I have a weird question about the Holy Spirit. I’ve been basing my assurance of salvation on whether I can tell if I have the Spirit of God in me. I seriously can’t tell a difference between now and before I repented as far as peace of mind and joy. I can tell the truth of scripture is something I believe that I didn’t believe before. There’s been a lifestyle change as far as sin is concerned. But my mind is confused a lot with ocd like thoughts. And there is sporadic peace and joy.
Something I regret doing at the earliest stages of my repentance is I participated in being “slain in the Spirit”. I didn’t understand anything yet, and I faked falling back. I worry that I sinned against the Holy Spirit this way.
Anyone want to respond?
The "Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God," Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome (
Romans 8:16). This "witness" isn't a mere sense, a feeling, but the life and work of the Spirit in evidence in your life in the way the Bible describes. The Holy Spirit will:
1.) Convict you. (
John 16:8; Revelation 2-3)
2.) Teach you from God's word. (
John 14:26; John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10-16)
3.) Strengthen you. (
Romans 8:11; Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 2:13; Philippians 4:13)
4.) Comfort you. (
2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
5.) Transform you. (
Romans 8:29; Galatians 5:22-23)
6.) Discipline you. (
Hebrews 12:5-11)
Can you see God the Holy Spirit doing these things within you? If so, you can be confident you are one of God's children.
"Perfect love casts out fear," the apostle John wrote (
1 John 4:18). There is nothing that is more powerful in dissolving our fear than the settled confidence we have as God's children in His incredible, enduring, patient, faithful love for us. The more we not only know but
believe that God loves us, the less fearful we will be. And the more His Spirit fills us with himself, with the love that he is, the less room there is in us for fear to exist. As God's children live in humble submission to God, in faith believing that He loves them far, far, far beyond the love of anyone else, the Holy Spirit moves as the "living water" that he is into every region of their life and occupies them with all the good things that He is: love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, etc. (
Galatians 5:22-23). As this happens, the Christian person is set free from the bondage of fear.
Nowhere in God's word does the phrase "slain in the Spirit" appear. No one in the New Testament was so slain, nor did Paul, John, James, Peter or the writers of the Gospels teach such a thing. The only folk in the New Testament who behaved anything like those "slain in the Spirit" today were those who were
demon-possessed.
Mark 9:17-20 (NASB)
17 And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;
18 and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."
19 And He *answered them and *said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"
20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
So, beware. Confine yourself to what God's word says, not to the direction of those who would urge you into beliefs and practices that are actually from paganism, like the "slain in the Spirit" stuff.
. 
