The Witness of the Spirit
“The Spirit bears
witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.” Rom8:16
The infallible testimony of God! He did not leave us barren or
without hope in the midst of this wicked and perverse generation. We are Born
Again not of corruptible seed but incorruptible through His own Word which
lives and abides forever. Therefore He has sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts
crying ABBA Father to testify that we truly are sons of the Living God. This is
the genuine assurance of salvation by faith, without it religion is all form
without the Power or mere rank enthusiasm with no evidence of reality.
How many have mistaken the voice of their own imagination for that
of the Blessed Spirit and fallen prey to the works of the devil? They place
their confidence in a past moment of faith and give more credence to the
doctrines of men rather than the evidence within. Seldom will they examine
their profession in light of revealed word and PROVE that Christ is dwelling in
them. Their faith is based on PRESUMPTION of the natural mind and not the
testimony of the Spirit! But they continue in their delusion satisfied they are
on the road to heaven because of what men have told them, never stopping to consider
that certain ‘notions’ can indeed be wrong. (fatally wrong in this case)
How clearly and solidly can we KNOW the critical difference between
the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error in this matter? What an inescapable
horror it would be to arrive at the Great Judgment of God and find yourself
mistaken about your own salvation. Yet Christ Himself warned us that MOST
people would end up in this VERY situation! (Matt7:23-24) Therefore while you
are yet able to reverse your eternal destination it would behoove you to
consider WHAT is the evidence of genuine salvation in Christ.
The bible proclaims that you must have a Spiritual mind to
understand Spiritual things, because the carnal mind cannot receive the things
of the Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because
they are ‘Spiritually’ discerned. (1Cor2:14) Thus to grasp the things of God
and then manifest the ‘marks’ of a spiritual man, you MUST first be led by the
Spirit of God into all holy tempers and actions. This requires a New Birth, a
birth of the Spirit to open the eyes of your understanding to the Word of God.
Until that happens you are walking in death, under the condemnation of your
sin, without hope in the world and unable to please God in any manner
whatsoever. (your best intentions and hardest works are mere filthy rags in His
sight, until you are born again)
Genuine repentance is known by a season of godly sorrow for sin and
then an inward abhorrence toward it. If you have never experienced a real
sorrow over your sin followed by a true inner peace with God that your sins
have been forgiven, you have NOT been Born Again. The New Birth will be
accompanied by an immediate inward renewal and power over inbred sin. There’s
no mistaking this experience with God, it cannot be replaced by rank enthusiasm
or intellectual assumption. The Spirit of the Living God has either spoken
peace to your inmost spirit and poured out His redeeming love into your heart
or you have been sadly misled as to the nature of true salvation. Knowing that
the consequences of error are eternal in this matter, consider further some of
the distinguishing marks of the Witness of the Spirit.
“Whoever
is Born of God DOES NOT Commit sin!” 1John3:9. Meaning in the literal sense
that he no longer commits willful acts of known sin. He does not presumptuously
suppose that under Grace his sins no longer count against him. The
incorruptible seed that abides in his soul has placed within him a desire to
WALK in the ways of God and a power to crucify the desires of the flesh.
Therefore ‘LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU, he that doeth righteousness is righteous, he
who sins is of the devil.’ 1John3:7-8
Herein is the Witness of the Spirit, this is how we KNOW that we
KNOW Him. “If we KEEP His Commandments!” 1Jh2:3. “Whoever KEEPS His Word, in
him the love of God is perfected, hereby we KNOW that we are indeed the
children of God.” 1Jh2:5.
‘We KNOW that we have passed from death to life, because we love
the brethren.’ 1Jh2:29. ‘By this we KNOW that He abides in us, by the
(OBEDIENT) Spirit He has given us!’ 1Jh3:24
This is the practicality of the Witness within, that your religion
is not merely words but DEEDS and that you now KEEP His commandments because
you love Him. If your tongue is now bridled, your tempers under control and
your mind set on pleasing God, you can be assured that you are one of His
Children, according to His own Word. However if you find it difficult to obey
Him and remain in bondage to any outward sin, you have mistaken the voice of
the Spirit with that of your own imagination.
“The
love of God is shed abroad in your heart!” Rom5:5. How does
it appear that we love God and our neighbor and KEEP His commandments? How does
it appear that you are alive and not in pain? By the same conscious perception
you KNOW if your soul is alive to God. It’s not a mystery. By keeping His
commandments and walking before Him in reverent godly fear you possess your
body in sanctification and honor and do all things to the glory of God. In this
manner you are receiving the implanted Word that is able to save your soul.
(James1:21) You are inwardly conformed to His Spirit and do those things that
are pleasing in His sight. (otherwise you are only vainly imagining yourself to
be a Christian.)
