HOLY SPIRIT-PRESENCE

A work is not to be judged by any effects on the bodies of men; such as tears, trembling, groans, loud outcries, agonies of body, or the failing of bodily strength. The influence persons are under is not to be judged of one way or other by such effects on the body. Scripture nowhere gives us any such rule. We cannot conclude that persons are under the influence of the true Spirit because we see such effects upon their bodies. This is not given as a mark of the true Spirit; nor on the other hand, have we any reason to conclude from any such outward appearances that persons are not under the influence of the Spirit of God. There is no rule of Scripture given us by which to judge spirits that either expressly or indirectly excludes such effects on the body, nor does reason exclude them.

Jonathan Edwards

Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, 1741. Modern language courtesy of Archie Parrish, The Spirit of Revival, Crossway Books, 2000, p. 59-60.

However great a spiritual influence may be, it is not to be expected that the Spirit of God should be given now in the same manner as it was to the apostles.

Jonathan Edwards

Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, 1741. Modern language courtesy of Archie Parrish, The Spirit of Revival, Crossway Books, 2000, p. 77.

As we grow spiritually, we learn the difference between the Spirit’s voice and the evil one's voice. The Spirit never witnesses to your spirit in condemnation. He might give you a check sometimes: “Wait a minute. Wait a minute.” But not in condemnation. He might tell you you're wrong sometimes. But not in condemnation. He rebukes, He corrects, He points out, but He never condemns. He wants to build you up, to undergird you, to increase your understanding of the life of God in you. He wants you to see how God already sees you. You are a saint, a holy one. You are blameless. You are beyond reproach.

Dan Stone

The Rest of the Gospel, One Press, 2000, P. 104-105.

If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy Spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference

A.W. Tozer

Prayer can no more be divorced from worship than life can be divorced from breathing. If we follow his impulse, the Holy Spirit will always lead us to pray. When we allow him to work freely, he will always bring the Church to extensive praying. Conversely, when the Spirit is absent, we will find excuses not to pray. We may say, “God understands. He knows I love him. But I’m tired. I’m so busy. It’s just not convenient now…” When the Spirit is absent, our excuses always seem right, but in the presence of the Spirit our excuses fade away.

R.T. Kendall

The Spirit inspired the Word and therefore He goes where the Word goes. The more of God’s Word you know and love, the more of God’s Spirit you will experience.

John Piper

Desiring God, 1996, p. 127, Used by Permission, www.desiringGod.org.

In an authentic spiritual experience, emotion, feelings, and the senses often become intense, transcending the normal. These may include strong feelings of remorse over sin, a mighty sense of trust that surpasses the pain of a traumatic situation, an overpowering peace in the midst of trouble, the overwhelming sense of joy related to confidence and hope in God, intense sorrow over the lost, the exhilarating praise in understanding the glory of God, or a heightened zeal for ministry. Spiritual experience by definition is an internal awareness that involves strong emotion in response to the truth of God’s Word, amplified by the Holy Spirit and applied by Him to us personally.

John MacArthur

Charismatic Chaos, Zondervan, 1992, p. 26.

The Bible does not provide a uniform formula for the proper physical or emotional reactions to the presence of the Holy Spirit. The presence of tears, convulsions, jerking, laughter, etc. are no measure of the Spirit’s presence. When we canvass the Scripture to see how the saints reacted to the outpouring of the Spirit, we see no prescribed form of bodily behavior. Habakkuk had a quivering lip and a trembling belly. Others fell to the ground as though dead. Some wept, some sang, some were reduced to stunned silence. In light of the diversity of human personalities and indeed the very nature of man, the presence or absence of these responses is no true test of the authenticity of the Spirit’s work. However, I hasten to add that though a wide variety of emotional responses may be detected in Scripture by those who encounter the living God, there is at least one emotion that may safely be excluded from the list – namely, boredom. It is hardly possible for a creature made in the image of God to be awakened or revived by the Spirit of God and be bored in the process.

R.C. Sproul

Wherever the Holy Spirit dwells, His presence creates a hunger for holiness. His office is to magnify Christ, and it is He who gives the believer a desire to be like Christ. The natural man has no such passion. But in the Christian, the Spirit of God begins to carry out the will of God to make the child of God like the Son of God (Romans 8:29). And He who began this good work in the life of the believer “will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Donald Whitney

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 237, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com, All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BiblicalSpirituality.org.

It is the Holy Spirit who is causing you to persevere. In those times when you are lazy and have no enthusiasm for any Spiritual Discipline, or when you haven’t practiced a particular Discipline as you habitually do, it is the Holy Spirit who prompts you to pick it up in spite of your feelings. Left to yourself you would have forsaken these means of sustaining grace long ago, but the Holy Spirit preserves you by granting to you the grace to persevere in them.

Donald Whitney

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 1991, p. 238, Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com, All rights reserved. For more information please see the website www.BiblicalSpirituality.org.

Dependence on the Spirit does not mean inactivity, but it does mean activating our faith before we activate our wills.

Bill Thrasher

A Journey to Victorious Praying, Moody Publishers, 2003, p. 215.

All that we spiritually know of ourselves, all that we know of God, and of Jesus, and His Word, we owe to the teaching of the Holy Spirit; and all the real light, sanctification, strength and comfort we are made to possess on our way to glory, we must ascribe to Him… Where He is honoured, and adoring thoughts of His person, and tender, loving views of His work are cherished, then are experienced, in an enlarged degree, His quickening, enlightening, sanctifying and comforting influence.

Octavius Winslow