How have you noticed the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life this week?
As we mature in Christ, we become more aware of the Spirit’s work in our lives.
LIFE THROUGH HIS SPIRIT
If you had a pacemaker surgically implanted in your heart to keep it functioning, in what ways do you think you would be aware of its role in your life?
The Holy Spirit’s work in our lives begins even before we come to Christ, when He convicts us of our need to turn to Jesus (John 16:8-11).
Share: How did the Holy Spirit show you your need for Jesus?
The Spirit’s vital role continues as He provides us with life. Look at the Spirit’s work in John 3:6-7 and Romans 8:11.
John 3:6-7
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
Romans 8:11
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Discover: How does Jesus say we receive new life?
Discover: What is the source of life in you today? What would your condition be without Him?
Reflect: Throughout your day, to what extent are you aware that the Holy Spirit is giving you life? What hinders
your awareness?
Titus 3:4-5 says that the Holy Spirit regenerates and renews us. Regeneration takes place immediately at our salvation when we are born again, but the renewal process is affected by our response to the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:4-5
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit . . .
HAVING THE SPIRIT IN CONTROL
For the Spirit to change us, we must be willing to accept God’s direction and give Him control of our lives. After living many years with “self” in control, our minds need to be renewed. An important step in this renewal is recognizing that God is the rightful owner of our lives. Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Discover: How were you bought? (The Bible also uses the term “redeemed.”) What price was paid?
Discuss: What rights does an owner have?
Reflect: When we give glory to someone, we recognize their contribution or role. What do you think it means for God to be glorified in your body?
Consider these diagrams illustrating the different responses people may have to God’s control of their lives. Read the verses describing each type of person then answer these questions:
Discover: What role does the Holy Spirit play in each person’s life?
Discover: How does the “self” respond to the Spirit in each of these situations?
A person who is not in Christ
Romans 8:9 Anyone who does not have the Spirit of
Christ does not belong to Him.
John 16:8 “And when [the Spirit] comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God . . .
1 Peter 4:5 . . . but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
A Spirit-controlled believer
Romans 8:4-6 . . . who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit . . . those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit . . . to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Galatians 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
A “fleshly” believer
Romans 8:5,7 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh . . . For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law . . .
Galatians 3:3 Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Discuss: What makes the difference between the two types of believers?
Discuss: We read in Romans 8:6 that “to set the mind on the Spirit is life and
peace.” How would you describe where each person is in the process of their minds being renewed?
Share: What has your experience been with each of these conditions?
CHOOSING TO GIVE THE SPIRIT CONTROL
Imagine you are the driver in a car but you are not sure where you need to go, you are not completely familiar with the car, nor do you know the difficulties of the road ahead. In this situation what are the benefits of giving control of the car to a driver who made the car, designed the road, and planned the journey?
This illustration is simplistic, but it reflects the choice we have. We can insist on driving, but if we do, we give up the benefits of having the best driver. Imagine the freedom of riding as a passenger in the car and being able to enjoy the scenery rather than worrying about driving.
Read Ephesians 5:17-18.
Ephesians 5:17-18
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit . . .
Discover: What is the Lord’s will?
Reflect: How does being drunk with wine influence and control someone’s behavior?
Reflect: What would it look like for God’s Spirit to influence and control our lives like that?
Having God in full control of your life is what it means to be filled with the Spirit. Even though it is clear that God wants us to do this, and that it is for our benefit, we often resist yielding control to Him.
Have you ever been in a car with a passenger who wanted to be the one driving? (Maybe you have been that passenger!) What might the passenger do or say? How would you describe the passenger’s attitude?Have you ever been in a car with a passenger who wanted to be the one driving? (Maybe you have been that passenger!) What might the passenger do or say? How would you describe the passenger’s attitude?
Human nature causes us to desire to direct our own lives. We may think that we can do it better or perhaps we are afraid of where God may take us. Consider what makes it hard to yield to the Spirit.
Reflect: What causes you to want to keep control for yourself?
Discuss: What pressures in society reinforce our desire for control?
Reflect: What fears or concerns do you have about giving God control?
Share: How would you describe your experience of yielding control to God?
The decision to give control to the Spirit can be a major turning point in our lives. When we make that choice, we experience growth in our faith as we learn to “keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
Share: Has there been a turning point when you yielded control of your life to God?
Is this a choice that you want to make now?
YIELDING TO THE SPIRIT
We need to consistently choose to yield control to the Spirit. Like the passenger in the car who wants to drive, we may grab the steering wheel from the Spirit and take over. Or we may realize that we somehow placed ourselves in control again.
In Ephesians 4 we are instructed to put off our old self and former manner of life.
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Discover: What does Ephesians 4:30 urge us to not do?
Reflect: What would grieve the Holy Spirit?
Sin does not cause the Holy Spirit to leave us, but it breaks our fellowship with God, which then needs to be restored.
“Spiritual breathing” is a concept that helps us yield control to the Spirit and renew our minds. Review these passages.
Exhale – Confess your sin: 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Discover: When we confess, what are we admitting about who has been in control?
Discuss: Why is this important?
Inhale – Allow the Spirit to fill you: Ephesians 5:17-18
Ephesians 5:17-18
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit . . .
Discover: What is God’s will for the Spirit to do in our lives?
Discover: According to 1 John 5:14-15, how can we be sure that the Spirit will fill us if we ask?
1 John 5:14-15
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
Discuss: Why has God made being filled with the Spirit easy to do? What makes it difficult for us?
The Holy Spirit enables us to live as God wants us to. Let’s thank God that, although our old self will resist yielding control to Him, we have been set free to choose His will in our lives.
GOING FORWARD
Clarify: What thoughts or questions do you have?
Summarize: Why should we give control to God? How do we make that choice?
Apply: How would God want you to respond to what He has shown you?
Pass It On: What from this topic would you find helpful to
share with someone?
Reinforce:
This week, think about what benefits result from yielding to the Holy Spirit’s control
.
• Ezekiel 36:25-28
• Ephesians 4:17-32
• Romans 8:5-14
• Galatians 5:16-26
• Colossians 3:5-17
• Titus 3:3-8
Ezekiel 36:25-28
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
Ephesians 4:17-32
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Romans 8:5-14
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Galatians 5:16-26
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Colossians 3:15-17
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Titus 3:3-8
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.