How does the Spirit ‘bear witness’ with our spirit that we are
children of God? He does so by testifying through an ‘inward impression’ on the
soul, whereby that DIRECTLY makes known His presence within us. Through Him we
are inwardly and outwardly holy because HE is the Root of all holiness in us.
We love God because He first loved us. We are wholly incapable of loving Him
until His love is poured into our hearts by His Spirit. Therefore the testimony
of His Spirit must precede all holy tempers and godly conduct in our character.
He is the source and root of everything good in our soul.
The Witness is self-evident, we are conscious of His love abiding
in us and our own love for others as a result. As long as we CONTINUE to love
Him and KEEP His Commandments this testimony is sure and excluding all doubt.
It is only when you refuse to yield yourself to Him that uncertainty enters the
picture. Full assurance is known in every child of God who in humble joy, holy
delight and obedient love freely submits himself to the Spirit and walks in the
Light of His countenance.
“Let
no one deceive you with empty words!” Eph5:7. You MUST be able to
distinguish the testimony of God’s Spirit over the presumption of the natural
mind, because the consequences of error are irreversible! Examine yourself in
light of the Holy Scripture. DO NOT trifle with this matter! If you are not
actively KEEPING God’s Word and hungering after righteousness, you are giving
yourself over to strong delusion. The Spirit of God will make you despise sin
and love holiness, your natural mind will make excuses for your flesh and
remain selfish. Devotion to God is not fanaticism, but the natural outworking
of His Spirit molding you into the image of Christ.
The New Birth is a mighty change in your character and conduct.
Scripture proclaims that you have been brought out of darkness into light, from
the power of Satan to God! (Acts26:18) In a spiritual sense you have been
brought to life and raised with Christ into heavenly places. This is NOT
something passive, nor does it happen by ‘repeating’ a prayer, but through a
living faith in Christ that transforms your inner spirit from selfishness to
SELFLESSNESS! The result is a soft, yielding spirit, meek, tender and mild,
with Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Anyone who still clings to his
selfish nature and is incapable of
receiving reproof only imagines himself saved. The Wisdom that is from above is
pure, peaceable, willing to yield and full of good fruit.
Those who are Born of His Spirit, KEEP His Commandments
through love, they do not have to be coerced into obedience. Rather obedience
flows from a pure heart, surrendered to God and rejoicing to follow His Word.
Those following their own assumptions only pretend to love God. They believe
His love gives them liberty to disobey His commands and to be less zealous for
good works. They seldom abstain from evil, or watch over their hearts, their
tongue is not bridled by the Spirit, nor will they deny themselves and take up
their cross daily. To them ‘liberty’ excuses them from holy living and enduring
the hardship of striving to enter by the Narrow gate. They have found an
‘easier’ way to heaven, a broad, smooth flowery path that requires no sacrifice
or toil, but merely a presumption that once you have believed, your salvation
is guaranteed.
Can you distinguish darkness from light or that which is evil for
that which is good? Is there not an inherent, obvious essential difference
between the one and the other? Then would it not follow that there is also a
VAST difference between Spiritual darkness and Spiritual light? When the Son of
Righteousness shines upon your heart and ignites His holy flame therein, would
there NOT be an immediate and powerful Witness of this directly perceived
within? How could it possibly be mistaken? If God has spoken to your soul, ‘Thy
sins are forgiven thee,’ you will KNOW beyond doubt that His Spirit has come
into your heart to live.
The immediate fruits of the Spirit ruling in your heart are ‘love,
Joy, peace, humbleness of mind, meekness, gentleness and patience.’
(Gal5:22-23) The outward fruit are ‘zeal for good works, doing good to all men
and walking according to His Word.’ (Titus2:11-14) By these same fruits you will
be able to discern the voice of God without any delusion of the devil or your
own mind. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil,
He cannot be divided against Himself. If He abides in your heart
there is no room for pride, envy, strife, malice and wrath. Humble obedience is
the most evident distinguishing mark of a real Christian. God enables man to
love his neighbor as himself, to walk as Christ walked and to possess the
Divine nature in order to escape the corruption that is the world through lust.
(2Pet1:3-11)
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are sons of the
living God. Our hearts cry out to Him ‘Abba Father!’ He is the Fountain of all
holiness, joy and love in those whom He has called according to His mercy and
grace. Through Him we are pure and blameless, free from offense and empowered
from on high to be a spiritual sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God through
Christ! (Rom12:1-2)
Contact: Mike
DeSario, mike@antiosas,Qrg
2172 Marhofer Ave,
Stow, Ohio 44224
330-945-6700