The Person, Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Lesson Two

The Person, Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit
According to the Word of God
Outline by Rev. Dave Fruehauf



1. The primary work of the Holy Spirit: To bring God to man and man to God through the inspired truths of the Sacred Scriptures, the word of God.

A. The writers of the Old Testament were spokesmen of God by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

1. 2 Samuel 23:2 (Holy Spirit spoke through David) “The Spirit of the Lord (Jahwe) spoke through me, his word was on my tongue.”

2. Isaiah 59:21 (Holy Spirit was given to Isaiah to transmit God’s truth to future generations) “ ‘As for me, this is my covenant with them,’ says the Lord . ‘My Spirit is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendents, from this time on and forever,’ says the Lord.

3. Ezekiel 11:5f (Ezekiel declares the Spirit came on him for the express purpose of proclaiming God’s will to a rebellious and traitorous people) “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, and he told me to say: ‘This is what the Lord says…”

4. Micah 3:8 (Holy Spirit fills him with power and judgment) “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin…”

B. The New Testament authenticates the inspirational activity of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.

1. 1Peter 1:10-11 (Peter tells us that it was the Spirit of Christ in the Old Testament prophets who predicted the sufferings of Christ and his subsequent glory) “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”

2. Acts 1:16 (Peter refers to the Old Testament prophecy which the Holy Spirit spoke through David) “In those days Peter stood up…and said ‘Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas’” (Psalm 41:9)

C. The New Testament Scriptures were given by the Holy Spirit

1. John 162-15 (Our Savior Lord promised the apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth) “I have yet many things to say to you more then you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.”

2. John 17:20 (The apostles will be spokesmen for Christ with the same authority as that of Christ) “…I pray also for those who will believe me through their message.”

3. 1Corinthians 2:14 (Paul describes the ministry of the Holy Spirit to those who are in Christ) “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us…The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them…”

4. Ephesians 3:4-5 (The knowledge of Christ now revealed by the Holy Spirit through the apostles) “…you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.”

5. Ephesians 6:17 (Paul describes the word of God as the sword of the Spirit) “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

6. 1Corinthians 2:12-13 (Paul describes the Holy Spirits inspiration of the apostles’ teachings as including the individual words) “This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.”

7. 1Peter 1:12 (Peter emphasizes the guidance of the apostles by the Holy Spirit) “…they (the Old O.T. prophets) spoke of the things that have now been told you by those (the apostles) who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

8. 1Corinthians 2:12 (Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit gives us the understanding of what God has given us in Christ.) “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

9. John 10:3,5,7 (Jesus tells us that his Church (The Body of Christ) will not listen to the voice of a stranger.) “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…he goes ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger, in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize stranger’s voice …Jesus said again…I am the gate for the sheep.” Note: Jesus speaks to us through the Spirit-revealed scriptures.

10. Martin Luther: “Holy Scripture is the book given by God the Holy Spirit to his Church, in which it must learn what it is, what it should do, what it should suffer, where it should abide. Where the inspired Book ceases there the church ceases; for He (Jesus) says His church will not listen to the voice of a stranger. 1542 Luther’s Works

The life-giving Spirit of God is the author of God’s own Word of life, the written Word of God which when proclaimed brings faith, trust, forgiveness of sins and eternal life to the receiver.

Soli Deo Gloria