The Bible / The Scripture is INSPIRED by GOD

GOD HAS SPOKEN THROUGH HIS WRITINGS

Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).

One of the greatest works of the Holy Spirit has been the giving of God’s truth to people through the prophets. Notice that phrase, "prophecy of Scripture." This simply means God’s prophetic message as written in the Scriptures. The prophets not only spoke from God, they also wrote from God! What they prophesied was not their own "interpretation." It was not their personal opinion or guess about truth. True prophecy never came from human will. It came from God Himself as His Holy Spirit moved them to tell just what He planned.

All Scripture Is Inspired

The Holy Spirit did not have to change the prophets into machines to do this. They still wrote in the language and manner of their time. This passage in 2 Peter is about the Old Testament prophets. They usually used the Hebrew language. (The New Testament used the Greek language.) We can often see in the writing what kind of person the writer was. The Holy Spirit used all of this—the place and time, the language, and the person himself—to write exactly what God wanted. That is why Paul could be so confident in describing all Scripture in this way:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

ERV: All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work.

Are you looking for "teaching" that is truly from God? Go to Scripture! Do you need "training in righteousness"? Go to Scripture! If you are mistaken and need "correcting," go to Scripture! There God Himself guides you, so that you can return to Him. In fact Scripture is so dependable in every part that all of it is useful. It completely (”thoroughly”) prepares us for every good work.

God gave the New Testament in much the same way as He had given the Old Testament. As we shall see later in this lesson, the Holy Spirit worked in the apostles and their fellow-prophets in the early church. Their writings are also called "Scripture" (2 Peter 3:16; 1 Timothy 5:18).

The statements of the Bible itself leave no doubt. God has spoken fully and clearly through the Scriptures! Many great thinkers have written their own books. But not one of their books is like the Bible. The Bible is like a great library of 66 books. God used 40 different writers to pen these 66 books during a period of over 1,500 years.

Yet all these writings agree. They tell one story—the greatest theme of all history. Yes, this Book is "breathed" or "inspired" by the one true God Himself. The Bible is the Lord's own book!

GOD'S MAIN WAY OF SPEAKING

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2).

In a previous lesson we noted from Hebrews 1:1 that God spoke through the prophets. But the writer of Hebrews had an even more important lesson to teach. He wished to show how God has spoken to us today. He did not mean that the old prophets have nothing to say to us. Hebrews itself has many quotes and lessons from Old Testament prophets. So the writer clearly means that God’s main way of speaking to us today is "by His Son." According to the book of Hebrews, "His Son" is Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1-6). 

GOD HAS SPOKEN IN TWO PARTS

Hebrews 1:1-2 places God’s speaking into two different parts. Look at each of these:

TIME HAS TWO PARTS

”Long ago” (1:1)
”in these last days” (1:2)

GOD’S PEOPLE ARE IN TWO GROUPS

”God spoke to our fathers” (1:1)
”He has spoken to us” (1:2)

GOD HAS USED TWO METHODS

”by the prophets” (1:1)
”by His Son” (1:2)

In the past God used the prophets as His main method of speaking. He used them "at many times and in many ways." Yet all along God planned to use a better method for the last part of history. "In these last days" He has spoken "by His Son."

The verses which come next in Hebrews show why the Son is far better. He is the same as God, and He represents God in the most clear and exact way.

”He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3).
ERV: The Son shows the glory of God. He is a perfect copy of God's nature.

The old prophets give us much of the basic knowledge that we need. What they said is still true. Yet God wants us to know more fully what He is like. God has much to say especially "to us." That is why we should learn from God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

The Bible becomes much easier to understand when we realize that God has dealt with two major groups in two major ways. This is especially important when we try to obey the commands of the Bible. Should we have the priests of the Old Testament or the priests of the New Testament? Should we be circumcised or baptized? Should we keep the Sabbaths? Should we still worship in the ways given by the Law of Moses? Hebrews chapter 7 helps us to find the answer.

