A REAL Christian is a person in whom 'dwells' the Holy Spirit. What does it do in life, and how can you know whether you have it?
The apostle Paul made it very emphatic when he said, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God DWELLS IN YOU. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is NOT His." (Rom. 8:9) So if you do not have the Spirit of God, which is also called the Spirit of Christ, then you are not His! It's that simple.
Now, as human beings, we have our own spirit (Job 33:8), but we must also receive the Holy Spirit to become the Spirit-led children of God (Rom. 8:15-17). The apostle John makes the connection of vital importance: "Now he who KEEPS His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." (1 Jn. 3:24)
So the keeping and DOING of the commandments is an external manifestation of a person having the Holy Spirit "abiding" (staying) and guiding him/her! Thus, when Jesus promised the disciples He would send the Spirit to them, He said it would GUIDE them into "ALL truth" (John 16:13)! King David once said, "You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth." (Psa. 119:151)
How do we receive and retain the Holy Spirit?
From the first sermon delivered on the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter laid down these crucial steps:
"Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.'” (Acts 2:38-39)
Moreover, the receiving of God's Spirit will be the manifestation of our salvation (Acts 2:40). And once you have received God's Holy Spirit, it must not stay dormant, or else it can be "quenched" (1 Thes. 5:19). The works of the Holy Spirit is never static, it sanctifies, inspires, convicts you of sin, motivates you, and it must bear fruit.
Paul lists the kind of fruit that must be seen in those who are led and filled with it, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Gal. 5:22-23)
It must be clear therefore that spiritual growth must be evident too, for everyone having God's Holy Spirit. Peter summed up this process of growth to maturity this way:
"As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature... But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful.." (2 Peter 1:3-8)
Does the above describe what's happening in your life today? Seek God's Holy Spirit!
| RDH
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