[Ephesians 1:13] "…You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest of your inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praises of his glory".
I’ve always had this unease when people say they “feel the Spirit” (meaning the Holy Spirit of God). How exactly do they “feel” the spirit? What do they mean? Does the sensation they are having have a numinous quality? If the Holy Spirit is really there, why do I not sense Him or “feel” Him? Although I profess all the right knowledge, am I actually a godless person because I do not feel something?
To what extent are we to called "feel" the Holy Spirit? How are we to "hear” from God? How much reliance are we to place on impressions of others? Are they really “hearing” the Spirit? Are those who somehow do not feel the spirit godless, unsaved?
Ephesians says we (Christians) are given the Spirit which is the “earnest” of our inheritance. "Earnest" is akin to the earnest money of a real estate transaction; it is the money we pay to show we intend to go through with the deal. God does this. God not only made promises, he has already concluded the deal – we have the Holy Spirit, He is the “earnest” of his transaction with us.
What God says he is going to do he does. He says he has given us the Holy Spirit therefore we possess the Holy Spirit, feel it or not. The evidence of this when the Spirit is when he:
- reveals knowledge of him (meaning God)
- opens the eyes of our understanding
- lets us know the hope of his calling
- lets us know riches of his inheritance in the Saints
- lets us know the greatness of his power toward us.
We know him if we:
- increase in knowledge of him by reading scripture, fellowship, etc,
- if our understanding seems to grow deeper,
- if we apprehend a little more each year his calling.
- if we grow in gratefulness of his gifts to us and use of us,
And if we have witnessed events that are more easily explained by the hand of God then by our own efforts or circumstances.
When we experience these things is it OK that we do not “feel the presence of God” when others say they do. We know we have the Spirit of God. We have the earnest of his inheritance.
