If we can’t see God, can we see anyone who can vouch for Him? Oh, but God does have witnesses. This devotion looks at two witnesses that proclaim God and Jesus as being real – the Holy Spirit and someone else.
Nuggets
- We may think the Holy Spirit is at the end of the line in the Trinity, but He has the very important job of being a witness for God and Jesus.
- We are, though, also witnesses to God’s saving grace.
- Being a child of God is predicated on loving Jesus and accepting His sacrifice for our sins.
Let’s face it. We are talking Spirits here. Some people to whom we witness are going to have a little trouble believing what they don’t see.
One thing that should help them determine that the God and Jesus is really is real is that there are two witnesses — in fact, two spirit witnesses. Let’s look.
Let's Put It into Context
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deut. 19: 15 ESV)
It was very important in Israel that those being accused of something be so accused by at least two witnesses. They wanted to make sure something wasn’t just someone’s opinion.
Also, this is what God told them to accept. When He was setting up the laws post-Egypt, He wanted to make sure people weren’t hoodwinked.
God wanted to have two people who knew what they were talking about to talk about it. How does that apply to a verse in Romans.
Bearing Witness
“The Spirit himself bears witness …” (Rom. 8: 16 ESV)
We may think the Holy Spirit is at the end of the line in the Trinity, but He has a very important job. He is a witness. He tells us about God and Jesus.
- “And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Ac. 5: 32 ESV).
- “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (Jn. 15: 26 ESV).
Well, they are spirits; He is a spirit. That is logical. We don’t know They are there until the Holy Spirit starts convicting us.
But look at it this way. When we believe in Jesus, we are pardoned. God forgives us of our sins. Sin is when we disobey God and break one of His laws and commandments.
The kicker is that Watson wrote that all of this takes place in God’s mind. Only the Holy Spirit can give testimony to this pardon. But how does He do that?
Ooo, baby. I like this definition of the word testimony. “The testimony of God’s Spirit is an inward impression on the soul whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses with my spirit that I am a child of God; ‘that Jesus Christ hath loved me and given Himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.’”
Judkin made an excellent observation. We have to believe the witnesses’ testimonies. In other words, they have to be credible.
What makes us believe a testimony? We need to think the person knows what they are talking about — that they’ve experienced it.
Who better to believe than the Holy Spirit? He is an eye witness. He is the expert witness.
Witness with Our Spirits
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit …” (Rom. 8: 16 ESV)
We are, though, also witnesses to God’s saving grace. I hear you. You are asking, if we don’t have privy to God’s mind, how can we be witnesses?
Well, the Holy Spirit does speak to us to convict us, doesn’t He? We do have before and after pictures, right?
How does the Holy Spirit speak to us? “If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything” (I Jn. 3: 20 NIV). Try this translation, instead. “Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything” (I Jn. 3: 20 NLT).
God is greater than what we know in our hearts. He is definitely greater than whatever we are feeling at the moment.
Okay, we will not get it all right when we try to figure out what God did and does (can we say human?). We have to be careful, though. Watson wrote that “… there may be impressions not from Him, and which we may mistake for His sacred testimony.”
Oh, wait. Does that mean our hearts and our feelings may not get it right all the time, too?
Horton reminded us not to get our spirit from our spiritual nature mixed up with our spirit from our physical nature. We can’t write it off as common sense, either.
What we have to do is make a conscious decision to submit our lives to the Creator — the Father. That is the only way to gain salvation. Salvation is the deliverance from the consequences of sin.
Remember, once we have been given salvation, we are given regeneration. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. We are witnesses to that.
Once we do that, we get a spirit nature, too. It is all part of regeneration.
So, there are two spirits who are witnesses — the Holy Spirit and us.
The bottom line is faith. Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them. It doesn’t say the bottom line is knowledge. Faith is believing without seeing (Heb. 11: 1).
How can we know we have the Spirit of God?
- “If we love God and our neighbour
- “If we are spiritually minded, as having the fruits of the Spirit”
Notice it doesn’t say do all the do’s and don’t do all the don’ts. The bottom line isn’t works. It says love and produce.
Oh, yes. We produce through doing as God tell us, but having the Spirit of God is not dependent on our obedience.
That produce is that on which our testimony is built. “Before salvation, I was … The Holy Spirit convicted me. Now I am …”
Children of God
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Rom. 8: 16 ESV)
We just did two devotions discussing whether everyone was a child of God or just a creation of God. You can either go back to read both devotions, or read the glossary synopsis.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
We do have something to add to that discussion. The Jews thought this, too. Sometimes, I think they were more interested in being children of Abraham rather than children of God.
They did mention several times in John 8 that they were children of Abraham. Only once did they say they were children of God.
Jesus set them straight. “Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me’” (Jn. 8: 42 NLT).
Being a child of God is predicated on loving Jesus and accepting His sacrifice for our sins.
Making the Connections
The Spirit bears witness to our spirit. Hmmm. Doesn’t sound like a pitched battle, does it? But that is what we think when we think witnessing. It was supposed to be one tough firefight.
No, remember the Holy Spirit is the Comforter. He is going to keep things even keeled.
Oh, yes. Our hearts will probably be hurting some. There is all that sin in there that needs to be eradicated.
Don’t worry. It isn’t going to get ripped out. Even if it does, we know the great Physician.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
If we are going to share what we believe, we will more than likely tell our stories. The churchy word is giving our testimony.
From reading Horton’s sermon, I think he gave us the following advice when constructing our testimony. Our testimonies should include the following:
- What were the circumstances of our conversion?
- How did conversion change us?
- How has conversion impacted our lives?
The great part of witnessing is we don’t have to do it on our own. The Holy Spirit will be there with us, providing His testimony and helping us with ours.
We’ve been asking these questions all along so we can prepare for when we are asked to witness. Here is the worksheet again. What would you say?
- What does the Scriptures say?
- What do I believe?
- Why do I believe the same/differently than the Scriptures?
- What are the talking points when witnessing to a non-believer?
Related Links
I have created a worksheet of the questions above. Click on the button below to access it.
How Do We Apply This?
Does this make us want to evaluate our relationships with God? I’ve working to get all of the worksheets we’ve done in previous devotions into the library. (The links work even if the descriptions aren’t there.) Let’s find one (or two) and think about where we are at on our walks.
That evaluation may unearth some unconfessed sin. If so, we need to take that to God and deal with it so we can be forgiven.
Once we have been adopted by God, we have family responsibilities. Remember, how can we know we have the Spirit of God?
- “If we love God and our neighbour
- “If we are spiritually minded, as having the fruits of the Spirit”
We are to believe in God and His love. We are to believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins. We are to love and produce.
Father. You make Yourself known to us in a variety of ways. Help us to see You so frequently that we can’t miss You. Strengthen us to be the witnesses You called us to be. Let us always point others to You. Amen.
What do you think?
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