The Indewlling Spirit

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” NASB

The fact of the indwelling Spirit is not revealed through any experience whatsoever; nevertheless that fact is the foundation upon which all other ministries to the child of God must depend. It is impossible for one to enter into the plan and provision for a life of power and blessing and ignore the distinct revelation as to where the Spirit is now as related to the believer. It must be understood and fully believed that the Spirit is now indwelling the true child of God and that He indwells from the moment the believer is saved. (1) The Bible explicitly teaches this, and (2) reason demands it in the light of other revelations. He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

Most of us before and after our salvation feel helpless in this world. Let face it, life can be overwhelming sometimes. But Christians must contemplate our helplessness and consider carefully the emphasis given to this truth in the New Testament to become aware of the greatness of the gift which provides the indwelling Spirit. From the beginning, the early Christians knew this to be a sign of their new estate and many were amazed that God would provide such a wonderful gift to the Gentile people. Although the Bible explicitly tells us in Acts 11:17, “Forasmuch, then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?”

We all (Jew and Gentile) now receive the Holy Spirit upon salvation as He lives within us; whereby men of the Old Testament were at one time merely “overshadowed” with His presence. These men of old, were given revelation by God through His Spirit but He never indwelled men of old, but only for short periods of time (such as writings of the Old Testament, messages and warnings spoken in God’s behalf to the people and to His prophets, priests, and kings) We now have all the ministries of the Spirit in this age known as the Church Age.

Think about this. We live in one of the greatest times here on earth. Although the world may throw things at us now and again, we have God who resides in us, in His personage as the Holy Spirit. We have something men never had prior to Pentecost. For thousands of years, men would listen to those who were overshadowed by God’s Spirit and then sought to strive to lead a life of holiness without the Helper! Now each one of us in this age, who know Jesus as Savior, have the Spirit of God living in us and He gives us power to live our lives; a life of holiness. It is now possible to do things we know our ancestors never had, and it all began when we trusted Jesus as our Savior!

Think about this aspect as Christmas quickly starts to wind up and share the love of God with someone who needs all the help they can get. Only God can provide every help they need this season. Remember, people experience more pain and suffering during this time of the year than ever. As they struggle missing their loved ones or finances, share with them the love and indwelling power He seeks to share with them this holiday season. Then they too can have all the ministries ready and available to them via the Holy Spirit!

The Minstry of the Spirit in Mankind

“And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” (John 16:8-11)

When God begins to deal with the world, He begins with the people within it. God deals with the heart of man and allows him to see the endless mercy He extends to forgive the sinner in his present condition. Here are three ministries which the Spirit of God is involved:

(1)   “The Spirit enlightens the unsaved with regard to one sin only; ‘of sin, because they believe not on me.’ (John 1:29) The full judgment of sin has been taken up and completed at the cross. Hence a lost man must be made aware of the fact that, because of the cross, his present obligation to God is that of accepting God’s provided cure for his sins. In this ministry, the Spirit does not shame the unsaved because of their sins; but He reveals the fact of a Savior, and One who may be received or rejected.

Because of this ultimate gift, the sinner has nothing to worry about with respect to his future judgment of his shortcoming with God. God has made a way of escaping the wrath that is waiting his future with God. God is not in the business of shaming anyone, but merely allowing the person to see there is a way out of their sinful life and the future judgment. God has allowed this way of escape which has been perfected through His Son Jesus Christ’s blood.

(2)   The Spirit illuminates the unsaved with respect to righteousness and that ‘because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more.’ How can a sinner be made right in the eyes of a Holy God? It will not be by any attempted self-improvement. There is a righteousness for him from God, which is unto all and upon all who believe. It is foreign to the wisdom of this world that a perfect righteousness can be gained by simply believing, and believing on an invisible Person who is at the right hand of God; yet every lost soul must, in some measure, sense this great possibility if he is constrained to turn to Christ from self.

