BC421 Week 13

The Holy Spirit and The Spiritual Disciplines

The Holy Spirit• Our Advocate • Counselor and Intercessor • The One who convicts • Evidence of Faith • Provides boldness and authority toward others • An intercessor in prayer to God • The source for our service to others • A provider of godly focus or divine perception • The One who fills us with joy • A prompter and provider of speech • The Spirit of wisdom and understanding • The Spirit of counsel or knowledge and power • The Spirit of the knowledge of God and fear of God (1)

(1) Ian F. Jones. The Counsel of Heaven on Earth (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2006), 157-177.

The Trinity

• God is One (Deut 6:4-5; James 2:19; 1 Cor 8:4-6; 1 Tim 2:5-6. The commandments prohibit worship of other gods (Deut 5:7 and 20:3).

• The divinity of Jesus (Phil 2:5-11; Heb 1; review Jesus’ actions and statements. See lecture notes).

• The divinity of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4; He has the qualities of and performs the works of God (John 16:8-11; John 3:8). He gives gifts to the church (1 Cor 12:4-11), and receives honor and glory. Our bodies are God’s temples and the Holy Spirit dwells in them (1 Cor 3:16-17, 19-20). See also Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14, and 1 Peter 1:2.

The Nicene Creed A.D. 325We believe in one God the Father all powerful, maker of all things both seen and unseen. And in

one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten begotten from the Father, that is from the substance [Gr. ousias, Lat. substantia] of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten [Gr. gennethenta, Lat. natum] not made [Gr. poethenta, Lat. factum], CONSUBSTANTIAL [Gr. homoousion, Lat. unius substantiae (quod Graeci dicunt homousion)] with the Father, through whom all things came to be, both those in heaven and those in earth; for us humans and for our salvation he came down and became incarnate, became human, suffered and rose up on the third day, went up into the heavens, is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the holy Spirit.

And those who say 1. "there once was when he was not", and "before he was begotten he was not", and that 2. he came to be from – things that were not, or – from another hypostasis [Gr. hypostaseos] or substance [Gr. ousias, Lat. substantia],

affirming that the Son of God is subject to change or alteration these the catholic and apostolic church anathematises.

The Nicene Creed of 381

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Biblical Traits and Spiritual Disciplines

Review the Checklists on Pages 192-193 and 199-200.

The spiritual disciplines and biblical traits are listed here. For your personal use, consider whether any of these are areas you need to focus on.

There is a reading on “Being Present” contained in the lecture notes for your devotional use.