After the famous “ask and you shall receive” passage, Jesus concludes:
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! – Luke 11:13
The Apostle Paul explains part of the goal of Jesus’ death this way:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. – Galatians 3:13-14
Both Jesus and give extraordinary importance to the giving of the Holy Spirit. In this series, we’ll figure out why.
Resources: Holy Spirit Study Resources
01 Holy Spirit: Agent of Change
In John 3:1-8, we learn two themes that we will see repeatedly in this series: 1) The Holy Spirit of is God’s agent of change, and 2) one of his most crucial works is the inner transformation of believers. Passage: John 3:1-8. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on September 9, 2020.
02 Holy Spirit: Universal vs Individual
1Corinthians 12 teaches an important distinction between the type of work the Holy Spirit does. The “universal” work of the Holy Spirit is a work that he does for all believers to bring about the inner transformation of faith. The “individual” works of the Holy Spirit are works he does in some believers but not others. Passage: 1Corinthians 12. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on September 16, 2020.
03 Holy Spirit: Revelation vs Understanding
In 1Corinthians 2, we learn two of the most important works of the Spirit: 1) The Spirit reveals the thoughts of God to His chosen messengers. This is revelation. 2) The Spirit gives understanding to all believers so that we embrace the claims of the gospel. Passage: 1Corinthians 2. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on September 23, 2020.
04 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: Judges & Kings
One of the main themes in the Old Testament regarding the Holy Spirit is that God empowers Israel’s leaders through His Spirit to bless the nation and keep His covenant promises. Passages: Isaiah 63:7-14; Judges 3:7-11; 1Samuel 16:13-14; Psalm 51. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on September 30, 2020.
05 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: Prophets
Most of the Old Testament references to the Holy Spirit involve his work empowering the leaders of Israel to protect the nation. But a second way we see the Spirit of God working in the Old Testament is giving revelation to the prophets. Passages: Numbers 11:14-29; 1 Samuel 10:5-11; 1Samuel 19:18-24; 2Samuel 23:2; Acts 1:15-16; Acts 4:23-25; Hebrews 3:7; Zechariah 7:12; 2 Peter 1:21; Isaiah 11:1-4; Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 62:1-2; Zechariah 4:6. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on October 7, 2020.
06 Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: A New Heart
Like the New Testament, the Old Testament speaks about the need for God to spiritually renew us and change our hearts; And, like the New Testament, the Old Testament associates this spiritual renewal with the Spirit of God. But there is only one really clear Old Testament passage on this topic. Passages: Deuteronomy 29:2-4; Isaiah 63:15-19; Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:16-28; Romans 2:28-29; 2Corinthians 3:1-6. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on October 14, 2020.
07 Holy Spirit Pledge and Seal: Ephesians 1:13-23
Paul describes believers as sealed with the Holy Spirit. A seal fulfills a past promise and pledges a future inheritance. A King’s seal had a three-fold purpose: 1) to guarantee authenticity, 2) to name the rightful owner, and 3) to protect from being tampered with or harmed. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on October 21, 2020.
08 Holy Spirit Pledge and Seal: Romans 5:1-5
This series has been building to this podcast. In this podcast we put it altogether. As a new believer, I thought the Holy Spirit was like the “force” in Star Wars: something I had to access to find success. Paul has a different view in this passage. The Holy Spirit is the active love of God intervening to make us people who will persevere in faith. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on October 28, 2020.
09 Holy Spirit Unity: Romans 15:1-13
As Paul deals with the issue of the “weaker” brother, he makes an important point about unity and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in all believers. Unity is not something that can be imposed from the outside or the top down. Unity is a work of the Holy Spirit bringing individuals together through their shared faith. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on November 4, 2020.
10 Holy Spirit: Baptism
While this topic is controversial, I think Scripture teaches that the baptism of the Holy Spirit has both an individual application (as applied to the apostles) and a universal application (as applied to all believers). Passages: Luke 3:15-18; John 14:25-26; John 15:26-27; John 16:12-15; Acts 1:1-8; John 20:19-23; Acts 2:1-18; John 7:37-39; John 4:11-13; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 11:15-18; Heb 2:1-4. Teacher: Krisan Marotta on November 11, 2020.
I offer my bible studies, podcasts and resources free of charge under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. I do not seek or accept advertising, affiliations or donations. But it does encourage me to hear from you about how you used these studies and/or what you learned.
Where to next?
New Testament Studies
Old Testament Studies
Topical Studies
Learn to study: Bible Study 101
Photo by Damian Markutt on Unsplash
Podcast Season 16, Episodes 1-10
