There is a popular song that we sing entitled, “Holy Spirit, Dwell in Me.” (Sorry, not sorry for the earworm you now have). There is no doubt that the Holy Spirit dwells in Christians and that Christians enjoy an intimate fellowship with Him (Rom. 8:9; Eph. 2:22). But the question is, how is that fellowship obtained?
Many in the world of Christendom have struggled with the concept of how the Holy Spirit operates today and how He helps the children of God abstain from living in the flesh or serving the flesh (Rom. 8:3-9). They have been dogmatic about what the Bible teaches about the Holy Spirit and have handled this third person of the Godhead with a sense of mysticism. The Bible teaches that Christians have fellowship with the Holy Spirit if they follow the instrumentality of truth, the Bible (John 17:17,20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).
In his sermon, “Power of the Written Word,” Brother Marshall Keeble rightly states:
“The average man and the average woman have been taught that the Bible itself, the written word, is not sufficient; that there must be miraculous outpourings of the Holy Spirit, some miraculous happenings in their conversion that they cannot understand. Then they claim that it is the working of the Holy Ghost independent of God’s word. I am one of those that believe that all the power is in the word of God and if you ever get any power to do anything for Christ, it must come through the written word” (Biography and Sermons, p. 22).
If we have fellowship with the Holy Spirit apart from what He teaches in the Bible, then there would be no need for the New Testament. In truth, the Holy Spirit, gives life through the word of God (2 Cor. 3:6; James 1:18), initiates the re-birth of a penitent sinner through the word of God (John 3:3-8; 1 Pet. 1:23-25; 1 Cor. 4:15), brings salvation through the word of God (Titus 3:5; James 1:21), sanctifies us through the word of God (1 Cor. 6:11; 2 Thes. 2:13; John 17:17), is the power that saves us through the word of God (Rom. 15:13; Rom. 1:16; Heb. 1:3), leads us by using the word of God as its medium (Rom. 8:9; Psa. 119:105), provides us comfort through the word of God (Acts 9:31; 1 Thes. 4:18), dwells in us through the word of God (Rom. 8:9-11; Col. 3:16; Eph. 5:18), unites us through the word of God (Eph. 2:19-22) and is given to believers who obey His word through faith (Acts 5:32; Rom. 10:17; 2 Tim. 3:16,17).
When a Christian follows the word of God, they can be confident that they are being led by the Spirit and consequently, are in fellowship with Him. If I do what the Bible says and follow God’s will, then I can know that I am right with Him. Not to mention when we read the word then we come to know that the Spirit is our seal and down payment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13, 14).
There is no need to wonder. There is no need to question my actions. There is no need to ponder if I'm going to heaven or not. There should just be a resolute feeling within us that we are abiding in the Spirit by being led by His word. Praise be to God that we have the Bible and it reveals everything we need to be right with God.
The apostle Peter put it this way:
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet. 1:3, ESV).
In this context, how does one obtain knowledge? By reading (Eph. 3:1-5). When we read the Bible, what are we reading? The words of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Friends, I don’t need a catechism to make me complete before God. I don’t need a manual of faith. I don’t even need a creed book. All I need is the word of God.
When I do what Christians are commanded to do from the word, then I can have full assurance that I have the Spirit dwelling in me. The only way that we are going to be filled with the Spirit is if we allow the word to dwell in us richly (Eph 5:18; Col. 3:16). Think about it!
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