November 1 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him" (Rom. 8:9).

Devotional

The Spirit of Christ is the great Convincer of sin. "He will convict the world concerning sin" (John 16:8). Have you thus received him? Has he made known to you the moral leprosy of your nature, the exceeding sinfulness of sin? Do you know anything of the conflict of which the apostle speaks in the seventh chapter of this Epistle to the Romans—the law of the mind in battle with the law of the members? And has this discovery led you to self-condemnation, to self-renunciation, to lay your mouth in the dust before God? If this is so, then the Spirit of Christ is a Spirit of conviction in you, and by this you may know that you are Christ's.

The Spirit of Christ leads to Christ. He is to the sinner what John was to the Messiah. He goes before as the Forerunner of the Lord's salvation. He prepares the way, and heralds the coming of Jesus into the soul. This was one specific object for which he was sent, and which entered essentially into his mission—to lead men to Christ. Has he led you to Christ? Can you say, Christ "became to [me] wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Cor:1:30)? What do you think of Christ? Is his blood precious to you? Does his righteousness give you peace? Does his grace subdue your sins? Do you in sorrow travel to his sympathy, in weakness take hold of his strength, in perplexity seek his counsel, in all your steps acknowledge and wait for him? Is Christ thus all in all to you? Then you have the Spirit of Christ.

We say this for your encouragement. You may resort to Christ, and there may be no perceivable apprehension, no realizing touch, no manifested presence. Yet, if your heart goes out after Jesus, if your spirit travels alone to him, praying for his sympathy, panting for his grace, thirsting for his love, and you are led to say, "Lord, the desire of my heart is to your name and to your remembrance. I do not seem to see you, to touch you, to apprehend you; yet I come, and I dare not, I could not, stay away"—then, dear reader, you have the Spirit of Christ, and are Christ's.

Not only does the Spirit lead to Christ, but he also conforms those thus led to the image of Christ. He guides us to Christ, not for consolation and instruction only, but also for conformation. If you are humble, you have the Spirit of Christ—for he was humble. If you are meek, you have the Spirit of Christ—for he was meek. If you believe, you have the Spirit of Christ—for he lived a life of faith. If you love God, you have the Spirit of Christ—for he was the incarnation of love. If you are holy, you have the Spirit of Christ—for he was without sin. If you are obedient, meek, and self-denying in suffering, silent in provocation, submissive in chastisement, patient in tribulation, and rejoicing in hope, then you have the Spirit of Christ, for he was all this.

Thus the possession of this immense, this indispensable blessing, comprises two grand things: first, to become the subject of an actual and permanent indwelling of the Spirit; and second, to be conformed in character and disposition to the Savior. And while it is most certain that if the first-mentioned blessing is attained, the second follows, yet it is to the second that you are to look as the fruit and evidence of the first.

"Am I Christ's?" The answer hinges upon the answer to the question, "Do I have the Spirit of Christ?"

Come, Holy Spirit, come;
let thy bright beams arise;
dispel the darkness from our minds,
and open all our eyes.

(Joseph Hart, 1712–1768)

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2011.