The Promise of the Indwelling Spirit

Transcript

GR 392
3/1/1981
The Promise of the Indwelling Spirit
John 14:16,17
Gil Rugh

John chapter 14 in your Bibles. John’s Gospel and the 14th chapter. We've looked down through the first 15 verses of this chapter where Jesus has instructed His disciples to prepare them for His departure from earth. It’s going to be a traumatic adjustment for the disciples during that time when Christ is crucified and His resurrection. And that time of instruction leading up to His ascension in Acts chapter 1. He has encouraged them in their faith to believe in Him, to believe in His Father, to believe what He has said, to take the works as a testimony substantiating what He has taught them, what He has said about Himself. So they can have full confidence in Him. Even in the events that are going to take place—His arrest and crucifixion—that their faith need not be shaken because what He said is true. And the miracles that He did substantiate the testimony that He gave concerning Himself.

In verse 12, He gave an encouragement that they themselves would do greater works than He has done, and it is connected with the fact that at the end of the verse that He is going to the Father. And we noted that this does not refer to the fact that the disciples would do greater miracles of healing, etc. than Jesus did because they do not do greater miracles than Jesus did. They do not do more in number than Jesus did. But rather, the emphasis is on the spiritual ministry that they will have as they proclaim the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God will take that message and use it to transform lives. As we study the Book of Acts, we see the response to the disciples’ message. It’s a great response. Thousands of people come to believe. During Jesus' earthly ministry, the response was not nearly so great. But as a result of His death and resurrection, as a result of the Spirit's ministry in their lives (as we’re going to talk about today) they carry on a greater spiritual ministry, bringing about the transformation in many lives. Also, He encouraged them in verses 13 and 14 regarding their prayers, that whatever they would ask the Father, anything they ask consistent with the character of Christ, in line with glorifying the Father, as obedient children of God, they can have. And for a believer, that is no restriction because I can have anything I want consistent with the character of Christ that is glorifying to God that flows out of my obedient walk with Him. And really, do I as a believer want anything outside of those confines? Not really so. I can have whatever I want as His child living as He would have me live.

We noted verse 15 is key here. "Those who love Him keep His commandments." Love demonstrating itself in obedience. Repeated through the Gospel of John, repeated through other portions of the New Testament that love is obedience and love manifests itself in obedience, and those who love Christ are those who are obedient to Him. And if you don’t love Him, you don't obey Him. If you don't obey Him, you don't love Him. It follows through that prayer is a vehicle for those who love Jesus Christ, those who are walking in obedience to Him. Obeying and keeping His commandments does not refer, as we noted, to the Old Testament or the Mosaic Law and the commandments given there. But rather to the instruction that Jesus Christ gave during His earthly ministry. Now foundational to what He has been saying is the ministry of the Spirit of God is going to have in the life of the believer.

We talk about obedience, we talk about prayer. We talk about spiritual ministry. That is all dependent upon the Spirit of God in the life of a believer. I cannot obey God in my own strength and energy. I cannot pray as God would have me in my own strength and energy. I cannot carry on a spiritual ministry in my own strength and energy. But there is to be provision made by the Spirit of God.

There's going to be much discussion in chapters 14, 15 and 16 on the ministry of the Spirit. He's been mentioned several times previously in John— John chapter 3 where Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born of water and the Spirit. But it’s in John chapter 14 that Jesus begins to unfold the details of the Spirit’s ministry after His departure from earth.

