The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
I remember while at IBC we would get in the halls of the school and debate about all kinds of topics. It was kind of fun and in a way it taught me a lot about people and even made me dig into the scriptures to know how better to "win the argument." That was important to me then.
One of the hottest topics of that day is still a huge topic argued amongst us. It was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The question was, "Did he indwell us literally or only through the word of God?"
Like so many subjects, I came to the subject with preconceived notions that really skewed my beliefs.
1. If the Spirit indwelt the Christian, then it must follow that I believe in miracles (and everybody knows that miracles have ceased) was my way of handling it. Can any of you relate? 2. I came to believe the "in the word only" theory. It was safe. I could believe in the indwelling without all the miracles.
3. Later I came to believe that the Spirit indwelt the Christian, but He really didn't do anything. This too was safe. I didn't have to believe in the miracles or any outward manifestation of the Spirit. This was a comfortable place to be and really was just a watered down version of what the scriptures say.
I have recently been preaching a series on the Holy Spirit and am amazed at how prolific the Spirit is throughout the scriptures. I have discovered so much and now believe that there is much more than what I have believed concerning the Spirit that is available to us today. I do not pretend to have all the answers, but want to begin to delve deeper into the Holy Spirit of God and learn what He is to do in our lives.
One thing I do know is that the Spirit does dwell within the Christ-follower. Without Him there is no life. Listen to these passages.
(Romans 8:9-10 NCV) "But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. {10} Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God."
(John 7:39 NCV) "Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit."
(1 John 3:24 NCV) "The people who obey God's commands live in God, and God lives in them. We know that God lives in us because of the Spirit God gave us."
(1 Corinthians 3:16 NCV) "Don't you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
One of the hottest topics of that day is still a huge topic argued amongst us. It was the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The question was, "Did he indwell us literally or only through the word of God?"
Like so many subjects, I came to the subject with preconceived notions that really skewed my beliefs.
1. If the Spirit indwelt the Christian, then it must follow that I believe in miracles (and everybody knows that miracles have ceased) was my way of handling it. Can any of you relate? 2. I came to believe the "in the word only" theory. It was safe. I could believe in the indwelling without all the miracles.
3. Later I came to believe that the Spirit indwelt the Christian, but He really didn't do anything. This too was safe. I didn't have to believe in the miracles or any outward manifestation of the Spirit. This was a comfortable place to be and really was just a watered down version of what the scriptures say.
I have recently been preaching a series on the Holy Spirit and am amazed at how prolific the Spirit is throughout the scriptures. I have discovered so much and now believe that there is much more than what I have believed concerning the Spirit that is available to us today. I do not pretend to have all the answers, but want to begin to delve deeper into the Holy Spirit of God and learn what He is to do in our lives.
One thing I do know is that the Spirit does dwell within the Christ-follower. Without Him there is no life. Listen to these passages.
(Romans 8:9-10 NCV) "But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But the person who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ. {10} Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God."
(John 7:39 NCV) "Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet been raised to glory. But later, those who believed in Jesus would receive the Spirit."
(1 John 3:24 NCV) "The people who obey God's commands live in God, and God lives in them. We know that God lives in us because of the Spirit God gave us."
(1 Corinthians 3:16 NCV) "Don't you know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
posted by Keith Davis at
11:20 PM
4 Comments:
Wow! I really hate we missed yesterday! Sounds like it was a great day at Creekside! But we had a blast at Falls Mill and the boys have never had so much fun in their lives! It was a wonderful refreshing weekend! Looking forward to being back next Sunday!
Laura :)
By
Anonymous, at 10:21 AM
Ahhh, so this is the continuation of the discussion we started Friday night at Glenwood. I'm glad you posted this, b/c I wanted to hear more about it but we had to cut the conversation short. On another note, I have completed enough of our church's new website, www.chisholmhillschurch.org, that it is posted publicly for viewing. I still have a lot to add but I wanted you to know that I am giving folks your blog address as an example of what a blog is and how it works. When you have time please encourage Charles to use his new blog space as a ministry tool. He is new to it but I know he will quickly see its value in His service. - Randall
By
Anonymous, at 10:38 AM
Wish I could hear the series. I'm a "diagram" person and this particular subject is hard to fit on a diagram.
Keep on preaching it Brother.
By
cwinwc, at 12:15 PM
keith,
i recall the days at ibc. jim massey (of precious memory) taught a strange doctrine regarding the Spirit. stephen broyles taught a much more holistic view. others like david underwood sort of sought that safe but hallow ground of "indwelling but unemployed."
yet, as you pointed out, the scriptures are laced with the Spirit (even in the "Old" Testament as some call it).
if you are intersted in some fairly radical restoration thoughts on the Spirit then I recommend chapter 4 of my book with john mark hicks, Kingdom Come. james a. harding held a profound and refreshing doctrine of the Holy Spirit. i do believe you will scratch your head and ask ... did he really believe that? the answer is "yes."
the Spirit is alive, well and EMPLOYED.
shalom,
bobby valentine
By
Stoned-Campbell Disciple, at 3:04 PM
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