As we continue our series of studies of the Holy Spirit of God, we move to what would be considered by most the most controversial subject among brethren regarding the Holy Spirit: The Indwelling. I will share with you my understanding of this important topic which has been molded and changed as I have studied it over the years. I understand that some who hear this lesson may not agree with the view I will give in this lesson (there are many good, faithful brethren who disagree with me on this). I do not believe if you disagree with me about the Indwelling that you are in danger of being lost, but I do believe that if you take the view I will oppose in this lesson that you will miss many of the blessings that we receive from the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
If you are one of those people, I would be more than willing to sit down with you and to hear any arguments that you may want to share that you think I have not considered regarding this issue.
WHAT IS NOT DEBATED:
One thing that is not debated when it comes to the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the fact that the Spirit dwells in us. The issue that is debated is “how” He dwells in us. Anyone who would deny that the Spirit dwells in us at all could only arrive at such a view by disregarding clear passages of scripture that teach otherwise. Some examples include:
• John 7:37-39 “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
• 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, 22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
• 2 Timothy 1:14 “14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
These verses (amongst many others I could give) show the fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in us in some way. The big question we must ask is “how”? How is it that the Holy Spirit dwells in us as God’s people? There are three possible views that I know of that try to answer this question:
1. The Holy Spirit indwells the Christian SEPARATE and APART from the word. Some believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in every Christian in a distinctly miraculous way, separate from the influence that comes through hearing and believing the Word. This indwelling is alleged to be evidenced through manifestations of His presence through signs, gifts, and inspiration. In this way enlightenment comes through the prompting of the Spirit. This is given precedence over the revelation that comes from the Holy Scriptures. There is NO credible evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in this manner today. (I will attempt to respond to this view in a later lesson)
2. The Holy Spirit dwells in us ONLY through the word. This position believes that it is through the Word of God that the Holy Spirit “figuratively” indwells the Christian. This indwelling is said to be a “representative” indwelling in that it denies the premise that the Holy Spirit actually indwells the body of the believer. As we fill our minds with the word of the Spirit, trust in His promises, enjoy the Spirit’s blessings, and obey the word, the Spirit “dwells” in us. My question for those who hold this view is this, “Where is the passage of scripture that teaches this position?” I do not know of one. This is not to say that arguments are not given to try to prove this position (I will deal with a few of the arguments in a moment). But there is just not a passage that says that teaches the premise; that the Holy Spirit dwells in us ONLY through the word I believe this position (although well intentioned) is guilty of something that I tried to encourage us at the beginning of these lessons not to do: to overreact to false teachings on the subject. I believe that the belief that the Holy Spirit dwells in us ONLY through the word is an overreaction to the false belief that the Spirit dwells in us in some miraculous way, and I believe it can be proven that this position had its beginnings at times in which the first position was gaining strength. Positions one and two seem to be the two extremes that one can take on the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I believe the truth is in the middle.
3. In conjunction WITH the word. This view holds that it is through the Word of God (the gospel of Christ) that one is convicted of sin and converted to Christ. However, it is the Spirit of God that is working in this process to save and transform the Christian (Titus 3:5), which we saw in our prior lesson on the Spirit’s role in conversion. One is saved by obeying the commands of God revealed in His Word (Heb. 5:8-9). The Spirit gives new life to this person in the name of Christ. And it is from the Word of God that we learn that the Spirit indwells our bodies beginning at conversion (Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor. 6:19). Without the Word of God there would be no indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the believer. Without the revelation of Scripture we would not even know the Spirit dwells in us (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19 … “or don’t you know”). From my studies, I believe that this is the view which is supported in scripture about the Indwelling.