He begins in verse 16, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper.” This is in connection with His departure from earth. He will request to the Father and the Father will send another Helper. We’ll see that this will be after Christ leaves the earth. After His resurrection and ascension in Acts chapter 1. Jesus will request the Father to send another Helper. That word ’another’ is interesting. In Greek you have two basic words for another: one means another of the same kind, and then there is the word that means another of a different kind. So here we have the word that means another of the same kind. Another of the same kind. In other words, I will ask the Father to give you a Helper who is just like Me. The same kind of Helper that I am and have been to you. I will ask from the Father. The word 'Helper' here, the King James has it ’Comforter’ is the word paraclete. We often carry it over into English because it is difficult to find a word in English that precisely defines what a paraclete is. King James says ’Comforter' but it doesn't mean the same thing today that it meant 300 years ago when the King James Bible was translated. There the idea was someone who gave strength, where today it means someone who gives consolation. We think of a comforter as someone who consoles you. And the Spirit does that but that’s just a small portion of His ministry. The word 'paraclete' is a combination word. Combination of 2 words: para—along side of; and coleo—to call. Paraclete is one who is called alongside of to give aid or assistance. So it's broad in its signficance. He comes to give you whatever help or aid you need. So it was used in a variety of ways. In secular Greek it could be used of a court room where someone would be represented by a lawyer or an advocate. He was someone who came to be with you to give you the help you needed. That's what an advocate was or is to be. So the Spirit is a Helper just like Jesus Christ who comes to be with the believer to enable Him and help Him in whatever way He needs it. Now that begins to shed a different light on Jesus' departure. He said He is going to leave and leave the disciples behind. But He is not going to leave them helpless. He is going to provide them with a Helper just like Himself. He can give them whatever aid, strength, assistance that they need. This word is only used by John. It's used four times in His gospel and once in His epistle. We'll be coming across these references in His gospel in chapter 14:16 and 26 and chapter 15:26, and chapter 16:7. In First John chapter 2 John writes in order that we may not sin, but if any man does sin we have an advocate... and that's the word paraclete...with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So the Spirit of God is provided to be our Helper and our aid here on earth while we also have an advocate, a Helper in the presence of the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous who represents us there. You can see that they are the same kind of Helpers. This word 'another', of the same kind, I take it speaks both to the deity and the personality of the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit were just an influence, He would not be the same kind of Helper that Jesus Christ was. Because He was a personal being who was there with them, to aid them in whatever way and to provide another Helper just like Himself would indicate that He would be a personal being. But it would also indicate that He would be deity, because if the Holy Spirit is not deity He is not the same kind of Helper Jesus Christ was. Here you have God Himself there to sustain and help the disciples. Now He says 'I'm going to provide another comforter just like Myself'—another Helper, and He would be less than deity? Well, then you can't say He'd be just like Jesus Christ. So this is a clear testimony and statement on the deity of Christ as well.

I'd like to look at a few verses that speak to the personality of the Holy Spirit just briefly. This is important for us to understand Him giving us help and aid. Sometimes hard for us not to think of the Spirit of God as an influence. Now He does influence us, but He is a person who has influence. In chapter 14 of John, John refers to the fact that when the Helper comes, relating what Christ is speaking, whom I send to you from the Father that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me. Again, a testimony of the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person. He bears testimony to Jesus Christ. In Acts 15, verse 28, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden than these essentials upon you." It seemed good to the Holy Spirit—in other words, the Holy Spirit is able to make decisions. He has discernment. He is a person.

Look in Romans chapter 8, verse 26, "And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." The Spirit carries on a ministry of intercession. Here you have an example of how He is just like Jesus Christ because Hebrews chapter 7, verse 25, says that even today Jesus Christ intercedes for us in the presence of His Father, at the right hand of His Father in glory. So they carry on the same kind of ministry on our behalf. Now 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 11, "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as HE wills." We see here the decision of the Spirit. He distributes spiritual gifts just as He wills. Again, emphasizing the fact that He is a person making the decision. His deity is also clearly brought out here because down in verse 18 of 1 Corinthians 12 we’re told that "God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as HE desired." Up in verse 11 we're told the Spirit does it, and in verse 18 we're told it is God doing it. It's God the Spirit. Spirit is God. So you have God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

A couple of other references. Just jot them down. First Timothy chapter 4, verse 1, where the Spirit speaks explicitly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith. The Spirit communicates and teaches. In Revelation chapter 22, verse 7, the Spirit and the Bride say "Come." The Spirit of God offers an invitation for people to come to Jesus Christ.

