Lesson Description
In this lesson, we will explore the role of the Holy Spirit in the new birth and discover why spiritual life cannot be produced by human effort. Through Scripture, we will learn that the Holy Spirit works in God’s plan of salvation, bringing us to understand the life God gives through Jesus Christ. We will also examine the relationship between the new birth, faith in Christ, and the spiritual life believers receive.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for bringing me to another lesson in Your Word. Thank You for the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. As I study today, help me understand the work of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. Give me wisdom to understand the Scriptures in their context and help me distinguish Your truth from human assumptions. Teach me to appreciate the spiritual life You have given me through Christ and to grow in the knowledge of Your grace. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.
Lesson Content
1. The Holy Spirit Gives Spiritual Life
Scripture: John 6:63 (KJV)
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”
Jesus taught that the Spirit gives life. The word quickeneth means to make alive.
Human ability, natural strength, and outward religious activities cannot produce the spiritual life that comes from God. We may improve our behaviour through discipline, but spiritual life is not something we can manufacture by our own power.
The Holy Spirit’s work is therefore essential to understanding the new birth.
We should also recognize that Jesus connects His words with spirit and life. This reminds us to pay attention to His teaching as we learn about the life God gives.
Practical Example:
A person may try to change their life through willpower alone. Although discipline can help with certain habits, it cannot replace the spiritual life God provides through Jesus Christ.
Remember: Spiritual life comes from God; it cannot be manufactured through human effort.
2. The Holy Spirit Works According to God’s Will
Scripture: John 3:8 (KJV)
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Jesus compared the work of the Spirit to the wind. We cannot control the wind, but we can observe its effects.
In the same way, the new birth is not a human achievement that we can produce through religious ceremonies or personal determination.
God is the source of spiritual life. We should therefore approach the subject with humility, allowing Jesus’ words to guide our understanding rather than assuming that spiritual life depends on our ability to control God’s work.
Practical Example:
A person cannot earn the new birth by repeating religious activities. Instead, they should listen to the gospel, understand what God has provided through Christ, and respond to Him in faith.
Remember: The new birth is God’s work, not something we can control or earn.
3. The Holy Spirit Is Connected with God’s Promise of Life
Scripture: Titus 3:5 (KJV)
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
Paul explains that salvation is not based on our righteous works but on God’s mercy.
The word regeneration refers to new birth or renewal. In this passage, Paul connects God’s saving work with the renewing work of the Holy Spirit.
This supports an important truth: salvation is rooted in God’s mercy rather than our personal achievements.
We should not understand the new birth as a reward given to people who have performed enough good deeds. God is the One who provides salvation, and the Holy Spirit is central to the renewal Paul describes.
Practical Example:
Someone may believe that God will accept them only after they have corrected every mistake in their life. Titus 3:5 directs attention away from human righteousness as the basis of salvation and toward God’s mercy.
Remember: We are saved according to God’s mercy, not because we have earned salvation through righteous works.
4. The Holy Spirit Helps Us Understand Spiritual Truth
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV)
“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.”
Paul explains that God has given His Spirit so that believers may know the things God has freely given them.
In the surrounding passage, Paul discusses the wisdom of God and how the things of God are made known through the Spirit.
This teaches us that our understanding of God’s gifts should not rest only on natural reasoning. We need to learn from God’s revelation in Scripture and depend on the Spirit as we grow in understanding.
This does not mean that every thought or feeling we have must be a message from the Holy Spirit. Our understanding must be tested against God’s written Word.
Practical Example:
When studying a passage about eternal life, we should read it carefully, consider its context, and ask God for understanding rather than relying only on personal opinions.
Remember: The Holy Spirit helps believers understand the things God has freely given, and Scripture guides our understanding.
5. The Holy Spirit Bears Witness to Our Identity in God’s Family
Scripture: Romans 8:15 (KJV)
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Paul describes the believer’s relationship with God in terms of adoption and belonging.
Through Christ, believers are brought into a relationship with God as their Father. They do not have to approach Him as though they must earn the right to become His children through religious performance.
The Spirit of adoption points to the believer’s relationship with God and the freedom from bondage and fear associated with that relationship.
This truth helps us understand that salvation is not merely an attempt to escape punishment. It brings us into a new relationship with God.
Practical Example:
A believer who understands God’s grace can pray to Him with confidence, knowing that their relationship with the Father rests on His saving work through Christ rather than on personal perfection.
Remember: Through Christ, believers receive a relationship with God as their Father.
6. The Holy Spirit Bears Witness That We Are God’s Children
Scripture: Romans 8:16 (KJV)
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”
This verse continues Paul’s teaching about adoption.
