the personality of the Holy Spirit

Topic: the personality of the Holy Spirit
Text: John 14:16-17
Memory verse John 14:17
Aim: to understand
Who the Holy Spirit?
To understand the meaning of the metaphors used in describing the Holy Spirit
To know whom is   to receive the Holy Spirit
Introduction
Exactly who is this wonderful Holy Spirit of grace?
To have fellowship and work together with him, we must know him well. Though impersonal metaphors for  the Holy Spirit- fire, wind, water, oil, dove  and so forth- have a biblical basis they have been used   to such an-extent that some people don’t really know who he actually is. In this study we will come to an understanding of who the Holy Spirit is.




DISCUSSION QUESTION
 Identify and discuss the personalities and duty of the three entities from 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6.
Explain the personality of the Holy Spirit (John 14:17 (Hint “because it seeth   “Him” not).
What are the significant of the following metaphors used for the Holy Spirit? Luke 3:16, Mtt 3: 16, John 14: 16-17, Act 1:8, John 7:37-38 etc.
Does one receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the new Birth? Titus 3:5-7, John 4:3-14, John 7:37-38.
To whom was the Holy Spirit given and what is the evidence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in man?
Mark 2:21-22, John 14:16-17, Act 2:4, Luke 11:13.  
Conclusion
Like God the father, and God the son the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead. He is personality that has every attribute of God in him, the metaphors used in describing him was to show the forms to which he relates with us.    



Topic: the manifestation of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Text: I Cornt 12:1-11, Act 2:1-4
Memory verse 1 Corinthians 12:7
Aims: this study arms at
 The discovery of the various manifestations of the spirit
The identification and understanding of the purpose of the spirits manifestations.
Introduction: In biblical parlance, spiritual gifts have been variously defined as (1) “Extraordinary powers bestowed in the first ages to convince unbeliever and to spread the gospel” (2) spiritual gifts are divine enablement for ministry that the Holy Spirit gives in some measures to all believers and that are to be completely under his control and are to be used for the building of the church for Christ glory”.  (3) “It is supernatural ability given by Christ through the spirit to the believers at the moment of his salvation.
This study focuses on the spiritual gifts and their uses
Apostle Paul addressing the issue of spiritual gifts which probably was another question asked by the Corinthians in their letter to him said that he did not want them to be ignorant of that matter, in like manner, the leadership of casor (PTI) do not only want us to be knowledgeable about this, but much more they want us to boldly and effectively be committed to exercising spiritual gift in the body of Christ.
DISCUSSION QUESTION
The manifestations of the spirit
When you are experientially endowed with power? (Remember that the people Jesus was addressing in Act 1:8 are already believers in Jesus Christ).
How did this experience of endowment of power from on high or coming upon the Holy Spirit repeat in Act of apostle? (point out signs that followed where it followed) Act 2:1-4, Act 8:14-17, Act 9:17-19, Act 10:44-46, Act 19: 1-7
Were the experiences the same as recorded by the scripture?
Was the way of ministration the same? (As pointed earlier, spiritual experiences very even when you have received the same reality.
From 1 Cor 12:8-10 & Rom 12:6-8 identify the spiritual gifts and explain what you understand by each of them.
Why is it necessary that every believers in Christ must need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?

How Much Power Does Satan Really Have?

How Much Power Does Satan Really Have? Mark. And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that (Job) has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:12 Satan afflicts believers. Don’t underestimate him. He’s not an imp in red tights with a pitchfork. But don’t give him more credit than he’s due. In 2 Corinthians 12:7 Paul said a messenger of Satan was given him to afflict him. Satan was behind Jobs’ suffering. The enemy can afflict us physically. He tempts us to sin. But his greatest weapons are his fiery darts – his lies about God that he launches against our faith.  We are in a serious conflict with the powers of darkness. Yet sometimes I hear Christians talk as if Satan were all-powerful. “The devil has really been having a field day in my life lately.” “Satan’s really been kicking me around this week.” When I first became a Christian I thought demons were everywhere. (I’d definitely watched too many episodes of Twilight Zone and Outer Limits). In my early Christian years I spent lots of time rebuking and binding demons of lust, demons of fear, and demons of unbelief, anger, self-pity, and sickness. Pretty much everything bad in life was caused by a demon. I probably rebuked demons of bad coffee. Then I found out just how limited Satan’s power really is. He’s powerful, but not all-powerful. He is the god of this world. Unbelievers are significantly under his power, though they don’t realize it. He has blinded their eyes. But once Jesus opens our eyes to his glory and saves us, we come under his ownership. We’re no longer slaves of Satan. We’re new creations in Christ and share his victory over the enemy that he won on the cross. When Satan afflicts believers he must get permission to do so, even as he did with Job. God determined the parameters of what Satan could do to Job. Each time Satan requested, God said you may do this and this but not this. He could only do what God allowed. Lots of people seem to think the devil is the equal and opposite of God, like the dark side of The Force. But Satan is a created being. God is infinite. Satan is less than a speck compared to the infinite One. If anything, Satan might be compared to Michael the Archangel, another created being. A.W. Tozer said we tend to think of created beings in a hierarchy, for example on the bottom are amoebas, then above them garden slugs and above them fish, then dogs. Above dogs are monkeys, then humans, and slightly above them are angels and then slightly above angels is God. But God is infinitely exalted over his creation. The most glorious Seraphim in heaven is closer to a caterpillar in it’s being than it is to God. Satan is a tool of God, and when he allows him to afflict a believer it’s for God’s glorious purposes – to make that believer rely on Christ, become like Christ and display the power of Christ in him (seeStephen’s post yesterday). So remember you have an enemy, but fix your gaze on Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords.