So when we're back in John chapter 14 and we talk about another Helper, we’re talking about the third person of the Triune God, One who is no less than God. He Himself is deity, who Himself is a distinct person, but of the same essence and nature as God. God the Holy Spirit. "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper..." just like Myself, "...that He may be with you forever." Characteristic of this provision of the Holy Spirit is that He will be with the believer permanently. Jesus was with them during His ministry on earth, and now He is going to leave as far as His bodily presence is concerned. The Spirit of God will come to reside permanently. We're going to pick up this thought at the end of verse 17, so we'll leave it for now and then come back to it.

Look at verse 17. The Spirit here, the other Helper, is identified as the Spirit of truth. This other Helper. If there is any question about who it is, it is the Spirit of Truth. Again, it identifies Him with Jesus Christ because over in chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Now here we're told the Spirit of God is the truth, because as Deity He would have the same attributes and the same characteristics as God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. I take it probably the emphasis here on the Spirit of Truth is perhaps the fact that He is the communicator of truth. And revealer of truth. Jesus Christ was the One who revealed God. He made God known most fully. Now today it is through the ministry of the Spirit of God that God is known. Now it's true, it is still through Jesus Christ, what is recorded about Him in this book. But it is only as the Spirit of God makes understandable the revelation that has been given that a human being is able to know what God has revealed concerning Himself, even in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Look over in 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Paul here draws a contrast between those who have the Spirit of God and those who do not. And he makes the point that it is only those who have the Spirit of God who can understand things pertaining to God. Beginning with verse 6 he talks about the rulers of this age did not understand God’s wisdom. If they understood it, they would not have crucified Jesus Christ who is the Lord of glory. Verse 8, "...the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, ’Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him..’ For to us God revealed them...” How? "...through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” It’s the ministry of the Spirit to reveal the things of God. You don’t find it through the eyes or ears, through the natural senses. But it is supernaturally revealed by the Spirit of God who is able to plumb the depths of God. It's another indication of the deity of the Spirit of God. He could not plumb the depths of God if He Himself was not deity. And then He reveals the character of God. He goes on in the discussion. Verse 12, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God...” You note. We have the Spirit of God that we might know.

Verse 14. "But a natural man (a soulish man, a man apart from the Spirit of God) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised (or discerned)." We are going to come to this point in John 14 in a moment. People can be divided into two groups—those who have the Spirit of God, and those who did not have the Spirit of God. And the ability to understand spiritual truth is limited to those who have the Spirit of God. Now, encouraging section here. Ability to understand spiritual truth is not primarily related to human intellect. There are many brilliant people in the world who are geniuses intellectually, who do not grasp and understand the truth of the Word of God. The reason being they do not have the Spirit of God to instruct and teach them. And with all their intellect, they cannot come to know the things of God through the eyes and ears through human wisdom. We as believers ought not to be intimidated. Sometimes we're taken back when we see brilliant men who reject the truth of the Scripture. Who ridicule what it says, but I do not expect men who do not have the Spirit of God to understand the truth concerning God. It's encouraging to every believer—there is no reason for any believer to be ignorant of the truths of the Word of God. The reason believers do not know the truth of God is that they willfully remain ignorant. We have all kinds of excuses, but I as a believer with the Spirit of God indwelling me, as we'll see in a moment, have the ability to understand all that God has revealed. But sometimes I am unwilling to submit to Him and learn from Him. Manifests itself in various ways—I have to study what God has said. The Spirit does not reveal by osmosis. He reveals through the Scripture. So Paul wrote to Timothy and said, "Study to show yourself approved unto God..." The word 'study' means to toil, to labor, even to the point of exhaustion. That doesn't mean that if you studied hard enough you could come to know about God apart from the Spirit; but as I apply myself diligently to the study of the Scriptures, the Spirit of God unfolds the truth of the Scripture and enables me to understand it. Some Christians are ignorant of the Scriptures because they never read it or study it. They don't avail themselves of the opportunity to be taught it, so the Spirit of God does not have opportunity to unfold to them the truth of this Word of God. That is willful rebellion against the Spirit's ministry. But it's exciting to know that I as a believer have the potential to know and understand this truth. And I know more about it than I did a year ago because I have studied it and the Spirit continues to teach me. And that is a process that continues. I never will know everything here because this is a revelation of an infinite God, and I'm a finite being. But I have the potential with the presence of the Spirit. That ought to encourage us as believers. What discourages us is that it is hard work. When he says to toil in my study of the Scripture, I don’t like that. It’s easier to do other things. But nothing is more profitable or more worthwhile.

