As Christians, how do we know we have the Holy Spirit in us?

As Christians, how do we know we have the Holy Spirit in us?

The Bible says a lot about this subject and I don’t think I could answer the question in full, but here are some ways that the Bible seems to say we can know the Spirit is in us. First of all, what is the Spirit of God? The Bible talks about the Spirit of God in a few key ways.

Romans 5:5 — … God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Ephesians 1:17-18 —  (I pray) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.

John 14:26 — But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 16:13 — When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

So we learn from these passages that God’s Spirit in us is like God pouring his love into us, that God’s Spirit is full of wisdom and revelation, that his Spirit will teach us and guide us toward truth. In other words, God’s Spirit is his love, wisdom, and guiding presence given to us. So, we have two questions: How do we get the Spirit and how do we know we have the Spirit?

 

How do we get the Spirit?

The answer to this question is easy. Basically, believe in Jesus, follow him, and you will have his Spirit.

Acts 2:38  — Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

According to this verse, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when you repent of your sin, believe in Jesus, and get baptized (which is an outward expression of inward faith).

 

How do we know we have the Spirit?

If you have the Spirit, you will see a change in your attitudes, behaviors, and desires. You will start to become more like Jesus. Here are a few verses that talk about this.

Galatians 5:16 — But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14  Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

In other words, the Spirit is in you if you are showing the attitudes of the Spirit, called “fruit” in the Bible.  

Galatians 5:22-23 — But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Another place we can go to see the fruit of the Spirit is 1 Corinthians when it talks about love, which is the key fruit of the Spirit. What does love look like?

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 — Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

So, if you are growing in these things and you are seeking to follow Jesus, then according to the Bible, you have the Spirit! But, if you don’t see these things and you want to see more change, repent and pray for God’s help to walk in the Spirit more fully.