THERE HAS BEEN A CHANGE OF THE LAW

Remember that Psalm 110 promised that God would send the special "Priest forever." Hebrews 7 shows us that Priest. He is Jesus Christ! Jesus came from the family line of Judah and King David. But the Law of Moses was very strict about such matters. It said that its priests should come only from the family line of Levi and Aaron. How could Jesus have become our High Priest when He did not belong to the right family? Remember that it was God’s prophet who foretold that the Christ would come from Judah and David (Genesis 49:10; Psalm 89). It was also God’s prophet who said that this Christ would be "Priest forever" (Psalm 110). Therefore God must have planned some change. God planned a change of law, so that the King from Judah and David could become Priest. This conclusion is exactly what we find in Hebrews 7:12.

For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.

Hebrews 7:18 goes on to say that

”a former commandment is set aside.”
ERV: The old rule is now ended. 

 

OTHER LAWS OF MOSES

God spoke through the great prophet Moses when He gave that old rule about priests coming only from Levi and Aaron. What about the other laws given through Moses? Are they also "set aside"? The very same words are used in Hebrews chapter 10.

He does away with the first in order to establish [begin] the second (Hebrews 10:9).

This passage teaches that Christ’s new sacrifice replaces the old sacrifices. The two kinds of sacrifice could not continue together. The book of Hebrews uses the word "better" thirteen times to show how Jesus’ way is greater than any other way.

The new way of Christ is so much better that there is no longer any need for the old way given through Moses. Moses was the first mediator. But just as Moses himself promised, God sent a second Mediator. Now we must listen to the new Mediator, Jesus Christ.

That is why the New Testament tells us that Moses’ laws about circumcision no longer rule us (Acts 15). Anyone trying to put us under those laws again will have serious trouble from God (Galatians 5:1-6). For the same reason, no one can judge us now about Moses’ special days and Sabbaths (Colossians 2:16). Colossians 2:17 describes those old days as "a shadow of the things to come." Hebrews 8:5 and Hebrews 10:1 also describe matters of the Law as "a copy" and "shadow". Imagine a man walking along behind a hanging sheet. People on the other side of the sheet see his shadow. They know he is coming. But they only have a little idea of what he might look like. In the same way, the Law was a "shadow" that came first so that people could get an idea of what was to come. The shadow helped to picture the coming reality. As Colossians 2:17 says, "the substance belongs to Christ."

Even the Ten Commandments were a part of that old shadow. Romans 7 shows this because it quotes from "the Law." Using the very words of the Ten Commandments (Romans 7:7), it plainly says we "died to the Law" and "we have been released from the Law."

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God… But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4,6).

ERV: In the same way, my brothers and sisters, your old selves died and you became free from the law through the body of Christ. Now you belong to someone else. You belong to the one who was raised from death. We belong to Christ so that we can be used in service to God… In the past the law held us as prisoners, but our old selves died, and we were made free from the law. So now we serve God in a new way, not in the old way with the written rules. Now we serve God in the new way, with the Spirit.

We see the same teaching in many other scriptures (Romans 3-4; 6:15; 10:4; Galatians 2-3; 5:1-4; Hebrews 9:15-17; 12:18-24). Perhaps the passage that sums them up best is Galatians 3:25:

But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

ERV: Now the way of faith has come. So we don’t live under the Law now.  

 

THE COVENANT WITH ISRAEL

When God has chosen people to belong to Him, He has usually made a special agreement with them. This agreement ties or binds those people to God. Since the agreement is so strong it is called a covenant. Covenants are like contracts. They help people to know where they stand with each other. For example, when a man and woman marry they enter a marriage covenant. They know they belong to each other. They should feel sure about their relationship. They know what each should give and receive. They go forward in life with more certainty about the right direction.

