Spiritual Gifts Resource Center Questionnaire Gift Placement Grid

The Spirit Beareth Witness With Our Spirit

"The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:16).

"To them that believe, Christ is precious. His Spirit moving upon the mind and heart of the believer is in perfect agreement with that which is written in the Word. The Spirit and the Word agree perfectly. Thus the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are born of God." (IHP, p. 144)

"The Master has called you to a work, and this work is to seek and to save that which is lost. Overwhelmed with a sense of your possibilities and probabilities, I awoke at a very early hour, and commenced my writing. You need to hold communion with God. Unless your soul is uplifted to Him, and you lay all your wants before Him, you will not feel that courage, that strength, and that sustaining hold upon His precious comfort and power that will bring His peace into your soul. Say to yourself, if I have not a broken and contrite heart, I shall not experience the promise: �For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" (14MR 275.2).

"Faith is yours to exercise as the gift of God. You need not fluctuate between hope and fear and despondency. Be assured that as you approach God, you will as surely know that He is drawing nigh unto you, to nourish, and encourage, and enrich your soul. Trust the Lord as if the blessing were already in your possession. "If any of you lack wisdom," He says, "let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord" [James 1:57-7]. If the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, what is the result? The believing soul comes into perfect submission to the will of God. The Majesty of heaven condescends to a holy, familiar intercourse with him who seeks God with the whole heart, and the child of God, through the abundant manifestation of His grace, is softened into a childlike dependence. You must commit your soul and body unto God with perfect trust in His power and willingness to bless you, helpless and unworthy as you are. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (MR vol. 14, p. 276)

"The Word of God gives the description of a true Christian, which corresponds with the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart and life. The children of God know at once they have the evidence in their own hearts that they are born of God. He that "will come after me," says Christ, "let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" [Mark 8:34]. It means depth and breadth of experience to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. Self-denial and self-sacrifice will always be found in the path that leads through the strait gate to the broad meadows of the Lord's pastures. To them that believe, Christ is precious. His Spirit moving upon the mind and heart of the believer is in perfect agreement with that which is written in the Word. The Spirit and the Word agree perfectly. Thus the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are born of God." (MR Vol. 21, p. 23)

"The man who finds in his heart no resemblance to the great moral standard of righteousness, the Word of God, has no Christ to confess. His language, his thoughts, are not in harmony with the Spirit of Christ. His profession of faith is a counterfeit one. Do you ever find cream rising on water? The soul must have the vivifying influences of the breath of life from Christ in order to reveal in his conversation that Christ is formed within, the hope of glory. Men never gather grapes from thistles. The words of a Christian will be in accordance with his enjoyment of Christ. Those who are perpetually talking doubts and demanding additional evidence to banish their cloud of unbelief do not build on the Word. Their faith rests on haphazard circumstances; it is founded in feeling. But feeling, be it ever so pleasing, is not faith. God's Word is the foundation upon which our hopes of heaven must be built. Discouraged doubters, how can you expect to find your heart glowing with the love of Christ; how can you expect His joy to remain in you and your joy to be full, while you are meditating and feeding upon your own imperfect characters? Says Christ, "If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" [John 14:23]. Do you believe Christ tells the truth? If you do, talk faith, talk hope, talk courage." (MR Vol. 21 , p. 23,24)

"It is not enough to say, "I believe;" we must exercise the living faith that claims the promises of God as our own, knowing that they are sure and steadfast. The enemy of our souls would be glad to steal away these precious promises from us, and cast darkness before our eyes, so that we should not be able to appropriate the good things that God means that we shall have. God is waiting to do great things for us as soon as we come into a right relation with him; but if we hold ourselves in doubt and unbelief, the enemy can keep the control of our minds, and intercept the promises of God. Unbelief always results in a great loss to our souls. It was said concerning one place where Christ visited, "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Christ cannot work in our behalf if we do not manifest faith in him. We should train our souls to have faith in God. But instead of this, how many there are who educate themselves to doubt. I have heard testimony after testimony in meeting in which there did not seem to be one word of genuine faith, but which cast a shadow over the whole congregation. It is not God's will that we should be in this position. Brethren and sisters, it is our privilege to walk in the light, as Christ is in the light. He is at our right hand to strengthen us, and he tells us that greater works than he has done shall we do, because he goes to the Father. He is ready to impart unto us the rich blessing and grace of God." (1888 materials, pp. 119.120)

"Rest yourself wholly in the hands of Jesus. Contemplate His great love, and while you meditate upon His self-denial, His infinite sacrifice made in our behalf in order that we should believe in Him, your heart will be filled with holy joy, calm peace, and indescribable love. As we talk of Jesus, as we call upon Him in prayer, our confidence that He is our personal, loving Saviour will strengthen and His character will appear more and more lovely. . . . We may enjoy rich feasts of love, and as we fully believe that we are His by adoption, we may have a foretaste of heaven. Wait upon the Lord in faith. The Lord draws out the soul in prayer, and gives us to feel His precious love. We have a nearness to Him, and can hold sweet communion with Him. We obtain distinct views of His tenderness and compassion, and our hearts are broken and melted with contemplation of the love that is given to us. We feel indeed an abiding Christ in the soul. We abide in Him, and feel at home with Jesus. The promises flow into the soul. Our peace is like a river, wave after wave of glory rolls into the heart, and indeed we sup with Jesus and He with us. We have a realizing sense of the love of God, and we rest in His love. No language can describe it, it is beyond knowledge. We are one with Christ, our life is hid with Christ in God. We have the assurance that when He who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory. With strong confidence, we can call God our Father" (Letter 52, 1894).