The Spirit of Truth

God's Unworldly Eternal Presence Revised Edition

Sandra Mackey

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9781098015534
• eBook ISBN:
  9781098015541
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Most of the Old Testament is devoted to the story of the Nation chosen by God through whom the Messiah would come into the world to bless all nations. The New Testament is devoted to the story of the man that nation produced and how his life, death, and resurrection give hope to sinful humanity through his kingdom. We see the genealogy of the man Jesus tracing his lineage from God through Abraham (Matthew 1: 1).John the baptizer spoke of the kingdom being at hand and the one who would come after him who would baptize with the Holy Spirit.That one was Jesus Christ. He told his apostles that he would die, but he would be raised from the dead after three days; and after his resurrection, he would send the Spirit of truth, which the Father had promised them. And they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit. He told them that they would not be alone and helpless in the world. He said that he would send them a helper, a teacher, and a comforter to sustain and assist them in carrying out the church's mission.He called this helper the Holy Spirit. It would be the Holy Spirit's purpose to guide them into all truth and to remind them of all that Jesus had said and done. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until they had received the promise of the Father (Acts1: 3-5, 1: 8).All the Old Testament prophecies and promises came to fruition as recorded in the second chapter of Acts. The apostles were waiting just as Jesus had told them to wait. It was on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem (approximately AD 33) that the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit. They were immersed in the Holy Spirit. They were overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit""and they spoke the words of salvation through Jesus Christ to all nations (Acts 2: 1-4).

I Praise You, Holy Spirit

I praise you, Father God,

For majesty and power,

To speak and see the earth,

Give forth the plenty,

Give forth the good.

I praise you, Jesus Christ,

For bidding the Father’s will,

To create all things past,

Things that are present,

Things that are to come.

I praise you, Holy Spirit,

For attention to this earth,

In seasons of day and night,

To beautify the land,

To magnify the sea.

I thank you, Father God,

For your plan to include me,

Through grace when I believe,

The unsearchable riches,

The undeniable truth.

I thank you, Jesus Christ,

For your sacrificial gift,

In bidding the Father’s will,

To die, to live again,

To die that I might live.

I thank you, Holy Spirit,

For constant care you give,

To prepare me for the kingdom,

To make me pure and holy,

To make me more like you.

Lesson 1

It’s Not Easy Being Human

The Bible, Our Standard

If we believe the Bible is our standard for living righteously before God and each other, it is by this standard that we learn how to be saved from our sins and go to heaven when we are no longer wrapped in flesh. Living by this standard to the best of our ability will make a difference in everything we do, everything we say, the places we go to, the people whom we associate with, the decisions we make, the way we raise our children, and the kind of spouse, parent, or friend we are. Our goals will be to become Christlike in our attitudes and actions in this life and to be accepted into heaven when we come face-to-face with Jesus Christ before the throne of God on judgment day.

I would like to think that everyone reading this lesson has made the decision to give their lives to Christ. Perhaps some have already done that; perhaps some are still trying to decide. And there may be some who have not yet realized that there is a decision to make.

Living by the Spirit

After proclaiming the great faith of some of the people we read about in the Old Testament, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews said,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1–3)

What does it mean to live by the Spirit? It means that if God’s Spirit lives in us, we allow our lives to be controlled, not by our sinful nature but by God’s Spirit. Now before we begin examining that definition, let’s look for a moment at what it does not mean to live by the Spirit.

1. It does not mean to live according to our emotions or feelings.
   Emotions get in our way and cloud our judgment when facts and scriptural teaching should be our guide to life by the Spirit. An emotional reaction to what we believe does not make the emotion accurate nor the reaction to it.
   Without a doubt, we need to be emotionally affected by the gift of salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our emotional lives should be enriched by the love and mercy of our all-powerful God and Father; but living according to our emotions is not living by the Spirit. Feelings are unreliable.
   For example, driving in an unfamiliar city a few years ago. I thought I was going in the right direction but found myself hopelessly lost on a wrong street in strange surroundings. Maybe you can relate to that. I stopped and bought a roadmap, and very soon once I had more complete information, I was able to get to my destination.
   God’s Word is our roadmap. God has given us the intelligence to search his Word for the right way. In it through the guidance of the Sprit, we can learn how to find our way to heaven. Trusting our emotions or feelings may only get us lost. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
2. It does not mean to live according to our own desires.
   I am basically a selfish person. However, I don’t think that makes me unique because we all come into this world with loud cries demanding attention to get what we want. Hopefully, by the time we are grown, we have been disciplined and have learned to curb some of the more detestable traits of our humanity. But maybe not. Most of us need help in being a good wife or husband, a good son or daughter, or a good friend, or neighbor. Sometimes it’s just hard to be good—period. We have irrepressible me-first desires that get in the way, and we continue to need constant supervision over our selfish, sinful nature.
3. It does not mean to live according to what a preacher, family, or friend says.

We cannot depend on the infallibility of any person. But we can depend on the infallibility of God’s Word, the Bible, to teach us what it means to live by the Spirit. The Bible teaches us everything we need to know to be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

The Apostle Paul encouraged Timothy, his son in the faith, to:

Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:14–17)

The apostle Peter also spoke on the subject. “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).

To a church in the region of Galatia to whom the Apostle Paul wrote these words,

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. (Galatians 5:16–17)

And to the church in Rome he said,

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the fle...

Table of contents

• Lesson 1