do not know Him as the Holy Spirit. They do not know Him in His burning purity and His convicting light.
The Productive Word
The first sign of the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart is brokenness and confessing a sense of need. Brokenness is the result of corruption in our own heart revealed in the light of His holiness. The Holy Spirit reveals the holiness of God, and then man sees himself in his sin. He brings brokenness and confession (Isaiah 6:5). A sense of God’s presence will overcome the person and his flesh when the Holy Spirit comes. The Holy Spirit will bring revelation of Christ and the urgency of being in prayer and supplication to be more like Him.
The Holy Spirit reveals every motive and desire of the heart. Lust and self-pity, ungodly morals, and all matters of sin will be found in the depths of our souls. Man will confess the little knowledge of Christ and their desire to know Him. Our bodies are to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). The Holy Spirit desires of our will and our lives to be subjective under Him. He desires for us to live the life of Jesus by Him working through us. Our God is a consuming fire, and if the Holy Spirit takes possession of our bodies, He will consume all there is of us. In light of the presence and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the meaning of Luke 9:24 is realized. “For whosoever will save his life will lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for My sake will save it.”
The Convicting Power of the Holy Spirit
It is in the character of His Spirit that God reveals Himself to His people. For this reason it is an unforgivable sin to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29). The Bible says the Holy Spirit is the revealer of truth. The church is the body of Christ filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit. If we function and do the will of God on this earth, then it will be by and though the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the source of all wisdom and power. He teaches, directs, energizes and controls if we allow Him. When God gave Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit, He gave us everything that is needed to succeed in spiritual warfare and to do the will of God.
So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.
I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.
— 1 John 2:24-27, NKJV
The first church is a record and example of what God can do and will do through His people, of any age, that will allow the Holy Spirit to possess them (Acts 9:31). Throughout the Bible, whenever the Lord called a man, he immediately began the preparation of making the man the message. Recall Abraham walked a twenty-five year faith walk. Moses spent forty years in the desert. Joseph sat in the dungeons of Egypt. Through all of this, God was preparing them for what He wanted them to be. We, the elect of God are called to carry the message of Jesus Christ, to be a vessel and the channel through which many are saved, healed, delivered and set free.
The design of God is the transfiguration of man to the image of Christ. This is the intention of the Holy Spirit within us.