One of the most famous covenants God made was with Abraham and his family (Genesis 17). The Israelites were Abraham’s children through his son, Isaac. When the Israelites had grown large enough to become a nation, God sent Moses to them. When God brought them out of Egypt, He made His special covenant with all Israelites (1 Kings 8:9,21). The Ten Commandments were an important part of this covenant.

And the Lord said to Moses, ”Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”… And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:27-28).

Many people have misunderstood this covenant. They have thought that it was meant for all people. But God Himself spoke of it as the special agreement between Him and the Israelites (Exodus 34:27; Leviticus 20:23-26; 26:46; Malachi 4:4).

Many have thought that it would go on after Christ. Yet even the Old Testament pointed ahead to a great change. The Old Covenant would be replaced by a New Covenant.

”Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant [agreement] with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt… (Jeremiah 31:31-32).

Notice that the New Covenant would be quite different. It would "not be like" the covenant that God had made with them when they came from Egypt. Scripture is very clear on this point. The New Covenant would not be the old one continued or repeated. The two covenants would be different in important ways. 

THE NEW COVENANT REPLACED THE OLD

Hebrews 8 proves that the promise of Jeremiah 31 has come true. It declares that Christ is now the Mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). It quotes from Jeremiah 31, and then concludes,

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13).

"Obsolete" means "no longer in use" or "out of date." We can still learn many important things from the old covenant (as we have already done in this course). But the Old Covenant is "obsolete" in that it does not rule over us as it once ruled over the Israelites. God’s people are no longer part of that covenant written on stone tablets at Sinai (2 Corinthians 3:6-11; Galatians 4:21-31). Many people worry about this change. They ask, "If we are not under the Ten Commandments, does that mean we can steal, commit adultery, and murder now?" The answer is that God has replaced the Law with something far better.

Take the question of murder, for example. Jesus, our Mediator, teaches us not to murder. But He goes much further. He warns us against anger and calling people bad names (Matthew 5:21-22). What keeps us from becoming murderers? Is it old ties to the Law of Moses? No, for Romans 7 tells us that we died to that Law. Now we do not even want to murder, for we follow Jesus and He trains us how to love.

The same can be said for nearly all of the Ten Commandments. Jesus not only repeated them in His New Covenant, He gave them greater meaning. The only command not repeated for Christians was the Sabbath. Indeed, as already noted, no one can force Sabbaths on us today.

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17).

The shadows were important for their purpose, which was to point toward Christ. But that purpose has been served. Christ has come. We now have the reality. Hebrews 8:11 assures that all in the New Covenant "know the Lord." They all have His "laws" written on their hearts (Hebrews 8:10).

Which "laws"? The full will of God now given through Jesus! For Jesus is the Mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6). He is the main way that God speaks to us now (Hebrews 1:2). He is the Prophet like Moses. He is the One of whom God said,

”You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people” (Acts 3:22-23).

Jesus emphasized that all His teachings and commands should be obeyed (Matthew 7:21-23; 28:18-20).  

THE NEW FOUNDATION

In Matthew 7, Jesus pictured His teachings as a rock. Wise people build on that rock by following His teachings (Matthew 7:24-27). Ephesians 2:19-20 also draws a picture of building.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone [foundation].

Jesus chose special apostles and prophets to serve as the "foundation" with Him. Since that time, all others who follow Jesus should build on that firm foundation. In what sense were the apostles and prophets of the New Testament the foundation? They passed on the teachings of Jesus. He gave His very words to them (John 17:8). Jesus used the Holy Spirit to keep His teachings safe (John 14:26; 16:12-15; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16). Jesus promised the apostles,

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13).

When these teachings were written down they were respected as words from the Lord Himself.

If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge [say] that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:37).

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

Today we no longer hear the apostles speak in a direct way ("by word of mouth"). But we do have their letters. So we must continue to "stand firm and hold to the teachings" given in these letters. The holy writings of the apostles and their helpers are called the New Testament. "Testament" means a will or a covenant. When we call these writings the "New Testament," we reflect the fact that the "New Covenant" has now come. When we call the writings of the Hebrew prophets the "Old Testament," we reflect the fact that it included the Old Covenant. By calling that first covenant an "Old Covenant," we imply that a New Covenant has come. (See a similar thought in Hebrews 8:13.)

The best news of this new covenant is that Christ brought something that Moses’ Law could never bring. Laws can only show us what sin is and tell the punishment for sin. But laws and animal sacrifices do not provide forgiveness for us (Hebrews 10:1-18). We needed God’s kindness and mercy, which the Bible also calls God’s "grace."

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).

In this new agreement God forgives and forgets our sins because of Jesus.

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12; 10:17).

Do you need God to forgive your sins? Do you need God to forget the bad things in your past? Do you need God’s kindness and mercy? Then you need the New Covenant! Even we who are non-Jews are welcomed into it and share in its blessings (Ephesians 2:11-3:7). All who truly want to belong to God today must enter into this New Covenant with Him.

LET'S SUM UP

We have already seen how important it is to listen carefully to God’s prophets, and especially to the Prophet like Moses. But how can we today listen carefully when they spoke so long ago? God knows our need for clear words from Him. Therefore He has also worked carefully. His Holy Spirit worked in the writers of the Bible. Through them He gives us His pure words that can be fully trusted. God also knew that people who read the Bible might be confused about which rules apply to them. Therefore He has made clear that we today are not under the Old Covenant that was given at Sinai for the Israelites. We are under the far better covenant, the New Covenant, given through Christ for all people. In the New Covenant, we know God and enjoy His full forgiveness.

LORD, how you have blessed us by your prophets and the written record they left for us! Thank You for showing so clearly how the old prophecies were fulfilled. Help us to enter Your New Covenant through Jesus Christ… 

Source worldbibleschool.org

GOD is ONE

ONLY ONE GOD HAS SPOKEN

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:4-5).

When God revealed Himself through His prophet Moses, God described Himself. He said that He is one God, not many "gods." The one and only God deserves all of our love, not just a part of it.

CONFIRMED BY JESUS

When Jesus, the Prophet like Moses, came, He drew special attention to these verses from the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy. A leader asked Jesus about the most important command of the Law. Mark 12:29 reports Jesus’ reply:

”The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…’ ”

Jesus continued then to quote from God’s message in Deuteronomy 6. This truth is the foundation for all God’s other commands. If many gods had made us, they might all have a right to our love. But the greatest fact of God is that He is one. One alone created us! One alone gives us life! One alone, therefore, has the right to our love. That leads to the greatest command, that our whole heart, soul, mind and strength should go to Him alone.

CAN WE LOVE ANYONE ELSE?

If all our love goes to God, then it cannot be divided. Does this mean that we should never love anyone else? What about loving one’s own husband or wife or children? What about loving other people? Jesus went on immediately to say that the second most important command is this:

Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31, quoting Leviticus 19:18).

The Christian husband should love his wife (Ephesians 5:25). Neither Moses nor Jesus thought that these kinds of love took love away from God.

Why? Because it is God’s will that we so love others. The true way to show love for God is to obey God.

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments (1 John 5:3).

If God is truly "LORD" He deserves our full obedience. We cannot claim to love Him while forgetting who He is and what He deserves. Real love treats Him as the real God He is. So, when we love others, as He commanded, that fits perfectly into true love and devotion to Him.

WHAT, THEN, IS LOVE DIVIDED?

By this we mean: What kind of love takes away from the full love we owe to God? The prophets of the Old and New Testaments answered this question very clearly. We take love away from God by treating God as if He were "second best." We do this when we follow another’s will instead of keeping God’s commandments. We do it when we trust people or things more than we trust the God who made us. We do it when we worship or pray to others. When an enemy tried to make Jesus divide His love in these ways, Jesus replied,

"You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve" (Matthew 4:10).

God desires and demands first place in our hearts and lives. He cannot accept second place, for that would be a lie. Simple honesty requires that God alone be recognized and treated with the highest honor. No other can claim the kind of honor that should go to God.