In 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 21, we're told that the Scriptures were written by holy men of God who wrote as they were moved by the Spirit of God. So the Scriptures came into existence by the Spirit of God moving men to write the revelation that God has given. So He is the one who, in effect, has authored this book and now He is the One who explains it to those who come to believe in Jesus Christ. He is the Spirit of truth—the One who is the communicator and the revealer of truth.

Come back to John 14. We're hitting highlights of the Spirit here. We're going to be coming back to His ministry repeatedly through these chapters as Jesus unfolds truth concerning His ministry. Now He draws the distinction in verse 17 of John 14. "The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him..." So He divides humanity into two groups—those who know the Spirit of God and those who do not know the Spirit of God. Those who have the Spirit of God and those who do not have the Spirit of God. That is the breakdown. Either you have the Spirit or you do not have the Spirit. The world, speaking of the realm of unbelievers, they cannot receive the Spirit because they do not behold Him or know Him. Now the word 'behold' here has the idea of perceive, understand. No one sees the Spirit of God, He is a Spirit. He does not have a tangible body as we have. We who are believers here this morning have not seen the Spirit of God with our physical eyes but we have perceived Him. We know Him and we have experienced His ministry. He, the Spirit, bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God. He moves us in crying out, "Abba, Father." So we have come to know Him but the world does not know Him. The world does not perceive Him, does not have understanding of Him.

Look in Romans chapter 8, verse 9. Paul writes, "However you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit..." The realm in which we now dwell, not in the realm of the flesh, but in the realm of 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." Very simple. Examine ourselves to see if we're in the faith, and if you don't have the Spirit of God dwelling within you, that's because you don't belong to God. Note He's called here both the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ because there is an identification, a sameness there, in character and quality and essence. If you don't have Him, you don't belong to Him. Jude 19 identifies apostates as those who are devoid of the Spirit. So another way to refer to a person who is not a believer in Jesus Christ is to refer to him as person who does not have the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God does not dwell in a person who is not a believer in Jesus Christ, and that person is without the ability to perceive and understand spiritual truth. You ought to note here. If you come to Indian Hills and you are exposed to the teaching of the Word of God, yet it doesn't really make much of an impact upon you. It really doesn't seem that significant. It really isn't bringing about a change in your life, you ought to stop and seriously question whether you are a child of God, whether the Spirit of God indeed does dwell in you because He is the One who makes the difference. And if the Word of God does not make a difference in your life, it is an indication that the Spirit of God does not dwell in your life. And if the Spirit of God does not dwell in your life, it is an indication that you don't belong to God. The remedy for that is that you must come to believe that JESUS Christ died for you, and at that point in time the Spirit of God takes up residence in you, as we see in the next statement of John 14:17.

Jesus makes the distinction here. "You know Him..." How do they know Him? He has been with them. He has been part of their ministry. The Spirit of God will not be a new phenomenon. The Old Testament speaks repeatedly about God.

