Last Sunday, though it wasn't quite the main point of the lesson, one of the 12 year olds I was teaching posed a question to the group:
How do we know if we have the Holy Spirit?
I think that's a fair question to ask. Immediately what springs to mind is "have faith in what the Bible says!" and Weber's Protestant Ethics & Calvinism. But I know that such rapid and pert replies would not even be steam to the kid's fire. So I went home and thought long and hard about it, I asked other people what they would say in reply to him...
And today, we attempted, as a group (the 12 year olds and I) to answer his question. As the discussion and sharing wore on, my curiosity in the matter increased. So I came home, sorted my thoughts and wrote about it. I must admit it's been a while since I've penned anything, but God bore me through and the words came uninterrupted like honey flowing from my fingers.
Though I did not write at length on the matter, I'll present it in 3 parts.
Following from our discussion today, I realise that in order for us to answer the question “how do we know we have the Holy Spirit in us”, it would perhaps be helpful to first have a grasp of who or what the Holy Spirit is, how or what are its (or his, if you prefer) functions, etc.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often used to refer to the Holy Spirit is רוּח (pronounced “roo’-akh), and in the New Testament, the Greek word used is πνεῦμα (pronounced “pneuma”). In both instances, those words are very nearly the same as those which are used to mean wind, or breath. So, it is plausible that the writers of old were suggesting that God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit was like a sacred wind, or a sacred breath: like the everyday wind or breath, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen or touched or contained. “… You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next…” (John 3:8). But just as the effects of normal wind (swaying trees, typhoons, slanted rain, etc.) and breath (condensation on cold glass, heat felt on the skin, inflated lungs, etc.) can be felt, experienced, evidenced, so too can the effects of the Holy Spirit be observed.
But where should we look? What should we look out for?
Here’re some ways in which the Holy Spirit works (I have not noted everything down and so, I hope that if this matters much to you, or if you are at all interested, you would, yourself, bother to go find out):
- It prays for us through us
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26-27)
- It prompts us to obey God out of love
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses” (Galatians 5:16-18)
- It leads us to bear its good Fruit
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:22-25)
- It tugs at our hearts to love other people
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27)
- It convicts us to avoid stuff that is not of God & does not please Him
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:15-17)
So, drawing the tangent, a person filled with God’s Holy Spirit would:
- Desire to please God
- Rejoice always, even in the face of trials, suffering, opposition, etc.
- Enjoy being with other brothers & sisters in Christ, encouraging one another
- Be generous
- Experience triumphs against temptations
- Exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit
- …
How do we know if we have the Holy Spirit?
I think that's a fair question to ask. Immediately what springs to mind is "have faith in what the Bible says!" and Weber's Protestant Ethics & Calvinism. But I know that such rapid and pert replies would not even be steam to the kid's fire. So I went home and thought long and hard about it, I asked other people what they would say in reply to him...
And today, we attempted, as a group (the 12 year olds and I) to answer his question. As the discussion and sharing wore on, my curiosity in the matter increased. So I came home, sorted my thoughts and wrote about it. I must admit it's been a while since I've penned anything, but God bore me through and the words came uninterrupted like honey flowing from my fingers.
Though I did not write at length on the matter, I'll present it in 3 parts.
Following from our discussion today, I realise that in order for us to answer the question “how do we know we have the Holy Spirit in us”, it would perhaps be helpful to first have a grasp of who or what the Holy Spirit is, how or what are its (or his, if you prefer) functions, etc.
In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often used to refer to the Holy Spirit is רוּח (pronounced “roo’-akh), and in the New Testament, the Greek word used is πνεῦμα (pronounced “pneuma”). In both instances, those words are very nearly the same as those which are used to mean wind, or breath. So, it is plausible that the writers of old were suggesting that God’s Spirit, the Holy Spirit was like a sacred wind, or a sacred breath: like the everyday wind or breath, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen or touched or contained. “… You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it’s headed next…” (John 3:8). But just as the effects of normal wind (swaying trees, typhoons, slanted rain, etc.) and breath (condensation on cold glass, heat felt on the skin, inflated lungs, etc.) can be felt, experienced, evidenced, so too can the effects of the Holy Spirit be observed.
But where should we look? What should we look out for?
Here’re some ways in which the Holy Spirit works (I have not noted everything down and so, I hope that if this matters much to you, or if you are at all interested, you would, yourself, bother to go find out):
- It prays for us through us
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will” (Romans 8:26-27)
- It prompts us to obey God out of love
“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses” (Galatians 5:16-18)
- It leads us to bear its good Fruit
“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:22-25)
- It tugs at our hearts to love other people
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you” (James 1:27)
- It convicts us to avoid stuff that is not of God & does not please Him
“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1 John 2:15-17)
So, drawing the tangent, a person filled with God’s Holy Spirit would:
- Desire to please God
- Rejoice always, even in the face of trials, suffering, opposition, etc.
- Enjoy being with other brothers & sisters in Christ, encouraging one another
- Be generous
- Experience triumphs against temptations
- Exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit
- …
Are you such a person?
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