ICS Daily Devotions
The Inward Witness

1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

As Christians, if we want to learn how the Holy Spirit leads us or speaks to us, we must be open to learning about spiritual things and the work of the Holy Spirit. Prior to being saved, spiritual issues would have been difficult to understand because the things of the Spirit are spiritually discerned. However, after being born again and having our conscience cleansed by the blood of Jesus, we become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit and will begin to comprehend spiritual matters. We will also become increasingly conscious that God indwells us through the third person of the Godhead. To better hear the Holy Spirit, a good foundation of the Word of God is necessary; without it, we will have difficulty discerning whether what we are receiving from the Lord is accurate.

No amount of intellectual education can help our finite minds grasp the things of the Spirit of God because we need to use the spirit man to discern. This is why we must have a good balance between teaching of the Word and understanding the function of the Holy Spirit.

The spirit man longs for and loves to worship God. Our spirit is eternal, it is the “real us” at the core of our being and the Holy Spirit leads us through our spirit man.

Romans 8:14,16 (NKJV) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God…The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit, and not with our mind, that we are the children of God. We need to learn what “bearing witness in the spirit” means, because this is how the Holy Spirit guides those who have been born again. It is when we instinctively “know something on the inside” – an inward knowing – which is not received externally from our physical senses, but directly by our spirit from the Holy Spirit. It comes as an inward urge or prompting which lets us know what we should do in a particular situation or area of life. It might be an uncomfortable feeling in our spirit that we should refrain from doing something or going in a certain direction – “red light” or “yellow light”. Or it may be a good, comfortable feeling in our spirit that we should do something or go ahead in a certain direction – “green light”. It is not hearing words or a voice inside, but an inner perception, intuition or knowing that “this is it”! That is the inward witness.

Sermon Series: How to be led by the Holy Spirit in your daily life?