The guarantee of the Holy Spirit is our inheritance.

Eph 1:13-14 AMP  "In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and [as a result] believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit [the One promised by Christ] as owned and protected [by God]. [Joh_7:39; Act_2:33]  (14)  The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of God's own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory."

Many times in this blog, I have forcefully and unapologetically proved that believing the gospel is our obedience. It is not easy to do as those who cry "easy believism" would like to have accepted. They are way off the path, and have missed the true message of the gospel. God wants us to believe that he is a loving Father that has redeemed us and wants us to be at peace with Him. In fact, I have stated often that peace with God, based on justification by faith, is the catalyst for transformation, It gives us the transformative power of love. God's love for us, promotes deep and abiding real love for Him. The gospel of grace is the factor that allows us to obey the first and greatest commandment. It is to love the Lord God with all our heart, with all our might, and with our whole being. The truth of the gospel message is the only thing that can bring about real love for God free from fear.

It is the Holy Spirit that allows us to believe the gospel and thereby love God wholeheartedly. This is the reason that the Holy Spirit is the seal, the guarantee, the pledge, the foretaste of our inheritance. The fact is that once one hears the gospel of grace, believes it with the aid of the Holy Spirit, then one has the Holy Spirit as a constant companion eternally. That's right. You cannot lose or alienate the Holy Spirit. While you may grieve it, you cannot lose it. The Holy Spirit is the comforter, the teacher, the advocate, the paraclete.

Look at what Jesus tells his immediate followers about the Holy Spirit. Joh 16:7 NET  "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you." and  Joh 16:13 NET  "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak whatever he hears, and will tell you what is to come." Yes, the Holy Spirit is a constant companion. After his baptism, the Holy Spirit was Jesus constant companion as he walked on the earth in the flesh. He always believed the Holy Spirit as it was his link to the mind of the Father and likewise, the Holy Spirit is our link to the mind of Christ. Paul told the Philippians to let the mind of Christ be in them. Of course, the way to accomplish that is to listen to the Holy Spirit.

So then, how can you know that you are listening to the Holy Spirit? The answer is simple, very simple indeed. The Holy Spirit will always speak about the things that promote the fruit of the Spirit. Of course that is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness and self-control. The Holy Spirit will promote these within the individual. The Holy Spirit will not condemn. The Holy Spirit will not scold. The Holy Spirit will not punish. After all the Holy Spirit is also called the comforter.

Once again, I like the way the NET Bible interprets this passage. Joh 16:8-11 NET  "And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong concerning sin and righteousness and judgment –  (9)  concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;  (10)  concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer;  (11)  and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned." So many people erroneously say that the Holy Spirit convicted them of this or that. They are absolutely wrong because they have wrongly understood what Jesus was saying. Jesus was speaking of the religious world of Judaism when he used the term world. That will take an entire blog post to prove that but for now, just accept it as I am completely confident that the evangelical definition of the world is completely erroneous.

He is going to prove the religious authorities wrong about their understanding and practice of sin, righteousness and judgment. The author of Hebrews equates sin and unbelief as interchangeable throughout his letter. Sin is unbelief as it was in the garden. Now, the ultimate sin is not believing that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Likewise, the religious authorities were wrong about righteousness. Humanity was righteous because God had declared them righteous (Gen 1:31.) And they were wrong in their judgment because the ruler of this world, Satan had been judged (Rev 12:10-12.) I suggest that you read that passage in the NET Bible. When God raised Jesus from the dead, Satan was judged at that very moment. He thought that through the first Adam he could bring death and separation between God and humanity, but alas, the LAST ADAM, put him to open shame when he rose victorious over death.

That dear friend is the "truth" that the Holy Spirit will convince us of if we but open our hearts, minds, ears and eyes.