How Do You Know Whether You Have God's Holy Spirit?
(Copyright ©1truth1law.com 2011)
Before answering this question, it is important to examine scriptures that describe the process that leads an individual to the point of receiving God’s Holy Spirit. In Romans 2:4, we are shown that it is God, the Father who leads a person to repentance,
…the goodness of God leads you to repentance (end portion of Rom. 2:4, NKJV used throughout unless otherwise noted).
Repentance is translated from the Greek word “metanoia” (SGD# 3341), which means “a change of mind”. We see an example of this change of mind in King David’s attitude regarding his actions, which were contrary to God’s law,
…Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You (Ps. 41:4b).
Against You, You only (the only true God, comments in parenthesis added throughout), have I sinned, and done evil in Your sight (Ps. 51:4).
Even though David broke God’s Law in his lifetime, his attitude of repentance was in complete harmony with God’s will,
…I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart (inner purpose), who will do all My will (end portion of Ac. 13:22).
When David realized that he had sinned, he repented deeply and sincerely. He was very sorry for what he had done because he realized that it was contrary to God’s law, word, and will. Consequently, repentance cannot occur until an individual comes to the point where they realize they have been living contrary to God’s law,
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness (1Jn. 3:4).
Until a person is led to see that they have been living contrary to God’s will, as expressed in His law, they are under the influence of the originator of sin,
And then the lawless one will be revealed, who the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception… (2Thes. 2:8-9).
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (Jn. 8:44).
So repentance is the first step toward receiving God’s Holy Spirit. This means realizing that we have been blindly following the way of this world, which is actually Satan’s way of living, and are sorry that we have been doing this. We must come to a point in our lives where we no longer want to live contrary to God’s Law. Instead, we develop a deep desire to learn more about God’s Law so that we can live in accordance with it.
Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death (2Cor. 7:9-10).
God is not interested in an outward show of sorrow. Instead, He wants us to be sincerely sorry for going against His will and the harm that we often bring upon ourselves and others as a consequence. We will know if our repentance is genuine because we will start to make changes in our lives very quickly,
Therefore produce fruit that befits repentance… (Mt. 3:8, RNT).
but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance (Ac. 26:20).
for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified (Rom. 2:13).
Many argue that an individual does not have to prove that he/she has repented by observing God’s Law. Instead, they teach that you only need to believe that Christ died for you in order to take away your sins. If you believe this, there is nothing else that you need do. This position is contrary to scripture and is the same theme the Adversary has used from the beginning and, as we saw from an earlier scripture, he is a liar:
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works (Ja. 2:17-18).
Therefore, our faith is demonstrated by obedience to God’s law. The apostle Paul has a lot to say about this aspect of repentance,
What shall we say then? Shall we continue (living) in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin (symbolically portrayed in the baptism ceremony) live any longer in it? (Rom. 6:1-2)
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead (we were previously dead because of our sins), and instruments of righteousness to God (Rom. 6:12-13).
In order to be an instrument of righteousness, we need to proclaim that obedience to the law of God is the way to everlasting life (Ps. 119:172). Why? Because without God’s Holy Spirit within us, we cannot be resurrected to everlasting life (Rom. 8:11), and we cannot receive God’s Holy Spirit unless we come to the point in our lives where we deeply desire to obey God’s law (Ac. 5:32).
In fact, it is this deep inward desire to obey God that the prophet Jeremiah spoke about when he described the action of the holy spirit in people’s lives,
Behold, the days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah – 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord (Dt. 1:31). 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds (they will constantly remember it), and write it on their inward parts (they will have a deep desire to obey God); and (as a result) I will be their God, and they shall be My people (a relationship of trust can now be built) (Jer. 31:31-33).
At this point in time,
No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord (a common phrase used in Christianity today even though many do not understand that knowing God includes obedience to His law),’ for they all shall know Me, from the least if them to the greatest of them, says the Lord (Jer. 31:34).
Christ explained that simply doing good deeds for your neighbor is not a basis for claiming that a person “knows the Lord” and is doing his will,
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of my Father, the one in the heavens. 22 “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many powerful works?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from me you workers of lawlessness (Mt. 7:21-23, RNT).
Apparently, these individuals had spent time during their physical lives doing good deeds in the name of Jesus Christ, but they had neglected or refused to examine themselves regarding obedience to God’s law. Because they disobeyed God’s law, they will come up in the second resurrection and give account for their disobedience (Rev. 20:5-6, 11-12). Christ’s response is that they go away (“depart from me”) and think about what they have done in the hope they will repent. If they repent, they will be forgiven for their sins and restored in their relationship with God the Father.
The fact that these people, who claim to know Christ, are in the second resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6) demonstrates that they did not have God’s Holy Spirit during their physical lives. According to the apostle Paul, they would have been in the first resurrection if they had the holy spirit, which is given to those who seek to obey God (Ac. 5:32),
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 that dwells in you (Rom. 8:11).
