God the Holy Spirit, Mentor's Guide, MG14

1 4 0 /

G O D T H E H O L Y S P I R I T

b. The presence of God speaking to us (the witness of the Spirit)

(1) The Spirit gives Scripture that forms the foundation of our confidence (objective witness), 1 John 5.13. (2) The Spirit speaks to our spirit to assure us we belong to God (subjective witness).

(a) Rom. 8.16 (cf. 1 John 3.24; Acts 15.8)

(b) Gal. 4.6-7

(c) 1 John 3.24

2. The “witness of the Spirit”

a. The “witness of the Spirit” is the work of the Holy Spirit that gives the believer the clear awareness that he/she is reconciled to God. (1) It is an inward and subjective knowledge that accompanies the objective knowledge from the Word. (2) The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression of the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God, that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God (JohnWesley [Founder of Methodism]). b. The Spirit also provides witness through our experiences of God after becoming a Christian. The experiences (in which God has acted in our lives with power) help us to remember and be assured of his continuing presence in our lives. (1) Thus reassurance comes not only through the inner voice of the Spirit but also through his visible work in our lives. At the time the Roman centurion Cornelius accepted Christ he and his household experienced the gifts of tongues given by the Holy Spirit. As Peter looked back on that event he said, “And God,

4