To prepare for this study, please read the Women in Christ commentary Elizabeth.
 

Part I. The Example of Elizabeth.

1. Luke 1:5-7 What do you learn about Elizabeth and Zechariah from this passage? What do you learn about their character? What was God’s assessment of their character?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Luke 1:8-10 Where was Zechariah? What was he doing and why?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Luke 1:11-18 What message did the angel of the Lord give Zechariah? How did Zechariah react?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4. Luke 1:19-20 Why do you think Zechariah was rebuked by the angel? What attitude did Zechariah express in his question?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5. Luke 1:21-28 About how long was it between the beginning of Elizabeth’s pregnancy and Gabriel’s announcement to Mary? Do you think it was important that we know this period of time? If so, why?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

6. Luke 1:15, 39-56 What did the Holy Spirit cause Mary, Elizabeth, and John (who was still in the womb) to do? What insight did the Holy Spirit give Elizabeth and her unborn child? (What does this tell you about God’s view of the status of an unborn child?)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

7. Luke 1:21-22, 57-66 How did the circumstances surrounding John’s conception and birth affect the parent’s friends and relatives? Where do you think Luke got his information for this account? (Luke 1:1-4) Would an event this amazing be soon forgotten?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

8. Luke 1:67-79 What did Zechariah do when he was filled with the Spirit?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

9. Luke 1:80 How did being filled with the Spirit affect John’s spiritual development?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

10. What impressions do you have from Luke chapter one about what it means “to be filled with the Spirit?“ What questions do you still have about what it means “to be filled with the Spirit?”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Part II A Dwelling in Which God Lives

1. Ephesians 2:18-22; I Corinthians 3:9-17; I Corinthians 6:19-20 The Apostle Paul compared the collective body of believers and the individual Christian to a temple. Who lives in this temple and how? How should this affect what a Christian does with his or her body?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Exodus 40:34-38; II Chronicles 5:1, 7, 13-14; Galatians 5:16-25 The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle in the wilderness (and Solomon’s temple.) God led Israel through the wilderness with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. How does God lead his people today? What lesson can we learn from “the glory of the Lord” filling the tabernacle and the temple?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Ezekiel 43:5-12; Ephesians 4:22-32; Matthew 15:19-20 What makes a temple unfit to be God’s dwelling? Compare I Corinthians 6:18-20 with Ezekiel 43:7.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4. I Samuel 10:6-11; 15:20-26; 16:14; Psalm 51:9-12; Hebrews 10:26-31; Matthew 12:30-32 Under what circumstances, if any, would God remove his Spirit from a person?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5. II Chronicles 7:14; I John 1:9; Matthew 6:12, 14-15; Hebrews 9:11-15 How is a person prepared to become a dwelling for God?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

6.Galatians 5:22-26; II Timothy 1:6-10 What characteristics will a person with the Holy Spirit be developing?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Part III. As The Spirit Enabled

1. Ephesians 3:14-21 How does the Holy Spirit produce “the fullness of God” within a person? Do you believe there is a difference between being “filled with the Spirit” and being “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God?” Explain your answer.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

2. Ephesians 5:15-21; Luke 11:9-13; Acts 2:16-18; Acts 4:31 How can a person “be filled with the Spirit?”
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3. Read the following Scriptures. Find out who was filled with the Spirit and what they did as a result.

Luke 4:1

Acts 2:4-11

Acts 4:8-12

 Acts 4: 31

Acts 6:3, 5-7

Acts 6: 8

Acts 7:51-60

Acts 9:17-20

Acts 11:22-24

Acts 13:9-12

Acts 13:50-52; Acts 14:1-7
 

4. I Corinthians 12:1-31; I Corinthians 3:10-14; Exodus 35:30-35; 36:1; Zechariah 4:6 Does being filled with the Holy Spirit affect the quality of the work a Christian or a group of Christians do in the Lord’s service?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

5. How would you describe what “being filled with the Spirit” is based on these scriptures? Did you find the answers  for the questions you had in Part I Question 10?