THE HOLY SPIRIT (#4)
Good morning, as once again we bid you a pleasant welcome to our
study of the scriptures. This is "What Saith the Scriptures," an
in depth study of God's Word, the book we call the Bible. It is my
prayer that each listener has an honest and sincere heart, one that
is intent upon doing what is found upon the pages of Holy Writ. If
one approaches the study of the Bible with a prejudiced heart, very
little will be accomplished. The Bible must be allowed to state its
own cause, to teach us, if we are to be benefited by such studies.
For the past three broadcasts I have been studying with you the
important theme of the Holy Spirit. Last week we studied "How one is
led by the Spirit." The conclusion of God's Word is that one is "led
by the Holy Spirit," when we accept what the Spirit has said, because
it is through words that the Holy Spirit teaches us. Let us pursue
the subject a little further.
We have seen in our previous studies that the Holy Spirit is a
Person. He is a Divine Person. He motivates solely and only by means
of the inspired word which He gave through the writers of the New
Testament almost 2000 years ago. But, someone says, "Are there not
passages which assert that the Holy Spirit dwells in us?" And my
answer is yes, there are passages that state that very language.
Romans 8:9, states, "But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you..." Galatians 4:6,
reads, "And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son
into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father." 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Know ye
not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you?" There is then, a sense in which the Holy Spirit dwells in
us. Who would deny this in view of these passages? But, do these
passages tell us the manner or mode of such indwelling? Do they tell
us how the Spirit dwells in us? NO!! They assert a fact, but they do
not indicate how it is accomplished. Do these passages teach us that
the Holy Spirit dwells in us personally? NO!! Literally? NO!!
Bodily? NO!! Abstractly? NO!! What do these passages tell us, then?
They simply say that the Holy Spirit dwells in the Christian. Must it
be concluded then that it must be literally, personally? We have
already seen through the past three weeks that the Holy Spirit works
through and by the revelation of the message which He revealed. As we
allow His Word, or message to enter our hearts, the Holy Spirit
guides and motivates us to do the will of the Father. Thus, we are
led by the Spirit, and the Spirit dwells in us in exactly the same
way, through His message, through His Words.
But, the objection is heard, "You do not really believe that the
Spirit is in us at all." I believe that the Spirit is in us in
exactly the same sense that God, the Father is in us. Does God dwell
in us? The scripture says, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the
Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God" (1 John 4:15). Does
God dwell in us? The scriptures teach that He does. But, how does
He? Does Christ Jesus dwell in us? The scripture says, "Christ in
you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). God's Word says that
Christ dwells in us. But, how does He? The scriptures teach that,
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit dwells in
the Christian exactly the same way in which the Father dwells in us;
exactly the same way that the Son dwells in us. Not in a literal,
bodily sense, but through their Word, through their teachings,
through their message.
I have not heard anyone who actually teaches that God the Father
is literally and actually in our bodies. He is said to inhabit us
"through the Spirit," because it is through the revelation of the
Holy Spirit, in the word, that His will is known and followed. Hear
the apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:22, "in whom ye also are builded
together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." No one believes
that our Lord, Jesus Christ, has left Heaven and returned to the
earth and literally, actually, and personally enters the bodies of
all of his followers. Nonetheless, Paul states that Christ is in us.
He is, indeed; but not literally. He is in us, as His teaching enters
our lives, and His characteristics can be seen in us. So, likewise
the Holy Spirit is in us; not literally, or actually, but through His
teachings He enters our lives and His characteristics can be seen in
us by the way that we conduct ourselves, the way that we live.
It is indeed a strange doctrine that says the Father and the Son
are in us, dwelling is us, representatively; yet, the Holy Spirit
dwells in us actually, bodily. It is a doctrine that results from the
misunderstand of the personality of the Holy Spirit. One person,
though he may be in another by his teaching and influence, cannot
literally inhabit another. And we have already seen that the Holy
Spirit is indeed a person; a Divine Person; the third person in the
Godhead.
Let us notice another aspect just here. In the case of Jesus,
Deity literally and actually inhabited human flesh. The gospel of
John states in chapter 1, verse 1, "In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Then in verse 14,
we read, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we
beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father),
full of grace and truth." It was entirely proper and in order, yea,
obligatory, that people worship Him. He was not worshipped because he
was in a sinless human body; he was worshipped because He was Deity,
personally and actually present in the flesh. Christ accepted
worship. It was proper to worship Him. Those who recognized Him for
whom He was, did indeed worship Him. If the Holy Spirit is actually
and literally in children of God today, as is now being taught by
some, why is not the Holy Spirit, also Deity, equally entitled to
worship? Jesus in the flesh was entitled to worship. Why is not the
Holy Spirit, if He is indeed in the flesh, entitled to worship also.