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When Did Jesus See Satan "Fall Like Lightning"?

When Did Jesus See Satan "Fall Like When Did Jesus See Satan "Fall Like Lightning"? In one of the more enigmatic verses in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells His disciples, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18). The question isn't about the what of Jesus' statement. It's clear that Satan is under judgment. Rather, the confusion is over the when of the statement. It might sound like a reference to when Satanbecame Satan, before the garden of Eden-abandoning his status among God's heavenly host-but that conclusion would be too hasty We basically have three options when it comes to figuring out the timing of Satan's fall: before, during or after Jesus' own time. Many people have offered opinions. Perhaps the most common interpretation is that Jesus is seeing or remembering the original fall of Satan. This option makes little sense in context. Prior to the statement, Jesus had sent out the disciples to heal and preach that the kingdom of God had drawn near to them (Luke 10:1-9). They return amazed and excited by the fact that demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17). Jesus then says, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." There is a connection between the kingdom, the defeat of demons, and Satan. But if Satan's fall inLuke 10:18 speaks of an event in the remote past, why wasn't the kingdom established then? Why was Satan still powerful when Jesus showed up on the scene? Even with the kingdom of Israel under David and the presence of God in the temple, the power and influence of Satan is evident on nearly every page of Old Testament history. The view that Jesus was referring to Satan's fall during his own ministry is better, but is not without problem. We don't read anywhere in the Bible of anyone casting out demons prior to Jesus' ministry. That display of power-as well as the announcements of the kingdom and the ruling authority of God on earth-is unmistakable. This is consistent with what Luke writes in the next chapter (Luke 11:14-23), where he identifies Jesus with the "strong man" who binds Satan. With Jesus having bound the strong man (Satan), He and His disciples can plunder Satan's realm. This seems to tie in with what Jesus says after His statement about Satan (Luke 10:19-20), where He grants the disciples power over the forces of evil. But these verses also produce difficulties. Why do we read later in the same gospel and other parts of the New Testament that the disciples weren't immune from Satan's power (Luke 22:31-61; 2 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:18)? This brings us to the third option: Jesus' statement refers to a time subsequent to His own. Since Satan was (and is) still alive and well-with respect to his ongoing opposition to the Church everywhere-it makes sense to see Satan's fall "like lightning from heaven" as a future event. The wording used by Luke ("I saw") was quite common in the Old Testament for introducing prophetic visions, especially in the book of Daniel (Daniel 4:10; Daniel 7:2, Daniel 7:4, Daniel 7:6-7, Daniel 7:9,Daniel 7:11, Daniel 7:13, Daniel 7:21).1 My own view is a combination of the second and third view. It seems quite clear that the rule of God began at the ministry of Jesus, but it is a rule in progress that will reach a final culmination at a future time. As the Old Testament repeatedly reminds us, and as Jesus affirmed in Luke 10:18,on that day the defeat of our cosmic enemy will be swift and final. Endnote: 1. The very same form of the Greek verb used inLuke 10:18 is used in all these "vision" references in the Greek version of Daniel.  Lightning"?

