|
Introduction: 1. The fact that the Holy Spirit is not giving
miraculous spiritual gifts today has led some to erroneously
conclude that Christians have no relationship to the Holy Spirit.
a. This is
just as faulty as saying “because Christ isn’t on the cross
today, Christians have no relationship to Him. “
b. Both
Christ and the Holy Spirit have completed some of Their works, but
that argues nothing concerning Them having no relationship with
Christians. 2. The Holy Spirit dwells in Christians, Romans 8:9.
To deny this fact is to deny the Bible.
a. It is
not a question of "if" but "how." How does the
Holy Spirit dwell in us?
b. We must
let the Bible speak. Our opinions and think-so's are no more
valuable here than those of the professing tongue speakers of the
previous lesson. 3. Let us quickly dismiss two things as not
being the indwelling of the Spirit.
a. The
baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the indwelling of the Spirit.
Holy Spirit baptism was very limited, there being only two
examples of it in the Bible.
b. Having
the miraculous gifts of the Spirit is not to be considered the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. All the saints at Rome had the
indwelling of the Spirit, Romans 8:9, yet some did not have
spiritual gifts, Romans 1:11. The Lesson:
I.
What is the real issue on the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit?
A. It is
not a question of "if."
The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit dwells in
Christians. Furthermore,
the Bible teaches that the Father and Son also dwell in
Christians!
1. Our
bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
2. The
church is spoken of as the temple of God, 1 Corinthians 3:16.
3. The
Spirit of God dwells in Christians, Romans 8:9.
4. Paul
spoke of how Christ may dwell in your hearts, Ephesians 3:17.
5. God,
the Father, said, "I will dwell in them,” 2 Corinthians
6:16-18.
6. All
these passages, and many more, make it clear that Deity dwells in
the believer in some way.
B. It is a
question of "how."
1. Does
the Holy Spirit (and the other persons of Deity) enter into and
literally inhabit the body of a Christian? Or, is the word
"dwell" used in another sense? Does the Holy Spirit
dwell in us through some means rather than directly? 2. If He literally inhabits believers, what does He do for a
Christian as a result of this bodily indwelling that is not
accomplished by means of His revealed word?
3. If He
literally inhabits us, what does it do to the Divine Person of the
Holy Spirit when He is divided up into parts and is parceled out
to the bodies of believers?
II.
A distinction between the "Person" and
"Presence" of Deity.
A. The
Holy Spirit is a person of Divine Nature. Personhood requires
individuality, and individuality demands locality, and locality
necessitates separation and distinction.
1. God,
the Father, is a Divine Person, and is seated on His throne in
heaven, Revelation 4:2-3; 7:10.
2. Jesus,
the Son, is a Divine Person, and is seated at the right hand of
the Majesty on high. Like the Father, He is in Heaven, Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 12:2;
Revelation 3:21.
3. The
Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, and is before the Father's throne
is in heaven, Revelation 1:4; 4:5; 16:17.
B. The
"Presence" of God is found in many places where his
"Person" is not.
1. God's
Presence may be found in different places simultaneously although
His Divine Person (the eternal Being Himself) is in heaven.
a. God
called Moses from the burning bush, Exodus 3:4, yet He did
it through an angel, Exodus 3:2. God's presence was there
in a special way, yet God Himself was in heaven.
b. God's
presence was in the temple at Jerusalem, 1 Kings 8:12-13.
Yet, God was not literally on earth, 1 Kings 8:27-30.
His person was still in heaven.
2. Christ
promised to be present with His disciples, Matthew 28:20,
yet no one believes His Divine Person is with them when they
gather in assemblies, etc.
a. Through
the medium of worship we know we have fellowship with Him.
We have an awareness of His presence through service to
Him. Yet we know His Divine Person is at the right hand of God, Hebrews
4:14-16.
3. If both
the Father and Son can be present without being in person, why
cannot the Holy Spirit do the same?
C. The
word "dwell" does not necessitate a literal indwelling
of the Person.
1. "Dwell"
is often used of control.
a. Paul
spoke of how sin may dwell in a man, Romans 7:17-20.
b. John
spoke of the truth which dwells in us, 2 John 2. c. How is "dwell" used in Revelation 2:13?
d. Don't
these references show that "dwell" can be used of
control and influence?
2. In the
sense of control or influence, both the Father and Son dwell in
us.
a. God,
the Father, dwells in us, 2 Corinthians 6:16;
1 John
4:12-15; 2 John 9.
b. Christ
dwells in us, Colossians 1:27;
Ephesians 3:17; Galatians
2:20.
c. Do
any of these references imply that the Father or Son are
personally inside our bodies? We understand these verses to speak
of our relationship with Deity, but not that the Persons of Deity
are literally inside of us.
d. We
may say of a son, "I can see his father in him."
