhead. Each of the three reflects the glory of the other.
3. The Son is begotten of the Father. – John 3:16, 18. The Son subordinated Himself to the Father. – John 14:10. The Father told Him what to do.
4. The Holy Spirit proceeded from the Father. – John 15:26
5. The Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son. – John 16:13,14
6. The Son glorifies the Father, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. The Holy Spirit is always putting the focus on the Son. He always points to the Son.
7. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, enlightens us, gives us understanding, unction and an anointing.
8. The Holy Spirit was operating in the creation of the world and He works in sustaining and maintaining creation. Isaiah 40:7 and Psalm 104:29-30.
9. The Holy Spirit is responsible for common grace which is those general blessings which God imparts to all men and women as He pleases. Matthew 5:44-45, Acts 14:15-17, 1 Timothy 4:10
10. All gifts are from God. It is through the Holy Spirit that God dispenses general gifts to humanity. What is wrong with today’s culture is not the thing itself, it is rather that people give their worship, their praise and adoration to those men and women who have produced the work rather than to the God who enabled them to do it.
11. The Holy Spirit produces the work of conviction but people resist it instead of yielding to it. Up to a point God restrains men and women from vile perversions. That is why the world is not always as bad and wicked as it could be. God through the Holy Spirit restrains the vilest manifestations of sin, but there are times when He give people up to do vile things. Romans 1:28
Key Thought: The Holy Spirit is a person of the Godhead and is to be honored as such.
Next Lesson: The Significance of Pentecost
Study of Great Bible Truths – Vol. 2: Lesson 1
Lesson 1: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
1. We find a reference to the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2, and throughout the Scriptures.
2. In God’s great plan of salvation the Holy Spirit is the applier of salvation. It is His work to bring to us and to make actual in us in an experimental manner that great salvation which God the Son (Jesus) came into the world to work out.
3. Descriptive names found in Scripture for the Holy Spirit that relate to the Father include:
¨ Spirit of God– Genesis 1:2
¨ Spirit of the Lord— Luke 4:18
¨ Spirit of our God– 1 Corinthians 6:11
¨ Spirit of the Lord God—Isaiah 61:1
¨ Spirit of your Father—Matthew 10:20
¨ Spirit of the Living God—2 Corinthians 3:3
¨ My Spirit—Genesis 6:3
4. Descriptive names found in the Scripture for the Holy Spirit that relate to the Son included:
¨ Spirit of Christ—Romans 8:9
¨ Spirit of Jesus Christ—Philippians 1:19
¨ Spirit of His Son—Galatians 4:6
¨ Spirit of the Lord—Acts 5:9
5. Descriptive names found in the Scripture for the Holy Spirit that reflect direct and personal titles given Him.
¨ Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost
¨ Spirit of Holiness—Romans 1:4
¨ Holy One—1st John 2:20
¨ Eternal Spirit—Hebrews 9:14
¨ Spirit of Life-Romans 8:2
¨ Spirit of Truth—John 14:17
¨ Comforter—John 14, 15, 16
Key thought: It is the work of the Holy Spirit to produce holiness and order in all that He does in the application of Christ’s work of salvation.
Next Lesson: The Deity of the Holy Spirit
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 39
Lesson 39: Christ the King.
In our last lesson we learned that because of my relationship to Christ, my eternal future and glory are guaranteed.
1. Jesus is the head of all creation. The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Christ means His rule, His reign. Wherever the rule of Christ is acknowledged and delighted in, there is Christ’s Kingdom and there He is King.
2. As a result of His work upon the cross, the fullness of the Holy Spirit was given to our Lord Jesus Christ for the formation of the Church of which He is head. John 7:39, Acts 2:33
3. Christ reigns as King over His people, over His Church. He reigns in the hearts of all of us who believe in Him. Christ administers His Kingdom by means of His Word and the Holy Spirit.
4. Jesus was clearly, publicly and formally declared to be the mediatorial king at the time of His ascension into heaven. Acts 2:29-30, Philippians 2
5. Christ’s Mediatorial (mediator) Kingship is His official power to rule all things in heaven and earth for the glory of God and for the execution of God’s purpose of salvation.
6. Jesus’ mediatorial kingship will last until the new heavens and the new earth have been brought in to being. Romans 8:21, 1 Corinthians 15:24-28
Thought: Jesus has all power. He is crowned King because He suffered and conquered. He has control over everything for the sake of His people, for their protection and for our ultimate salvation. Romans 8:28.
