Welcome to the Life In The Spirit Equip Class Sessions!

In this 12-part series, David examines the essential role that the Holy Spirit plays in every aspect of Christian life. These messages were offered as a 6-week Equip Class at Bethel Church, Redding.

If you scroll down, you will see that each audio teaching has a title and a brief description followed by an audio file where you can either listen to the teaching from our website or download the Mp3. Please note that if you choose to listen to the file, it sometimes takes several seconds to start playing the audio after you click on the play button. To download the file to your computer, simply click where it says "download" at the bottom right hand corner of each audio file. You can also get the series from our podcast on iTunes at the following link: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/life-in-the-spirit/id1378127274 or on YouTube at the following playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_k_mxDE3VSnmFK5jRkq_Eykvvjz5ZVcE&si=AHIqG6Jun3XCW6sY

David Cwir - What is the Kingdom of God? (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 1)

Understanding the Kingdom of God is essential for grasping the teachings and ministry of Jesus (Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 4:23; Luke 4:43). Scripture indicates that the Kingdom of God is connected to Jewish end-time expectations and must be interpreted within the context of Jewish Messianic hopes. In this first session, we explore the end-time expectations that had developed in Judaism before the time of John the Baptist and Jesus to provide a framework for understanding how the New Testament concept of the Kingdom of God fits into these expectations.

David Cwir - Reconciling the Present and Future Reality of the Kingdom of God (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 2)

One of the key theological concepts related to the Kingdom of God is the "already but not yet" tension, which refers to the paradox that the Kingdom is both present ("already") and yet to be fully realized ("not yet"). This raises the question: "How can something be both present and future at the same time?" Resolving this mystery is crucial for understanding Jesus' teachings, life in the Spirit, and the New Testament as a whole. In this second session, we explore how to reconcile the Kingdom of God as both present and future by delving into what Jesus refers to as "The Mystery of the Kingdom."

David Cwir – What is Spirituality? (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 3)

The word "spirituality" has been shipwrecked! Because the term can mean anything these days, it has totally lost its meaning. However, originally the term “Spirituality” was all about God’s Spirit (according to Paul who coined the original Greek word in the Bible). Yet in our common speech, we no longer see the Spirit in Spirituality because the word has become mostly about us as individuals. This even shows in the way many English Bibles have translated the word “Spiritual” with a small “s” in texts where the Holy Spirit is clearly in view. Check out the following audio message if you would like to learn more about the meaning of Spirituality according to how the Biblical writers originally intended it.

Session 4 - David Cwir - Spirit Ministry: Power or Still Small Voice? (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 4)

For the early church, the Spirit represented God’s own personal presence—and since God is all-powerful—they always viewed the Spirit as the embodiment of God’s power. Yet, for some reason, later Christians adopted a quieter view of the Spirit, likening Him to a “still small voice,” which starkly contrasts with the New Testament experience. The early church wouldn’t have grasped our later notions of a subdued Spirit; they understood that when God was present, power was undeniably there too. In many ways, this reality marks a key difference between them and us. Check out this week’s message if you would like to learn more about the central and crucial role that the Spirit played in the life and theology of the early church and what it means for us today.

Session 5 - The Restoration of the Lost Presence of God (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 5)

The theme of the presence of God is crucial to both the Old and New Testaments. The main calling and purpose of the people of God is to be a people of His presence. In the New Testament, there is a very explicit equating of the now-present Holy Spirit with the same Holy Spirit who led Israel out of Egypt into the Promised Land and who was present among them, first in the tabernacle and then in the temple. It was that presence that was lost in the exile and has now been restored: first in the coming of Christ and then in the gift of the Holy Spirit. Check out this message if you would like to hear more about the importance of our calling to be a people of God’s presence.

