Questions and answers
Easy Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
In Acts 1:4, what did Jesus command the apostles to wait in Jerusalem for?
- AThe promise of the FatherCorrect
- BThe appointment of a new high priest
- CThe rebuilding of the temple
- DThe return of Elijah
Answer: The promise of the Father
Acts 1:4 · ESV
The Spirit's coming is the promise of the Father, long announced by the prophets and by John's preaching of a baptism with the Spirit. The apostles were forbidden to begin the mission until that promise arrived, which shows how completely the church's work depends on him. Power for the mission is never assumed; it is given.
Acts 1:4–5, fulfilled ten days later in Acts 2:1–4 at Pentecost.
Why not this one. Jesus had already identified John the Baptist as the promised Elijah figure (Matthew 11:14), so no such return was pending in Jerusalem.
Medium Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
Paul states in 1 Corinthians 12 that spiritual gifts are distributed 'to each one individually' by the Spirit. For what stated purpose?
- AFor the common goodCorrect
- BFor the honor of the one who receives them
- CFor signs to unbelievers
- DFor the building up of individual faith alone
Answer: For the common good
1 Corinthians 12:7 · ESV
The Corinthians were ranking one another by which gifts they had, and Paul's phrase cuts straight across that. Each believer is given a manifestation of the Spirit, and the stated aim of the giving is the benefit of everyone else. That is why the chapter turns immediately to the body, where an organ that serves only itself is not a healthy organ but a diseased one.
1 Corinthians 12:7, unfolded in 12:12-26.
Why not this one. Paul does say in 1 Corinthians 14:22 that tongues function as a sign for unbelievers, so this is a real biblical statement. But that is a narrow observation about one gift in one setting, whereas 12:7 states the purpose of the whole distribution, and that purpose is the church's shared good.
Hard Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
In Acts 19, Paul found men at Ephesus who had not heard that there is a Holy Spirit. What baptism had they received?
- AJohn's baptismCorrect
- BBaptism in the name of the Lord Jesus
- CThe ceremonial washings of the Pharisees
- DThe baptism of Moses in the cloud and the sea
Answer: John's baptism
Acts 19:3 · ESV
These men stood on the far side of the covenant transition, knowing John's preparatory baptism of repentance but not the risen Christ or the Spirit he gives. Paul baptizes them in the name of the Lord Jesus, and the Spirit comes upon them. Luke's point is transitional, not a pattern for later conversions.
Acts 19:1–6, one of the transitional episodes by which Luke shows the gospel overtaking what came before.
Why not this one. Paul uses that phrase of Israel at the exodus in 1 Corinthians 10:2; it is not a rite anyone at Ephesus had undergone.
Easy Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
Which chapter of Galatians lists the fruit of the Spirit?
- AGalatians 5Correct
- BGalatians 3
- CRomans 8
- DEphesians 5
Answer: Galatians 5
Galatians 5:22–23 · ESV
Paul sets the fruit of the Spirit directly against the works of the flesh he has just catalogued a few verses earlier, so the two lists are meant to be read as a pair. The contrast is the point of the chapter: those led by the Spirit are not under law, and the nine qualities are what the Spirit grows rather than what the believer manufactures.
Galatians 5:22-23, following the works of the flesh in 5:19-21.
Why not this one. Romans 8 is the great Spirit chapter of the New Testament, contrasting life in the flesh with life in the Spirit at length, so it is a reasonable guess. But it carries no list of fruit. That inventory of nine qualities appears only in Galatians.
Medium Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
In Acts 13, while the church at Antioch was worshiping and fasting, whom did the Holy Spirit say to set apart for the work he had called them to?
- ABarnabas and SaulCorrect
- BPaul and Silas
- CPeter and John
- DTimothy and Titus
Answer: Barnabas and Saul
Acts 13:2 · ESV
The Spirit speaks in the first person, calls men to a work and sends them out, all of which are personal acts rather than the operations of a force. Luke goes on to say plainly that they were sent out by the Holy Spirit, making him the initiator of the Gentile mission.
Acts 13:2–4, the launching point of the first missionary journey. Luke first names the prophets and teachers gathered at Antioch.
Why not this one. Paul and Silas are paired on the second journey (Acts 15:40), after the split with Barnabas; the Antioch commissioning names Barnabas and Saul.
Hard Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
Jesus warns in Matthew 12:31–32 that blasphemy against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but blasphemy against whom will not be forgiven in this age or the age to come?
- AThe Holy SpiritCorrect
- BThe Father
- CThe elect angels
- DThe apostles
Answer: The Holy Spirit
Matthew 12:31–32 · ESV
The warning is aimed at Pharisees who had just watched Jesus free a blind and mute man and had explained the miracle by saying he cast out demons by Beelzebul. That is the sin in view, not a stray word or a passing doubt. It is the settled decision to look at the Spirit's unmistakable work and call it satanic, which slams shut the only door to repentance.
Matthew 12:22-32.
