The Role of the Holy Spirit in Creation and New Creation
The creation of the world was a Trinitarian event. The Spirit hovered, the Father spoke and the Son, who was and is the Logos/Word (John 1:1-3) was the agent of the creation of the universe (Col 1:15-20), “15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all […]
7 Things that Tempt us to Check the Fruit of the Spirit at the Door
There are times it seems Christians check the fruit of the Spirit at the door and proceed without caution: When you are doctrinally correct: Being right on a matter doesn’t give you the right to be hostile, angry, unloving, unkind, etc. When you are by yourself: Being alone doesn’t give us license to sin. The […]
The Holy Spirit’s Role in Jesus’ Miracles
Throughout scripture the Holy Spirit has enabled people to do amazing things. The Spirit empowered several of the judges to do the mighty things God called them to do (Samson and Gideon to name a few). The Holy Spirit came on Saul and enabled him to prophesy (1 Sam 10:6-10). The Holy Spirit enabled the […]
The Fruit of the Spirit is Essential
The fruit of the Spirit is essential, not because it is a checklist unto salvation but because it is the inevitable byproduct of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you. We have a funny relationship with the word “essential” often relating it to what one must do to be saved. While there are essential components to […]
The Holy Spirit’s Role in the Coming of Jesus
We often associate the Holy Spirit with the beginning of the church in Luke’s second volume, the book of Acts. What is interesting is that the Holy Spirit also played a key role in kicking off Luke’s first volume, the Gospel of Luke: Luke 1:15 – John the Baptist will be filled with the Holy […]
Spirituality is More Than Just Non-Physical Reality
Gordon Fee is one of the most gifted writers on how to read scripture in the last 30 years. He is probably best known for some of his New Testament commentaries and his book “How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth“. I have been reading his book Listening to the Spirit in the […]
Baptism and the Timing of the Holy Spirit in Acts
We like to try to pin things down and know exactly when God is doing things. That has often been true in studying baptism. Reading through Acts, I have been humbled by the chronology of the timing of people being baptized and the same people receiving the Holy Spirit. The reason I have felt humbled […]
Getting to Know the Holy Spirit
Can you imagine trying to describe your neighbor to someone if you had never seen your neighbor before? Not only that you pretty much figured that while they lived there you never would actually see them in the flesh. What is more you had never actually had a conversation with them either. You know they […]
Transcendence and Immanence – Holding the Two in Tension
There are some things we learn best about God when we hold two seemingly opposing characteristics of God in our minds at the same time. One of these pairs is God’s transcendence and His immanence. God’s transcendence means God is very much unlike us. He is so much greater and so high above us that […]
Books and Resources on the Holy Spirit
I am going to be writing some small group curriculum on the Holy Spirit. What resources have you found helpful in your studies? I am looking at the following: The Bible! Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit by Charles Stanley […]