I Believe in the Holy Spirit - Part 1: Person
After completing the lesson, the student will be able to:
Identify how we know about the Holy Spirit
Describe who the Holy Spirit is
Explain why the Holy Spirit is a ‘person’, and not an ‘it’ or a ‘thing’.
Recognize the various names used in Scripture for the Holy Spirit
Identify where the Holy Spirit resides.
Write out from memory the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed
THIRD ARTICLE OF THE APOSTLES CREED 1. Use your catechism to fill in the blanks from the Third Article of the Apostles Creed below. Please use the exact words used in the catechism.
Third Article of Sanctification
I _____________ in the __________ _____________; The ________ Christian ____________, The _________________ of ____________; The _________________ of ________; The __________________ of the __________; And the _________ __________________. Amen.
In this lesson, we turn our attention to the Third article of the Creed and the Holy Spirit. If you remember from our study of the Second Article of the Creed, we first studied the “person” of Christ (that is He is the Son of God, fully God and fully human), and then we moved on to study the “work” of Christ (that He Redeemed us). In a similar manner, we will begin our study of the Holy Spirit by looking at the “person” - who He is. Then, in the next lesson, we will examine the “work” of the Holy Spirit - what He does.
How do we know about the Holy Spirit?
We know about the Holy Spirit because God’s Word tells us so. Some Christians may talk about how they “feel” the Holy Spirit, or “sense” the Holy Spirit, but it’s best not rely on our feelings or what we sense to learn about who the Holy Spirit is and what the Holy Spirit does. Instead, let’s learn about the Holy Spirit by studying what God has revealed about Him in the Bible.
How do we know about the Holy Spirit?
In Acts 5, we see an account of a husband and wife who lie about the amount of money they gave to the church. Read Acts 5:3-4 and write down who it was that Peter said Ananias lied to:
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and is fully God. He was there at Creation, when the heavens and the earth came into existence, and He was there when your sins were washed away through Baptism. As fully God, the Holy Spirit is worthy of all your worship. If you have any doubt the Holy Spirit is fully God, you can look at the account in Acts 5, when the Apostle Peter told Ananias that when he lied to the Holy Spirit, he was NOT lying to men, but that he was lying to God. It’s important that we think of the Holy Spirit as a member of the Trinity and not as an “it” or a “thing.” Rather, the Holy Spirit is 100% God - just like the Father and just like the Son
What names does scripture use for the Third Person of the Trinity? Read the following passages, and write down the name each uses for the Third Person of the Trinity.
The names above are just some of the names that God’s Word uses for the Third Person of the Trinity. Regardless of what name we use to talk about Him, it is important for us to understand that the Holy Spirit is fully and truly God, along with both God the Father and God the Son. Where does the Holy Spirit reside? Read the following passages of scripture and write down where the Holy Spirit resides.
Read Romans 8:9, and then answer the following questions.
The book of Acts records when the disciples of Jesus first received the Holy Spirit. Read Acts 2:1-4 and answer the following questions.
The Holy Spirit lives inside of each and every person who has faith in Jesus. This should give us great confidence! This promise means that we don’t have to try and figure out if we have the Holy Spirit, or if we don’t have the Holy Spirit. We don’t look to what we “feel”... we look to what we “know.” As we are trusting in Jesus, we can KNOW that God’s Spirit really is with us. God Himself is with you through all your temptations, struggles, doubts, and fears. Take comfort in God’s presence!
