Unlike most jobs that have a period of training before starting, the life of the disciple (and thus his calling) starts from the moment of salvation. Thus, the training we undergo is “on the job” training. We mentioned in previous pots that the Bible was given to us, among other reasons, to serve as our training manual. If the Bible is our manual for training in righteousness, the Holy Spirit is our teacher, coach, and cheerleader.. Jesus gave us specific information on the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. . . . He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. . . . He will bear witness about me. . . . He will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 14:16–17, 26; 15:26; 16:13-14).

If you’ve read the New Testament much at all, you have read of the Holy Spirit and His work. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit lives within us. He indwells the believer from the moment of salvation. What is His function? To speak to the believer. The Spirit’s job is to guide the believer. The most important thing to know about what He does is that He always points the disciple back to Christ.

Jesus said the Helper would “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Thus, He works alongside the Bible. Often the Spirit will bring a Scripture to mind when we are in a situation and need guidance, encouragement, or correction (Is. 30:21). By implication, the Spirit will never contradict the teachings of the Bible. (There may be times when the Spirit directs us to do certain things without reference to a specific passage of Scripture, but that’s a different matter.) His mission in our lives is to glorify Christ and draw us closer to Christ.

The most common questions that believers have about the Holy Spirit are: 1) In what ways does He speak to believers? and 2) How do I know when it is the Holy Spirit speaking? (A related question to this is, “How does one learn to hear Him?”)

We can hear the Spirit.

Jesus not only assumes that we can hear the Holy Spirit speak to us, but He says that we will. He told the Jews, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). It is not so much a promise as a statement of fact on His part: “My sheep hear My voice” (meaning, “If I am part of His flock, then I will hear His voice [through the Holy Spirit].”) The world, the flesh, the devil will try to convince you that He does not speak, that you cannot hear or understand Him, and/or that you are crazy for trying. In these times, rely on Jesus’ words. His sheep hear His voice. Now that it’s settled….

The Spirit speaks….in whatever way He wants.

To try and list every way the Spirit can or does speak to the believer is to put Him in a box (and He just really doesn’t like being put in a box). However, without limiting Him, there are some primary ways that He speaks to believers.

• Through Scripture – This is by far the most often way the Spirit speaks to us. Remember that Jesus promised that the Helper would “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” He reminds us of Jesus’ teaching.
• Through people – This is another way that He often speaks to us. Whether the person is quoting Scripture or simply sharing something, often the Spirit will use that person to give us the word that we need at that time, whether it be encouragement, correction, or guidance. There are many instances in both the Old and New Testaments of the Spirit using a person to deliver a word or message to another person or a group. (This is an area where it is wise to be cautious. Not every word spoken by another person to us is of the Spirit. See below.)
• Through circumstance – Sometimes the Spirit speaks and guides through circumstance. For example, on Paul’s missionary journeys, the Spirit initially forbade them entrance into Asia (probably Ephesus and Turkey). There is no mention of a specific word or vision; the text merely says, “having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). So, Paul and his companions went down to Troas and waited (being sort of hemmed in at this point). That night he received a vision to go to Macedonia and preach the Gospel. The Spirit often closes doors by what seems to us the most mundane of circumstances. (This is another area of caution; sometimes the Spirit wants us to wait, while other times, He seeks for us to pray in faith that the door be opened.)

These are the “primary” ways that the Spirit speaks to believer, but of course, they are not the only way. God, being God, can choose to use any instrument at His disposal (even a donkey that He gives voice to!)

He that has ears to hear…..

How do we know when the Spirit is speaking? How do we distinguish His voice from all the other voices in our world? First, we must be convinced that Jesus wants us to hear Him and that we can hear Him. As we said above, Jesus has said that His sheep hear His voice. I hear the Holy Spirit’s voice. The question is, which voice is His? We live in a world of unending voices, whether it be TV, music, advertising, friends, or our own voice. So, the question really is, “How do I distinguish His voice from the rest?”

• Commitment – Once we have established that we can hear Him, we must commit to listen and obey His voice. As we commit to obeying His voice, it becomes easier to distinguish it. Conversely, if we hear and refuse to obey, the saying “light rejected is light denied” applies, meaning that it will be harder to hear His voice in the future. We must pray to keep our hearts soft and open.
• Test – The Apostle John warns us, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). Paul echoes this statement when he writes, “We . . . take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). The baseline to know whether a thought or spirit is from God is the teachings of Christ. Notice I didn’t say, “Judge it by Scripture.” There are many times where a thought or a word from another person cannot be proved or repudiated by directly referencing Scripture. However, there are guiding principles in Scripture that will help. This is one reason (among many) why knowing the teachings of Scripture is vitally important. If a thought or word is not in accordance with Scripture it should be rejected.
• Counsel – Proverbs tell us, “In an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14). God provides mature, Spirit-led people to disciple the younger in the faith. It’s important to not surround yourself with people who will just tell you what you want to hear, but what is best for you according to the Spirit. Of course, even many counselors can (and have been) wrong at times, but among mature believers, this is the exception, not the rule.
• Peace – Paul tells us, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Col. 3:15). Paul refers to peace as an “umpire.” If the thought or word from another is accompanied by peace, then it should be accepted. Without that peace, the word should be suspect.  Now, lest you misunderstand: If the word is a word of correction or a call to simple obedience, peace is not the requirement. Obedience is the requirement.

Remember that the Holy Spirit will always direct us toward Christ and away from the flesh. He will encourage us, guide us, and correct us, if only we will commit to hear and heed His voice.