The Witness Of The Spirit

ROMANS 8:16 NKJ 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

God has a plan for guiding His children in all the questions of life.

God's primary method of leading us in matters the Bible does not specifically address, (such as which job to take or which person to marry), is the inner witness, which is a knowing communicated by the Holy Spirit to our spirit. It is not a voice, but an inner knowing.

ROMANS 2:15 NKJ 15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

Another term for the witness of the spirit is "peace."

COLOSSIANS 3:15 AMPLIFIED 15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise ....

An umpire is responsible for making decisions. Our "umpire" is the inner peace, or witness in our spirit.

1 JOHN 5:10 NKJ 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself....

One way Scripture describes the "inner witness" is "it seemed good."

This was the Scripture phrase God showed me as I sought Him concerning how to be led by the Spirit. I realized that had been the way I had determined which message God would have me preach. I would pray and seek God until, on the inside of me, it just seemed good to preach a particular message. I couldn't really explain it, but I knew it was how God was leading me in what subjects to preach.

I saw in Scripture this was also the same "leading" Luke had to write down the Gospel of Luke. And also how some important decisions were made in the early days of the Church. They described it as "it seemed good."

LUKE 1:3 NKJ 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,

ACTS 15:25,28 NKJ 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:

Obviously, an immature believer could easily use this as an excuse for their behavior, saying it just "seemed good to them." But we are not talking about something seeming good to your flesh or your mind, but to your innermost being, your spirit where God dwells (if you are a believer in Jesus Christ.)

And we must always remember that the Holy Spirit will never lead us to do anything that is not in line with God's written Word, the Bible. So, being familiar with God's Word is vital.

SAY THIS: God is helping me understand being guided by the inner witness.