THEOLOGY LESSON 24

LESSON 24 – HOLY SPIRIT – INDWELLING AND SEALING


HOLY SPIRIT

Indwelling and Sealing

Romans 8:9-11
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
2 Corinthians 5:5
Ephesians 1:13, 14
Ephesians 4:30 Indwelling of Christ
Seal

INTRODUCTION

There are a number of ministries of the Holy Spirit which occur at the point of salvation. Two are the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit. The first time this occurred was at Pentecost. John 14:16, 17, 20. At Pentecost uniquely the ministries of the Holy Spirit were set up, sealing, baptizing, the giving of gifts, indwelling and regenerating. This occurred within people who had been believers for sometime; but were now taken over by a totally new phenomena and the effect was dramatic and revolutionary.

The power in these people was so great, that they acted as if they were drunk and had no inhibitions, which is unlike most Churches in our day. In fact when most ‘religionists and church people’ see this same phenomena happening in these later days, they will often claim this cannot possibly be from God and so must be from the enemy.

When a believer seeks to be filled by the Holy Spirit, they must also be compelled to obey the Word of God, and walk in the Spirit on a daily basis.

The effects of this are recorded in Romans 8:9 11 which shows the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is the proof of the person being a believer. If you are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit you are not a believer. The Spirit allows you to deal with sin and produces the certainty of the resurrection.

Ministry of the Holy Spirit

In 2 Corinthians 5:5 the Spirit is called the earnest of our inheritance. Earnest money was a deposit on an item in the ancient world but unlike us nowadays when you put down earnest money you owned the item. It was a covenant and the item could never be lost.

1 Corinthians 6:19 20 relates to dealing with sin in your life. Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Notice it is the temple which is a permanent structure and not the temporary tabernacle that is in view here.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

The indwelling Spirit is a gift of God to all believers, a gift that is not earned or deserved. In Christ Jesus we are all recipients of the gift. This is pure grace as in sin none of us deserve anything.

1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 8:9, Jude 19 show that if you do not have the Holy Spirit you are unsaved. It should be noted that sinning believers are still indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but are in a dangerous position if they do not repent. The Holy Spirit will be grieved and will keep trying to convict the Sinner to repent. However if the grieving and resisting of the Holy Spirit continues, so that the person eventually surrenders to Satan and denies Christ and the Holy Spirit, they will be lost. We can only lose our Salvation if we throw it away by sinning against the Holy Spirit to which there is no more forgiveness of sins possible.
Hebrews 6:4-6

Is it Permanent?

Reviewing the sins of the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians it is hard to imagine a sin which they did not commit especially when you think of the believer who was committing incest with his mother in chapter 5. Many Christians believe you are lost if you sin, this is not true; providing the believer repents and turns away from the sin. The two commands to believers are to neither grieve, nor quench the Holy Spirit. Therefore you cannot grieve or quench the Spirit unless you are involved in a relationship with the Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit also ties in with the sealing of the Holy Spirit.

Some times during your Christian walk you are going to be aware of a lack of vigor in your life. It maybe because you have walked away from the Lord or something has come between you and an active living fellowship with him. This would be quenching, and is remedied by confession of sin and obedience to the Word. But in some cases, it could also be caused by a ‘bitter root’ that has been allowed to fester in your mind and heart. Bitterness can be caused by many things from our past or our forebears past. If there is; unforgiveness, ungodly beliefs, witchcraft, or any involvement with the Occult, Freemasonry or religious cults, then these sins need confessing, renouncing and breaking off our lives; so that we can be set free. Even if you personally did not practice any of these things, but a relative did, it can affect you, by means of the ‘soul tie’ with that person. So you must deal with your sin in order to re establish yourself with the Lord. If you do not know these doctrines however you are going to be easy prey to false teachers who will tell you that Jesus loves you whatever you do.

If you are practicing sin in your life the Lord will not hear you; this is recorded for us in the book of Psalms. Lack of this knowledge will facilitate some well-meaning Christians coming along and telling you that you have not got the Spirit and convince you that you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to move forward. Although it is very important that you get baptized into the Holy Spirit it is imperative that you display the fruits of the Spirit first. We cannot display the fruits of the Spirit if we are practicing the ‘works of the flesh’. Galatians 5:16-24, Matthew 7:13-23, John 16:8 11, Ephesians 5:18. So firstly we should examine ourselves and see what has come between us and the Lord.

Acts 5:32 Note this verse and ask, isn't obedience part of indwelling? If you take the verse out of context it may seem that way. Who are being spoken to, it is the unbelievers, the Pharisees?

The Bible is full of the temporary empowerment of the Holy Spirit and that was mostly before Pentecost. However in John 14:16 the Lord promised that he would send the Counselor and Helper and that is what he did at Pentecost. Therefore we are to let the Spirit do his work in our lives. We can only do this through obedience to the Word and rejection of sin! Therefore we always call upon the Lord to send the Holy Spirit to empower us afresh, or in other words ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up with his power.

