Week 3: Chapter 2 — Theology of the Holy Spirit 101

1.Chan walks through some of the key biblical descriptions of the Holy Spirit — breath, wind, fire, a dove, a deposit. Which of these images resonates most with you and why? Which feels most foreign or uncomfortable?

2.One of Chan's key points is that the Spirit is a person — with intellect, will, and emotion — not a force or an 'it.' How does the grammar of the New Testament (the Spirit 'grieves,' the Spirit 'intercedes') reinforce this? What changes practically when you treat the Spirit as a 'who' rather than a 'what'?

3.Romans 8:11 says the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in every believer. Sit with that claim for a moment. Does it feel true to your experience? If there's a gap between that statement and how you feel day-to-day, what do you think accounts for it?