John the Baptist came preaching about the Spirit. I baptize with water, the Messiah will baptize with the Spirit. Jesus had referred to Nicodemus in John 3 and other passages. That distinction: He is with you but shall be IN you. You ought to mark that in your Bibles. Significant distinction in the Spirit's ministry—from being WITH believers to being IN believers. The distinction being until after Christ is raised from the dead and ascends to the Father, the Spirit of God never permanently indwelt believers. That's the distinction. He did not permanently indwell every believer until after Christ is glorified.

Look back in John chapter 7. Jesus referred to this fact earlier. John chapter 7, verse 38, "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' 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." Now it doesn't mean the Spirit of God is not yet present with them. He was. We saw that in John 3. Nicodemus, you've got to be born by the Spirit. The Spirit was present but He wasn't given in this unique ministry of permanently indwelling every believer until after Christ was glorified. So, the first time, in Acts chapter 2 we begin the ministry where the Spirit of God begins to permanently indwell believers. It's different from the Old Testament. Look at two examples.

First Samuel, chapter 16. Crucial difference. Christians are confused with the ministry of the Spirit because they do not see the distinction between the Spirit's ministry before Christ is glorified and after Christ is glorified. First Samuel 16, picking up the account here where David is anointed as King and Saul is rejected. Now for background, and you can take the time to go back and read in 1 Samuel chapter 10, and in 1 Samuel chapter 10 we're told several times that the Spirit of God came upon Saul. But now note in 1 Samuel 16, verse 13 “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward." Now David was a believer prior to this, but now the Spirit of God comes upon him to empower him to be king, to serve as God wants him to. Note the next verse. "Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul." It has nothing to do with Saul's salvation. It has to do with the enablement and power of God upon Saul for him to serve as God's anointed king. And God is done with Saul, and the Spirit of God leaves Saul. Doesn't speak to his salvation or loss of salvation. It speaks of his ability to serve as God's king from this point on.

Look over in Psalm 51. David has sinned with Bathsheba, committed adultery. He had her husband murdered and now in repentance he cries out to God in verse 11 of Psalm 51. "Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me." That is not a prayer that we as believers can pray today. I do not have to request God not to take the Holy Spirit from me. David did. What is he saying? Don't do with me what you did with Saul. Don't reject me as king. Don’t remove your power from me. He's not speaking about his salvation at all. David was saved and secure, but he was afraid God might reject him as He rejected Saul because of his sin.

You come to the New Testament and things are going to change. Beginning in Acts chapter 2 the Spirit is going to take up a ministry of indwelling every believer, not just special believers who are going to function in special capacities. But every believer. We read in Romans chapter 8, verse 9, Today if you don't have the Spirit of God you don't belong to Him. The Spirit of God doesn't reside in you today, you don't belong to Jesus Christ. You're not His child. That began in Acts chapter 2. Christ was glorified. He ascended to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is sent. He tells His disciples to tarry at Jerusalem and there they would be baptized with the Spirit. Today there are four ministries of the Spirit that occur simultaneously when a person believes in Jesus Christ. We're not talking about if a person believes more than once. We're talking about every individual who comes to believe that Christ died for their sins. They are regenerated by the Spirit of God, born again of the Spirit of God. Secondly, they are indwelt by the Spirit of God. Thirdly, they are baptized by the Spirit of God. Baptism of the Spirit is that work of the Spirit that identifies a person spiritually with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Details of that are in Romans chapter 6. And they are sealed by the Spirit of God. Now, remember in John 14 the end of verse 16 we're told that the Spirit will be with you forever? When He is provided. "I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper who will be with you forever." At the end of verse 17, He will be in you. Put the two together and He is in you forever. That's what He is promising. I will provide the Spirit of God to be with you forever.