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols (Isaiah 42:8).

ERV: I am the LORD. My name is Yahweh. I will not let statues take the praise that should be mine.

THE NAME OF THE ONE GOD

The prophet Isaiah, in the passage just mentioned, was very certain of the true God. He is the One named "the LORD." Isaiah wrote in the Hebrew language, and in Hebrew that name is YHWH. (YHWH may be pronounced as Yahweh.) In many English Bibles, when you see the word LORD in large letters, it stands for this great name of God, YHWH.

When Eve gave birth to a child she said, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD" (Genesis 4:1). She knew God’s name, for He had dealt personally with her and her husband, Adam. Later, her children who turned to God "began to call on the name of the LORD (YHWH)" (Genesis 4:26). So "the LORD" is the One known from the very beginning as man’s Creator. When God told Moses to go to Egypt, Moses asked what name to use for God. In answer (Exodus 3:14-15) God said to Moses,

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’" God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."

The name YHWH shows that God is the "I AM," that He continues TO BE. (The name YHWH sounds like the verb "to be" in the Hebrew language.) God is the self-existing One. God does not depend on anything else for His being. Instead, all others depend on Him for their being. It does not matter whether they are angels or spirits or humans or material things—they all exist only as long as God lets them.

NO OTHER GODS

The first of the Ten Commandments given at Mount Sinai was this:

You shall have no other gods before Me (Exodus 20:3).

When we understand who the Lord is, it is easy to see what is wrong with having other "gods." No one else can compare with God! Yes, there are some beings who have power. But all their power simply points to the far, far greater power of the true God who made them. He made everything "alone" (Isaiah 44:24). He does not need or depend on anyone else. If God gave them power, He can also take it away from them. He who gave them life can just as easily end it. Before Him, they are powerless!

The apostle Paul helped people to leave their useless "gods." He wrote letters to those who believed his message. Here is what Paul said about idols:

For we know that ”an idol has no real existence,” and that ”there is no God but one.” (1 Corinthians 8:4)

… you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God (1 Thessalonians 1:9).

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods (Galatians 4:8).

ERV: In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real.

 

GOD IS SPIRIT

Why have people made up their own ideas of "god"? Perhaps they feel that they can more easily understand and control a "god" they have made for themselves. The true God is so great that He is beyond all that we can understand or imagine. When King Solomon (David’s son) built a temple for God, he prayed to God,

But will God indeed dwell [live] on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! (1 Kings 8:27).

When we think of just that part of the heavens we see, this is truly amazing. How can one Person fill the whole universe, and even go beyond it? Yet the New Testament also says of God,

For in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

How can He be so far away, and yet also be all around us? If "He is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27), why do we not see Him?

The answer is in a basic truth of God’s nature. Jesus stated,

God is spirit (John 4:24).

How is "spirit" different from an earthly "body"? Jesus said that a spirit does not have flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). The normal human body is very limited by the weaknesses of its flesh. It is tied down to one time and place. It cannot see or be in two places at the same time. Such limits or weaknesses do not have to apply to spirit. They especially do not limit the One who is called the Father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9).

God, as spirit, is so great that He is always present at all places. He can hold all in His control. There is no way ever to hide from Him.

Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol [death], You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost [furthest] parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me (Psalm 139:7-10).

And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed [shown] to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:13).

DOES GOD HAVE HANDS AND EYES?

If God is spirit, and not fleshly body, how can the Bible speak of His "hands," "arms," "eyes" and other parts? The following picture may help us to see the answer.

Imagine a man talking to an ant. He is trying to explain to the ant what a human city is like. The ant has never seen anything as large as our buildings and city streets. Yet the ant does have small paths and tunnels in its ants’ nest in the ground. So the man speaks of his streets as if they were like those ant paths. He speaks of the human city as if it were like a very large ants’ nest.

