In this study we will discover five more things that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives as believers.
1. The Holy Spirit imparts to us the inward assurance that we are God’s children
(Romans 8:15-16) “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
When we have been born again the Holy Spirit Himself bears witness to our human spirit that we have become a child of God. We have the inward assurance that all of our sins have been forgiven, that we are heaven bound and that we are “accepted in the beloved.” The Holy Spirit Himself enables us to call God “Abba Father” or literally “Daddy.” This is virtually the first word a baby learns after its birth. It is a term that expresses absolute trust. A baby is totally dependant on its parents after it has been born. A sure sign that we have been born again is that we totally trust the Lord Jesus Christ for our spiritual and temporal life.
A sure sign that we belong to God is that we have surrendered our wills to His will and purpose for our lives. Notice Paul does not say, “To our spirits” but “with our spirits.” Literally it could be translated “together with our spirits.” There are two who “bear witness” or give us the assurance of our sonship and eternal inheritance. First, our human spirit receives the assurance that we have become a child of God. Second, the Holy Spirit Himself affirms the assurance that we feel. Unbelievers never call God Father this is the unique privilege that we have as His children.
It also needs to be said that the more we know the Word of God the more assurance we will have. Our assurance is not based on feelings but the Word of God. John the apostle says, “But these are written that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31).
2. The Holy Spirit reproduces in us the nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Galatians 5:22-23) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law.”
It is the Holy Spirit’s work to reproduce in our lives the character of the Lord Jesus Himself. In the work of the New Birth God does not merely reform our old nature but imparts to us His own Divine and Eternal nature. This nature is revealed in the Holy Spirit Himself. When we have the Holy Spirit controlling our lives the fragrance of the Lord Jesus will radiate from us. People will see that we are different. There are many today who exhibit gifts and supernatural abilities but the true test is do they exhibit the fruit of the Spirit in their lives? Remember that Jesus said we would know true believers by their fruit and not by their gifts. The word “fruit” in the Greek language is in the singular tense.
All of the fruit of the spirit will spring up together in the soil of the regenerated heart. We cannot have love without joy or gentleness without self control because you cannot separate any of them from each other. Now the fruit of the Spirit will be seen in believers in varying degrees depending on their walk with the Lord and according to their level of sanctification. The fruit of the Spirit will be more clearly seen in some believers than in others, however, if we have been born again then our lives will reflect the fruit of the Spirit.
3. The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth
(John 16:13a) “But when He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” (1 John 2:20, 27) “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit-just as it has taught you, remain in Him.”
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and not error. There are many in the Church today who are trying to bring about a unity among various denominations including Roman Catholicism. The Ecumenical and interfaith movements are trying to do this. The United Nations have their Ark of Hope with their charter for a one-world religion that tolerates all faiths. Even between many Evangelical and Charismatic Churches there is a trend towards accepting Roman Catholicism as a genuine Christian denomination. The one thing that all of these movements cannot change is the teaching of God’s Word. These movements may talk about a unity of the Spirit but where the truth of God’s Word is compromised there can be no unity of the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will never endorse doctrinal error or things that go contrary to the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Himself said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Everything we need to know as believers has been given to us in God’s Word. Paul the apostle said, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). There are many “prophets” and “teachers” in the Church today that claim to have an anointing by the Holy Spirit but are teaching unbiblical doctrines and promoting unbiblical practices. They may have an anointing but by what spirit? The Holy Spirit is Himself Holy and the Spirit of truth and will never lead us into any doctrine of lifestyle that contradicts God’s Holy Word.
There is more wisdom in the Bible than there is in any other book because it is God’s Wisdom. (Psalm 19:7-11 119:130) (Proverbs 2:1-12) God’s wisdom is always available to us for the asking. (James 1:5-6) His Word is His wisdom. Every born again child of God has the privilege of being taught by the Holy Spirit of God. (Hebrews 8:10-11) Every doctrine, every prophecy, every teaching and every spiritual experience must always be tested from God’s Word. (1 Thessalonians 5:21) We need the spirit of the Bereans who, “examined the scriptures everyday to see if what Paul said was true.”
