Our conscience governs our actions. Since the Holy Spirit guides our actions, it is thought that the Holy Spirit is our conscience. This daily devotional looks at the tie between our consciences and the spirit world.
Nuggets
- Without our consciences, we would not know how to govern our actions.
- Thomas called the conscience our connection to the spirit world.
- Meyer took Thomas’ contention that the conscience could be nourished and expanded on that.
- Wetherspoon contended that our conscience makes sin horrifying to all.
- If we add an element of self-evaluation into the mix, doesn’t that mean we can overthrow our conscience and do whatever we want?
Devotions in the The Unseen Spirit World series
Vincent gave a list of things of which Heaven values: “… love and faith and purity and truth and good conscience …” We haven’t really dug into conscience. Let’s do that now.
Resource
You may be wondering how conscience ties in with the spirit world. It does when we remember that it is believed that the Holy Spirit is our conscience.
Let's Put It into Context
The Holman Bible Dictionary didn’t have spiritual world and couldn’t give us a definition of spirit. The best they did was to say was “the kinship of spirit, breath, and wind is a helpful clue in beginning to understand spirit.”
Resource
Hmmm. Three invisible things.
What Is Our Conscience?
Our conscience is the part of our nature that points us to what is right and gives us pain or pleasure when we choose wrong. Thomas described the conscience as “… the ‘inner man.’” It is the what makes us us. Without it, we would not know how to govern our actions.
Resource
Thomas reminded us that a conscience is not a one-size-fits-all deal. In fact, he contended that there are three levels of conscience:
• The sleeping conscience
• The alarmed conscience
• The peaceful conscience
Disciples are at the third level. From that definition, it is easy to see why we think of the Holy Spirit as our conscience.
How Does Our Conscience Connect to the Spirit World?
“But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God” (II Cor. 4: 2 ESV)
Thomas called the conscience our connection to the spirit world. He contended that it is through our conscience that we know God.
We are to connect God with the conscience through “… the open statement of the truth …” (II Cor. 4: 2 ESV). This truth is for everyone, not a select few.
Think back to the levels. God’s truth is what takes us from sleeping and alarmed to peaceful.
Why does this make our consciences be at peace with God?
- God is in control.
- God promises His peace.
- God knows what was, what is, and what is coming.
- God knows how we should act.
Thomas felt that it is God’s mercy that tips the conscience from alarmed to peaceful. God’s mercy is the unexpected way God responds in love to our needs.
We can go from alarmed to peaceful because of the nourishing aspect of our consciences. God’s truth as well as our consciences teach us right from wrong.
Resource
How Does Our Conscience Connect to the Spirit World?
Meyer took Thomas’ contention that the conscience could be nourished and expanded on that. He showed how we can grow our conscience in grace and knowledge.
When witnessing, Meyer advised us to aim for the conscience. That makes sense.
The conscience is where we know right from wrong — obedience from sin. As we navigate the Sanctification Road, we are to work out our salvation and grow from milk babies to steak adults.
Our consciences grow as we experience situations in which we must decide what is right and what is wrong. We are regenerated and sanctified when we utilize those experiences to grow our character to be like God’s.
Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive. Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
Glossary
God put our consciences in us. He has a conscience, and we are made in His image.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
We talked about our conscience being the tie between our moral character and our feee will.
- Our moral character tells us what is right and what is wrong.
- Our free will gives us the opportunity to make the choice.
- Our conscience prompts us to make the right choice.
Resource
Why Do We Choose to Do What Is Wrong?
“Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to speak lies; they wear themselves out doing wrong” (Jer. 9: 5 CSB)
So, if our conscience comes from God and is poking at us to do His right instead of His wrong, how do we choose to do what is wrong? Wouldn’t that mean we would want to choose God?
Wetherspoon contended that our conscience makes sin horrifying to all. Our conscience is programmed by God to disapprove of wrong choices.
Hmmm. I wonder if Wetherspoon read about Thomas’ sleeping conscience. I would categorize it as turned off at the moment.
We aren’t going to get much direction either way out of a turned-off conscience.
Wetherspoon did write about the power of the conscience. He wrote, “Conscience can condemn us without witnesses; and the arm of that executioner cannot be stopped. And if we consider, that neither the attendance of friends, nor the enjoyment of all outward pleasures, can comfort those whose conscience is once awakened, and begins to accuse them, we cannot but conclude, that vice is to be pitied as well as shunned; and that this alone makes it more uneasy than virtue, which sweetens the greatest misfortunes.”