In the same way, God uses things that we can understand to talk of things much greater. He does not have our earthly kind of eyes and hands. But He uses "eyes" to speak of His seeing. He uses "hands" to speak of His power and action.

Though He uses these helpful words we should remember that we are still so very small beside Him. Like the ant with the man, some things about God will remain beyond our full understanding. We accept what God says in simple trust that He knows how best to tell us of things far greater than us.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

One of the things that may be difficult to understand is how God is one, and yet also be above our limited idea of one. For example, the Bible begins by speaking of both "God" and "the Spirit of God."

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth… and the Spirit of God was hovering [floating] over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).

Look again at the quotation from Psalm 139. The writer of that Psalm asks God, "Where can I go from your Spirit?" Then he says, "If I go up to the heavens, You are there." Why say "You" and "Your Spirit"? Why speak in two ways of God? We may not fully understand why. Yet God surely knows most about Himself. He knows how best to describe Himself, and He expects us to trust the words He chooses. Scripture talks often about the Holy Spirit. He is not just some tool or force of God. He is not a ”thing.” Instead He is Divine Person, described in ways that can only fit a person. Although He is sometimes spoken of as if He is part of God, yet the Holy Spirit is truly God, the only God.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom… For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

God has revealed Himself as both "Lord" and "Spirit." This in no way goes against the truth He also revealed, that He is one. This oneness is above our full understanding. Such mysteries should not surprise us, for God is so much greater, and we are so much smaller.

LET'S SUM UP

We would know nothing of God if He had not chosen to speak to us through nature and the prophets. He has revealed that He is one, and that there is no other god besides Him. Yet His oneness includes the Holy Spirit. He knows best how to tell us about Himself. Since He alone made us and cares for us, our hearts and lives belong wholly to Him.

Yahweh, great "I AM," no one is like You. Who has fully understood You? Yet, You have said that we can know you in such a way as leads to eternal life. Help us to know You in this way…

10 ways the Holy Spirit empower us

Spiritual Growth and Christian Living Resources

10 Supernatural Ways the Holy Spirit Wants to Empower You

By Brittany Rust

“The Holy Spirit illuminates the minds of people, makes us yearn for God, and takes spiritual truth and makes it understandable to us.” –Billy Graham

The Holy Spirit is a beautiful and powerful part of who God is. We need Him in our life as a conduit to become who God created us to be, and through His power we have aid in all situations. Without Him, we are powerless.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

Our first encounter with the Holy Spirit is when He convicts us of our sin, shows us that none of us can live up to the righteousness of Jesus, and reveals to us the judgment that is coming to those who die without a Savior (John 16:8-11). As we repent, confess our sins and receive the gift of Salvation the Holy Spirit regenerates our dead inner human spirit which now becomes sensitive to the spiritual things of God (John 3:1-16; Acts 2:38).There is a second work of the Holy Spirit when He baptizes a believer (Acts 2:1-4).  It's available to all (Acts 2:39) and a gift of empowerment, helping the believer to live a holy life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, we become more like Jesus and are directed to do the Father's will. Furthermore, the gift is primarily for the empowerment to witness to others (Acts 1:8).We are encouraged to ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up on a regular basis. When you feel depleted or need strength, ask Him to replenish you (Ephesians 5:18).

It's not enough to exist with the belief that The Father and the Son are first and the Holy Spirit is secondary. They are equal and work in harmony with each other. The uniqueness of the Holy Spirit is His presence within us. Jesus said before he ascended to heaven that the Holy Spirit would come and dwell within us as a believer. With that, He empowers us to live victoriously for the cause of Christ and glory of the Father.

Here are just 10 of the supernatural ways the Holy Spirit wants to empower you today.


1. He is your Helper.

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you,” John 16:7.

When I think of the Holy Spirit, this is how I primarily think of Him: God with us, helping and empowering us to live a flourishing life that radiates the goodness of God. I don’t know about you but I’m constantly aware of my need for divine help. As my flesh fights for control, it’s the Spirit that steps in and helps me to be who God created me to be.

