How do I know I have the Holy Spirit?

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

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, "________"

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In my teen years as a newbie Believer, I remember asking this question myself on a number of occasions where my more senior brothers and sisters would essentially say "We know we receive the Holy Spirit because the Bible tells us so".

Now this is of course a reasonable response to my question, at least in theory, but I wanted a more tangible and practical reply, where it took me beyond merely 'hope and faith' to a level 'where I knew that I knew'.

After about 18 months, where I had put aside ever asking this question again, I was invited to a FGBMFI meeting where they were sharing about their Charismatic experiences. To keep things short, after I had left the meeting without being able to pray in the Spirit (tongues), while I was sitting in my car about four hours later I simply decided to pray in the Spirit; as to what it means "to try" is a bit open ended, but after this time I definitely "knew that I knew", which was the same evidence that the Council of Jerusalem accepted when they were seeking evidence from Peter that the Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit.

Did this make me a more spiritual person, not really, but at least I no longer had the need to ask if the Holy Spirit was within me.

Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you."—Luke 11:36

For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.—John 3:34

We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness.
George Orwell, 1984

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

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, "________"

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If you call on the name of God you get eternal life ( you are sealed with Holy Spirit ) .

Christians life by faith , faith is something you put your trust that is not seen , put trust in Jesus that he will rise you from the dead and that's all .

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

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

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God attaches the promise of the Holy Spirit to Baptism. Baptism isn't set up as an obstacle to be overcome to gain God's gifts, it's that it is Means through which God offers His gifts.

Lutherans speak of "Word and Sacrament" as the Means of God's grace. We don't mean two things here, but one thing; because we believe that the Sacraments are Sacraments on account of God's Word, often appealing to St. Augustine who defined the Sacraments as God's Word attached to the element, i.e. Word and water is Baptism, Word and bread and wine is the Eucharist. Augustine also describes the Sacraments as "visible Word". So from the Lutheran POV those who are baptized receive the same Word as that which is preached, in fact we even see this when we look at Scripture where St. Paul, in Ephesians 5:26 describes the Church as having been cleansed by Christ with "washing with water by the word". We also see in Romans 10:17 where Paul says, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ".

Thus this powerful, living, and active word of God goes forth and accomplishes its purpose (Isaiah 55:11), in the preaching of the Gospel, and in the Sacraments.

It's not that God is incapable of accomplishing His purposes outside of the Sacramental means He has established, but that these are established for the express purpose which He gave.

Perhaps someone has received the Spirit extraordinarily, but God has set forth Baptism for this purpose, by which to grant to us His gifts and Spirit, to make us children and heirs, to make us Christ's own even clothing us with Christ. Which is why the baptized can with absolute confidence know they have received all these things because God's promise is indelible and inviolate: We can point to our baptism as when we received the Holy Spirit because God has staked His Name and Word in Baptism for us, for this purpose, that we should be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to receive the gift of the Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, having been buried with Christ, having died with Christ, to rise with Christ, having been clothed with Christ, saved, justified, adopted, made a child and heir of God and His kingdom in Christ Jesus our Lord. By the grace of God alone, on Christ's account alone, through faith.

-CryptoLutheran

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

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, "________"

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To answer you question. Jesus said.. if you ask the Father for the Holy Spirit He will give it. As with John 3:16 you read what Jesus said and you believe yes? Then treat this the same. If HE JESUS said ASK the Father. and the Father will give you the Holy Spirit. You NEVER have to doubt. For you ask... HE WILL GIVE IT! You don't listen to man telling you this or that.. you take God at HIS WORD!

Sin.. your spirit was made new. It can not sin..ever. This flesh we live in does sin. It has not changed. So..if you sin..confess move on and TRY not to keep doing it. He died once.. for ALL SINS. He can not die again. It was for all or none.. were talking about a GOD here.

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

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, "________"

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This is a "can of worms" type question where you'll get 100 different answers if you ask 50 people.