In one of the more enigmatic verses in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells His disciples, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18). The question isn't about the what of Jesus' statement. It's clear that Satan is under judgment. Rather, the confusion is over the when of the statement. It might sound like a reference to when Satanbecame Satan, before the garden of Eden-abandoning his status among God's heavenly host-but that conclusion would be too hasty We basically have three options when it comes to figuring out the timing of Satan's fall: before, during or after Jesus' own time. Many people have offered opinions. Perhaps the most common interpretation is that Jesus is seeing or remembering the original fall of Satan. This option makes little sense in context. Prior to the statement, Jesus had sent out the disciples to heal and preach that the kingdom of God had drawn near to them (Luke 10:1-9). They return amazed and excited by the fact that demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus (Luke 10:17). Jesus then says, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." There is a connection between the kingdom, the defeat of demons, and Satan. But if Satan's fall inLuke 10:18 speaks of an event in the remote past, why wasn't the kingdom established then? Why was Satan still powerful when Jesus showed up on the scene? Even with the kingdom of Israel under David and the presence of God in the temple, the power and influence of Satan is evident on nearly every page of Old Testament history. The view that Jesus was referring to Satan's fall during his own ministry is better, but is not without problem. We don't read anywhere in the Bible of anyone casting out demons prior to Jesus' ministry. That display of power-as well as the announcements of the kingdom and the ruling authority of God on earth-is unmistakable. This is consistent with what Luke writes in the next chapter (Luke 11:14-23), where he identifies Jesus with the "strong man" who binds Satan. With Jesus having bound the strong man (Satan), He and His disciples can plunder Satan's realm. This seems to tie in with what Jesus says after His statement about Satan (Luke 10:19-20), where He grants the disciples power over the forces of evil. But these verses also produce difficulties. Why do we read later in the same gospel and other parts of the New Testament that the disciples weren't immune from Satan's power (Luke 22:31-61; 2 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:18)? This brings us to the third option: Jesus' statement refers to a time subsequent to His own. Since Satan was (and is) still alive and well-with respect to his ongoing opposition to the Church everywhere-it makes sense to see Satan's fall "like lightning from heaven" as a future event. The wording used by Luke ("I saw") was quite common in the Old Testament for introducing prophetic visions, especially in the book of Daniel (Daniel 4:10; Daniel 7:2, Daniel 7:4, Daniel 7:6-7, Daniel 7:9,Daniel 7:11, Daniel 7:13, Daniel 7:21).1 My own view is a combination of the second and third view. It seems quite clear that the rule of God began at the ministry of Jesus, but it is a rule in progress that will reach a final culmination at a future time. As the Old Testament repeatedly reminds us, and as Jesus affirmed in Luke 10:18,on that day the defeat of our cosmic enemy will be swift and final. Endnote: 1. The very same form of the Greek verb used inLuke 10:18 is used in all these "vision" references in the Greek version of Daniel.