Let’s take some time for a moment to examine two of the main arguments of those who hold the belief that the Holy Spirit ONLY dwells in us through the word:
THE SPIRIT DOES WHAT THE WORD DOES
This argument attempts to show the parallels that we see in scripture regarding the Spirit and His word, and they argue from these parallels that since both the Spirit and the Word do these things, this means that the Spirit ONLY dwells in us as the Word of God dwells in us. Some examples of passages they would use that show these parallels:
• The Spirit Instructs (Nehemiah 9:30) and the Word instructs (2 Timothy 3:16-17);
• The Spirit teaches (John 14:26) and the Word teaches (John 6:45);
• The Spirit convicts (John 16:8) and the Word convicts (Titus 1:9);
• The Spirit gives new birth (John 3:5) and the Word gives new birth (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23);
• The Spirit revives us (John 6:63) and the Word revives us (Psalm 119:50);
• The Spirit guides us (John 16:13) and the Word guides us (2 Timothy 3:16-17);
• The Spirit sanctifies us (1 Cor. 6:11; Rom. 15:16) and the Word sanctifies us (2 Thess. 2:13; John 17:17)
• The Spirit washes and comforts us (1 Cor. 6:11) and the Word does also (Eph. 5:26 / 1 Thess. 4:18)
This list could go on and on. There are at least 15-20 things that we are told in scripture that the Spirit and the word of God both do. I do not deny that this is what these passages show. The question I ask is, “how is it that showing these parallel passages proves that the Spirit ONLY dwells in us through the Word?” These lists only show that the Spirit and the word do some of the same things. No one should disagree with this fact. We should not be surprised that there are verses like this that show these parallels, especially considering what we saw in our last lesson on how the Spirit uses the word in bringing us to Christ. This was seen in the last lesson with the illustration of the mechanic and his tools. The mechanic is the one who is working. The mechanic is the one who gets the credit, not the tools. Those who hold this “word only” view are separating the mechanic from his tools, saying that the tools do all the work without the mechanic. These parallels show that the Spirit uses the word of God as one of His main tools in bringing us to Christ and molding us to desire the will of God and be more holy in our lives. But it doesn’t prove that the word is the ONLY way in which the Holy Spirit dwells in us.
Also, there is one point that can be made that show using these kind of charts does not prove that the Spirit ONLY dwells in us through the word. If there is even one thing that is done by the Spirit that is not done by the word, the premise of these kinds of charts (that whatever the Holy Spirit does the word does, equating the Word and the Spirit) is void! Remember the view is that the Spirit ONLY dwells in us through the Word. We can give at least four passages that show us things that the Holy Spirit does that the word of God does not do:
1. The Holy Spirit seals us (Ephesians 1:13). Scripture does not teach that the word does this. This passage teaches that after you hear the gospel we are sealed with (not by) the Holy Spirit of promise.
2. The Spirit is our earnest/guarantee/down payment (2 Corinthians 5:5)
3. The Spirit aids us in our prayers and makes intercession for us (Romans 8:26-27). This passage is in the context of teaching on the indwelling of the Spirit, which I will show shortly.
4. The Spirit (who dwells in us) yearns jealously (James 4:5). You cannot make sense of this passage from the “Word ONLY” view. The word of God (which dwells in us) does not become jealous when we open up other books, when we sin, etc. But scripture does teach that the Spirit (who indwells us) does become jealous, and also can be grieved, insulted, and blasphemed in other passages.
Where are the passages that teach that the word does these things? I do not know of any! The premise that the Spirit only does those things which the word does today is not true.
THE SPIRIT DWELLS IN US THE SAME WAY AS THE FATHER AND SON DO
The second main argument given by proponents of the word only view is that the Holy Spirit dwells in us the same way as the Father and Son do. The argument goes as follows:
• Does Scripture Teach That The Father and Son Dwell In Us? YES
• Once We Find Out In Scripture How The Father And Son Indwell Us, Then We Will Know How The Spirit Indwells Us
• Does the Father LITERALLY Dwell In You? NO
• Does the Son LITERALLY Dwell In You? NO
• Then This Proves That The Spirit Does Not Literally Indwell The Believer
A
s you go down through this argument, it seems like a logical argument. But there are two problems that I see with this argument:
1. Where is the passage of scripture that teaches the premise? (that the spirit must indwell us the same way as the father and son do) This argument assumes what it needs to prove. It is a good argument only if you can first show that the Spirit dwells in the Christian in the SAME way as the Father and Son do. Scripture does not teach the premise.
2. Scripture teaches that the Father and Son dwell in us through the Holy Spirit.
a. “No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:12-13).
b. “This is His commandment: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us” (1 John 3:23-24).
c. “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).
These are the main two arguments that are given for the “word only” view. Both arguments don’t hold up when compared to scripture. One other argument that I know of that they use to prove their position is:
• The word indwelling is used to refer to a “close relationship,” not a “literal” dwelling within (My loved one who is not here is here with me in spirit; they are in my heart”. In my opinion, this interpretation may explain some passages dealing with the indwelling, but it falls way short in explaining the majority of the passages. (I will interact with their opposition to the literal indwelling later)
PARTAKING OF THE SPIRIT IS NOT THE SAME AS PARTAKING OF THE WORD OF GOD
There is one last passage I would like to look at before I show the passages which teach the Spirit indwells the body of the believer:
“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance” (Hebrews 6:4-6).
