"The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us" (1John 3:24). "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit" (1John 4:13).
In these two similar verses, the Apostle John teaches that the way we can be sure that we abide in God and His in us, is because He has given us the Holy Spirit.
We believers can be confident that the Spirit indwells us when we observe Him ministering to us in the many ways (here is a list of 16) that the Bible describes Him helping the saints:
1. Convicts us of our sins (John 16:8).
2. Gives us spiritual re-birth (John 3:8, Titus 3:5).
3. Casts out demons (Matt 12:28).
4. Reveals and glorifies Christ (John 15:26,16:14).
5. Assures us of our salvation (Rom 8:15-16, Eph 1:13).
6. Teaches us spiritual truth (John 14:26, 1John 2:27, 1Cor 2:10-12).
7. Sanctifies us (1Pet 1:2, Rom 8:13, Gal 5:22).
8. Distributes and energizes spiritual gifts (1Cor 12).
9. Helps us pray (Rom 8:26-27, Eph 6:18).
10. Helps us worship (Phil 3:3, John 4:23).
11. Guides in our decisions (Rom 8:14, Acts 8:29,13:2,16:6-7).
12. Empowers our evangelism (Acts 1:8, 1Cor 2:4, 1Thess 1:5).
13. Provides the right words to speak (Mark 13:11).
14. Comforts us (Acts 9:31, Rom 5:5).
15. Strengthens our inner person (Eph 3:16).
16. Unites us with other believers (Eph 4:3-4).
APPLICATION: What should we do with this teaching about the Holy Spirit given to us?
1. Thank God for this precious gift.
2. Expand your assurance of salvation.
3. Raise your expectations for your Christian life.
4. Pursue yet more of the Spirit’s help.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.