Let
us consider the truth of the indwelling of the Spirit, which is one of the
characteristics of the Spirit’s presence and work during the present Church
age. In this indwelling of the Spirit lies all the possibility for practical
sanctification.

      We
shall look at four features that characterize the indwelling of the Spirit:(1)
The permanency of it, (2) the enlightenment of it, (3) the liberty of it, and
(4) the refreshment of it.

The Permanency of the
Indwelling

      “I
will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may
abide with you forever:even the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16,17). We note in
this verse the permanence of the indwelling:“He [shall] abide with you
forever.” All is stability and permanence in the present era, for all is based
upon a finished redemption and Christ taking His place on high.

      When
Christ died, He not only provided a perfect atonement, but by His death,
sentence was pronounced upon the whole human race. Sin in the flesh was
condemned; our old man was crucified with Him, and its worthlessness declared.
Now, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). I do not touch the fact
of the presence of the old nature, and the deeds of the body to be mortified;
but there is a new man who has eternal life. Everything here is of God, and the
Spirit will have no occasion to leave for there are no conditions upon which He
remains, save the fact of accomplished redemption.

      Did
you ever think of the awful dishonor done not only to the Spirit of God but to
Christ by the denial of the perpetuity of this abiding? If the Spirit could
leave after having taken up His abode in us, it would involve a denial of the
work of Christ. His work would have ceased to avail before God. It would drag
Christ from His throne in glory if the Spirit could depart from a believer.

      My
brethren, I am persuaded we little realize what it means for the Holy Spirit to
indwell us. If we did, what lowliness would mark us, what abhorrence of sin,
what quickness in the detection of the most subtle forms of evil, what
reverence toward our God! I pray that all of us may grow in our knowledge and
appreciation of the abiding of the Holy Spirit in us.

The Enlightenment of

the Indwelling

      “When
He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He
shall not speak of [or from] Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear that shall
He speak; and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me; for He
shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 16:13,14). This
Scripture teaches us the character of this indwelling of the Spirit, how He
operates. Notice particularly that He works by the truth. He guides into all
truth, even as our Lord prayed, “Sanctify them through Thy truth:Thy Word is
truth” (John 17:17). Spiritual intelligence is the very cornerstone of piety.
The Word of God—the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments—is the vehicle of
the Holy Spirit, the instrument which He uses. The spiritual condition of a
person may largely be gauged by his estimation of the Word of God. If that be
neglected, or thought lightly of, no matter how ecstatic the feelings, how deep
apparently the piety, there is not much true work of the Spirit of God. What a
fullness there is in the Word of God! Let us not be slothful in making it our
own, under the guiding energy of the Spirit of truth.

The Liberty of the Indwelling

      “The
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of
sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). Here we have the emancipating power of the
indwelling Spirit. The sixth and seventh chapters of Romans develop the truth
that emancipates. The cross is the end of me judicially:“Our old man is
crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin” (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20). Thus we are dead to sin in the
death of Christ, and are to reckon ourselves so, and alive unto God in Christ
Jesus. But this death puts me out of the reach of law, not only as that which
condemns, but as a rule for man in the flesh.

      In
the seventh chapter we find that so long as the soul seeking holiness turns to
the law, it finds the bonds of sin drawn tighter, for “the strength of sin is
the law” (1 Cor. 15:56). But in the beginning of the eighth chapter we see the
way of escape, that the life in Christ Jesus is a life of liberty. Instead of
the law we have the Spirit, and all through this chapter the Spirit is
prominent. Thus we have deliverance by the Spirit. “Where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17).

The Refreshment of the
Indwelling

      “Whoever
drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be
in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13,14). In
this interview with the woman of Samaria, our Lord used the water as a type of
the Spirit as that which ministers life and refreshing. No matter where man
turns for refreshment, he fails to find that which can truly quench thirst.
Pleasure, reputation, power, wealth—whatever the heart of man craves—can never
satisfy.

      To
the woman of Samaria, seeking satisfaction in the pleasures of sin and the
world, the Lord promised not only the gift of a draught of water, but a well
springing up evermore. As in new birth we have the bestowal of life by the
Spirit, so here we have Him dwelling in us, maintaining and developing the
life.

      In
Psa. 110 it is said of our Lord, “Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.” His vigor
and freshness are perennial, eternal. To Ephesus it was said, “You have left
your first love” (Rev. 2:4). They had lost the freshness that marked the early
stages of the divine life in the soul. Of how many, beloved brethren, must this
be said! No outward fall has marred their testimony; they are above reproach,
and in many ways commendably zealous; but there is no “dew.” Truth has taken
clear form, doctrines can be distinctly stated, a keen scent for error is
present; but Oh, where is that freshness that ever marked our adorable Lord?

      We
have looked at four features which characterize the indwelling of the Spirit:
(1) The permanency of it—“He shall abide with you forever”; (2) the
enlightenment of it—“He shall guide you into all truth”; (3) the liberty of
it—“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law
of sin and death”; and (4) the refreshment of it—“A well of water springing up
unto everlasting life.” Surely, with such abounding fullness, our
sanctification should be deep and full and complete.

      (From
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.)