I believe this passage, when taken at face value, shows that there is a difference between partaking of the Holy Spirit and partaking of the Word of God. It seems to me that being enlightened, tasting of the heavenly gift, partaking of the Holy Spirit, tasting of the word of God, and tasting the powers of the age to come are separate blessings that we enjoy as God’s people. If not, why not?
THE SPIRIT HIMSELF WAS PROMISED TO CHRISTIANS
Now to the passages which show that the Spirit Himself is given to us to literally dwell with us. First, I believe it is important to show that we are told in the Old Testament prophets that the Spirit Himself would be given to us. We looked at these three passages in our lesson on the Spirit’s role in conversion.
• Ezekiel 36:26-27 “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.”
• Ezekiel 37:13-14 "Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. “I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life”
• Isaiah 32:15 “Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is counted as a forest.” (cp John 7:38-39)
When these passages are taken at face value, they tell us that the Spirit will be put within us by God to give us life and regenerate us. This happens when we obey the gospel. These passages do not teach that when we obey the word of God that the Lord puts the word of God within us to regenerate us! The Spirit Himself does that work when He is put within us when we obey the gospel.
JESUS PROMISES THE SPIRIT HIMSELF WILL BE GIVEN
• "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper , that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. 18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:15-18).
The promise that Jesus gives is clear: The Spirit will abide with you and He will be with you forever! He did not stay until the word was given and then go back to Heaven. He is still on the earth today, and He dwells within the people of God today as Jesus promised He would.
• “Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39).
Jesus in this passage promises the Spirit to all those who believe. Those who believe in Christ would receive the Spirit. Why not take this passage at face value?
WHERE DOES SCRIPTURE SAY THE SPIRIT DWELLS?
• Romans 8:10-11 “And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
This text talks about Jesus dwelling in us and the Spirit dwelling in us interchangeably, which makes sense considering that Jesus dwells is us through the Holy Spirit. This passage seems clear to me that the physical body is under consideration in this passage as to where the Spirit resides.
• 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, "THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH." 17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”
In this context, what activity is the apostle seeking to stop? Fornication. In Verse 13 Paul says, “the body is not for fornication.” Whose body is under consideration? Your bodies (that of the Christian: v13, 15). Is this a “physical” or a “figurative” body? Physical. What does verse 19 say the Holy Spirit is in? “You”/ “your body.” What argument does Paul make to convince us that we should not commit fornication with our bodies? “Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you” (vs. 19).And finally, Paul makes the argument in this text, “Be holy BECAUSE the Spirit dwells in your body.” He does not make the argument, “Be Holy SO THAT the Spirit will dwell in you or dwell in you more (word only view).”
OPPOSITION TO THIS VIEW
Those who hold the “word only” view have some point of disagreement with this view.
• If the Holy Spirit literally dwells in the body of the believer, doesn’t this mean that God becomes incarnate? And wouldn’t this mean that when Jesus became incarnate, then was given the Spirit, that this was a double incarnation? I believe this question shows a misunderstanding of what scripture means when it talks about God being incarnate. What the incarnation means in scripture is that God literally becomes a human being; God takes on flesh.
• Having the Spirit means that you must work miracles? Why? This is not necessary. John the Baptist had the Holy Spirit but worked no miracles (compare Luke 1:15 & John 10:41). He was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb (obviously NOT through the word because he could not yet hear and understand it!), but he worked no miracles.
• Does the literal indwelling view “split up/divide the Spirit”? Since the Spirit is omnipresent, His presence can be anywhere He wants it to be. Why can't this include the physical bodies of believers, especially when scripture says this is the case (1 Cor 6:19-20)?
WHEN DO WE RECEIVE THE SPIRIT?
• At Conversion
– Acts 2:38 We receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at baptism
– Acts 5:32 We receive the Holy Spirit when we obey God (Obey the Gospel?)
– Titus 3:4-5 We are washed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit when He is poured out on us abundantly.
Do you have God’s Spirit dwelling in you? If you do not have the Spirit, you do not belong to Christ and you have not been yet made alive.
“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness” (Romans 8:9-10).
