“...do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” Luke 11:11-12
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What the Spirit does The Lord Jesus’ last promise to His disciples, and all those who would become disciples through them, is that we would receive the Holy Spirit of God (Acts 1:8). You cannot be a real Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ without having the Spirit of God. We have been examining some of the ways that we can know whether or not we have the Spirit.
If we find that we have an insatiable hunger for God’s Word, and that God is forming Jesus in us and outfitting us for works of ministry, then we can be pretty sure that the Spirit of God is working in us. This is what the Spirit does; these are the effects Jesus alluded to in John 3 by which we may be certain that we have the Spirit and, thus, truly belong to the Lord.
Power for witness But there is more. Jesus promised His disciples that, once they had received the Holy Spirit, they would be His witnesses. That is, by their lives and words they would direct others to consider Jesus, so that they, too, might have the opportunity of knowing Him and entering His Kingdom. Being a witness for Christ is more than merely sharing our faith with others. Being a witness involves, in the first place, living the kind of life we’ve been describing thus far in this series, where, increasingly, Jesus is making Himself known in and through us by holiness and service in love.
With that as our platform and launch pad, we may expect that, when we begin talking to others about Jesus, they’ll be ready to listen. They will have seen the reality of the hope we have in Christ and His Kingdom, and they’ll want to know how they can have such hope as well (1 Pet. 3:15).
This is where our verbal witness for Jesus begins. It’s not enough to live like Christ did; those in whom the Spirit dwells will also talk about His priorities and urge His Kingdom on the people around them. When the Spirit of God is working in us, He will make us willing and able to share the faith of Jesus clearly, boldly, and consistently with the people we see each day. That doesn’t mean that every conversation must become a witnessing situation. Rather, it means that we look for the opportunity to begin a conversation about the Gospel with someone in our daily life, which conversation we keep going, over time, every time the Spirit opens a new opportunity to talk with someone about the Lord.
There when you need Him Don’t worry about memorizing a lot of material or being able to answer every question or objection that may arise. If we go in the Spirit, trusting the Lord and listening as He leads, we have the promise of Christ that the Spirit of God within us will teach us just what to say, depending on the situation in which we find ourselves. Don’t be surprised if, after having a conversation with a friend about Jesus, you reflect on it afterward and find yourself saying, “Did I say that?” The answer is yes and no; you said it, but the words were not your own. The Holy Spirit taught you what to say and enabled your tongue to frame the words. And when you realize that this actually happens, your fear of bearing witness will fade away, and you will eagerly anticipate, and perhaps even try to prime, the next such opportunity to slake the thirst of a lost soul with the living waters of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This is what the Spirit of God does in those who really know the Lord.
Next steps
Suppose you suddenly had an opportunity to share the Gospel with a friend or co-worker. What would you say? Make a brief outline of the Gospel as you understand it. Share that outline with some Christian friends, and ask them to help you flesh it out more completely. Then, use that outline to ask a non-Christian friend or co-worker to respond to your understanding of the Gospel.
Begin your own ViewPoint study group. Begin with this ViewPoint series, “The Effects of the Spirit.” A free PDF version is available, complete with questions for reflection and discussion which you can use to study the seven lessons in this series with others.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture references are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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