Fight the Good Fight of Faith, English Edition

Lesson : The Endowment We Receive • 

It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2.13).

Key Principle

Read and reflect upon the following cases and concepts, and provide answers and insights into their resolution, based on the texts you studied above. 1. Can the Holy Spirit ever leave a Christian? Every now and then every believer will be faced with the temptation to doubt their salvation, even thinking that the Holy Spirit has left them. Some teachings assert that a person who has repented and believed in Christ can, due to their own deliberate disobedience to God, actually act in such a way as not to be Christ’s child anymore. Look up the following Scriptures and answer the question, “Can the Holy Spirit ever leave a Christian?” a. 1 John 5.11-13: 2. How do I know that something is from the Holy Spirit and not me? One of the main concerns of any growing believer in Jesus is the control of their own thoughts and self-talk. Even though we have been saved and belong to Jesus Christ, the enemy still has access to our thoughts, and can suggest things to us that are neither from the Lord nor for our benefit. Not every thought that pops into your mind is from the Lord! The devil is a liar and a deceiver (John 8.44), and we can overcome him because the Holy Spirit (the One who indwells us) is stronger than he (1 John 4.4)! We can imitate our Lord, resisting the devil by understanding the Scriptures, and refuse both to accept or take ownership of all the thoughts and self-talk that may go through our minds (Rom. 12.1-2; 2 Cor. 10.3-5). Read the account of Jesus’ temptation by the devil, and notice how he answered the devil’s lies with the Word of God, so you can follow his example (Matt. 4.1-11). 3. What is the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Word of God? The safe, powerful way to know the Spirit’s mind is to become familiar with his Word. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit carried the authors of the Bible along in such a way that what they wrote was inspired by God himself (2 Pet. 1.20-21; 2 Tim. 3.15-17). As we hear the Bible preached, read it through, memorize verses, study passages, and meditate on its b. Ephesians 1.13-14: c. Romans 8.31-39:

Case Studies