Look at a couple of passages that deal with that. Second Corinthians chapter 1. I take it this has to do with the security of the believer. The presence of the Spirit of God in my life is God's guarantee to me that someday He will glorify my body and I will spend eternity in His presence.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 21, "Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge." Now a seal denoted security. Documents were sealed to guarantee their security. Now the seal denoted authority, and it depended on the authority of the one doing the sealing how secure the document was. Now God has sealed us and the seal He has used is the Spirit of God. And that Spirit serves as a pledge. The word 'pledge' meant a down payment, a guarantee. The word was used in a legal transaction. When you're going to buy a house, you put a down payment on it. The down payment is your guarantee that you will follow through on the transaction. Now God has sealed us, giving us the Spirit as a down payment. The presence of the Spirit in my life is God's seal upon me that He is going to follow through with the transaction. Complete it, bring me to glorification.

Look over in Ephesians chapter 1. Two more times Paul refers to this sealing, both in Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 13. "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise." You see what the seal is? It’s the Holy Spirit. Note the order here. You hear the truth. "Faith comes by hearing.” The Gospel is proclaimed. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for your sins. He was raised from the dead because He had paid the penalty in His death on the cross. You hear that message and you believe. You are sealed at that instant with the Holy Spirit of truth “who is given as a pledge." There’s our word. A down payment. "...a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory." God has given me the Spirit. The presence of the Spirit in my life is God’s seal upon me that I belong to Him, that I am secured by Him. It is His down payment, His assurance that I will get my inheritance. Redemption in His presence. I have never seen my inheritance in glory. I’ve never gotten a glimpse of my glorified body, but I know for sure I’m going to get it. How do I know? I’ve got a down payment. Now note here. God is the One who did the sealing. God is the One who has made the down payment. My security, my arriving at glory in His presence depends upon Him. If something goes wrong and I don’t get glorified in His presence, God defaulted. He made the down payment. He sealed me. He’s the one responsible. That's how I know for sure I'm going to be glorified in God's presence. God never defaults. He never fails to come through on transactions that He has guaranteed. Gil Rugh is going to be in heaven, not because Gil Rugh is so faithful. But I'm going to be in heaven because He is so faithful. He’s the One who sealed me, He’s the One who made the down payment. All occurred the moment I believed in Jesus Christ as the One who died for me. I’m secure for eternity.

One other passage. Ephesians 4, verse 30. We have the Spirit of God residing within us as God's down payment, as God's seal. So a word of warning. "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." We noted in John 14 that He is called the Spirit of truth. John 15:26 He is called the Spirit of truth. He is also repeatedly identified as the Holy Spirit. Two outstanding characteristics of the Spirit of God—He is truth, He is holy. He functions in truth, He functions in holiness. Now since I am one that has the Spirit of God permanently indwelling me, His desire is for me to be one under His control. To do with the filling of the Spirit, the controlling of the Spirit. And when I rebel and resist His control that causes Him grief. It is an indication of the personality of the Spirit. He is a person. He can be grieved when I do not function in the realm of truth. When I cease to function in holiness, He is grieved. Now note, He does not leave. He is grieved.

