“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?