We do not mean his father is literally inside of him, but
that the influence of his father is evident in his life.
3. The
premise of this lesson is that the Holy Spirit dwells in us in the
same way the Son and Father dwell in us.
Through means of control and influence the Spirit is said
to dwell in us. The
means of control and influence is the word given by the Holy
Spirit.
III.
The Holy Spirit dwells in us by means of His revealed
word.
A. The
Bible itself is not the Holy Spirit, but the agency through which
He operates. 1. An illustration: A man says he chopped down a tree. Did he do it with his bare hands, or did he use some means to do it? What means might he use?
2. An illustration: A man flies from Houston to Nashville. Do we conclude he flapped his arms, or that he used some means? What means might he use?
3. The application: The Holy Spirit operates in our lives. He directs us and dwells in us; does He do it directly, or by some means? What means does He use? See Ephesians 6:17 for help.
4. The
Spirit directs our lives by the revealed word. Compare these two
verses. Notice that the contexts seem to be parallel. Ephesians
5:18. "...be filled with the Spirit." Colossians
3:16. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you..."
B. When we
are obedient to the Spirit's word, it is then that we are
controlled by the Spirit.
1. We are
said to be born again when we obey the truth that was given
through the Spirit, 1 Peter 1:22-23.
2. When we
obey the word given by the Spirit, we bear the fruit of the Spirit
in our lives, Galatians 5:22-23. C. What does the Spirit do within us that is not accomplished through His word? Look at the two lists below. The center section shows that what the Spirit does, the word is also said to do.
IV.
When we are obedient to the Spirit's word, fellowship
exists between God and man.
A. The
dedication of Solomon's Temple will help us understand how Deity
dwells with man.
1. Solomon
built a house for the Lord to dwell in, 1 Kings 8:12-13.
a. Are
we to understand this to mean that God was personally and
literally inside the temple?
b. How
should we compare this to the temple of Dagon?
Dagon was the god of the Philistines. Dagon dwelt in a
house, 1 Samuel 5:1-5. Was their a difference between how
Dagon and God dwelt in their temples?
2. Solomon
explains in what sense God dwelt in the temple. It is not in a
literal sense, 1 Kings 8:27-28.
3. He
would dwell there in the sense that His eyes
would be open toward that place; His name
would be there; He would hear
the prayers made there; yet He would hear
in heaven, His dwelling place, 1 Kings 8:29-30.
4. God
responded to Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 9:3.
The new temple was described as holy;
God's name was to be
there forever; His eyes
and His heart would be there perpetually.
5. These
things described in 1 Kings 8, 9 tell us what is meant by
"dwell in." What was done in the temple was done by the
authority and approval of God; therefore, God's heart (concern)
would be with His people; His eyes (watch care) would be upon
them; they would be regarded as holy; He would claim them as His
own and hear their prayers. B.
Does not the New
Testament say the same thing about how Deity dwells in us?
1. God's name
is upon believers, James 2:7;
Colossians 3:17.
2. God's eyes
are over the righteous, 1 Peter 3:12.
3. God's ears
are open to the prayers of the righteous, 1 Peter 3:12.
4. God's heart
is with His people, John 14:23;
Hebrews 13:5-6.
5. God’s
holy people belong to
Him, 1 Peter 2:5, 9;
Hebrews 3:1.
6. All the persons of
Deity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) dwell in us in the same way.
It is unreasonable to argue that the Holy Spirit dwells in us in a
different fashion.
7. Why do
men want to make a distinction on the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit when the Bible says essentially the same thing about how
all three dwell in us? Conclusion: 1. The language used by the Bible in the charts above
indicates that a relationship exists between believers and Deity.
a. When
Deity is said to dwell in us, it indicates a relationship has been
established between heaven and earth, wherein the man on earth is
submissive to the will of heaven.
b. Heaven's
blessings are upon that man as he submits his life to God. 2. Any view of the indwelling of Deity that divides
God, Christ or the Holy Spirit into parts must be rejected.
a. If we attempt to
divide the Holy Spirit into parts and distribute Him personally to
thousands of believers, then we have destroyed the very concept of
personal identity. Could a human be divided up into parts and be
scattered over the earth and still be the human person? b. Whatever explanations we give to the indwelling of the Spirit, we can accept no explanations which call for a destruction of His being as a person. Unless we see the difference between the person of the Holy Spirit and His indwelling (or control in our lives) we will only contribute to the confusion that already exists regarding the Holy Spirit.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