I'll do my best! You mentioned avoiding sin. To avoid sin, is to avoid breaking the law. How do I know for sure? Because God's word tells us that sin is the breaking of the law.

1 John 3:4 - 4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

The definition of transgression - an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offense.

Jesus did in fact free us from sin, but not in the way the modern church thinks. Our flesh died on the cross with Him, and before Jesus we were slaves to that fleshly, carnal nature.

As Paul says - Romans 8:6-9
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

But what is the spirit?

Paul tells us in Romans 7 -
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

You're wondering what it should look like if His spirit lives in you? Here's a prophecy of this.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 -
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

See, all throughout scripture you see two types of people. Those who are obedient, and are loved by and love God. They do things the way God asks them. His ways are in the scripture. In the first 5 books. Genesis - Deuteronomy.

Then you see people that are disobedient that hate God's rules, and do their own things, how they like it, and God hates them, and they hate God.

You'll know you have the holy spirit because you have a greater desire to obey God as opposed to the traditions of man.

Jesus came to do away with man's traditions right? To correct people in their worship of God. Well, as they had traditions and rules made up then, so do we now. Look at the Sabbath for example. The Sabbath is considered a sign between God and His children. All of His children. There is a reason our tradition is for Sunday, but it's not God's word.

“Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the Catholic Church alone. The Catholic Church says, by my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church” (Thomas Enright, CSSR, President, Redemptorist College [Roman Catholic], Kansas City, MO, Feb. 18, 1884).

You'll know you have the holy spirit because you'll desire God's truth, over the world's comfortable tradition. You won't mind giving up all that you know to find the truth, even if it means leaving behind, our getting left behindby those that don't share your passion for God. You'll know you have His holy spirit when you desire obedience over tradition. No matter how many seminaries teach otherwise.

But, simply you asking this question, is a beautiful thing in and of itself, that's promising for sure. Pray He leads you on the path that leads to Him, and that it's straight. Pray for truth. Don't reject what I'm saying, nor accept it, until you pray over my words.

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

That's where the issue is.
I did ask for the Spirit.
I trusted in Gods word, that he gave it.
...but I fell away with no conviction. If I had the Spirit, I would have been convicted.
I asked and he didn't give.

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I believe the enemy has fooled you. What are you doing here in this thread, but again returning to seek what you desire?

The Spirit operates by faith. "The righteous will live by faith". What you are doing is growing in a relationship with God through the Spirit. This is a process where you will stumble if as to fall, but never to fail completely. You had faith, it was given to you and you applied it. You asked, you trusted and he gave. But.....

You stumbled, not fell away as if to fail completely. You were fooled into turning your back from the Way you were shown. And you have let the enemy convince you that your walk in the Spirit before was all for naught and worth nothing now. Probably didn't even really happen. But....

What are you doing here? But seeking with your heart 'why' did I wind up here? Were you fooled all along? This very question begs the fact that you are experiencing conviction 'from the Spirit'.

He gave again when you asked, just not as you were expecting. So the enemy uses this against you. From my read of your posts here you are desiring to know why the Spirit has left you or if you ever had it at all. Again, this very question is birthed in conviction that your true desire is to have remained in relationship with the Spirit.

Here is the key, he never left you, you turned away from him. He is always there waiting for you to 're'turn around.

You had faith, that is clear by your begining statements. Your faith has not been robbed from you, it's still here or you would not be seeking the answer to this question. However the enemy has depleated your faith that was given. I suggest you stop asking for the Spirit as if it's left you, but start asking for more faith to receive what the Spirit has for you.

How do you know you have the Spirit? How do you know you have a father? You have spent time with him and have developed a relationship over time. It's a process that grows like a child. At first we take for granted our relationship, then we grow and delve deeper into the reasons we have the relationship and our intimacy grows. And there is the key here, intimacy. When you get married you consummate the marriage with intimacy. However, part of the excitement is being intimate with someone you have never 'known' physically. You enter into an act of 'physical' intimacy. But what is lacking in this stage of the relationship is 'spiritual' intimacy. This is a process that grows daily. As we are physically intimate with our partner we grow in spiritual intimacy. Finally becoming as one with each other.