Just trying to become a better person will not allow us to enter Heaven. There is no self-help way for a person to become better that could help them escape the wrath that is waiting on man. This only comes by the intervention of Jesus Christ. This forgiveness is given through a simple and humble act whereby a person in simplistic faith trusts in the saving power of God.

(3)   So, also, the Spirit, in this threefold ministry, illuminates the unsaved concerning a divine judgment which is already past; ‘for the prince of this world is judged.’ By this illumination the unsaved are made to realize that it is not a problem of getting God to be merciful in His judgment of their sins: they are rather to believe that the judgment is wholly past and that they have only to rest in the priceless victory that is won. Every claim of Satan over man because of sin has been broken, and so perfectly that God, who is infinitely holy, can now receive and save sinners.” (Col. 2:13-15) He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

When we come to the point and recognize that the act of God is to adopt us into His family, we can have full assurance that the future battle of God against sin is already won. No more do we have to wait in anticipation as to whether or not this future battle is won. It is already finished! Because of this future victory we can live a victorious life knowing that God has already given us victory over our sins because of the perfect sinless gift of Jesus Christ!

Take the time this season to share this message of hope with someone you love and care about. It truly is the meaning of the season…

The MInistry of the Spirit in Restraining

2 Thessalonians 2:6–7 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (NASB)

“It is evident that it is the Spirit of God who hinders Satan’s man and Satan’s projects until the divinely appointed time. There is no hint that Satan will withdraw, or be removed out of the way before this “man of sin” can be revealed; but there is a sense in which the Spirit will be removed. That particular relationship or Presence which began with the Church and has continued with the Church will natural cease when the Church is removed. As the Omnipresent One, the Spirit will remain, but His present ministry and abode in the Church will have been changed. The Spirit was in the world before Pentecost; yet we are told that He came on that day as had been promised. He came in the sense that He took up a new abode in the Church - - the body of believers - - and a new ministry in the world. This ministry will cease when the Church is gathered out and His abode will be ended when His temple of living stones is removed. Thus it may be concluded that His going will be but the reversal of Pentecost and will not imply His entire absence from the world. He will rather return to those relationships and ministries which were His before this dispensation began.” He That is Spiritual, L. S. Chafer.

In this present age you and I live within is known as the “Church Age.” We have the presence of the Holy Spirit’s and His ability to restrain certain evil in this world. It is though, only by the sovereignty of God, what is restrained and what is not. One day however, that purposed protection for the world will no longer be present and the “man of sin” will be revealed. But be encouraged to know that God is the One who knows the time and purpose for the revealing of the “man of sin.” He (the man of sin) cannot appear until God Almighty allows him. We as the “Church” will leave this present earth and be taken through the Rapture and spend our time with the Lord Jesus. When this occurs, as Chafer says, the Spirit will also leave this earth with His “living stones” (those who know the Lord Jesus as Savior). Just because we leave this earth doesn’t mean we lose the Spirit’s indwelling of our lives. This doesn’t mean either that the Spirit will totally leave this earth. To do so would limit God’s omnipresence, thus limiting His ability to be God. This also allows the Holy Spirit to save men during this terrible time of the Tribulation when men will eventually have to bow to the throne of Satan and his Anti-Christ or perish. During this time the forces of darkness will be allowed to come and display their final judgment upon men.

I like the way Chafer laid the course of the Holy Spirit’s ministry here on earth. He states in the Old Testament the ministry of the Holy Spirit was seen throughout the Scriptures as He worked through men of old; however never completely indwelling them. He overshadowed them at periods of time, but never came to live within each. This didn’t happen until after Pentecost. Once Pentecost arrived, men received the indwelling Spirit of God from that day forward. Then after the Rapture, the Holy Spirit will return to His former state as before Pentecost. He explains it in systematic process which makes good sense.

But does it all sound pretty doom and gloom today? To those who reject the saving power of Jesus, this is only the beginning of the terrible story which will lead into eternal suffering and pain. For those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, it is only the beginning. The beginning of bliss and eternal glory with our Savior… forever! Do you know Jesus today as your Savior? I invite you to trust Him as such. He will change your life forever!