Why not this one. If the sin is judged by how exalted the person offended is, the Father seems the obvious candidate. But Jesus is not ranking the persons of the Trinity, and he has just said a word against the Son of Man can be forgiven. The point concerns the Spirit's role as the one who brings a sinner to repentance.
Easy Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
In Luke 1:35, the angel tells Mary that her child will be conceived by what means?
- AThe Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow herCorrect
- BAn angel of the Lord will be sent to give the child breath
- CThe word of a prophet will be spoken over her in the temple
- DThe Spirit of Elijah will rest upon her as it did on John
Answer: The Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her
Luke 1:35 · ESV
The incarnation is the work of the Spirit. Mary's child has no human father; the Spirit is the agent by whom the eternal Son takes a true human nature, which is why the angel says the child will be called holy, the Son of God. The virgin conception is a miracle of the Spirit, not a legend added later.
Luke 1:35, with Matthew 1:18 and 1:20 saying the same to Joseph in his dream.
Why not this one. Gabriel does say John will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17), but that is said of John, not of Mary or of Jesus' conception.
Medium Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the 'Paraclete' in John 14–16. What does this Greek term most accurately mean?
- AAdvocate or HelperCorrect
- BComforter of the afflicted
- CMediator between God and man
- DInterpreter of visions
Answer: Advocate or Helper
John 14:16 · ESV
Parakletos means one called alongside, a term at home in a courtroom where someone stands with the accused to speak for him. John uses the very same word of Jesus in his first letter, where Jesus is our advocate with the Father, which is why Jesus can promise another Helper of the same kind. The Spirit continues alongside the disciples the work Jesus did with them in person.
John 14:16, with 1 John 2:1.
Why not this one. Older English Bibles say Comforter, so this is the answer most readers have heard. It was a fair rendering when comfort still carried the sense of strengthening, but it has narrowed to consolation, and the word covers counsel, testimony and advocacy as much as sympathy.
Hard Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
Which claim of Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:10–11 is used to argue the Holy Spirit's full deity?
- AHe searches and knows the depths of GodCorrect
- BHe was begotten of the Father before all ages
- CHe created the world by the word of his power
- DHe receives the worship of the angels in heaven
Answer: He searches and knows the depths of God
1 Corinthians 2:10–11 · ESV
Paul reasons that just as only a man's own spirit knows his thoughts, only God's Spirit comprehends the thoughts of God. A creature cannot exhaustively know the infinite God, so the Spirit who searches God's depths must himself be God. Omniscience is a divine attribute, not a delegated ability.
1 Corinthians 2:10–11, in Paul's account of how revealed wisdom reaches the church.
Why not this one. Eternal generation is proper to the Son. The creeds speak of the Spirit as proceeding, never as begotten, and Paul says nothing of the kind in this passage.
Easy Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
In Ephesians 5:18, Paul commands believers to be filled with the Spirit instead of doing what?
- AGetting drunk with wineCorrect
- BQuarreling in the assembly
- CBoasting about their gifts
- DNeglecting to gather together
Answer: Getting drunk with wine
Ephesians 5:18 · ESV
The contrast is between two controlling influences. Drunkenness is debauchery because it hands a man over to something that ruins him; the Spirit's filling hands him over to God. Paul expects the difference to be visible in ordinary church life rather than hidden in private feeling.
Ephesians 5:18–21, where the participles that follow describe a Spirit-filled church singing, giving thanks and submitting to one another.
Why not this one. That warning belongs to Hebrews 10:25 and is not the contrast Paul draws in Ephesians 5:18.
Medium Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
What is the last quality Paul lists in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22–23?
- ASelf-controlCorrect
- BGentleness
- CFaithfulness
- DGoodness
Answer: Self-control
Galatians 5:22–23 · ESV
The nine run love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Self-control closing the list is fitting in a letter arguing that freedom from the law does not mean freedom to indulge the flesh. The mark of a Spirit-led life is not less restraint than the law demanded but restraint produced from inside rather than imposed from outside.
Galatians 5:22-23, following the warning of 5:13.
Why not this one. Gentleness is the near miss because it sits immediately before self-control, eighth of the nine. Anyone recalling the list from memory tends to lose the tail of it first, and these two are usually the pair that swap places.
Hard Doctrine — The Holy Spirit
In Romans 8:2, Paul contrasts 'the law of the Spirit of life' with what opposing principle?
- AThe law of sin and deathCorrect
- BThe law of Moses and sacrifice
- CThe law of works and merit
- DThe law of flesh and desire
Answer: The law of sin and death
Romans 8:2 · ESV
Law here means a governing principle or ruling power rather than a written code, the way we speak of the law of gravity. Paul has just cried out about the body of death at the end of chapter 7, and chapter 8 answers it. Two powers are in view, one that produced sin and ended in death, and the Spirit's power that produces life in Christ Jesus and has set the believer free from the other.
Romans 8:2, answering Romans 7:24-25.
Why not this one. Paul does set faith against works often enough that this reads like familiar territory. But the contrast in this verse is not between two ways of getting right with God. It is between two forces holding a person, and the pairing Paul actually writes is life against death.