Spirits (spiritual beings) communicate with each other through words. God is spirit, and man is spirit because God made man in Their image (Gen. 1:27).

On that day, God used words to reveal His expectations and blessings for Adam and Eve. The words that God spoke remained in their memory and thus they always had access to God's testimony of the truth - that they were to multiply, were to have dominion over the rich resources of God's creation, could eat freely of all trees (except one), and would die the day that they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 1:28; 2:16-17).

When the rich man and Abraham spoke in Hades, though they had no physical tongue or lips, they expressed themselves through words. By explaining why the rich man's request was impossible, Abraham bore witness to the condition of the rich man and the hope of his brothers (Luke 16:19-31). After this conversation, every time that the rich man thought about how to help his earthly brothers avoid his punishment, Abraham's testimony assured him of their only hope, without requiring Abraham to repeat himself. As long as the rich man remembered Abraham's words, the testimony of reality was with him.

In consideration of these familiar examples, we can understand Paul's statement in Romans 8:16, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." Our spirit often needs words of assurance and reassurance that our relationship with the unseen God is real. Who replies when our spirit cries out for answers concerning spiritual, unseen truths? In the pages of Scripture, the Holy Spirit has recorded words of the assurance, joy, and hope of salvation that prepare us to face the barrage of attacks from the devil (Eph. 6:11).

The Holy Spirit Assures Us of the Way of Salvation
A Christian today who hears the variety of claims made by seemingly sincere people about their salvation may begin to wonder about their own salvation. He may wonder, "I didn't say a sinner's prayer, speak in tongues, or hear God's voice in my head like my friends claim led to their salvation. Are they really saved? Am I really saved?" When someone is searching for solid assurance, modern denominations will often offer affirmation based on a personal, internal experience. But, the Christian can read or recall the witness (testimony) of the Holy Spirit Himself who directed Peter to say, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The same Spirit directed Mark to record Jesus' simple statement about two reactions to hearing the gospel, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). These words convince the Christian that he is a child of God and expose all false claims. When the religious world offers different practices and division, the Holy Spirit gives great assurance.

The Holy Spirit Assures Us of God's Willingness to Give Salvation
A Christian today who reflects on his past life of sin may wonder about the certainty of his salvation. The damage done by decades and dollars wasted on drugs, pornography, or alcohol is not easily forgotten. The memory of raising children without including Christ or by living as a hypocrite during crucial years of a family, may cause the spirits of Christians to question whether God would forgive them. When regret raises our emotions it can suppress clear thinking leaving doubt where there was once certainty. Is the Holy Spirit silent on such occasions? No! The Hebrew writer tells us that "the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us. . .'Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more'" (Heb. 10:15-17, note the present tense of "witnesses"). He daily testifies, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). The witness of the Holy Spirit is clear - those who once walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries can today live the rest of their time for the will of God (1 Pet. 4:1-3).

The Holy Spirit Assures of the Reality of Truth and Salvation
As our society returns to vain philosophies common to people of the past, Christians are constantly challenged by unbelievers who view faith as belief in anything unseen, whether what is unseen exists in reality or not. These skeptics claim that belief in Christ is void of evidence and is the result of a culture's influence, not a Creator's revelation. Christians who are not yet equipped to give a defense of the gospel may find themselves doubting the reality of sin, the necessity of salvation, or the veracity of the Bible. What makes the faith of a Christian different from the faith of a pagan, Buddhist, Muslim, or Mormon?

The same Holy Spirit who moved prophets to speak of sin, salvation, and exclusive truth, also foretold future events and moved the prophets to write their prophecies for all mankind of the present and future to find. They told of a scepter coming from Judah (Gen. 49:10), a branch growing from the roots of Jesse who would be born of a virgin and bruised for iniquities (Isa. 11:1; 7:14; 53), a kingdom that would be set up by God during the days of the kingdom following the Grecian empire and never destroyed (Dan. 2, 8), and a ruler born in Bethlehem Ephrathah coming from eternity (Mic. 5:2). Neither the writings nor "prophets" of paganism, Buddhism, or Mormonism can produce a single prophecy that matches the nature of the prophecies sent by Jehovah. The Holy Spirit's work in revealing these words which abide forever, bears witness and fruit today assuring saints who search the Scriptures that these things are so, and therefore the claims of skeptics and false prophets are empty (1 Pet. 1:23; Acts 17:11).

This same work assures the young person who one day realizes that he must search out the things that he was raised to believe. Is his faith merely the faith of his parents or would he believe the same things by a study of the Scriptures if he was not taught the gospel from his youth? The common phase of questioning one's faith need not result in faithlessness when young, honest hearts grope for the God who is not far from them (Acts 17:27). Their faith can be refined, reassured, and renewed by the word revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:5). Here, He "witnesses to us" (Heb. 10:15).

The Holy Spirit Assures of the Value of Salvation
Suffering for the gospel always tests the faith of the saints. Today our suffering usually involves social pressure. In the first and second centuries, saints suffered both social exclusion and physical persecution. The books of Hebrews and 1 Peter were written because Christians were in danger of letting go of their eternal hope when they suffered for their faith. Some were wondering, "Is the faith of Christ worth paying the price of persecution?" The Hebrew writer reminds them that the Holy Spirit confirmed the faith by signs, wonders, and miracles and thus, it was an insult to the Spirit of grace to abandon the blood-bought covenant (Heb. 2:3; 10:29). These Christians, whose faith wavered, were given warnings of judgment and punishment to alert and reassure them of reality. They were also reminded that they had come to the assembly and church of the people registered in heaven, whose registration and reservation were incorruptible and undefiled (Heb. 12:23; 1 Pet .1:4). Based on this assurance, we often sing, "Heaven will surely be worth it all. Worth all the sorrows that here befall. After this life with all its strife, heaven will surely be worth it all"!1 Maybe it was a similar song that Paul and Silas sang in the Philippian jail, while uncertain of what additional physical suffering was to come (Acts 16:23-25). If we ever face the same opposition, we have the same Spirit witnessing with our spirit that we are children and heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ and therefore have a great inheritance (Rom. 8:17).

Conclusion
God could have chosen many messengers to deliver the gospel of salvation, but both the Father and Son entrusted this vital work to the Holy Spirit. We may not fully appreciate this assurance until one of Satan's attacks makes us reexamine the reality of our salvation. God uses Satan's attacks to strengthen our faith as the Holy Spirit witnesses to us through His enduring words, settling our faith and hope on the Rock. Indeed this is blessed assurance, our story and song all the day long.

David Halbrook has preached regularly since 2003 and currently works among the church of Christ in Quail Valley (Batesville, AR; QVCOC.com). He can be reached at davidhalbrook@hotmail.com.