Session 6 – Living Life in the Radical Middle (Between the Ages) [Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 6]

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Spirit, God Himself had set the future in motion, so that everything in the “present” is determined by the appearance of “the future.” We live between the times: already the future has begun, not yet has it been consummated (1 John 3:2). As result, we are supposed to live in the radical middle; our lives being so absolutely marked by the realities of the future that we live it in a new kind of way. Check out this teaching if you would like to learn Biblical principles about how we are called to live the life of the future now in the present age.

David Cwir - The Fulfilled Realities of the Promised Holy Spirit (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 7)

The Spirit is the fulfillment of the promise that God Himself would once again be present with His people. The implications are considerable in terms of what it means for us individually and corporately to be the people of God. The whole existence of the church is to be a colony of heaven; living out the lifestyle and the values of eternity in the present age by the Spirit. This is where the Spirit becomes key to the Christian walk, because without the Spirit we cannot live this eternal existence in the present age. Check out this message if you would like to learn more about how the coming of the Spirit into the life of the believer, and in the community, fulfilled three critical dimensions of the promised New Covenant and how that changes our present existence.

David Cwir - What is the Temple of the Holy Spirit? (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 8)

In the New Testament, the local church is referred to as God’s temple because it is the place where His presence dwells by His Spirit. The implications of this central matter are considerable for us. We are called to build the habitation of the Lord, the dwelling place of God, the place where He wants to dwell. Check out this teaching to learn more about the biblical revelation that God’s temple is now the gathered people of God (not a building), the implications for us in terms of how we are to understand the local church, and our mandate to be a people of His presence.

David Cwir – How to Live Life in the Spirit: Jesus is Our Example (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 9)

From His conception to His resurrection, everything about Jesus Christ’s life and ministry was a result of the Spirit’s work: He was conceived by the Spirit (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35); He was led by the Spirit (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1); He was empowered to do ministry by the Spirit (Luke 4:14-20); He spoke the Word of God by the Spirit (John 3:34; John 6:63); He was raised from the dead by the Spirit (Romans 8:11). Check out this week’ teaching to learn more about how Jesus was the ultimate man of the Spirit, how He is our example of what it looks like to live life in the Spirit, and how we are called to follow His example of a Spirit-empowered life.

David Cwir - How to be Led by The Spirit and Know the Will of God (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 10)

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, which is to be conformed to the image of Christ. As soon as Jesus was anointed by the Spirit, He immediately began being led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1-2). This is exactly what we are supposed to do as Christians: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:14). Jesus is our example of what it looks like to live life in the Spirit, and how we are called to follow His example as the early Christians did in the book of Acts. Check out this week’s teaching for a Scriptural foundation on how to hear God’s voice, know God’s will, and be led by the Spirit

David Cwir – The Experienced Dimension of Salvation (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 11)

The message of the gospel is truth accompanied by experienced reality (as in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). Although it came in word (proclaimed truth), it did not come in word alone: God verified its truthfulness by a display of His power through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Paul’s Spirit-empowered word was regularly accompanied by Spirit-empowered miracles as well (Romans 15:18-19). Galatians 3:1-5 shows that Paul’s converts’ own experience of the Spirit was also accompanied by experiential phenomena to which Paul can appeal as evidence of their having become the children of God by faith. It is this difference between early church and us that is so radical that it explains a lot about our present condition in the West. We need to get back to Biblical Christianity and live like Jesus called us to live by the Holy Spirit!

David Cwir – Living Life According to the Holy Spirit (Life in the Spirit Equip Class Part 12)

Scripture is clear that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. However, it is also clear that we are to seek and pursue righteousness as New Covenant believers (e.g., Matthew 6:33; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22) . The question becomes: if we are no longer under law, how do we seek righteousness and develop Christ-like character without getting into works of the law? The answer: by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:18). Those who have died with Christ must now live “according to the Spirit”; they are to walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), be led of the Spirit (v. 18), bear the fruit of the Spirit (v. 22), behave according to the Spirit (v. 25), and sow to the Spirit (6:8). The coming of the Spirit marks the beginning of the end of life “according to the flesh.” Check out this audio message if you would like learn more about the absolute necessity of living your entire life by the Holy Spirit.