The Samaritans

An area of confusion occurs for some concerning the giving of the Spirit to the Samaritans, which appears to be both selective and subsequent to salvation. It has caused some people to go off on a tangent and seek a so called second blessing. The Samaritans were a special case where the Lord wanted to prove to them that their new Christian faith was not a rival to the church in Jerusalem, and prove to the Jewish believers that the Samaritans were in no way inferior to them. This reflected that the Jews and Samaritans were one in Christ and was thus delayed until the Jewish apostles were with them and did away with the possibility of the developing of two churches rather than one.

When one was a young believer one was not aware of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life but as you grow you become aware of the power of the Spirit. This is not however a second blessing. It is maturity and should be every believer’s experience.

You need good Bible teaching and proceed with your Christian life. As you mature you will be able to do more and more in your life. The laying on of hands was a picture of the delegation of authority. This was to show that they were to follow the apostles from Jerusalem from where the policy came.

What about the situation in Acts 19 - What does this passage show? As soon as they heard of the Lord Jesus Christ they were saved, baptized and received the Holy Spirit. The Apostles would spend hours with the new believers telling them about the Scriptures and soon after that they were baptized. In the early church there was no evidence for waiting a long time after salvation to be baptized.

The permanence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is seen in the sealing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enters the believer into union with Christ. That person is then God's and ‘only sinning against the Holy Spirit’ can separate that person from Him. The New Covenant is Gods agreement with a Christian that he is saved by confessing Jesus and sinning no more. Romans 8:1; says that there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ…but we must remain in him.

Sealing of the Holy Spirit

All believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit Ephesians 1:13, 14, 4:30 the sealing on Gods part is permanent until the day of redemption, or until the Lord brings you home to glory.

Seals were a sign of nobility in the ancient world and showed ownership with security. A father and a son would have the same signet rings which would indicate ownership of an article which was sealed. God sets His seal on you. Once the mark of ownership is on you, you are His, and no one can change it Romans 8:38 39. Your life is hid with Christ in God as you are sealed at the point of salvation Acts 2:38.

The seal is unto the day of redemption Romans 8:23, Ephesians 4:30. We are God's responsibility. Ramifications of the seal are security and purity; a seal meant you were secure in the ownership of the one who held the seal, and the purity aspect was seen in the sealing of wine. We should be stable as a believer, secure in our position, and holy. There are many unstable people who are trapped by ‘extremist’ Christian groups. You will also strive for purity; you will desire it. The world needs to see stable Christians. Pray that you remain a steady and clear witness to others and remain steadfast in the truth of Gods word.

However in the book of Revelation the Lord reveals that some who were chosen as sealed ones and written in the book of life, could have their name erased if they did not repent, here is the verse:

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” Revelation 3: 5. The parable of the Prodigal Son highlights this situation, the Father did not go running after the Son, he only run to him when he repented and turned away from his sinful ways.

DOCTRINES

INDWELLING OF CHRIST

1. The prophecy of the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 14:18-20)

2. There is a distinction between the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

3. The Lord Jesus Christ indwells for fellowship (Galatians 2:20), and a sign of the believer's position. (Romans 8:10)

4. In contrast the Holy Spirit indwells to teach, guide, direct, empower and correct. (John 14:26, 16:8-15, Romans 8:11, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

5. The purpose of the indwelling is that the believer may grow in fellowship with the Lord, learning to know and love him more. (Colossians 1:27, Ephesians 3:17-19)

6. We fellowship with the Lord within as we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us through the Word. (John 6:63, 8:31-32, Colossians 3:16)

7. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is meant to be permanent even though He may be quenched or grieved, but the Lord Jesus Christ can be locked out of the soul by the presence of sin or a negative attitude towards the Word. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

8. When the Lord is locked out, the Holy Spirit convicts the believer, the believer is miserable, with the Lord knocking at the door for admission. (1 John 1:9, Revelation 3:19-20)

SEAL

A seal has a number of different implications:-

1. Sanctification. Exodus 28:36-38 - Example: Seals on official documents set them apart from normal documents.

2. Identification. Ezekiel 9:4 - Use of the signet ring in 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 8:8-10

3. Possession. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 - Example: A "sea!" on one's book

4. Utilisation. Ephesians 1:12-14 - Example: Bank account number.

5. Glorification. Ephesians 4:30 - Example: Letters are stamped and sealed so as to arrive at their destination.

6. Preservation. Revelation 7:3 - Example: Locks on doors or the seal on the tomb of Christ.

7. Destination. Revelation 22:4

THEOLOGY LESSON 23

LESSON 23 – HOLY SPIRIT – REGENERATION

John 3:3-8
Titus 3:5
Ephesians 5:25-26
John 6:63, 3:13-36
John 6:40-48
Ephesians 4:20-24
Colossians 3:10

INTRODUCTION

This is the work of the Holy Spirit which changes us from unbelievers to believers and therefore sons of God. This creates a mockery among those who do not believe that they need a Saviour. The unbeliever has to realise that only God can provide the power and the will to come to newness of life.

