The Holy Spirit

 

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.”  -Romans 8:9

“Are you sanctified?”  I asked.  “What do you mean sanctified?” an honest response.  “Do you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?”  I followed.  Then came their follow up: “What is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?"

It is entirely possible that many people around us are never prompted to explore the meaning behind the words “the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”  Perhaps some, are outwardly (or inwardly) asking “what is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?”  Or “what do they mean by sanctified?”  While we, I, continue completely unaware that the word is tragically foreign to them. So, what is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?  In the first place the Holy Spirit is not tangible or natural.  He cannot be seen.  He cannot be bottled, manufactured, or marketed.  He is a person.  The third part of God the Father and God the Son.  Like the wind, He does not go where He is not sent and does not stay where He is not welcome.  He is God.  He is Christ, and He testifies of Jesus Christ.  He reproves sin and makes holy that which He baptizes.  He makes holy wherever He abides.  He is called in scripture the: Holy Ghost, the Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of God, Living Water, the Spirit of Truth.  He is the second coming of Christ.  The fulfillment of Jesus’s prophecy that he will come again and receive us unto himself.  The Holy Spirit is the establishment of the New Testament church, and the keeper of the New Testament Christian.  He is why we can live holy.  When the Holy Spirit shows up, things happen, they change, you change, you take on the character of the Holy Spirit, which is holiness.  You die to the old way of living, which is sinfulness, and you are raised into a new life of righteousness.  No one can go to heaven without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is what invades a willing heart and purges out the “want” to sin.  Furthermore, it implants a seed of love in your heart; love towards God and man, perfect love; true holiness: Sanctification.  It is Jesus on the inside; it is why I believe we can live without committing a willful transgression against God, because the Holy Spirit can keep us from sin.  Christ promised he could, he would and then sent the Holy Spirit to give us the power to live free from sin.  Our will is God’s will as long as we yield to the instruction of the Holy Spirit. 

“Indwelling.”  The Holy Spirit is not like a house cat.  He does not go and come on a whim.  He will abide, but he will not stay where he is not welcome.  He will not enter where he is not invited.  If you can imagine your heart as a throne room, where the ruler of all your desires can be found, on that throne sits the devil if you are not sanctified (meaning you don’t have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit).   Only when you, with all sincerity: repent of your sins, and ask God to send the Holy Ghost to throw out the devil and take the throne; only then will he come.  He will come, he will dwell, and he will guide, if you are obedient.  He will change your desires and make your heart and life anew.  What a blessing! What peace! What a comfort! What a joy to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Do you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?