Discover the Power of Luke's Gospel: A Greek Word Study without Greek

Discover the Power of Luke's Gospel: A Greek Word Study without Greek

Whether you have spent countless sleepless nights pouring over Greek flash cards or can barely manage to order a gyro, you can reach beyond your English Bible to the original Greek in four easy steps. In Luke 8:46, a desperately ill woman touches Jesus in order to be healed. Jesus then says, "Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me" (Luke 8:46). What does the word "power" mean in the passage? What precisely went out from Jesus? To find out, we need to investigate the Greek word behind the English word "power." Step 1: Make the Switch to Greek and Establish a Working Definition For those who don't read Greek, the most effective way to make the English to Greek transition is to use a tool like the ESV English-Greek Reverse Interlinear New Testament. Simply find the English word "power" in the reverse interlinear and look at the Greek word placed below it—δύναμις (dunamis). Now that we know that the Greek word for "power,"dunamis (δύναμις), is the subject of our investigation, we need to formulate a working definition. If you are using print books, you can use Strongest Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible for this step. The key to efficiently using this resource is to take note of the Strong's Number allocated to the word dunamis (δύναμις) in the interlinear Bible—1411. We can use this reference number to look up the word numerically in the Greek to English Dictionary-Index to the New Testament appended to Strong's. Here we see that dunamis (δύναμις) can refer to a literal or figurative force, specifically the ability to work miracles, or even to a miracle itself. We can skip this step entirely in Logos Bible Software by just double-clicking a word in a reverse interlinear. When we do this, our preferredlexicon* automatically opens to dunamis (δύναμις). For me, this lexicon is A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature(BDAG). BDAG tells me that dunamis (δύναμις) inLuke 8:46 falls under the definition of "potential for functioning in some way, power, might, strength, force, capability." BDAG also includes a sub-definition, which reads: "specifically the power that works wonders." Step 2: Briefly Track the Word through the Greek World With one of these working definitions in mind, the next step is to investigate how this definition functions in literary contexts and biblical passages. The key to an efficient study of a Greek word is not to reinvent the wheel by personally searching through literature of various time-periods. Rather, streamline the process by consulting a resource such as the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Abridged in One Volume) (TDNT). The TDNT provides concise articles that explain how and where a word occurs in various passages and contexts. This resource accommodates to English readers by providing a table of English keywords. When we look up the word "power" we are directed to the entry discussing dunamis (δύναμις) on page 186. This entry discusses the word in Greek literature (such as Homer's Iliad) and in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament (the Septuagint). While dunamis (δύναμις) in Greek literature often had to do with various forces (powers) moving and governing the universe, the Greek translators of the Old Testament viewed "power" as something God himself possessed and exerted. This shift in meaning further develops in the New Testament. Step 3: Explore the Usage of the Word in the New Testament When looking up a particular word in the New Testament, there are two things that should be considered: frequency (how many times a word appears) and distribution (where the word appears). We can use an interactive chart in Logos' Exegetical Guide to determine the frequency of a word in the New Testament. Our word, dunamis(δύναμις), occurs 119 times. Although this is interesting, this statistic only provides us with a panoramic landscape. We must supplement it with details of the terrain—the context (or specific distribution) of each occurrence. We can use Logos' concordance function or Strong's to ascertain the predominant meanings attached to this word by the New Testament authors. Whenever we study a word, we should focus on how it is being used in the passage we are investigating. The fact that Luke uses the worddunamis (δύναμις) fifteen times throughout his account—a frequency equaled only by Paul in 1 Corinthians—establishes that "power" is a central theme and emphasis of his Gospel. Now that we know that "power" is a central theme in Luke's Gospel, we need to determine how the word is used throughout the book. Each occurrence of the word can be categorized by what it describes. When we categorize the different occurrences of dunamis (δύναμις) in Luke's Gospel, we find that it describes four things. In the beginning of Luke's Gospel dunamis(δύναμις) comes from the "Most High" (Luke 1:35). However, once Jesus endures a period of testing in the wilderness there is a shift. Jesus becomes "filled with the power of the Spirit" (Luke 4:14). From this point onwards, Jesus independently uses and distributes divine power, like God the Father (Luke 9:1; 10:19). Luke uses "power" to establish Jesus' divine identity. Jesus' "power" causes onlookers to scratch their heads and ponder the identity and message of Jesus (Luke 4:36). Now that we have determined how Luke uses the term in general, we can return to Luke 8:46 to reassess the meaning of dunamis (δύναμις) in light of our entire investigation. The use of "dunamis" in Luke: -God (Luke 1:35; Luke 4:14) -Jesus' heavenly authority (Luke 21:27; Luke 22:69) -Jesus' miracles (Luke 10:13; Luke 19:37) -Jesus' healing ministry (Luke 5:17; Luke 6:19;Luke 8:46) Step 4: Revisit the Passage to Find the Meaning of the Word in Context Judging from the usage of the term in various contexts (and specifically in Luke's Gospel), it seems fair to conclude that this occurrence ofdunamis (δύναμις) refers to the divine power contained and originated in the person of Jesus. The purpose of Luke 8:46 is to highlight the connection between Jesus' divinity and the actions performed in his healing ministry. Numerous times throughout Jesus' healing ministry, divine "power" finds its source in him (Luke 5:17; Luke 6:19; Luke 8:46). Dunamis (δύναμις) in Luke 8:46 subtly expresses that the presence and effect of "power" in Jesus' earthly ministry indicates his divine identity. To review: The Greek writers used dunamis(δύναμις) to describe spiritual and universal "powers". The translators of the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) used the word to describe something that originated from, and was distributed by, God. Among other usages, Luke primarily used "power" to describe something God the Father and Jesus possessed. Notes:  *A lexicon is an in-depth dictionary about a specific corpus of writings. Because of this, lexicons can contain more lengthy and detailed entries than dictionaries. Koine (Common) Greek The New Testament was written in Koine Greek (Κοινὴ Ελληνική). Koine Greek, or Common Greek, was a dialect that began during the reign of Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) and continued to be spoken until about 500 CE. Unlike many of the philosophical works before it (written in Attic Greek), the New Testament was addressed to a popular and diverse audience, comprised primarily of lower class individuals. Thus, it was written in the dialect of the people.

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Mark 5:28-34
[30]Jesus realized at once that healing power (virtue) had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” _this is a clear indication that we can draw virtues from Jesus for every of our redemption benefit without his permission through our Faith._ My pray for u this Sunday is that as u believe God for greater exploit this week it shall be delivered to u by Faith.
Happy Sunday.!!
Your Brother Mark cares!!!