A Bible lesson by Ivor Jefferies
1. To Jehovah’s Witnesses the Holy Spirit is not God, but an impersonal force. Disprove this from Scripture.
Read Ps. 139:7-8, Matt. 28:19, Acts 5:3-4, Rom. 8:26-27, 1 Cor. 2:10-11, 2 Cor. 3:17-18, Eph. 4:30, Heb. 9:14.
2. What word pictures does the Bible use to describe the Holy Spirit, and what does each of them mean?
- Isa. 44:3-4, John 4:14, 7:38-39, 3:5, Acts 1:5, 2:33.
- Ezek. 37:9-10, 14, John 3:8, 20:22, Acts 2:2.
- Num. 9:15-16, Acts 2:3-4, Matt. 3:11-12.
- Luke 3:22, Gen. 1:2, 8:11.
- 1 Sam. 16:13, Ps. 92:10, Isa. 61:1, Heb. 1:9.
- 2 Cor. 1:22 (cf. Est. 3:12, Song 8:6, Rev. 7:3).
3. What work did the Holy Spirit perform at creation, and how is He still working in creation today?
Read Gen. 1:2, 2:7, Job 26:13,1 Ps. 33:6, Isa. 40:12-14, 45:18, 2 Pet. 3:5, and Neh. 9:20-21, Job 27:3, 33:4, 34:14-15, Ps. 104:30, Isa. 34:13-16.
4. What did the Holy Spirit do in and through the life of Jesus Christ?
Read Isa. 11:2, Luke 1:31, 34-35, 3:21-22, 4:1, 14, 18, Matt. 12:28, John 16:12-15, Acts 10:38, Rom. 1:4, Heb. 9:14.
5. What is the first work of the Spirit in salvation, and how will you know if you have experienced it?
Read Ezek. 36:26-27, John 3:8, 6:63, 2 Cor. 3:6, 5:17, Tit. 3:5, and John 16:8, 1:12-13, Acts 16:14, 1 Cor. 6:11, Gal. 5:22-23, 1 John 3:9, 4:7, 5:4.
6. What does the Holy Spirit do in the believer besides regeneration?
Read John 14:16, Acts 1:8, Rom. 8:9-16, 26-27, 1 Cor. 12:4, 11, 13, 2 Cor. 3:18, Eph. 1:13-14, 3:16-19, 5:18.
7. How should you respond to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit?
Read Ps. 95:6-8 (cf. Heb. 3:7-8), Matt. 12:31-32, Acts 7:51, Eph. 4:30, 1 Thess. 5:19, Heb. 10:29, 2 Pet. 1:19-21.
1 Keep in mind that in Hebrew and Greek the same word is used for breath, wind, and Spirit (ruach in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek).