How do I know I have the Holy Spirit?

[MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah]

I will ask you, "how can I know I have the Spirit?"

You may say, "by your lifestyle, desires, conviction, etc".

I will say, "We are commanded to not sin. So I try not to sin. Therefore, my lifestyle, desires, etc, are lived according to Gods will. But these results are by my own effort. I can't distinguish between my works, and the Spirit's works. So...how do I know I have the spirit? Do I live my entire life assuming I have the Spirit, meanwhile potentially remain unsaved?"

You will say, "________"

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

I will ask you, "how can I know I have the Spirit?"

You may say, "by your lifestyle, desires, conviction, etc".

I will say, "We are commanded to not sin. So I try not to sin. Therefore, my lifestyle, desires, etc, are lived according to Gods will. But these results are by my own effort. I can't distinguish between my works, and the Spirit's works. So...how do I know I have the spirit? Do I live my entire life assuming I have the Spirit, meanwhile potentially remain unsaved?"

You will say, "________"

You can know you are saved if you do the following:
1. Acknowledge that you are sinner who needs a saviour.
2. Believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for you on the cross of Calvary and rose again from the dead to give you eternal life.
3. Receive Jesus as your personal Saviour and Lord.
4. Determine that you will do what you can to live a holy life before the Lord.

That is what saves you and opens you for the Holy Spirit to come in and dwell in your spirit. You receive Him by faith. Because He is a spirit who dwells in your spirit, this is separate from your emotions. The Scripture says "By grace are you saved by faith; it is not of yourselves, but it is a gift of God." Faith is believing God's word in spite of how you feel and what you sense.

If you are in doubt that you have received the Spirit, you can go through the following steps, to make sure.
1. Believe and accept that it is God's will for you to be filled with the Spirit.
2. Ask God to fill you with the Spirit.
3. Receive the Spirit into your life.

Once you have done that, you can be assured by faith that you are filled with the Spirit. Now, you have to allow the Spirit to flow out through your life. He does that by allowing love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, patience and self control to flow out of you. This is the Christian character that others will see and will either be attracted to the Christ within you, or they will oppose you. This is because they will be convicted of their sins when they come into your presence. It won't be you, but the Holy Spirit within you showing them Jesus.

 

[ViaCrucis]

I will ask you, "how can I know I have the Spirit?"

You may say, "by your lifestyle, desires, conviction, etc".

I will say, "We are commanded to not sin. So I try not to sin. Therefore, my lifestyle, desires, etc, are lived according to Gods will. But these results are by my own effort. I can't distinguish between my works, and the Spirit's works. So...how do I know I have the spirit? Do I live my entire life assuming I have the Spirit, meanwhile potentially remain unsaved?"

You will say, "________"

"Jesus answered, 'Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.'" - John 3:5

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:38

"He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." - Titus 3:5

We receive the Holy Spirit as God's gift, which He has attached to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism; thus all who have been baptized and put their trust in Christ have received the Spirit. Indeed,

"and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." - Romans 5:5

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' It is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him." - Romans 8:14-17

"And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" - Galatians 4:6

We don't earn the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is given to us as pure gift by God's grace, the same grace by which He made us children and heirs, having saved us, justified us. Through Word and Sacrament God has made us His own, and given us all His precious gifts which are ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It's not up to us, but God. And God freely and graciously pours Himself out, gives Himself to us in Christ, who comes to us through His Word and Sacraments. For this very reason He called His Church to "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all which I have commanded you." and "Go and preach the Gospel to all creation" (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15)

-CryptoLutheran

 

[dreadnought]

I will ask you, "how can I know I have the Spirit?"

You may say, "by your lifestyle, desires, conviction, etc".

I will say, "We are commanded to not sin. So I try not to sin. Therefore, my lifestyle, desires, etc, are lived according to Gods will. But these results are by my own effort. I can't distinguish between my works, and the Spirit's works. So...how do I know I have the spirit? Do I live my entire life assuming I have the Spirit, meanwhile potentially remain unsaved?"

You will say, "________"

The Lord shows us all the way. How many are paying attention?

 

[bling]

One of the huge advantages to having the Spirit is to know you do not have to sin. When you do sin you can look back and see when you quenched the Spirit and was going it alone (this can be for seemingly good reasons). Remember God does not take your free will away from you just because you are a Christian, but if you allow the Spirit to work through you great stuff can happen.

The Spirit keeps you from sinning by filling your life with good stuff and not having any time to sin, but you can quench the Spirit of your own free will.

 

[Phil 1:21]

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

 

[1213]

I will ask you, "how can I know I have the Spirit?"

You may say, "by your lifestyle, desires, conviction, etc".

I will say, "We are commanded to not sin. So I try not to sin. Therefore, my lifestyle, desires, etc, are lived according to Gods will. But these results are by my own effort. I can't distinguish between my works, and the Spirit's works. ...

Bible says:

By their fruits you will know them. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. A good tree can't produce evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn't grow good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matt. 7:16-21

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal. 5:22

as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God.
Romans 8:14

If you claim the good fruit is from you, it is possible that you are wrong and all good “fruit” really comes from God.

 

[MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah]

If you claim the good fruit is from you, it is possible that you are wrong and all good “fruit” really comes from God.

The issue is, how do you differentiate between your work, and your work through the Spirit.
Or is there any difference at all. If the Spirit is forcing you to do good works, then it's the Spirit working, not you. That takes away your free will, which isn't possible.

 

[Cheylynn]

The issue is, how do you differentiate between your work, and your work through the Spirit.
Or is there any difference at all. If the Spirit is forcing you to do good works, then it's the Spirit working, not you. That takes away your free will, which isn't possible.

I agree that this can really get confusing. But I wonder if it is a chicken before the egg thing. That BECAUSE you have the indwelling Spirit within you, you are able to do all that Christ commands, and it is not grievous. 1 John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
And that as we continually walk in obedience - He empowers us to be faithful and diligent to not remain in sin. That the evidence of being filled with the Spirit is that you are sensitive to sin and do not want it to be what you practice. That you are grieved and troubled if you are finding yourself sinning. For the Holy spirit convicts us of sin. Also evidence that the Spirit is in you is you want to please God - and again, it is not burdensome to do so - even if it may involve sacrifice on our part. Evidence that we have the indwelling Spirit is we enjoy reading and studying the word and make it our aim to practice what it says. We enjoy praying with others. We enjoy talking about God and sharing Him and what He is teaching us.
We feel the battle of the flesh in us and the Spirit in us - and we wage it to win, only in the Spirit.
Alternately we can quench the Spirit by not heeding to what we learn that is right and continue to do what is wrong.

 

[MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah]

I agree that this can really get confusing. But I wonder if it is a chicken before the egg thing. That BECAUSE you have the indwelling Spirit within you, you are able to do all that Christ commands, and it is not grievous. 1 John 5:3 - For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
And that as we continually walk in obedience - He empowers us to be faithful and diligent to not remain in sin. That the evidence of being filled with the Spirit is that you are sensitive to sin and do not want it to be what you practice. That you are grieved and troubled if you are finding yourself sinning. For the Holy spirit convicts us of sin. Also evidence that the Spirit is in you is you want to please God - and again, it is not burdensome to do so - even if it may involve sacrifice on our part. Evidence that we have the indwelling Spirit is we enjoy reading and studying the word and make it our aim to practice what it says. We enjoy praying with others. We enjoy talking about God and sharing Him and what He is teaching us.
We feel the battle of the flesh in us and the Spirit in us - and we wage it to win, only in the Spirit.
Alternately we can quench the Spirit by not heeding to what we learn that is right and continue to do what is wrong.

I understand what you're saying. However all of the points you listed, on whether we have the Spirit in us, also fall into the undifferentiable category.
All of those things can be brought out by human will. It's an act of obedience, that many have instilled in their minds.
We may do those things, because we are told to do so. Along with the threat of eternal punishment if we don't obey. This would cause many to obey, put on a Christ character, etc.
I believe to find a reliable source of evidence for the Spirit. Is for something supernatural to occur, that can't be replicated by our own will. Something like speaking in tongues, which unfortunately many don't receive that gift. Or a miracle, like 'moving a mountain'.

