Lesson 7 The Work of the Holy Spirit

Lesson 7: The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of a Christian (Part 1)

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • The Bible teaches that the Father dwells in us (John 14: 23; 1 John 4: 12 -16; Eph. 4: 6) • The Bible teaches that the Son dwells in us (Col. 1: 27; 2 Cor. 13: 5; Rom. 8: 10; Eph. 3: 17) • Should it be so hard to believe that the Bible teaches that the Spirit also dwells in us? − In actuality, God dwells in us through His Spirit (Eph. 2: 22; 1 John 3: 24; 4: 13)

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • The Holy Spirit is given (as a “gift”) “to those who obey Him” (Acts 5: 32; 2: 38) − Some contend that “the gift” is a gift given by the Holy Spirit • These would suggest that the Holy Spirit is responsible for divine revelation • In it, the Spirit gave clear instructions how one may obtain the “promise” of salvation • As such, “the gift” of the Spirit is the salvation of past sins through obedience to the gospel, and the continuing spiritual blessings found in Christ (all as detailed by the Holy Spirit in the gospel) • The grammar of the Greek supports “the gift of the Holy Spirit” as being the Spirit Himself or a gift given by the Spirit – either is grammatically acceptable • While this view may be correct, the words of Peter appear to denote “the gift” as something different (and in addition to) the salvation from sins • It does not seem to coincide fully with the rest of the New Testament evidence regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit as a blessing resulting from salvation from sins

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • The Holy Spirit is given (as a “gift”) “to those who obey Him” (Acts 5: 32; 2: 38) − Some contend that “the gift” is the miraculous gift measure of the Spirit • These would suggest that “the gift of the Holy Spirit” was that which was imparted through the laying on of the apostles’ hands (Acts 8: 14 -20) • These assert that the context of Acts 2 ties “the gift” with the promise of the Spirit in the prophecy of Joel, concluding it must have been miraculous • These state that Acts 2: 38 and Mark 16: 16 -18 are parallel, and thus, “the gift” is equivalent with “the signs” imparted to Christians in the first century • Thus, this view holds that “the gift” was limited to first-century Christians upon whom the apostles laid hands and is not intended for Christians today • While this view may be correct, there is no textual evidence that anyone other than the apostles possessed miraculous gifts in the first five chapters of the book of Acts • It does not seem to coincide fully with the rest of the New Testament evidence regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit by all Christians

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • The Holy Spirit is given (as a “gift”) “to those who obey Him” (Acts 5: 32; 2: 38) − Some contend that “the gift” is the personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all faithful Christians • These would suggest that when people were told that they would “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” that the promise was reception of the Holy Spirit, to personally dwell in each child of God • These tie in Acts 3: 19 as a parallel, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” • These tie in Acts 5: 32, where it is stated that “the Holy Spirit” is the one “whom God has given to those who obey Him” • These conclude that these passages are not referring to a miraculous gift measure of the Holy Spirit but to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all Christians. • This view seems to coincide more fully with the rest of the New Testament evidence regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit by all Christians

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • There are numerous New Testament passages which teach the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in faithful Christians − John 7: 39 − Acts 5: 32 − Romans 8: 9 -11 − 1 Corinthians 6: 19 − Galatians 4: 6 − 2 Timothy 1: 14 − 1 Thessalonians 4: 8 − 1 John 3: 24 − 1 John 4: 13

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • There are numerous New Testament passages which teach the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in faithful Christians − − − Jesus promised that “those believing in Him would receive” the Spirit (John 7: 39) “God has given [the Holy Spirit] to those who obey Him” (Acts 5: 32 “The Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom. 8: 9) – the same text, “Christ is in you” (8: 10) “The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you” (Rom. 8: 11) “His Spirit…dwells in you” (Rom. 8: 11) Those who “have the Spirit of Christ…belong to Him” (Rom. 8: 9) “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you” (1 Cor. 6: 19) “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts” (Gal. 4: 6) “Keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us” (2 Tim. 1: 14) “God…has also given us His Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 4: 8) “We know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3: 24) “He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4: 13)

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • There are numerous New Testament passages which teach the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in faithful Christians − If these passages (and others like them) were referencing (and limited to) a miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit, which was only given to first-century Christians, there is not a New Testament text that makes that distinction clear • The New Testament certainly makes clear that the miraculous measure of the Spirit was limited to those first-century Christians • But the New Testament does not make that same distinction when it discusses the indwelling of the Holy Spirit • It is vitally important to understand that there is a Biblical difference between the miraculous gift of the Spirit and the indwelling gift of the Spirit

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • No passage in the Bible ever teaches that the indwelling of God is perceptible to one’s senses or that such gives anyone a certain “feeling” of His presence − Unlike the “baptism measure” and “spiritual gifts measure” of the Spirit, which • • • were miraculous measures limited to the first century, and were not bestowed on every Christian, and involved perceptible demonstrations of the Spirit’s presence, − the “indwelling measure” of the Spirit • does not involve any miraculous measures of any kind (1 Cor. 13: 8 -13), • is for all faithful Christians in all centuries (including today), • but there are no perceptible manifestations of His indwelling.

The Bible Teaches That The Holy Spirit Dwells in Every Faithful Christian • No passage in the Bible ever teaches that the indwelling of God is perceptible to one’s senses or that such gives anyone a certain “feeling” of His presence − We only know that the Spirit dwells in us because the Bible tells us so − The Scripture alone is our authority in this matter − To claim that one has a “feeling” or a “thought” or an “inclination” because of the indwelling Spirit is to make a claim beyond and without any Scriptural authority • The exact “how” of the Spirit’s indwelling is not explained in Scripture

The Bible Teaches That the Holy Spirit’s Indwelling Is Essential for the Christian • Do not misunderstand or misapply the indwelling of the Spirit − Keep these statements in the context of the fullness of New Testament revelation. − Keep these statements in the context of the “work” of the Spirit in next week’s lesson − There is a difference between the Spirit “dwelling” in and “working” in a Christian − There is also a difference between what the Spirit does “for” and “to” a Christian − These points will be examined further in the next two weeks