4. The Holy Spirit enables us to remember the words of the Bible when we need them.
( John 14:26) “But the Counsellor, The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
The Lord Jesus Christ made this promise primarily to the apostles and this was His guarantee that the words of the New Testament would be accurate and precise. It is an amazing thing that the apostles could remember what Jesus said and did accurately almost 30 years after He walked this earth when they wrote the gospel accounts. What is more amazing is what John wrote in his gospel about Jesus almost 60 years after He walked the earth. The Holy Spirit brought to their memory accurately what Jesus had said and done. Now the Holy Spirit does a similar thing with us. He will bring to our minds appropriate verses of scripture in certain situations. Sometimes we will be in a situation where we need to witness and if we know our Bibles then the Holy Spirit will bring to our minds the verses we need.
The Holy Spirit knows all things even the deep things of God. He knows what God’s thinking all of the time and anticipates everything that God wants said and done. If the Holy Spirit knows God intimately then He certainly knows what should be said and how it should be said. If the Holy Spirit regularly leads us then we will always have the appropriate Bible verses we need to witness to others. The words we speak will be the words of the Father in heaven who lives in us by His Spirit.
5. The Holy Spirit leads and inspires us in worship.
(John 4:23-24) “Yet a time is coming and now has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
Today in many churches what people are calling worship is nothing more than the worship of worship itself. Much of the music is entertainment and not worship. Today Christian musicians are treated like rock stars in the church. Many Christians, if they are honest, go to worship meetings to only receive some kind of emotionally self-gratifying spiritual experience. Not all worship, even if it is sincere, is worship in the Spirit. Many churches have exhilarating music but the standard of holiness is very low and in some cases virtually non-existent.
What is worship? Well the old English word is pronounced “Worthship” and implies “giving worth to whom it is due.” Worship itself is bowing before the Lord in adoration and contemplation. It is not always loud. Sometimes there will be times of great joy and clapping of hands and even dancing but at other times it will be worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in quietness and even stillness before the Lord.
Prayer and thanksgiving in them selves are not worship but elements of worship. In our prayers we are occupied with our needs and with the needs of others and in our thanksgiving and praise we are occupied with our blessings received but in worship we are occupied with the Lord Himself. Our motive in worship should be to glorify the Lord for who He is and not primarily for what we will receive for ourselves. If we come into the Lord’s presence with the right attitude there is no doubt we will experience the joy of the Lord that is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10)
Whenever we come to worship we must always totally submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s control. If we don’t then the worship will move over into the area of the flesh. This is what was happening to the Church in Corinth. Paul was not correcting the use of spiritual gifts in worship but the way in which they were being exercised. (1 Corinthians 14:23-32) When we are planning our worship services we need to be consulting the Holy Spirit to guide us. We must always remember that the Holy Spirit will never glorify Himself or His gifts or those who are gifted but only the giver. “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17).
The Lord Jesus is the one who is anointed with the Oil of the Spirit and the anointing flows down from Him upon His body. Psalm 133 teaches us this truth. Aaron was the High Priest and when he was anointed with oil the oil poured out upon his head flowed down over his robes and onto the other parts of his clothes. The anointing oil never touched his flesh. Aaron of course is a type of the Lord Jesus our High Priest in heaven. According to Acts 2:33 the Lord Jesus who Himself has been anointed with the Spirit pours out His anointing on His body the Church. In the Acts of the Apostles, apart from the apostle Paul, in every case believers were filled with the Spirit in groups. Paul in Corinthians tells us that it is the same way with the gifts of the Spirit. The gifts are given for the benefit of others and for their edification. (1 Corinthians 12:7 14:12)
Any gift or anointing must have as its source the Head. Of course the true Head of the Church is the Lord Jesus Himself. Many claim to be anointed today but their lives and conduct show differently. Remember that many who have done miracles signs and wonders in Jesus name will be rejected by the Lord Jesus because they did not do the will of the Father in their lives and ministry. (Matthew 7:21-23) When we come to worship we need to consciously ask the Holy Spirit to lead us and direct us and count on Him to do it. The only worship acceptable to the Lord is that which is governed and controlled by the Holy Spirit. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us in worship as much as we depend on Him to lead us in our daily lives. Remember the Lord Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
