Wednesday 30 November 2016

The Inner Witness of the Spirit

One of the main ways God leads His children, is through the inner witness of the Spirit.
In our spirit. Not by our mind, primarily; and certainly not through our emotions, but in our spirit - because that's where the Holy Spirit dwells - in our spirit.
It's when we know that we know - in our spirit.
By the inner witness we know that we are the children of God.
By the inner witness God might also choose to let us perceive things which we couldn't otherwise know through our natural minds. Like Paul perceiving that a certain journey would be perilous.
It didn't necessarily mean that God spoke to Paul by an inner voice or by an authoritative voice - that's another level, and God does sometimes speak to us through a still, small voice or a more authoritative-sounding voice of the Spirit - but on this occasion it says simply that Paul 'perceived'. God simply bore witness by His Spirit, then Paul's spirit picked it up.
A perception. A sense. A knowing. In his spirit.
God can guide us through the inner witness too - through how He makes us feel in our spirit.
A red light; or a green light.
A sense of dread; or a comfortable, velvety-like feeling.
Like a bird fluttering around unable to find a perch to land on; or a knowing that you know.
Like stepping on wet tiles with your socks on, or like just feeling right.
A hesitancy, irrespective of what we know or think in our minds, and irrespective of what we feel emotionally or what we might want; or a feeling, a perception, a knowing - a witness - in our spirit, to go.
Unable to find a sense of peace; or as someone said, it's like her spirit is doing cart-wheels, she feels so assured!
That can be God saying no; or yes.
Most of the troubles I've experienced in my Christian life, I think in hindsight could have been avoided had I recognised and heeded the inner witness of the Spirit. Only a very small portion of my sufferings as a Christian so far have been unavoidable persecution.
Whenever I've been guided by the inner witness, and acted on it, trusted in the Lord, and leaned not on my own understanding, but stepped out in faith, I came home rejoicing before the Lord like the joy in harvest!
We can aim to become more conscious of how the Spirit is making us feel in our spirit, than we are conscious of what we know intellectually, and what we feel emotionally, and what we might want.
We can train our spirit to be more perceptive to the Spirit, through exercising our spirit - by meditating on the Word; by walking in love; by speaking in tongues, which is praying with our spirit; and by having more and more experiences of obedience.
We are learning to be led by the Spirit through our spirit!

God will never lead us contrary to His written Word.

Other ways the Spirit leads us, besides the inner witness of the Spirit, include:

The Bible

The still, small voice of the Holy Spirit

A more authoritative-sounding voice of the Spirit

The gifts of the Spirit, such as: the word of wisdom; the word of knowledge; the discerning of spirits; the gift of prophecy; tongues and the interpretation of tongues

Visions

Others in the Body of Christ

Parents

Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

Doctrine

Revelation

Exhortation

Admonition

Understanding

Law

Conscience

Circumstances

Nature

Etc.

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