Next Lesson: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 38
Lesson 38: The Blessings of the Covenant
1.Two of the immediate consequences of the work of our Lord and Savior was:
¨ The effect upon God’s relationship with sinful man.
¨ The effect upon heaven itself.
2. The third consequence of the Lord’s work was that the New Covenant God made with man was ratified by the blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross. Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 8:6, 9:23-25
3. Of note, all God’s covenants in the Old Testament were also ratified with blood. Genesis 15:9-10, 17-18, Exodus 24:5-8
4. The fourth consequence of the Lord’s work is that all the blessings we enjoy as Christians come to us because of what happened on the cross. Hebrews 8:10-12, 13-14. These blessings include:
¨ 1st blessing– the forgiveness of sin once and for all. Hebrews 10:1-2 In the Old Testament sins were covered, but not blotted out. In the Lord’s work on the Cross, God has dealt with sin and has forgiven sins past, present and future. 1 John 1:1,7
¨ 2nd Blessing– a new way of approaching the most Holy God. Our consciences are clean. Therefore we can come into the presence of God with a holy boldness by the blood of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 12:28
5. The fifth consequence of the Lord’s work is that we are no longer under the law but are now under grace. Romans 8:3-4.
6. The sixth consequence of the Lord’s work is that the New Covenant guarantees our continuance in this life. Jesus ever liveth to make intercessions for us. He saves us to the very end.
7. Our Lord Jesus Christ has completed the work that was necessary to redeem man from sin and is now seated at the right hand of Father God. He will remain there until his return.
Thought: Because of our relationship to Christ, our eternal future and glory are guaranteed.
Next Lesson : Christ the King
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 37
Lesson 37: Christ the Victor
In our last lesson we learned that God who is just, can forgive our sins because He has punished sin in the person of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So He remains righteous. He remains just.
1. Our Lord, upon the cross was rendering passive obedience to the Father. God was putting our sins upon Him and dealing with them.
2. In looking at the resurrection, we see the MIGHTY VICTOR has arisen. One of the enemies Christ was waging battle with was Satan and all his forces. (1 John 3:8, John 12:31, Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2;14-15). We are told that our Lord came to destroy the works of the devil and to cast out the devil.
3. When man (Adam) listened to the suggestion of the devil fell from God, and from that life he had with God. He also fell into the dominion of the devil (the realm in which the devil already lived). The devil himself by falling, had fallen into a state of death. 2 Peter 2:4. The devil became the head of the realm which is outside the life of God which can be described as the realm of death.
4. By Jesus living a perfect life of obedience to the Law of God and honoring God in all He did, He was attacking and defeating the devil. He did so specifically by conquering temptation in the wilderness. Our Lord defeated Satan and thereby destroyed his works.
5. Satan was counting on Jesus’ faith to fail, especially when our sins were loaded upon Him and separated Him temporarily from God the Father (Remember God cannot look upon sin) when He was on the cross. BUT OUR LORD TRIUMPHED!
6. The Lord not only vanquished the devil, He also vanquished death. (Hebrews 2:14-15). Christ delivers us from the power of death. The thing that makes death terrible and makes the sting so powerful is sin. Death is the consequence of sin. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57.
7. Man (Adam), as a result of the fall because of his disobedience to God, not only fell under the dominion of the devil, he also fell under the dominion of sin. Sin reigns in the natural person; in lust, in desire, in the bent toward evil. In addition to what Satan does to man from the outside, sin reigns within man himself. Man is under sin’s dominion. Romans 6:10-14
8. By the death of our Lord upon the cross, we are delivered from the dominion of sin. We have died to sin. Sin shall not have dominion over us.
1 John 3:9
Thought:
1. The Lord’s work on the Cross:
¨ Bore the penalty and punishment of our sins as our substitute.
¨ Destroyed the works of the devil
¨ Delivered us from the bondage and the dominion of the devil
¨ Delivered us from the territory of death. We are alive unto God
¨ Delivered us from the tyranny and power of sin.
The only change that is affected by our Lord’s work on the cross is God’s relationship to us. He now looks upon us as His children, whereas before Jesus’ work on the cross we were under the wrath of God.
Next Lesson: The Blessings of the Covenant
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 36
Lesson 36: The Atonement and Substitution: Why It Was Necessary
Last week we learned that the Atonement is the ONLY way whereby men and women can be reconciled to God. The death of our LORD Jesus Christ was and is essential to salvation.
