Holy Spirit
Definition and Description
The Holy Spirit indwells the body of the believer at
the moment of salvation, 1 Cor 6:19-20, 3:16.
This indwelling provides the divine power to offset
the continued presence of the sin nature which also indwells
the body after salvation.
In addition to the indwelling Spirit, the Filling of the Holy Spirit
is required to provide the control and power for Christian living.
The sin nature continues its disruptive tactics and
seeks to frustrate the plan of God for the believer from the believer's
inner life. When the sin nature
controls through sin, the believer is carnal.
When good and evil control, there is backsliding (reversion).
But when the Holy Spirit controls the soul, that is the filling of
the Holy Spirit. In the life of every believer, human ability must be
superseded by divine ability.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is also a sign of
the royal family status. In the
Millennium, all believers will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
There was no indwelling of the Holy Spirit until the
Church Age. Therefore, we are
royal family to complement Christ's battlefield royalty.
We receive five additional ministries of the Holy Spirit at
salvation: indwelling, sealing,
spiritual gifts, filling, and baptism.
While some believers have been indwelt by the Holy
Spirit in every dispensation, all believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirit
in the Church Age. The
indwelling of the Holy Spirit in other dispensations was technically the
enduement of the Holy Spirit.
For example, David said, "Take not Your Spirit from me," Ps 51:11.
It is important to distinguish between the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit which is permanent, and the filling of the Holy Spirit
which is temporary depending on the use confession of sin.
When we sin we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit, but not the
indwelling of the Spirit.
While the Indwelling of Holy Spirit emphasizes the
body, the Filling of the Holy Spirit emphasizes the believer's soul.
Therefore, the sphere of indwelling is always stated as the body of
the believer,
1 Cor 3:16; 6:19-20.
Your body is the sacred building of the Church Age.
This indwelling makes it impossible for demon possession to occur.
Additional principles related to the Spirit.
We are commanded to "grieve not the Spirit," Eph
4:30.
We are commanded to "quench not the Spirit," 1 Thess
5:19.
We are never commanded to be indwelt by the Spirit
(this always exists), but to "be filled with the Spirit,"
Eph 5:18, or to be "walking in the Spirit," Gal 5:16.
The Inner Conflict Between the Sin Nature and Indwelling of
Holy Spirit.
The prior indwelling of the sin nature from physical
birth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from the new birth result in a
great inner conflict, Gal 5:17.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the principle of
victory over the sin nature, while the filling of the Holy Spirit is the
function of victory over the sin nature. The Spirit indwells to be available
to provide power; the believer makes use of that power by walking in the
Spirit.
Therefore, emphasis is placed on the baptism of the
Holy Spirit, which divorces the believer from the power of the sin nature
and marries the believer to a second husband with a new way of life.
It further provides a new marriage counselor for the new life in God
the Holy Spirit.
The inner conflict between the sin nature and
indwelling of the Holy Spirit
is portrayed in Rom 8:2-8 and Gal 5:16ff.
The sin nature has a head start at birth.
It is only overcome by positive attitude to doctrine, especially the
doctrine of rebound.
The Prophesy of the Indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, Jn
7:37-39.
It was prophesied prior to the beginning of the
Church Age by Christ. There are three spiritual uses of water, one of which
is mentioned in Jn 7:37-39.
For salvation, Isa 55:1; Rev 22:17.
For doctrine, Jn 3:5; Eph 5:26.
For the Holy Spirit, Jn 7:39.
In Jn 14:16-17 Christ again prophesied the indwelling
of Holy Spirit, "will be in you."
The Primary Objective of the Indwelling of Holy Spirit.
The primary objective of the indwelling of Holy
Spirit is the provision of divine energy to execute the Christian way of
life. This includes the
attainment of all objectives of God for your life.
Advancement to maturity and glorification of Christ
is accomplished through the filling of the Spirit and perception of
doctrine.
Perception of doctrine is the ministry of the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jn 14:26.
The Holy Spirit provided accuracy of recall through a photographic
memory for the writing of Scripture, Jn 16:12-15 cf 1 Cor 2:9-16 and 1 Jn
2:27.
Anointing and Unction are Synonyms for the Indwelling of Holy
Spirit,
1 Jn 2:20, 27.
Anointing relates the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit to the Church Age believer as a sign of the royal family of God.
The indwelling of Holy Spirit is the royal family escutcheon.
Because the royal family lives in the Holy of Holies forever, it is
important that we are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit demonstrates that we are royalty.
Anointing appoints us ambassadors for Christ.
The Distinction Between the Indwelling of Christ and the Holy
Spirit.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is both permanent
and functional, while the indwelling of Jesus Christ is the guarantee of
escrow blessing in the believer's advance to maturity.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ is also in the body and is permanent.
There is definite evidence that the backsliding
(reversionistic) believer does not benefit from the indwelling of Jesus
Christ, 2 Cor 13:5; Rev 3:20
Bibliography
(principal sources):
Braun, Ralph, “Categorical Notebooks”
Chafer, Lewis Sperry, “Systematic Theology”
Strong, A. H., “Systematic Theology”
Thieme, R. B. Jr., taped sermons and printed
materials.
For an index of topics, or information about regular
Bible studies, write to:
Grace Notes
(Warren Doud)
1705 Aggie Lane, Austin, Texas 78757
E-Mail: wdoud@bga.com
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