The prophet Hosea described a similar situation in the context of Christ’s return and period of judgment on earth,
Set the trumpet to your mouth (make an important announcement)! He shall come like an eagle (swiftly) against the house (household) of the Lord, because they have transgressed My covenant and rebelled against My law. 2 Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You! (Hos. 8:1-2).
Saying that someone knows the Lord God, is not a sufficient basis for a close relationship because sin separates us from God. Almighty God cannot co-exist, or cohabit, with a nation or an individual who persists in breaking His law,
But your iniquities (sins) have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear (your requests) (Isa. 59:2).
Concerning this temple (1Cor. 3:16; 6:19) which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. 13 "And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel (Gal. 3:28)" (1Ki. 6:12-13).
Living contrary to God’s law is the same as living in darkness, and God does not live in darkness. Those who want a relationship with God have to seek Him in the light because that is where He dwells. This light is described in numerous places as being associated with the law of God,
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Ps. 119:105).
For the commandment is a lamp and the law is light (Pro. 6:23).
Jesus Christ came as a light that shines in the darkness (this world which rejects God’s law),
In him (Christ) was life and the life was the light of men (Christ brought the truth of his Father’s law to mankind). 5 And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not grasp it (the truth) (Jn. 1:4-5, RNT).
In conclusion, it is not difficult to determine whether a person has God’s Holy Spirit or not. If any aspect of God’s law is presented to an individual and it is explained that they should obey it, they will respond either positively, because they have a deep desire to please and obey God, or they will argue that it is not applicable to them. The apostle Paul described this situation,
Because the carnal mind (without God’s Holy Spirit) is enmity against (hostile toward) God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be (Rom. 8:7).
One simple test would reveal how many, who claim to be Christian, actually have God’s Holy Spirit. It is by no means the only test, but it is one that everyone can clearly identify with. The test is as follows:
In Exodus 20:3, God states that His people are to have no other gods in place of Him. Therefore, anything associated with another god is to be avoided completely (Mt. 5:29-30). There is a popular holiday associated with several pagan gods on December 25, and it has been accepted into Christian practices. Jesus Christ wasn’t born on December 25th and would never observe his birthday, as birthday observances are a pagan custom. Therefore, anyone claiming to be Christian should have nothing to do with observing December 25th, but instead should seek to observe God’s Holy Days mentioned throughout the old and new covenants as the “Sabbaths of the Lord” (Ex. 31:13; Lev. 19:3, 30; 26:2; cf. Ac. 2:1; 20:16; 1Cor. 5:7-8; 16:8),
The Festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths are a blessing from God. The significance and importance of these appointed times can only be recognized and understood by those who actually keep them. They teach His people about Him, His plan of salvation, and point to spiritual realities to be revealed in God’s kingdom under Jesus Christ.
True Christians today are still required to keep God’s appointed times as they are an integral part of the law of God and a joy to keep. Those who do not have God’s Holy Spirit dwelling in them also tend to respond negatively to God’s appointed times or the proper way they are to be kept.
The apostle Paul admonished the church in Colossae to keep God’s Feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths as God had intended, not as some groups were trying to impose upon them,
Therefore, let no one judge you in eating and drinking, or in part of a festival, or a New Moon, or Sabbaths 17 (which is a shadow of things to come), but the body of Christ (Col. 2:16-17; RNT* See Footnote Below For Commentary).
What is your reaction regarding the fact that keeping God’s Holy Days is something that Christians are to do today instead of observing pagan days of worship such as Christmas, New Year’s Day, Easter, etc?
* Paul’s reference to “eating and drinking” had to do with God’s people enjoying the blessings of God at the Feasts. He tells the brethren not to let anyone make a judgment against them regarding the food they eat or the alcohol they drink (cf. De. 14:26).
Almighty God tells us that we are to enjoy His blessings during His appointed times (De. 16:14). This was contrary to the teachings of certain Gnostic sects who taught people to abstain from all forms of pleasure including eating pleasant food and drinking wine or alcohol.
These Gnostics wanted God’s people to abstain from certain pleasures as a form of self-abasement. In denying oneself of physical pleasures it was asserted one could attain higher spiritual enlightenment. This pagan teaching is based on human reasoning and the traditions of men rather than on the word of God.
Also with regard to judgment, Paul instructs the brethren at Colossae not to let anyone judge them in specific aspects of how a Festival, New Moon, or any of the Sabbaths are kept. What is meant by judgment is that the brethren are not to allow anyone to place them under their form of judgment so that they should listen to their reasoning and thus change how they worship God. In other words, let no one make a decision against you so that you should accept their judgment and thereby compel you to change your Bible-based practices.
The concluding point of the verse is to remind the brethren that any judgment regarding the proper keeping of God’s appointed times is reserved for the body of Christ (i.e. the local church) rather than by any outside group or individual.
This document is the collaborative work of individuals who believe God's truth should be given freely (Mt. 10:8; 1Cor. 2:12; 2Cor.11:7; Rom. 10:14-21) and the message of the one true God should be made available to all nations (Mt. 24:14) as a prerequisite to the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings (Mt. 17:10; 19:17; Mk. 9:11; Lk. 1:17; Rev. 19:11-16).
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