#12: The Indwelling Spirit

I. Introduction
A. We’ve been thinking about the Holy Spirit (HS), and we’ve come to the subject of His indwelling the hearts of believers. In my opinion, this is one of high points in this series.
II. Colossians 1:24–27 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
A. This is a sermon about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (HS). There are many passages which speak about being indwelt by the HS. Why is the passage we read this morning not one of them?
B. It is because Christ in you is the same thing as the Spirit indwelling you.
1. This is clear in John 14-16, where Jesus promises to send His Spirit and also to come Himself.
2. This is clear in Romans 8:9, 11 where “Spirit of God” is used interchangeably with “Spirit of Christ.” (See also John 14:23, where, in the context of talking about sending the HS to them, Jesus refers to the Father and the Son coming to the believer and making their “home with him.”)
3. Jesus is in us through the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of Christ who dwells in our hearts.
C. “Christ in you” is locational language.
1. But don’t get hung up by the locational language. To speak precisely, God is not locational.
2. But the Bible often uses locational language to speak of Him, to refer to where He manifests Himself, where He works, where he imparts grace, where He shows His presence.
3. Christ in us spiritually, not physically. We talked about this on April 3, “Who Is the Holy Spirit?”
D. “the mystery”
1. 26 “hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints”
2. 27 “God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you.”
3. Paul uses this word “mystery” a number of times, referring to Christ and the various aspects of His work and coming:
a. For instance, in Colossians 2:2–3, it refers to Christ Himself — “...that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
b. In 1Timothy 3:14–16, it refers to Christ in His incarnation, resurrection, proclamation, ascension.
c. In Ephesians 3:2–11 it refers to the inclusion of the Gentiles into the family of God.
d. In Ephesians 1:8–11 it refers to the uniting of all things in Christ: man and God, man to his fellow man, this group to that group, etc.
e. In Romans 11:24–27 it refers to the temporary hardening of Israel for the sake of the Gentiles.
4. Here in Col.1:27 it refers to “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
a. Not just Christ in the world, not just in humanity, but Christ in believers, both corporately (1Cor.3:16; 2Cor.6:16) and as individuals (1Corinthians 6:19).
b. And not only Christ in you during this life, but in you now as a preparation for and carrying you forward into a future life of glory. That’s what is meant by...
E. The hope of glory
1. This means living here and now in light of our true home and our true identity.
2. The HS is in us crying “Abba, Father!” This is our eternal assurance of adoption and our assurance of our true eternal home with Him, our assurance of an eternal intimacy!
III. What else do we know about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Christian believer?
A. It is universal (it belongs to all believers in Christ).
1. Romans 8:9 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.
2. Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
B. It is relational.
1. Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"
2. Galatians 4:6 Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"
C. It is also enabling, empowering.
1. Ezekiel 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
2. Acts 6:5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.
3. 2Timothy 1:14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
D. Its effect is not inevitable.
1. It’s commanded.
a. Ephesians 5:18 “Be filled with the Spirit.”
b. Gal.5:16 “Walk by the Spirit.”
2. You can grieve the Spirit (Eph.4:30).
IV. As a result of my study of Scripture over the years, I have come to the conclusion that there are a number of expressions which are used synonymously with the indwelling of the HS. For instance:
A. Abiding in Christ — John 15
1. 1“I am the true vine... 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
2. Here we see that it is the source of life and fruitfulness.
3. Our connection with Christ, His life flowing into us, is the key to bearing fruit in terms of living and in terms of loving.
4. And notice in v.7 that His word is to abide in our hearts, which is very related to our abiding in Him. We’ll see this again in a moment.
B. Being filled with the Spirit — Ephesians 5:18 “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.”
1. The contrast here with being filled with wine teaches us more about being filled with the Spirit.
2. It is our source of joy. It is our source of satisfaction.
3. It affects us; it affects the way we live. When a person is full of wine, we say he is under the influence. In the same way, we are under the influence of the Spirit when we are full of Him. We are moved by His love; we think His thoughts.
C. And then there’s Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
1. This may seem quite different from being filled with the Spirit (Eph.5:18), but I suggest that the two are remarkably parallel.
a. The two letters were written by the same person, apparently at the same time, carried by the same messenger to the same region. And if you lay the two letters side-by-side, you see that their flow is very parallel.
b. This is obvious in these two passages. See for yourself:
(1) Ephesians 5:18-22 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
(2) Colossians 3:16-18 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
c. Notice the parallels:
(1) psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to one another
(2) giving thanks to God
(3) everything in the name of the Lord Jesus
(4) wives’ submission to husbands
d. This leads me to conclude that “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” is synonymous with “Be filled with the Spirit.”
2. Again, the indwelling of the HS has to do with our relationship to Scripture. There is a certain intimacy with God’s word that is an essential part of intimacy with God (as in John 15:7).
D. Gal.5:16 “walk by the Spirit” (the secret to righteous living)
E. See also John 4:10, 14, 32, 34 and John 7:37-39.
V. Conclusion
A. The indwelling of the Spirit is one model given us about how to live the Christian life. It’s not the only Biblical model.
1. Some places make commands without any reference to the Spirit: Flee youthful lusts. Deny yourself. Obey the Lord. Imitate the godly.
2. But the exalted language of Col.1:26-27 makes it clear that this is an excellent model, perhaps the highest model of all to describe life in Christ.
B. It’s as if we are told in the OT to be holy, but without explanation as to how we can do so.
1. But then in the NT Jesus comes and is holy, and is perfect, by means of the HS (who came upon Him at His baptism).
2. And now we’re told that we live out our Christian lives not by being good, or by striving. It’s by being filled with Jesus, filled with His Spirit.
C. For many, religion is still about trying to be good.
1. And there is therefore a focus on being good, holy, virtuous, pure: e.g. a preoccupation with saints, with Mary.
2. The question is: Is Jesus merely the greatest and most holy man who ever lived or is He the source of all goodness and all godliness?
3. You see, if we can be good enough to please God, then we have reason to boast.
4. This is the gospel we prefer: we’ll be accepted if we’re good enough. This isn’t so humbling.
5. But that’s not the gospel of Jesus. That's a religion which appeals to our flesh.
6. Indwelling is very different. He works in weak and corrupt people, by his power and grace.
D. The emphasis of the NT is all about faith, not virtue.
1. The English word virtue is only used once in the NT: 2Pet.1:5–6 “Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness...”
a. Virtue here means something like ‘pleasing to the Lord.’
2. Think about who the NT points to as heroes. Heb.11 lists heroes of faith, not of virtue – and very imperfect heroes, at that.
3. And even the concept of faith can be hijacked by those who focus on virtue.
a. They tend to think of faith as a work. They think of faith as something which good, virtuous people have.
b. This is opposed to faith as a weak, sinful person reaching out to God, relying on God instead of himself.
E. I think Galatians 2:20 says it best: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
1. This is the Christian life. Jesus lived His life and now comes back to us, not in body but in the person of the Spirit, to live His life through us.
F. Let me close with two quotes.
1. “The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism [nor, we could easily add today, Islamic extremism or postmodernism or consumerism or sexual immorality or whatever]. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit.” – Francis A. Schaeffer, No Little People
a. How about you? I know for me that this is my central problem. I tend to think I can do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh, and forget my need for the power of the HS.
2. A letter written by Jack Miller in 1980: "I encourage you to make reliance on the Spirit a top priority in your life and encourage you to challenge me to do the same. Prayer will reflect such reliance. Pray specifically for the power of the Spirit in all your life and ministry and recruit others to do the same. Greatly increase this. Pray confidently without any doubt that the Spirit will empower you."