BIBLE LESSONS FOR THIRD QUARTER, 2016

Theme for the Third Quarter

“The Holy Spirit”

When praying for direction in this new quarter’s lessons, the subject “The Holy Spirit” was impressed upon my mind. Our need of the Holy Spirit and the prevalence there is in the world of unbiblical teachings about the Holy Spirit make this a very important study.
In my studies, I referenced several different books, concordances and commentaries. Some comments struck me as being true to the Scriptures, and these I have quoted. Not all have been from “Church of God” affiliation. In citing the author and source, I am not always recommending the entire volume as being free from error. My policy is to glean what is good and discard what is error.
Pray as we search the Scriptures together to find the truth about the Holy Spirit—Who He is, His role and mission in our lives and how we may better know and experience His fullness and yield to His control and guidance.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

In the Beginning
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 6:3a And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man…

Bezaleel
Exodus 31:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.

The Seventy Elders
Numbers 11:24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.

Othniel
Judges 3:9 And when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer to the children of Israel, who delivered them, even Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother.
10a And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel and went out to war. . . .

Samson
Judges 13:24 And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the Lord blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the Lord began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

Saul
I Samuel 10:6 And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.
10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.

David
I Samuel 16:13a Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
Psalm 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

The Prophets
I Peter 1:10-11 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

MEMORY VERSE: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. —II Peter 1:21

CENTRAL THOUGHT: In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit appeared from the beginning in creation; visited, strove with and dealt with mankind; came upon certain people for special purposes; and moved upon the prophets to foretell future events, especially the coming of Christ and His Kingdom.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Genesis 1:2 “Moved”: move gently; brood or hover over, as a bird does her eggs and young.

6:3 “Strive”: literally, to judge. “The Spirit of God . . . had been litigating and reasoning the point, as men do in a court of judicature, as the word signifies, with these men in the court, and at the bar of their own consciences, by one providence or by one minister or another, particularly by Noah, a preacher of righteousness, in vain, and to no purpose (I Peter 3:18-20); therefore, he determines to proceed no longer in this way, but pass and execute the sentence of condemnation on them.” —Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible. “The Spirit of God strove with men, by sending Enoch, Noah, and perhaps others, to preach to them; by waiting to be gracious, notwithstanding their rebellions; and by exciting alarm and convictions in their consciences. But the Lord declared that his Spirit should not thus strive with men always; he would leave them to be hardened in sin, and ripened for destruction.” —Matthew Henry’s Commentary.

Numbers 11:25 “Prophesied”: Hebrew—were caused to pour forth. They either sang the praises of God in ecstatic utterance, opened or explained the works and laws of God, foretold things to come, or prayed and entreated God for the people and exhorted or entreated the people in reference to God. “Did not cease”: The original word means “did not add.” Some ancient writings interpreted it in this way, that this spirit of prophecy was only a temporary thing, while the gift bestowed upon them for governance continued with them. Others take an opposite view; that they continued prophesying all day, night, and afterwards; that it was a continued gift with them.

Judges 13:25 “Move”: thrust; impel; stir; trouble.

LESSON BACKGROUND

In the Scriptures we see a definite picture of the Triune God at creation: God the Father as the primary agent, bringing the universe into being, God the Son—the Word, fashioning and speaking the world into existence—and here, God the Spirit, moving and hovering and brooding over, nurturing and protecting the developing elements.

Going forward from creation to Noah’s time, we can see God’s Spirit weighing the impending Divine judgments, warning and wooing souls of men. Later, we read of instances where the Holy Spirit was sent at special times to various individuals. In each of these, it was for a specific purpose and for a definite time.

Bezaleel was filled with the Spirit for the specific time and purpose of building the tabernacle in the wilderness. He was gifted with wisdom in working with gold, silver, and bronze; wood carving, cutting, engraving and mounting gemstones; and all kinds of crafts. His co-worker was Aholiab, who was skilled in work with textiles and fabrics, both woven and embroidered.

Moses, beset by the wailing and complaining of the people of Israel because of the hardships of the wilderness and the sameness of the manna, had cried unto the Lord under the weight of the heavy burden of the people. God answered with the plan to supply him with seventy elders who would share the burden of the work. To confirm this ordination, He took of the Spirit that He had given Moses and put it upon the elders, so that they began prophesying under inspiration and were gifted for their responsibilities.

During the time of the judges, when the children of Israel—conquered by their enemies after straying from the worship of the true God—would cry for deliverance, God would send them deliverance by moving upon men with His Spirit for the express purpose of conquering the Canaanites and rescuing the Israelites. Both Othniel and Samson were judges during this time, judging Israel forty years and twenty years, respectively.

When Samuel anointed Saul to be Israel’s first king, he confirmed it by the prediction and fulfillment of three signs, one of which was that the Holy Spirit would come upon Saul and cause him to prophesy with the other prophets, God having changed Saul’s heart so that he became “another man” for a short time.

God also anointed David with the Holy Spirit when Samuel anointed him to be king after Saul. David treasured this gift, and later, when he mourned and repented for his great sin, begged for God to not take the Spirit entirely away from Him.

The Spirit expressly moved the prophets to foretell the manner of the birth and death of Christ, the ministry of John the Baptist, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the establishment of the Church, future historical events, and many other very detailed predictions, which were fulfilled to the letter hundreds of years later.

When we later study the experience God gave believers in the New Testament as they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, we will be able to compare and/or contrast the differences between the old and new dispensations.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. The New Creation: Explain how the concept of the Holy Spirit hovering over the universe being created could point forward to the experience of salvation.
2. Striving With Man: Share other scriptures that teach this important ministry of the Holy Spirit.
3. Imparting Gifts: List the different gifts and abilities that were a result of the Holy Spirit’s visitation.
4. Pointing Forward: List some of the specifics of Christ and the kingdom of God that were foretold by the prophets.

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

Consider how these Old Testament visitations by the Holy Spirit foreshadowed, in role and personality, the very ways He works in His people even now!

In the work of salvation, the Holy Spirit is instrumental in drawing and wooing a soul to Christ; as the Seed (Word) is planted in the heart, He hovers and broods over the fledgling life as the new creature is born.

In the affairs of His Church, He imparts the gifts, distributes the callings and abilities, and inspires visions, prayers, preaching and praise. He empowers the soul, giving deliverance and conquest over selfishness, sin, and satan.

How wonderfully confirming it is to see in ancient Scripture the pattern and example, and then to experience its fullness today in our hearts and lives!

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

This subject is of such great importance! Look at the results of Noah, this great man of God, his tender heart hearing God’s voice and moving under the influence of the Spirit of God. It seemed small to him that only eight were saved, but in reality it was the whole human race! The world’s population is approximately eight to nine billion people! All because one man was moved by the Holy Spirit.

I’m thinking of a time when three brothers were led to a little neighborhood home to pray for a sick man. When they were finished praying, the sick man said, “There is a woman downstairs in the basement apartment who is very sick. You need to go pray for her too.” They went downstairs and prayed for that woman, and she was healed of rheumatic fever! That was in the mid 1950s. This woman was my mother, Ruby Bell. How important it is for every one of us to be led by the Spirit of God.

The foreshadowing work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament times points us to this New Testament dispensation. We are blessed with full salvation today.

—Bro. James Bell