Ephesians 1:13-14 (NET) And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ – you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
Someone asked me “how can I be sure I will be raptured when the Lord returns, or be sure I will go to heaven when I die?”
The Holy Spirit has been given to us as a seal of assurance. If you have the Holy Spirit within you, you can be sure you will be redeemed when the Lord returns.
Some believers do not know the Holy Spirit because they don’t care about being holy. You cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit and be comfortable in an unholy life. The fact that you are uncomfortable in any form of unholiness may be proof that you have received the indwelling Holy Spirit, but only those who stay filled with the Spirit can know the fellowship of the Holy Spirit(see 2 Corinthians 13:14). The fellowship of the Holy Spirit is the sure proof that you have the Holy Spirit and is the token of assurance that you belong to Christ and will be raptured. You have been called to a higher life and this life is characterized by the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
Christ dwells in your heart by faith(Ephesians 3:17). You received the Holy Spirit by the hearing of faith, not by works(Galatians 3:5). If you are going to stay filled with the Holy Spirit you will have to continue to believe that He dwells in you because God promises so to those who believe. Faith begets the experience and power of the indwelling Spirit (Acts 2:39).
As long as you abide in Christ, He will abide in you. Christ dwells in you by His Spirit. You dwell in Him by faith and fellowship: fellowship with the Spirit through prayer and the word of God, and fellowship with the brethren through love. Christian fellowship is guided by the fear of the Lord which begets submission to one another and accountability(see Ephesians 5:21). You submit because you know that the Lord cares deeply about how you relate with His brethren, and they are His body, acting as Him when they are in one accord with Him and with one another (see John 20:23).
Go into today thanking the Lord for dwelling in you by His Spirit. Ask that the Lord will help you cultivate deep fellowship with Him so that you can be filled with the fullness of God. Read Ephesians 3:17-19
—Abraham Damilola Arigi
Bible in 1 Year: Psalms 87-89 (in today’s audio)
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