Before Jesus died on the cross for our sins, He promised that after He had died, risen again, and ascended to heaven, He would send the Spirit to be with His people. In John 14:16-17, Jesus is talking to His disciples, when he says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. …you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
Jesus promised that when He left, His Spirit would be sent to live inside Christians.
When we believed the gospel, and trusted Jesus to save us, that’s when we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. If you are a Christian, then the Bible calls you God’s temple because “God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). As children of God we literally possess the Spirit of God with us.
He has been given to us so that we can know who God is and how to follow Him. Often He will speak to us in our minds by giving us a thought or an idea. Or He will lead us by making an impression upon our heart to say something, do something, or think something according to His will. It’s important to recognize that the Holy Spirit will never speak anything to us that doesn’t align with scripture. If it conflicts with anything in the Bible, then it is not from the Spirit of God.
Like Jesus said, the Spirit will be with us forever. Therefore as Children of God we can have confidence that He will never leave us or let us down as we choose to follow Him all our days.