 

[DavidFirth]

I understand what you're saying. However all of the points you listed, on whether we have the Spirit in us, also fall into the undifferentiable category.
All of those things can be brought out by human will. It's an act of obedience, that many have instilled in their minds.
We may do those things, because we are told to do so. Along with the threat of eternal punishment if we don't obey. This would cause many to obey, put on a Christ character, etc.
I believe to find a reliable source of evidence for the Spirit. Is for something supernatural to occur, that can't be replicated by our own will. Something like speaking in tongues, which unfortunately many don't receive that gift. Or a miracle, like 'moving a mountain'.

According to Acts 2:38, if you have repented and been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If you have been, then you have the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you have not been then you need to be.

 

[MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah]

According to Acts 2:38, if you have repented and been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

If you have been, then you have the gift of the Holy Spirit. If you have not been then you need to be.

Doesn't add up. Some people I've met personally, have had gifts of the Spirit before they were baptized.

 

[DavidFirth]

Doesn't add up. Some people I've met personally, have had gifts of the Spirit before they were baptized.

Either you believe God's word or you do not. It's that simple. I pray that you do and will believe Acts 2:38.

 

[MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah]

Either you believe God's word or you do not. It's that simple. I pray that you do and will believe Acts 2:38.

A good example of someone who was saved before being baptized is Cornelius and his household in Acts 10. We know that they were saved before being baptized because they had received the Holy Spirit, which is the evidence of salvation (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13; 1 John 3:24). The evidence of their salvation was the reason Peter allowed them to be baptized. Countless passages of Scripture clearly teach that salvation comes when one believes in the gospel, at which time he or she is sealed “in Christ with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13).

If that's not true. Then you're saying, every Christian who isn't baptized is going to hell. Meaning, if my baptism is in 2 months, and I died tonight, I have no hope.

 

[DavidFirth]

You totally missed my point.

 

[nonaeroterraqueous]

All of those things can be brought out by human will.

In as much as a man can give birth to a calf by human will.

Some people are genuine. Everyone else is a thespian.

 

[Cheylynn]

how do I know I have the spirit? Do I live my entire life assuming I have the Spirit, meanwhile potentially remain unsaved?"

I think this question you have brought forward begs a bit of scrutiny as well as your responses to some very good scripturally sound answers. Perhaps you should have asked another question that would circle around the results you are looking for.
But, I will add to the others with this:
Once you have the Spirit within, you contain the witness of the Spirit and you simply know. Romans 8:16, The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God

Might I also add some caution to what you are looking for
to look signs and wonders as some kind of authority or evidence, without having the assurance of the seal of the Spirit within could potentially lead one into some places they should not be. In the last days, there will be signs and wonders, such as the speaking in tongues empowered by the satanic, or miracles not authored under Jesus.

 

[RgM3]

I will ask you, "how can I know I have the Spirit?"

You may say, "by your lifestyle, desires, conviction, etc".

I will say, "We are commanded to not sin. So I try not to sin. Therefore, my lifestyle, desires, etc, are lived according to Gods will. But these results are by my own effort. I can't distinguish between my works, and the Spirit's works. So...how do I know I have the spirit? Do I live my entire life assuming I have the Spirit, meanwhile potentially remain unsaved?"

You will say, "________"

You would have had to have been born with it.

 

[1213]

The issue is, how do you differentiate between your work, and your work through the Spirit.
Or is there any difference at all. If the Spirit is forcing you to do good works, then it's the Spirit working, not you. That takes away your free will, which isn't possible.

Maybe the answer can be found by answering the question, what is the reason for you action? Is your action driven by fear or love?

 

[Jeffwhosoever]

Short answer - read 1 John. I have a book I can recommend called "Absolutely Sure". I checked on out from our church library, then liked it so much I bought my own copy.