Resource
A component of this power is self-reflection. Self-evaluation can be either good for us, or it can trip us up.
I loved how Witherspoon put it. He wrote, “The greatest punishment that a wicked man can suffer in this world, is to be obliged to converse with himself.”
We don’t like to call ourselves on the carpet for our actions. It is difficult to peel back the layers and see the contributing factors.
The thing is, we do have this conscience programmed by God. However, it is in this sinful body. Our sinful nature is going to battle our conscience every chance it gets.
Can We Overthrow Our Conscience?
If we add an element of self-evaluation into the mix, doesn’t that mean we can overthrow our conscience and do whatever we want?
Perks believed that the conscience could not be overruled. He wrote, “It may be resisted, but it cannot be dethroned; it may be seared, but it cannot be destroyed.”
Resource
• Following our imaginations may not focus us.
• Reason may fall anywhere on the continuum from too skeptical to too sophisticated.
• Passion may swamp us.
Our consciences have to appeal to God’s truth. Perks wrote, “… there is not a law, precept, prohibition, or warning of the Word of God to which the conscience will not instantly respond.”
Our sinful nature tries to break that connection. I think that battle is best described as the alarmed level. Every decision to follow our consciences is a decision against what our sinful nature would have us do.
That brings up a whole slew of factors. We will have to deal with the guilt and uncertainty.
Making the Connections
I still think that the Holy Spirit is more than just our conscience. Yes, He is there to remind us what is holy and righteous.
But the Holy Spirit has other job duties assigned.
- The Holy Spirit will serve as an advocate for us with the Father (Jn. 14: 16).
- The Spirit will teach us what we don’t know and will remind us what we do know (Jn. 14: 26).
- When we pray in the Spirit (Jude 1: 20-21), He helps us pray when we cannot (Rom. 8: 26).
- The Holy Spirit helps us to speak when we are being persecuted for our faith (Mk. 13: 11) just as He carried the prophets in proclaiming God’s message (II Pet. 1: 21).
- The Holy Spirit is a witness to us about what God has done (Ac. 5: 32) and testifies about Him (Jn. 15: 26).
- We will have help in following God’s laws and commandments (Ezek. 36: 27).
- We are saved by “… renewal by the Holy Spirit (Ti. 3: 5 NIV).
- Circumcision of the heart is accomplished by the Holy Spirit using the atoning blood of Jesus.
- God teaches us His Will through the Holy Spirit.
- God uses the Holy Spirit to impart His wisdom.
Glossary
We do have to build our characters in the ways God wants. That is a decision we need to make at conversion and grow into along the walk. We grow through the efforts of the Holy Spirit.
That is the effect that Tristram was talking about: “By the effect of the Spirit on the Christian life.” Salvation has to make a difference in our lives.
Resource
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Self-discipline will play a vital role in our responses to our consciences. If we are going to respond in character with God, we have to know that character and have changed ourselves to be imitating it.
How Do We Apply This?
We keep saying that we have to change our characters to be like God’s. We aren’t to be satisfied with a head knowledge.
We have to go for the heart knowledge. Knowing God has to fundamentally change us.
In order to do that, we have to continually and deeply seek God. It will take hearing His Word, reading it, studying it, meditating on it, and memorizing it. All through that, we need to be in prayer, asking God to provide the meaning.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
Does the Holy Spirit work through our consciences to guide us where God wants us to be? Yes.
Is that all the Holy Spirit is? No. The Holy Spirit, with the wide variety of responsibilities, is an important connection to the spirit world.
Father God. You created us so that we could worship You. You designed us with helps, such as our consciences, so that we could do that. You have given us the Holy Spirit as a Guide to encourage us and correct us. Help us to grow in grace and knowledge of You, so that we may change to be like You. Amen.
What do you think?
Leave me a comment below (about this or anything else) or head over to my Facebook group for some interactive discussion.
If you don’t understand something and would like further clarification, please contact me.
If you have not signed up for the email daily or weekly providing the link to the devotions and the newsletter, do so below.
If God has used this devotion to speak with you, consider sharing it on social media.
Pingback: Discerning between the Seen and Unseen Worlds to Secure Eternity – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: What Are the Causes and Effects of Evil? (Part 2) – Seeking God with Elaine
Pingback: The Law of the Future – Seeking God with Elaine