Learning to Abide in Your Christ Given Identity Sample

Day 4 The Holy Spirit 

Abiding in Christ isn’t a one-and-done proposition. It’s a process that you learn over the course of your entire lifetime. When you become a Christian, God loves you too much to allow you to stay where you are, pursuing your sinful habits. He intends greater revelation and transformation for you as you learn to abide in your identity in Him, but you can’t do this on your own. An amazing gift that God has given us as we abide in our true identity in Him is the person of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus introduced us to the Holy Spirit and said He would be in us and with us as well as empower this process of sanctification. The Holy Spirit helps you to live in your new identity in Christ. Today’s devotion will be a little different. I have put fewer words in here and a lot of scripture. My purpose in this is to introduce you to how much the New Testament talks about the person of the Holy Spirit and His role in our lives. 

There are volumes written about the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives, but here are just a few verses of many that speak to the power of the Holy Spirit. 

• First John 2:27 describes the Holy Spirit teaching us and applying God’s Word to us as we abide in Christ. 

• John 14:16–17 calls the Holy Spirit a “Helper.” The word “Helper” can also be translated as an advocate, intercessor, strengthener, standby, counselor, and comforter. I hope you are starting to see the significance He plays in a person who abides in Christ. 

• John 16:12–15 explains that the Holy Spirit will reveal truth and God’s glory to us. 

• Acts 1:8 is Jesus telling us we would be empowered to be His witnesses by the Holy Spirit. 

• First Corinthians 2:9-16 talks about all the wonderful things God desires to reveal to us and the Holy Spirit is the one He says would do that. 

• Romans 8:14-17 shows us that we have the Spirit of adoption and the witness that we are children of God. The Holy Spirit Himself is that witness to us. 

• Ephesians 1:13-14 says we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise and He is the guarantee of our salvation. 

• Galatians 5:22-26 gives us the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. You cannot just mass produce these manifestations. They come as a direct result of His presence in your life. 

• Second Corinthians 3:17-18 talks about where the Spirit of the Lord is there are freedom and liberty. This freedom produces a transformation of our hearts and minds into the image of Christ. Talk about an aid to abiding in your identity with Christ. 

• First Corinthians 12:1-31 talks about the gifts of the Spirit that are given to each member of the Body of Christ for the glory of God. God wants to transform you and impart His gifts to you so that you can share His love with others. 

I encourage you to open God’s Word for yourself and study these verses, as well as others about the Holy Spirit, in order to understand what a gift you have in the Holy Spirit and how He can help you abide in your true identity. You will need the Holy Spirit to help you understand exactly what this righteous identity is because it’s so easy to misunderstand. 

Pick a handful of the verses or thoughts we shared and use the STAR Journal Method to process through. 

#1 Scripture Read/Promise Given/Question Asked

Read the verse and/or question. Pause and prayerfully meditate on what is being said, read, or asked.

#2 Thought Conveyed

Write down what this means to you to clearly understand the question, Scripture thought, or promise. Make it personal to get the most out of it.

#3 Application Made

How does this teaching apply to me right now? How does this apply to my leadership context?

#4 Response Given

What can I do to immediately apply this to my life? How should I respond/react to this promise or instruction now and long-term?