1. God the eternal Father made Jesus to be sin for us. God imputed (transferred) the guilt of our sins to Him. God put them upon Jesus and tells us that He punished our sins in Him.
2. The death of our Lord on the cross was an absolute necessity. There is only one way whereby men and women can be reconciled to God, and that is in and through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
3. The Bible states that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered the penalty of the broken law. The law pronounced a penalty when He, as our substitute, has borne in our stead.
4. The object of the burnt offerings and sacrifices in the Old Testament was to do something to God, not to influence man, they were designed to propitiate (appease) the wrath of God. The propitiation was secured to wipe out the guilt of sin. The effect of such sin offerings and burnt offerings was the pardon of the offender and his restoration to communion with God. Hebrews 9:22
5. The Old Testament sacrifices were pointing forward to the perfect sin offering that was to come: they foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ in His death.
6. The New Testament specifically teaches us that Christ saves us by His death. The death of our Lord upon the cross is directly mentioned 175 times in the New Testament. Apart from the blood we have no redemption. (Supporting scriptures: John 1:29, 1 Corinthians 5:7, Romans 3:25, Romans 5:6, Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:13, Hebrews 9:12,14, Hebrews 10:10,12,14, 1 Peter 1:18-19,1 Peter 3:18, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 1:7, and Revelation 1:5).
7. Scripture teaches us that the Atonement was in God’s mind before the foundation of the world. Acts 2:23
8. The Atonement was the only way in which the eternal character of God could be reconciled with itself and be vindicated. Not only before the whole world of men, but before the principalities and powers in heavenly places, before the devil and all the citizens of hell.
Thought: God who is just, can forgive our sin because He has punished sin in the person of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So He remains righteous. He remains just.
Next Lesson: Christ the Victor
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 35
Lesson 35: Christ the Priest
In our last lesson Jesus in His role as Prophet has brought light into the world.
1. In the Scripture, Christ is described as the Mediator, the one who stands between God and ourselves.
2. The Priest is one who represents us with God (approaches God on behalf of man) Hebrews 5:1-5, Leviticus 21:6-8.
3. Characteristics of a Priest.
a. A Priest must be taken from among men in order to be their representative.
b. No man taketh the honor of Priest unto himself, but he is called of God (i.e., Aaron).
c. A Priest is active in the interest of men in all things pertaining to God.
d. A Priest is to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He propitiates by sacrifice and he intercedes on behalf of the people. ** Propitiation is that which satisfies the demands of the violated holiness of God.
4. There are three things our LORD needed to do as our Priest in order to reconcile us to God.
a. Satisfaction must be offered to the offended God (Propitiation)
b. There must be a substitute of suffering and death on the part of someone who is innocent for the deserved punishment of the guilty.
c. A Community of Life needs to be brought about between the one who has been offended (God) and the offender (man).
According to Scripture Jesus has done all that. He was taken from among men. He was called and appointed by God. He makes representation for the people in the things pertaining to God, and He offered Himself as a sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins. This is the Doctrine of the Atonement.
Scriptures: Hebrews3:1, 4:14, 5:5, 6:20, 7:25-26, 8:1
Romans 3:24-25, 5, 6-8
1st Corinthians 5:7, 15:3
John 1:29, 3:14-15, 1st John 2:2
1st Peter 1:19, 2:24, 3:18
Thought: The Atonement explains Christ’s work as Priest. The Atonement is the ONLY way whereby men and women can be reconciled to God. The death of our LORD Jesus Christ was and is essential to salvation.
Next Lesson: The Atonement and Substitution: Why was it necessary?
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 34
Lesson 34: Christ the Prophet
In our last lesson we learned that Jesus has two distinct natures: Human Nature and Divine Nature.
1. God has been pleased to give us a revelation of Himself. We see it in history, in nature and in creation. He has also given us His Word, the Bible.
2. The Bible is the Word of God, infallible in all matters of faith and practice. It is NOT what we think, but what the BIBLE TEACHES.
3. Jesus Christ is the central part of all revelation in the Bible. He came into the world to bring us back to God.
4. After the fall of man (Adam), man needed to be reconciled back to God, and to be restored to that condition from which he fell (from Adam).
5. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the work of reconciliation and restoration. 1st Timothy 2:5
6. There are three functions Jesus serves as our mediator and our redeemer. He serves as Prophet, Priest, and King. He is serving in all three functions at the same time.
¨ Prophet– Man need a prophet because we need to be delivered and saved from the ignorance of sin. After the fall, man was left in a state of ignorance. Ephesians 4:17-18, Isaiah 9:2
¨ Priest– Man needed to be delivered from the guilt of sin so we need a priest. We need someone who can appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
¨ King– Man needed to be delivered from the dominion of sin. Jesus delivers us as He assumes the function of King, with power and authority. Only a king can set us free and place us in a kingdom over which He rules and we have become citizens.
7. In the Old Testament, prophets were sent by God to warn people, to chastise and rebuke them, to remind them of the Law of God, and of God’s promises.
8. Christ as Prophet represents God with us. He speaks for God, and from God to us. We are given direct revelation by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:12
9. As THE Prophet, Jesus has brought the light and knowledge in to the world which was lacking. He alone can lead us to God and give us the knowledge of God which we desire.
Thought: Jesus will continue in His Prophetic role until He has ultimately presented us as spotless before God.
Next Lesson: Christ the Priest.
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 33
Lesson 33: God–Man
In our last lesson we learned that Jesus is the Eternal Son of God as well as the Son of Man.
1. The Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus was subject to the Father. John 14:21, John 3:16-17, John 14:31, John 10:18. He received commandments from the Father, His words were given to Him by the Father.
2.God is the head of Christ. Jesus’ work (function) is to lead us and bring us to God. Hebrews 2:10, Jude 24. The work did not end with the Lord Himself; He takes us and brings us to God, the Father.
3. The Bible states that Christ was truly God, but He was also truly man. Jesus is one person with two natures. Two natures joined, but not mixed, not intermingled, remaining separate – God and Man.
4. Since the 1st man (Adam) sinned, the penalty must be borne in the nature of man. No one can bear the penalty of sin except someone who is man himself. It is the only way for man to be redeemed.
5. In order that He might render perfect obedience to God without failure and without possibility of failure, Jesus had to be God. Philippians 2:5-8
6. Jesus was a sympathetic high priest and could only be that by having a human nature. 1st Peter 2:22-23.
7. The LORD of the world became a servant of the world. He whose right it was to rule, took on obedience as His life characteristics. He is an example to all believers.
Thought: The Bible teaches us that Jesus is one person in two natures, Divine and Human.
Next Lesson: Christ the Prophet
Study of Great Bible Truths – Lesson 32
Lesson 32: The Deity and Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ
In our last lesson we learned that Jesus became the son of man that men might become the children of God.
1. The babe born in Bethlehem and laid in a manager is God the Eternal Son. The Bible teaches and asserts the deity of Jesus. He is called ‘the Son of God.’ God calls Him, My Son. In Matthew 1:23, He is called Emmanuel, ‘God with us.’
2. The Bible ascribes divine attributes to Jesus:
Omnipotent (All-powerful) – Hebrews 1:3, 1 Corinthians 15:27
Omniscient (All–knowing) – Matthew 11:27, John 2:24-25
Omnipresent (Ever-present) – Matthew 18:20, John 3:13
Eternal – John 1:1
3. The Bible also describes Jesus’ own claims to deity as in His calling of the 12 Apostles and the 70 Disciples, giving them authority to perform signs and miracles, as well as Jesus’ healing of the sick and casting out demons.
4. Jesus was born to a human mother–the Virgin Mary. Jesus took unto Himself human nature from His mother Mary, as a result of the operation of the Holy Spirit upon her. He was truly human in every respect.
5. He had a typical human physical nature. John 1:14, Hebrews 2:14, John 4:9, John 20:27.
6. Jesus was subject to physical limitations. In John 4 we see His weariness, in Mark 4:36-41 He fell asleep while in the boat with his disciples. He endured physical agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
7. Jesus was subject to temptation but was at he same time sinless. Though He was human in every respect, He was without sin. Luke 1:35,
2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 5:15.
8. The 1st man (Adam) was created perfect, but sinning was possible for him as he did sin when tempted by Satan. The 2nd Adam (Jesus) was born human, but was also divine. Since He was divine it was impossible for Him to sin. Even though He was tempted (by Satan in the wilderness) just like the 1st Adam, He did not sin.
Thought: Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man
Next Lesson: God–Man