The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. Our identity in God’s family is not something we must establish through outward religious achievements.
The surrounding verses connect this identity with being led by the Spirit and belonging to God.
We should not use this verse to treat every feeling as proof of God’s approval. Instead, we should understand it within Paul’s teaching about life in Christ, adoption, and the believer’s relationship with God.
Practical Example:
When a believer struggles with feelings of unworthiness, they can return to the promises of Scripture and remember that their relationship with God is grounded in Christ, not in the changing strength of their emotions.
Remember: The Holy Spirit bears witness to the believer’s identity as a child of God.
7. The Holy Spirit Is Given to Believers Through Faith in Christ
Scripture: Galatians 3:2 (KJV)
“This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
Paul asked the Galatian believers a question that challenged their reliance on the works of the law.
His point was that they received the Spirit through the hearing of faith, not through performing the works of the law.
Paul was correcting believers who were being drawn toward dependence on the law as a requirement for their standing with God.
This passage is important because it directs our attention to faith rather than human achievement. We must be careful, however, to read Paul’s argument in its context rather than turn one verse into a complete explanation of every aspect of the new birth.
Practical Example:
A person should not believe that keeping a list of religious rules earns them the Holy Spirit. Paul’s question directs attention to faith rather than works of the law.
Remember: Paul’s teaching emphasizes receiving the Spirit through faith rather than through works of the law.
8. The Holy Spirit Is Associated with the Believer’s New Life
Scripture: Galatians 5:25 (KJV)
“If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
Paul connects life in the Spirit with how believers live.
The new birth is not merely a religious label. It concerns spiritual life, and that life should influence how believers walk.
Walking in the Spirit involves living in a way that agrees with God’s truth and reflects the character God desires in His people. In the surrounding verses, Paul contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit.
We must distinguish between receiving spiritual life and growing in godly conduct. Our growth in Christian living is not the same as earning the new birth.
Practical Example:
A believer learning to walk in the Spirit may choose patience instead of anger, truth instead of dishonesty, and love instead of hatred.
Remember: The life believers have in the Spirit should be reflected in their daily walk.
9. The Holy Spirit Produces Fruit in the Believer’s Life
Scripture: Galatians 5:22–23 (KJV)
Galatians 5:22:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,”
Galatians 5:23:
“Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit as qualities that should characterize Christian living.
These qualities include love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
The fruit of the Spirit is not a payment we give God in exchange for eternal life. Rather, Paul’s teaching helps us understand the kind of character associated with walking in the Spirit.
We should not use these verses to demand instant perfection from ourselves or other believers. Christian growth involves learning to live according to God’s truth.
Practical Example:
When someone offends us, we can remember the Spirit’s fruit and seek to respond with patience and self-control rather than revenge.
Remember: The fruit of the Spirit describes qualities that should be evident as believers grow in their Christian lives.
10. Our Confidence Rests on God’s Work Through Christ
Scripture: Ephesians 1:13 (KJV)
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,”
Paul connects hearing the gospel, believing in Christ, and being sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
This verse provides a valuable foundation for understanding the believer’s security in God’s saving work.
The Holy Spirit is not presented as a reward that believers earn after reaching a particular level of spiritual maturity. Paul describes the Spirit in connection with believing the gospel.
For believers, this encourages confidence in what God has done through Christ. Our assurance should rest on God’s promise rather than on our ability to achieve a certain level of religious performance.
Practical Example:
A believer who has trusted Christ should not assume that every difficult day means God has withdrawn His saving work. Instead, they can return to the gospel and learn to rest in God’s promises.
Remember: The gospel directs our confidence toward God’s saving work through Christ and His promised Holy Spirit.
Lesson Summary
In this lesson, we have learned that:
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The Holy Spirit is associated with the giving of spiritual life.
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The new birth is God’s work, not a human achievement.
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Salvation comes according to God’s mercy, not our righteous works.
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The Holy Spirit helps believers understand the things God has freely given.
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Through Christ, believers receive a relationship with God as their Father.
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The Holy Spirit bears witness to the believer’s identity as a child of God.
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Paul emphasizes faith rather than works of the law in receiving the Spirit.
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Life in the Spirit should influence how believers live.
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The fruit of the Spirit describes qualities associated with Christian growth.
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The gospel and God’s promise provide a foundation for confidence in Christ.
Final Takeaway
The Holy Spirit is central to the spiritual life God gives through Christ. We cannot earn the new birth through human effort; instead, we look to God’s mercy, trust the gospel, and learn to walk in the new life He provides.
Reflection Question
How does understanding the Holy Spirit’s role in the new birth help you distinguish between trying to earn God’s acceptance and learning to live in the life God has provided through Jesus Christ?