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Bible Study for June 8, 2025
Opening Prayer:
Creator of all, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in study. Open our minds and hearts. By the power of the Holy Spirit, unite us in faith, hope, and love. Help us to be faithful to the gospel and to walk humbly with you. Grant us your peace as we grow in wisdom and understanding. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
John 14:8-17 (25-27) The Spirit guides our growth in faith. How have your beliefs changed through the years?
The Greek word paraclete means literally “called to the side of.” It refers to the Holy Spirit and is variously translated as “counselor,” comforter,” and “advocate,” highlighting that the Spirit has several functions. Unlike Paul, however, John does not connect the Spirit with baptism or spiritual gifts. John asserts that, after Jesus is gone, the Spirit continued God’s presence in the world so that succeeding generations could know God (14:12-15). The presence and work of the Spirit has at least two functions: to remind us about Jesus’ teachings, and to guide us toward deeper truth about God. Just as the disciple’s ideas changed about Jesus after His death, so do we continue to grow in the faith—thanks to the work of God’s Spirit.
Romans 8:14-14 Paul contrasts being “Spirit-led” (which brings life and vitality) with being “law-bound” (which brings death and rigidity). What corresponds to being “law-bound” in our experience?
After two decades of Paul’s preaching, teaching, and writing, Romans expresses some of his most mature thoughts. Our verses offer God’s solution to the human dilemma posed in Chapter 7: We know God’s law holds out promise of life to us; we want to follow the law; but because we are human, we cannot do the full good that it requires of us. Therefore, a gracious God sets us free to walk, not in the law, but in the Spirit. (Romans 7:14-25) If we are led by the Spirit, we become children of God, not slaves to the law. Through this process, we discover that God yearns for us to become Spirit-led children, exhibiting love and generosity rather than being entrenched in rule and form over grace.
Acts 2:1-21
The Pentecost event fulfilled earlier promises made by John the Baptist and Jesus. The Greek word Pentecost means “fiftieth.” Our Christian celebration of Pentecost is rooted in this ancient Jewish Festival of Weeks, which celebrates fifty days after Passover. It is an agricultural celebration giving God thanks for the “first fruits” of the harvest. As the rush of wind filled the house where they were meeting, Peter addressed the Jewish crowd, explaining that it was God’s Spirit that had endowed them with these awesome new powers. He quoted the prophet Joel, who, centuries earlier had prophesied that God would “pour out my spirit upon all flesh” so that all—sons and daughters, young and old, slave and free, men and women—would prophesy, dream, and see signs, omens, and visions (Joel 2). Peter wanted the Jewish crowd to relate Joel’s words to the rush of wind to the new, vital energy now possessed within them. In Acts, Peter’s speech was the first public Christian witness. The Day of Pentecost in Acts was not the only time recorded in the New Testament where the Spirit appeared. In John 20, Jesus’ followers received the Spirit on Easter night. Also, Luke describes other times when disciples and new believers received the Spirit. Today, we generally believe that the Spirit continues to touch and guide believers and communities of faith.
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