Look back in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. The doctrine of the permanent indwelling of the Spirit is tremendous assurance to us as believers, and the security we have—once saved, always saved. But it was also a strong warning on the kind of life we live now that we are saved. It does make a difference.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul gives a strong warning to the Corinthians. It has to do with the fact that the Spirit of God indwells them. Now remember we talked about the baptism of the Spirit, we just eluded to it. The baptism of the Spirit occurs the moment you trust Christ. The Spirit of God identifies you with Christ in His death, His burial and His resurrection. He makes you part of the body of Christ, one with Jesus Christ. So verse 15, "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 harlot? May it never be!" A prostitute, a whore. In other words, when a person, a believer, becomes involved in immorality, he does not cease to be part of the body of Jesus Christ. He does not cease to have the Spirit of God indwell Him, but He takes that which is inseparably linked to Jesus Christ and makes it one with a whore. The thought is almost blasphemous. Yet Paul says that’s what happens when a believer becomes involved in immorality. Shall I take that which is part of the body of Christ and make it one with a prostitute? "May it never be!" Me-ga-noi-to! Strongest way of saying "No, never!" in the Greek language. The very thought is repulsive, because you see, I don’t cease to be a member of the body of Christ. But I proceed to defile that which is Jesus Christ's. "Do you not know that one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her?" Verse 17, "But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you...?" It’s the place where the Spirit of God resides. We sometimes call this auditorium a sanctuary. It’s not the sanctuary. Your physical body is the sanctuary of God.
The Spirit of God does not dwell within these walls. He dwells in your body as a believer. That's His residence. That’s His temple. It is sanctified, made holy, by His presence. The Holy Spirit. "Don't you know your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You’re not your own, you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body." Tremendously assuring to me as a believer to know that I am secure. The Holy Spirit of God indwells me to indwell me forever. But that’s also a strong warning. That One who is the Spirit of truth, that One who Himself is the Holy Spirit, indwells this body and I better be careful what I do with this body and its parts because He never ever will leave. And when I sin, He is still there indwelling this body. Repulsive concept. That I would take this which now belongs to Christ which is now indwelt by the Spirit of God, the Spirit who is holiness, and indulge in immorality? Indulge it in sin? No wonder Ephesians 4:30 warns us against grieving the Spirit. I used to take comfort and discouragement in the idea that when I sinned I lost my salvation and the Spirit of God left me. That discouraged me because I thought that I was lost then and I had to get resaved. But it encouraged me to think at least God was gone when I sinned. Now I turned my thinking around. Now I’m encouraged and discouraged again, but for flip-flop reasons. I’m encouraged to know that I'm saved forever. Praise God my salvation doesn't depend on me but upon Him. But oh how repulsive my sin is. When I see that the Holy Spirit indwells me and never leaves me. So my sin causes Him personal grief. When Jesus talks about the Spirit in John chapter 14, He's the Spirit of truth. He's the Holy Spirit and He is with them. But there is coming a point after His glorification, beginning in Acts chapter 2, when He will take up permanent residence in all those who believe. And we today who have come to believe in Jesus Christ are permanently indwelt by the Spirit of God. He serves as God's guarantee and seal to us that someday we will be redeemed, glorified in His presence, secure in Him. But that's a word of warning to us as to how we live our lives. They must be lived in the realm of truth and holiness, consistent with the One who now lives within us. That One who now owns this body, because it has been permanently purchased by God Himself.

Is your life as a believer lived in the realm of the Spirit, in the realm of holiness? Is it truly a reflection of the character of the God who lives within you? Or, are there those things in your life that are a grief to Him?
That are contrary to His holiness, contrary to His truth?

Second question, does the Spirit of God dwell in you at all? How do you respond to the truths of God. What impact has this portion of the Word of God had upon your life today? Any? Does it seem like so many words going by? Do you see its application to you personally? If not, perhaps you need to stop and consider that maybe the real problem is that the Spirit of God does not indwell you. He doesn't reside in your life. Not because you're not as good as I am, or as good as someone else, but because you haven't come to believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for you. The exciting thing is that you can believe that this morning. You are a sinner. Christ died to pay the penalty for sinful beings. The moment you believe in Him, you'll be cleansed from your sin, made part of the body of Christ, the Spirit of God will take up residence within you and begin to conform you to the character of God Himself. Let's pray together.

Father, we praise you for the truth of your Word. Lord, we thank you for this One who is a Helper just like Jesus Christ, who provides aid and assistance, strength and enablement in every way that we need it and every time we need it. Lord, what a privileged people we are today to live in an age when we are indwelt permanently by that Spirit.

Lord, our desire is that we might be a people in whom His character is seen. Truth and holiness, Lord, that it might characterize us in all our activity. In all of our thinking. Father, I pray for those who are here this morning who are unmoved and unaffected by your Word because they really do not comprehend and understand because they do not have the Spirit of God. We pray that He might do that work that only He can do in causing them to see and understand and believe that Jesus Christ is the One who died for them. We praise you for what's done in Jesus' name