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Trusting the Holy Spirit

by Jon von Ernst
8/29/2023 / Bible Studies

In order to trust the Holy Spirit, we must know and understand the Holy Spirit and how He works. The Scriptures clearly state that we are not to believe every spirit, but that we are to try the spirits to determine what source they are of (1 John 4:1).

To help us better understand the Holy Spirit and how He works, Paul sets forth in Galatians 5:19-21 a clear contrast between the Spirit and the flesh. The flesh, under the influence of the spirit of this world, the spirit of darkness, will lead us to exalt ourselves and to bring harm to the body of Christ and the glory of God. “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance – as I told you before – that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (HCSB).

The Holy Spirit which indwells every truly born-again believer will lead us to glorify God and to build up the body of Christ. In short, the Holy Spirit will lead us to love God and to love the brothers. Paul writes in Galatians 5:22-23 that “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

Romans 5:5 says, “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” I Corinthians 13:4-8 speaks of this love of God that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It says, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

In light of this contrast between the works of the flesh, under the leading of the spirit of this world, the spirit of darkness, and the fruit produced under the leading of the Holy Spirit, it is easy to discern or try the spirits. The enlightening of the eyes of our hearts by the working of the Holy Spirit within the believer enables us to clearly see the distinction and equips us with the understanding to be able to follow the Spirit’s leading.

God has given us His Holy Spirit to equip us and to empower us to live holy lives in obedience to Him. His desire is that we would be holy as He is holy. His expectation is for every believer to walk as Jesus walked, in full and complete obedience to the will of the Father (I John 2:6). Peter tells us that God has given us everything necessary for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 exhorts us to walk in a way that is pleasing to God. He commands each believer to possess their own vessel in sanctification and honor, and not in lustful passions like those that do not know God. This is God’s will for us, our sanctification, that we would be holy as He is holy. The salvation process that God is working out in the believer’s life is being accomplished through sanctification by the Holy Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

In every aspect of our lives, God expects us to be holy, set apart for Him, for His glory. God is glorified when we walk in humble obedience to Him whether we are at home, at school, or at work. When we are led by the Holy Spirit, we are holy.

Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” Verses 24-25 continue, “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”

In order to be obedient to the Lord, we must hear Him. We must hear the leading of His Spirit. Many times, the Lord’s speaking to us is very subtle. Many times, His speaking to us is as a still small voice. To hear His speaking, it is often necessary to be very focused on Him. We need an ear to hear, an ear tuned to the Lord. In order to obey, it is absolutely necessary to hear the Master’s command.

This is not only true as we go through our daily lives out in the midst of the world. It is even more necessary when we gather together with other believers. Whether there are two or three of us or fifty-two or fifty-three of us, our purpose should be to glorify God and to build up the body of Christ.

We glorify God by obeying Him. We obey Him by following the leading of His Spirit. When we gather together with believers, the Spirit will give us the words to speak. He will put in our hearts what to say and when to say it. He will put in our hearts what songs to sing and when to sing them.

Ephesians 4:12-16 says the Lord gave some as gifts to the church “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (NIV).

In Ephesians 5:18-21, we are told to “be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (NIV).

I Corinthians 14:26-33 says, “When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. If anyone speaks in a tongue, two --- or at the most three --- should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God.

“Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. The spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (NIV).

Each of these, the prophets and those sitting by, speak as the Spirit gives them utterance. Do we trust the Holy Spirit? Are we willing to, by faith, submit to His leading and to speak as He directs?

Jesus says in John 14:15-18, “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him or knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (NIV). It seems clear from this passage that this promised Spirit is Jesus Himself.

This is affirmed in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (NIV).

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, “I will build My church.” We cannot, out of our own strength and natural abilities, build the church. Only Jesus can build the church. However, he builds his church by the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit operating within each believer. As each believer humbly submits to the Lordship of Jesus, the Christ, in their lives and hears and obeys the leading of the Spirit, the church is built up.

God is a God of order, and by the leading of His Spirit, He will direct each member of the body of Christ concerning what to say and when to say it, and what to sing and when to sing it. In this way, God will be glorified, and the body of Christ will be built up by every joint of supply.

Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as also Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and blameless” (HCSB).

Revelation 19:6-8 says, “Then I heard something like the voice of a vast multitude, like the sound of cascading waters, and like the rumbling of loud thunder, saying: Hallelujah – because our Lord God, the Almighty, has begun to reign! Let us be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has prepared herself. She was permitted to wear fine linen, bright and pure. For the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints.”

Revelation 21:1-2 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband” (HCSB).

This is God's will for us, His purpose for us, that we would be built up together as His body, the church, His bride. When Christ returns, He will be coming to receive His body, His bride. May we walk in humble obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit that we may be blameless and holy, without spot or wrinkle, prepared for and eagerly awaiting the return of Jesus, the Christ, our Lord! Let us trust the Holy Spirit!

Writings By Jon von Ernst

The Lord of All Things Series - A Trilogy of Truth
Books in this series:
Book 1 - The Gospel of the Kingdom
Book 2- The Victorious Christian
Book 3 - Walking in the Light - Following in His Steps

*- Audio of these books are available free of charge at thepureword.net.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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