The Witness of the Holy Spirit

Over the last several weeks we have looked at a number of ways that we can tell if we are sanctified or not. Some of you may be thinking, “Several weeks? It has been forever, geesh! Let’s get on with it!” I promise we are coming to the end of the series on holiness. Next week’s article should be the end of it. I only hope that this series has helped you to become a better person but most importantly to be a deeper believer with a deeper walk with God. But anyway, we have looked at how you know if you have it. We have talked about giving every single aspect of your life over to God; about what your conscience says about your life; we have asked if we have a passion to serve others; we have questioned if other people see it; we have challenged our love for others; and we have even searched ourselves to discover if we have power over willful sin. We have answered a whole slew of questions about these but as you may have already guessed, there are more questions to be answered before we are finished.
Does the Holy Spirit witness to your heart that you are in fact sanctified? Believe it or not this day and age there may be some who are asking, “Who or what is the Holy Spirit?” The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity. He is God’s presence on Earth since Jesus physically left. The Holy Spirit is very real although we cannot see Him. He is God’s presence living and working among us. He is God’s power, God’s strength, and God’s wisdom. He is God’s everything. Does the Holy Spirit confirm with you that you have it?
God will not leave the sanctified believer hanging forever. He will let you know. It may take days, weeks, months, or even years but His Spirit will make it known to you. It will not be just some feeling either, “Oh I feel like I might be, maybe.” It will be deeper than that. It will be a certainty and a conviction within you. I mean, I feel like I might get a million dollars tomorrow, but I do not know that I will; most likely I will not but I feel like I could. Does my feeling like it make it so? For that matter does my knowing something make it so? No, of course not. The fact that I know something is a result of it being so, therefore if it were not so then I would not know it I would simply hope, feel or think it to be so. Sometimes our feelings can get us into a whole mess of trouble. Do you know it or just feel it?
The conviction we are talking about is much like when you were saved. How did you know you were saved? The Holy Spirit witnessed your salvation and He confirmed in you that it was real and genuine. There may have been evidence of a changed life, but other than that you just knew it. How do you know that you chose the right college, career, or mate? You just know it. Somewhere deep down in your spirit you just know it. If God has sanctified you then the Holy Spirit has witnessed it and He has no reason to keep it secret from you. He isn’t going to play the “Guess what?” game with you. He will speak to you. God’s Spirit speaks to you on a very deep level; much deeper even than feelings. If you can truly answer yes to all the questions leading up to this evidence, but you cannot say that you know that you know, wait for God to tell you. Until He tells you, you cannot be absolutely sure. So you cannot raise your hands if you’re not sure. (Sorry about that silly reference to a 70’s and 80’s commercial. It seemed funny but now it just looks stupid) When He does tell you He will speak it directly into your heart and spirit. Your heart will be “strangely warmed”[i] by the Spirit of God. “The Holy Spirit is faithful, and He will convince, even re-convince, of His work in your heart. Wait for His witness.”[ii]
All of these evidences and the sanctification itself will bring about joy in the life of the believer. Joy, not happiness. Happiness is dependent upon circumstances. Joy is present regardless of the circumstance or whether or not the believer is happy. When the believer is sanctified they can find joy and praise in and for every circumstance of life because in every circumstance, good or bad, there is an opportunity for God to be glorified and this brings great joy to the sanctified believer.

[i] John Wesley when he finally felt convinced of his salvation.
[ii] Keith Drury, Holiness for Ordinary People, Wesleyan Publishing House, 1983, pg. 120