If the Holy Spirit is bodily in the fleshly life of someone today,
why would it not be proper to worship that person. And if the Holy
Spirit indwells all Christians literally and actually, why are not
all Christians to be worshipped? To ask the question is to answer the
question. Of course, such would be wrong. Nevertheless, if the
Spirit literally inhabits a person today, such would be permitted.
NO, the Holy Spirit does not personally and literally indwell the
Christian today. He indwells the child of God through His Word,
through His teaching. And each person who has the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit will speak the same things that others who have the
indwelling of the Spirit will speak. Paul states, "Now I beseech you,
brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus, that ye all speak the
same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be
perfected together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1
Corinthians 1:10).
"But," someone says, "Was not the gift of the Holy Spirit
promised to all who repent and are baptized, as stated by Peter in
Acts 2:38?" By this, the questionnaire is concluding that the gift of
the Holy Spirit is the direct, literal, indwelling of the Spirit.
But, is that what the gift of the Spirit really involves? We have
seen that the Holy Spirit is a person. Are you telling me then, that
the gift of the Holy Spirit is the person of the Spirit that enters
into the body of everyone who repents and is baptized? There are at
lease two cases in the book of Acts that show that such is not the
case.
In Acts, chapter 8, we learn of the Samaritans, who, "when they
believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women"
(Acts 8:12). Here are some men and women that heard, believed and
were baptized. According to Christ in Mark 16:16 and to Peter in Acts
2:38, these men and women were saved from their past sins. And yet,
they did not receive the Spirit. Beginning in verse 14, Acts 8, "Now
when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who,
when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive
the Holy Spirit: for as yet it was fallen upon none of them: only
they had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid
they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." reading
through verse 17. To "receive" the Spirit then means a miraculous
measure thereof. The Samaritans were saved by their obedience to the
truth of the revealed message of the Holy Spirit. But, the miraculous
measure of the Spirit was received by the laying on of the apostles
hands, the only way that miraculous gifts were bestowed. To insist
otherwise is to abuse and misuse this passage. If the reception of
the Spirit, apart from the word, always follows obedience to the
gospel, as some would teach today; since the Samaritans had obeyed
the gospel, they had received the Holy Spirit. And yet, we have it on
the testimony of inspiration, that such did not occur. It follows
then, that the reception of the Spirit does not necessarily follow
the obedience of the gospel. The miraculous aspect of the Spirit was
received through the laying on of the apostles hands.
Another example clearly agrees with what has been stated. In
Acts 19:1-6, we read, "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was
at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to
Ephesus, and found certain disciples: and he said unto them, Did ye
receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? and they said unto him,
Nay, we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given.
And he said, Into what then were ye baptized? And they said, Into
John's baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of
repentance, saying unto the people that they should believe on him
that should come after him, that is, on Jesus. And when they heard
this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when
Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied." Here is another example of
those who heard, believed, and were baptized. According to the
promise of our Savior, they were thus saved from sins. But, these
saved men, twelve in number, had not received the Holy Spirit. Upon
these men, Paul laid his hands, and they received the miraculous
aspect of the Holy Spirit, as manifested by the speaking in tongues
and prophesing. You will note once again, that the reception of the
Holy Spirit came through the laying on of the hands of an apostle.
And might I say, that is the only way that the miraculous aspect of
the Holy Spirit was ever received -- through the laying on of the
hands of the apostles.
Do we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Indeed we do. It
is through the acceptance and obedience to the truth of God's Word,
the message of the Holy Spirit. Do we have the miraculous aspect of
the gifts of the Holy Spirit today? No, there is no longer any need
for these gifts in our lifetime. But, since our time has once again
escaped us, we must leave this subject for our next study. Be sure to
be with us next week. Get you tape recorder ready. Get your Bibles.
Get your pen and paper. "Come let us study together, thus saith the
Lord." And now we bid you a very pleasant good morning.
(Much taken from a tract by Guy N. Woods,
"How The Holy Spirit Dwells in the Christian")
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