Community Group Discussion Guide: Walking in the Spirit - The Fullness of Christ
Icebreakers:

1. How would you describe the process of spiritual transformation in the life of a Believer?  
2. What attitudes have changed or are in the process of changing since you became a Believer in Christ?
3. Does the Holy Spirit make you "aware" of sinful thoughts or wrong attitudes as they are happening in your mind?  (Do you ever find your mind being a spiritual battlefield?)

Read: Ephesians 4:1-15 NASB95
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, [2] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, [3] being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [4] There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; [5] one Lord, one faith, one baptism, [6] one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. [7] But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. [8] Therefore it says, “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH, HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES, AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.” [9] (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? [10] He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) [11] And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, [12] for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. [14] As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; [15] but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.

Digging Deeper: Although Ephesians, Chapter 4, is not generally associated with 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, there are some interesting parallels.  In Ephesians 4,  Apostle Paul starts out by calling the Church to walk in a way that is "worthy" of our calling.  In context, Paul is calling on the Ephesians to walk in unity.

• What are some of the factors that cause disunity within the church?
• How important are the attitudes of humility, gentleness, patience and tolerance in maintaining unity? 
• What are some of the things that Christians have in common which should bind us together?​ 

Read verse 13: ...until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

• Has the "Church" attained the unity of the faith?  (If not, then the work of the Spirit is ongoing)
• What would the unity of the faith look like in the Church?
  
• Have "we" attained the fullness of Christ?  (How would you define the fullness of Christ?)  
  
• ​How does the fullness of Christ relate to the idea of imputed righteousness?
  

Wrap-up: Read verse 15. ...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ. 

• It probably goes without saying, but we have quite the spiritual journey ahead of us in order for us to grow up in all aspects into Christ.  Where do we even begin?
• This is where the "Helper" (The Holy Spirit) becomes absolutely necessary.  
  

Community Group Discussion Guide: Walking in the Spirit - 10 Works of the Holy Spirit
Icebreakers:

1. What would you say to a person if they asked you to explain the Trinity?
2. There are a number of scripture passages that tell us that "God" is beyond our human ability to fathom, so why do we try to define God or put Him in a box?
   
3. It should be no surprise that the Creator of everything that is would be beyond our human attempts of quantifying Him.  Describe some of the "ways" in which God is amazingly "great."​ 

10 Works of the Holy Spirit:
#1 The Holy Spirit is our Teacher.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

• What tools does the Holy Spirit use to teach us?
• If the Holy Spirit is the "teacher" of the Church, why are there so many different ideas concerning doctrine and conduct?

#2 The Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin.
John 16:8 And He (The Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

• Why is it good that God and not man is the one who decides what is right and what is wrong?

#3: The Holy Spirit dwells in us.  1 Corinthians 3:16 poses the question: “Do you not know that you are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

• Why do most people think of the Church as a local building that people attend?

#4: The Holy Spirit reveals the “deep things” of God to us.  1 Corinthians 2:10-12. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.

• What would you consider to be the "deep" things of God?

#5: The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.
John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

• Is truth important to you?  (Why?)
• Why is it important to look to God (by means of the Bible) for truth as opposed to outside sources?
  

#6: The Holy Spirit ministers through Believers for the common good of the body.
1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

• Why should the "common good of the body" be considered when Believers use spiritual gifts?

#7: The Holy Spirit is God’s seal that what we have been promised is real. Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

• How does the presence of the Holy Spirit (living in us) assure us of Salvation?

#8: The Holy Spirit Helps us in our Weakness and Intercedes for us. Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

• Have you ever "prayed in the Spirit?"  (The Apostle Paul also mentions "praying in the Spirit a number of times in 1 Cor.14)

#9: The Holy Spirit is Life to the Believer.
Romans 8:10-11 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

• What is your understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in the process of being "Born Again?" ​

#10: The Holy Spirit enables us to bear Spiritual Fruit. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

• What is the most abundant spiritual fruit in your life?  What spiritual fruit is missing?

Community Group Discussion Guide: Walking in the Spirit - The Helper
Read John 14:16-18 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; [17] that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. [18] “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Acts 1:4-8 Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; [5] for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” [6] So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” [7] He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; [8] but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Icebreakers:

1. How would you define the "Kingdom of God?"  (How is the Church related to the Kingdom of God?)
2. Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world, but is established in another place."  Why do you think Jesus did not establish His Kingdom on earth as the disciples seemed to desire?
3. What do you think is the relationship between the Kingdom of God and modern day Israel?​