Give your relationship a chance to grow. You have obviously become physically (mentally) intimate with the Spirit. You have seen the relationship work, you asked, you trusted, he gave. But what your experiencing is the process of spiritual intimacy. You want to know that you know who God is through the Spirit. You desire to SEE him work through your heart and live through your body. This intimacy is forever growing between you and He. And if you are just starting out it will seem like you have stalled.

You know that time in a new relationship were you think you've blown it? Well, our God is a long suffering, ever loving, forever forgiving God. He will never forsake you. And as long as you are seeking him he is faithful to his word. If you have fallen get back up, if you feel you can't pray for strength or help. Turn to him, AND YOU ARE!! At least that is what I see.

I've had this relationship with Messiah through the Spirit for many years now. When you understand that it's a growing process and not a state we strive for then we start to understand the patience we need, and that Messsiah has with us.

Signs and wonders are physical manifestations of a spiritual relationship. The Spirit can not move through you till you form an intimate relationship with him. Or, the physical signs of the Spirit within you can not manifest itself till you've grown in your spiritual intimacy with Messiah. All this is done by and through faith. He grows us with Faith. He gives it to us, and restore it to us when it has been depleted. It's our fuel we operate on. The righteous will live by Faith.

How do you grow your relationship with the Spirit of God? Spend more time with him. Stop believing you have fallen as if you can't get back up. And stop believing the Spirit has left you. Both are a lie. He is here, still in you, drawing you ever closer to your intimate relationship with the Living God.

Seek those who will edify the Spirit within you. And definitely stay away from those who would lead you into observance to the Law as the sign of your intimate relationship with God. Romans 4:13 Philippians 3:9

Romans 1:17
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

God does not require our success, he asks us to surrender. In this state the enemy tries to convince you that your surrender is failure. But it's not. In our weakness He is strong. All this is based on faith. So seek faith more than signs. You are successful when you surrender yourself to him, then the Spirit can flow and your intimate relationship will flourish as well.

May Yeshua bless and keep you.

OP: how do you differentiate between your work, and your work through the Spirit.?

Human work outside the will of God is viewed as filthy rags by God.

The Salvation EVENT gives the permanent indwelling of of God the Holy Spirit to GUIDE and COMFORT Man's spirit into the will of God.

Ephesians 2: 4-5,8-10
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 MADE US ALIVE with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions
—it is by grace (unmerited Love/Mercy/favor) you have been saved.
8 For by GRACE (Love/Mercy) you have been SAVED through FAITH;
and that (FAITH/BELIEF) not of yourselves,
it is the (spiritual) GIFT of God;
9 NOT as a result of WORKS, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

That's where the issue is.
I did ask for the Spirit.
I trusted in Gods word, that he gave it.
...but I fell away with no conviction. If I had the Spirit, I would have been convicted.
I asked and he didn't give.

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It is mostly taught now days
that all one has to do is accept Jesus
as their Lord and Savior to be indwell-ed by the Spirit of God.
And there are some verses in the bible that depending
upon how you read and understand them that
would in most cases insinuate or give a very good indication
that this is true.

But upon further observance and open mind and heart
there are also some verses in the bible that that would contradict that doctrine and belief stating and indicating
that it is Jesus that has to chose and accept you
not the other way around.

Some things of God have to be experienced
first hand to know that to which is unknown
to them that is not known.

And even then there are many counterfeit spirits
running amuck upon this earth and even in heaven
deceiving the masses into believing they have that to which in truth they have not.

The only advise I will give you
that will be worth anything to you ....
seek it, and seek it with all your heart,
mind and soul and strength.
And most important of all...
do not stop till you find it.
Make it your only priority and goal
from the time you get up to the time you go to bed.

How far you will go
will be determined by the amount of love
for that to which you desire in your heart.

