Characteristic Nature of the Influences of the Holy Spirit with Reference to Personal Religion
1 John 4:1-3
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God…


I. THE CHARACTERISTIC NATURE OF THE INFLUENCES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

1. Their perfect accordance with the written Word.

2. Self-abasement under a sense of sin.

3. A faithful reliance on the covenanted mercy of God in Christ.

4. A spirit of prayer.

5. It uniformly excites in the soul a principle of love.

6. There is one other point characteristic of the influence of the Holy Spirit within the soul, to which we must advert the influential principle of holiness.

II. THE NATURE OF THIS IMPLANTED HOLINESS. It is no abstract reverie about the perfectibility of man's nature — a dream originating in a half-informed imagination. The holiness of the believer has a definite character, and a model no less authoritative than it is luminously distinct.

(E. Yoking, M. A.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

WEB: Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.




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