The Holy Spirit is the Father’s gift to those who crave the presence of Jesus in their life. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus remains with us and in us.
If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:15-18)
The “anointing” refers to the presence and operation of God in one’s life through the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples to “abide in Him.” (John 15:4) We remain and grow in Christ through our receptivity to what the Holy Spirit would teach us.
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. (1 John 2:27)
Jesus indicated that His sheep were those who were hearing His voice. Likewise, those who follow the leading of God’s Spirit are His children.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:14)
Jesus is called the Christ (i.e., the Anointed One) because of the presence and operation of the Holy Spirit in His life.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18)
The Holy Spirit leads us into situations where our obedience is tried and proven to God.
And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Being forty days tempted of the devil … (Luke 4:1,2)
When we pass these tests, the power and operation of the Holy Spirit increases in our life.
And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. (Luke 4:13,14)
The world cannot understand the leading of the Holy Spirit in the life of a child of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:12-16)
We have the “mind of Christ” because the Holy Spirit teaches us everything Jesus would teach us if He was physically with us.
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:25,26)
The Holy Spirit’s leadership in our life is an ongoing process. Through Him, God teaches us all He wants us to know.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth … (John 16:13)
The Holy Spirit teaches us to know and do the will of God and positions us to be upright before Him.
Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. (Psalm 143:10)
The Holy Spirit’s focus is not on external religious activity. He seeks to establish us as citizens of God’s kingdom who exhibit internal change.
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17)
The results of being led by the Spirit (i.e, “walking in the Spirit”) are called the “fruit of the Spirit.”
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) (Ephesians 5:9)
By walking in the Spirit we are kept from fulfilling the unrighteous desires that characterized our life before we met Christ.
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:19-26)