MyLordYeshuaTheMessiah said:

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, "________"

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

Let's give you a view which is both Scriptural as well as expanded, amplified, in plain language, instead of being theological constructs, abstract concepts.

Jesus chose 12 persons who were different from the crowd. The difference was that they were dissatisfied, unhappy with the situation they were in, maybe even unhappy with the explanations for that situation, a bit like you! Scripture calls these people heroes of faith, Hebrews 11 and parallels (1 Chronicles 29:15):

Hebrews 11:13-16
13All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

They were unhappy with what men, what they had to live with, and desired a better situation:

John 1:47
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"

Acts 7:34
I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.

So the first indication that you have received the Holy Spirit is when you receive revelation, because the Holy Spirit LEADS, into truth.

THIS truth is that the reason for your dissatisfaction is that you were created not only to feel holy, but also BE holy. Your dissatisfaction stems from the fact that you are in a city, a type of humanity which is foreign to you, and God is not afraid of being identified with you, because that's how He feels too! He has prepared a new type of humanity for you, accessible by self sacrifice, picking up a cross. He gives you to Christ.

The problem is that not all who received the Holy Spirit through baptism are cleansed :

John 13:10
10Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”

Psalms 106:21
21They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,

To speak plainly, Joshua and Caleb and Peter believed God could bring them into the new humanity , out of the old Adam into the new Adam, being blessings to the world, although the details were not clear to them. They had had a bath though, they only needed the small details clarified, foot washing.

Israel, Judas forgot the proof God had revealed. They could not believe God could bring them into rest, especially when it was also revealed about their need to be faithful, loyal, follow God even when He asked them to risk their lives (the disciples were not very loyal, but they were ready to follow Jesus even when it risked death, so we must give them credit, even when they were not fully clear how they were being taken into rest and were not as clear as they finally were when the Holy Spirit led them into ALL truth at Pentecost).

Well, that is a big chunk of revelation. You can probably see the pattern, the intent of the OT AND the NT writers. Different people will understand to different levels, have different questions, so please ask for the clarification YOU need.

Cheylynn said:

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.

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Romans 8 also says: "If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (v. 9)

We see many so-called Biblical answers to the original question.

How do you know if you have the Holy Spirit? When you live a life that is on par with Christ (with regards to His miracles), with that of the Apostles, with that of numerous other Saints (read stories about the lives of Saints, especially from the early Church and you will be amazed; it also silences cessationalists, those heretics.) Fine, maybe you don't like that answer. A more simple answer is this: when you unceasingly pray to God, meaning that there is never a moment in your day and while you sleep in which you are not praying, then you have the Holy Spirit. If you know the exact will of God for yourself and others, then you have the Holy Spirit. If you are no longer tempted by sinful lusts, then you have the Holy Spirit. If you have seen the uncreated light of God, being caught up to the third heaven as Paul was, then you have the Holy Spirit. If you no longer prefer to eat and sleep but you find your nourishment and rest from prayer instead, then you have the Holy Spirit.

Every other answer is based on conjecture, not on true testimony (and this is not my testimony, but that of the Saints). Lastly, the devil can easily feign himself an angel of light and perform all sorts of wonders, deceiving people that he is doing miracles as an angel of the Lord. Do not be deceived by prideful blind men who tell you that the God of the Universe, the Holy Spirit, will dwell in vessels of filth. We are not clean because we read a scripture and emphatically say that it now applies to us. No, God makes us clean by His grace, but not if we perpetually choose to serve sin with our members rather than be vessels of righteousness alive unto God.

Jesus answered and said unto him, “If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him." (John 14:23)

Have you kept His words? Do you really love Him to that extent? I am not preaching legalism; I am preaching love and humility. If you lack this, and the above experiences have no place in your heart because they are completely foreign to you, then now you know that you do not have the Holy Spirit. Well, neither do I, unfortunately. But that does not mean we are condemned, my friend. God saved the thief who confessed Him in faith; let us also place our entire trust in the Lord while we crucify ourselves so that we may be made worthy of eternal life in Christ.