When you are feeling powerless or tired or like your failing at life, you can have confidence as a believer that you're not alone. You can start each day knowing the Holy Spirit is there to help you. He is the power that sustains, energizes, and keeps you on a holy path. Do not hesitate to invite Him in.


2. He sanctifies you.

“But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God,” 1 Corinthians 6:11.

“Sanctified” means to be set apart as sacred. Essentially, it’s the purification of sin and spiritually maturing to become more Christlike. This is an important process for a believer--leaving behind the old and becoming a new person. But it’s a daily process, and it takes time.

The Holy Spirit wants to help you in this process of sanctification: to die to your old self and be all that God created you to be; to be free from the entanglement of sin and live victoriously.


3. He makes you more like Christ.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit,” 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Moses experienced God’s glory on the mountaintop but we have communion with Him every day! Theologian Warren Wiersbe writes,

“Moses reflected the glory of God, but you and I may radiate the glory of God. When we meditate on God’s Word and in it see God’s Son, then the Spirit transforms us! We become more like the Lord Jesus Christ as we grow ‘from glory to glory.”

Our goal is Christlikeness and this takes place through the power of the Holy Spirit. While we focused on sanctification and the diminishment of sin in the previous point, this is rather a transformation into the image of Christ.


4. He helps you to do the Father’s will.

“Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot,’"  Acts 8:29.

Throughout the New Testament we see the Holy Spirit direct people to do the will of God. He helps us tune into the voice of the Father and, in faith, do what we believe He is calling us to. Ask the Spirit to show you what the Father’s will would be for you today and ask Him to empower you to carry it out!

5. He gifts you for ministry.

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have,” 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

The Holy Spirit imparts to believers gifts that are needed in the Church. Nobody receives all gifts but they are distributed among the Body of Christ, each person receiving different gifts. The gift(s) that you receive will empower you for the calling God has placed on your life. Embrace what God has put inside of you and be His instrument for Kingdom purpose!

* Additional passages of the gifts of the Spirit can be found in Ephesians 4 and Romans 12.


6. He imparts love.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,”  Romans 5:3-5.

We find love in our suffering. As we endure trials, God’s love is poured out into us through the Spirit and it’s this empowerment that carries you and I through the hard seasons. When you are doubting this love in your difficulty, remember that the Spirit pours it into your heart.


7. He gives hope.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope,”  Romans 15:13.

Hope as God hopes. This is only possible in abundance through the power of the Holy Spirit. And it’s hope that carries people through all trials and tribulations. Hope is fuel for the soul. Tap into this by His power and experience peace among your surroundings.


8. He teaches and gives insight.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you,”  John 14:26.

The Holy Spirit will give you insight into what you are reading and furthermore, will help you recall what you’ve read in Scripture. He brings to your mind understanding and truth.

Have you ever had one of those moments when you were in a situation and a Scripture verse you read or memorized years ago popped into your head, encouraging you in that moment? That was the Holy Spirit reminding you of what you had been taught.

He empowers you with understanding and the ability to recall important verses that apply to your life.


9. He guides your prayers.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words,” Romans 8:26.

Sometimes I have no words. Or I have so much to say that I’m not sure where to start. Ever experience that?

Sometimes we don’t have to have the right words--the Holy Spirit knows just what to say. Lean into Him and allow Him to express to the Father what needs to be said.


10. He uses you for evangelism.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth,”  Acts 1:8.

Telling others about Jesus and making disciples is our most important role on this earth. It’s literally the last thing Jesus said before he ascended into heaven!

Having the Holy Spirit with us means having power to be a witness. To tell people about what Jesus did for them on the cross and how he conquered death and reigns victoriously! Don’t shy away from being an advocate for Christ; it’s what you are called to do. Allow the Spirit to empower you for the Kingdom purpose of making disciples!

Brittany Rust is a writer, speaker,  website brittanyrust.com