Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. As one becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit gives him strength as He lives inside Him. Not sure how this works, but I know the Spirit works in us to guide, us, to pray for us, to convict us to do the right thing and change from doing what’s wrong. Sometimes He gives us the words to say as we share what God has done for us or when we have conflicts or whatever.
Romans 8:9-17
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. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors — not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
This kind of summarizes the past two blog posts of God’s promises. He promises us that we are adopted into His family; we are His children. As children of God, He has given us an inheritance. Most importantly, we inherit eternal life and a place in heaven. Along with that, He gives us the Spirit to dwell in us. Knowing these things, God promises us that there is no longer a need for guilt. Jesus took all of our sins and nailed them to the cross. He paid the full penalty for all of our sins…ALL of them! He has declared us righteous. The Spirit will remind us of that and take away our guilt.
Hebrews 9:13-15
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Why would we have need to feel guilt? The Spirit may ‘convict’ us if we sin, but not condemn us. He will guide us to turn away from sin and to live by the Spirit and not by our flesh. He will guide us to do the things of God, to grow and to further God’s kingdom, blessing others and sharing the good news of what He has done. The Holy Spirit will remind us of the hope we have and “cleanse our conscience.”
John 16:12-15
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-15
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The Holy Spirit is our helper. He will guide us in all truth. He will show us the things of God, and teach us as we read His word. He will help us to discern the truth as, to keep us from being deceived by all the false teachers out there. As He teaches, we will grow in our faith and be strengthened.
Romans 8:26-27
Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The Spirit will help us to be strong. But when we are weak, He prays for us. Our faith will grow through His guidance, His teaching and His interceding. This is evident by the fruit of our lives as we listen to the Spirit and follow His guidance.
Galatians 5:22-24
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The Spirit also helps us to “bear fruit” by giving each of us different gifts. We use these gifts to build up the church…the body, and other believers. No one has all the gifts, but everyone has a gift. Let us use them for God’s glory.
1 Corinthians 12:4-14
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
With the fruit of the Spirit, we will desire these gifts, to be used by the Spirit to strengthen others. What a great promise! The Holy Spirit does so much in our lives; this gives us assurance of our salvation and our relationship with God.
My Daily Scriptures 