Regeneration

In John 3:3 9 we see that regeneration means to be born again. The Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration. We note that there are two ministries of the Holy Spirit, the convicting ministry and the enabling ministry. This is why the man who rejects the gospel is without hope at the Day of Judgment. That person has also rejected and spurned the work of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore he has three things against him, he has ignored the Word of God, he has ignored the testimony of creation, the plan of God which is clearly working out, he has also ignored the command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. He has been actively rejecting God in all three persons.

Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Romans 1:16 32 having cast aside the ministry of Christ in their life the rejection shows that there is no hope. Another passage which reflects this ministry is 2 Corinthians 3:6. "The letter kills but the Spirit gives life."

Ensure you take the evaluation in context. He does not mean that an evaluation of the Scriptures kills and the Spirit gives life. The contrast is between the written word in ink and the word written on the heart. It is the Spirit which brings the letter to life.

The Word of God justly brings death but the Spirit gives life. No amount of preaching irrespective of how orthodox it is will regenerate unless the Holy Spirit works. It is He and He alone that convicts a man so that he becomes a new creature.

Regeneration is the giving of a new nature, the nature of God. 2 Peter 1:4. It is the Holy Spirit who imparts this to us, makes us partakers of the divine nature. It is done through the Word. To put it in a word: The human heart is the soil, the preacher or teacher is the sower, the word of God is the seed; the Spirit of God quickens the seed, and the Divine nature is the result.

Not by works done in righteousness by ourselves but by his mercy we are saved. We can do no work of righteousness ourselves; ‘nothing’ an unbeliever does can satisfy God. Their righteousness is as filthy rags in His sight.

Analogy of Washing

Both Paul and John used the same analogy of washing. The picture of cleansing and water comes through. Beware of people who try to twist this into Baptismal regeneration; that you are saved by total immersion. Baptismal regeneration is not taught here. There are no sins washed away when you are baptised. It is a sign of something that has already happened to you. It is a picture or memorial. Paul continues with this concept in Titus 3:5-7, Ephesians 5:25 27, John 6:63.

These passages need to be tied together in your mind. The connection of water and regeneration is given in 1 John 5:5 6. Here the water is linked to the Word of God and the spirit is the Holy Spirit. The work of regeneration involves the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. The two come together in a unique way in the life of the believer if they accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. Regeneration takes place when the Holy Spirit takes the Word and enlivens it in their life by grace into a relationship of son or daughter of God.

We are in error if we equate the filling with the baptism of the Spirit. It is clear from Scripture however that the baptism of the Holy Spirit often occurs at the point of salvation, but not always, as many BA Christians do not even realise that they are can be baptized by the Holy Spirit enabling them to do things beyond what is normal. The filling of the Holy Spirit can occur when we ask the Lord to send the Holy Spirit to give us extra power to enable us to carry out his will in us. In order to get filled with the Holy Spirit the following section will elaborate.

Confession

The Scripture commands you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Whether you are filled with the Holy Spirit is up to you. If people believe that the Holy Spirit is in them He needs to be let loose in their lives. This is accomplished by confession of sins as per 1 John 1:9.

Most of the questions you will be asked in the ministry are to do with the people not knowing the meaning of the words they use such as regeneration, expiation, propitiation and the like.

We should ask them what they mean by a term to ensure that they are aware of its true doctrinal meaning. It depends whether you believe in a body soul and spirit or just body and soul and that you get a spirit at the point of salvation.

Irrespective of the concept it is clear that at the point of salvation the believer's life is changed to such an extent that they can now understand spiritual phenomena. It is also clear that relationship with God is spiritual and can only be attained through rebirth. We receive a new nature, we have been reborn, we are re created, we are resurrected; there are many implications to the act of regeneration.

We can have relationship with God; we are born again and will live eternally with the Lord. Our body however will fall apart but we have a resurrection body. We are regenerated for eternity. We should always give praise for the work of the Holy Spirit for it lasts forever.

Our New Birth

Although we are still the same nature (sinful humanity) we now have the New Spirit Birth which gives us the ability to obey Gods commands. We now have the ability to produce righteousness and true holiness. We have taken off the old and put on the new. We are new creatures in Christ. We are challenged every day to live worthy of the gift that we have been given, the gift of eternal life.

If we recognize that everything we have as a believer is something we have received from God, we can pray that the Lord will help us to live worthy of the great salvation. If a person gave us everything we ever needed but we were never in a position to repay him, we would be eternally grateful to that person. This is exactly what Christ has done for all those who willingly and truly accept him as their Lord. We have been given everything in Christ Jesus. Do we see our position in Christ in the way the Scriptures say it will be? This is the gospel played out in a daily form in the believer’s life.

DOCTRINES

REGENERATION: BORN AGAIN

1. General Scripture - (John 3:5-8) 'Ye must be born again [born from above] (v7). You are born of the Spirit. (v8) We then become new creatures in Christ.

2. Natural man cannot understand spiritual phenomenon (1 Corinthians 2:14). He lacks the ability to enter the Kingdom of God. (John 3:5). They are unable to please God. (Romans 8:7, 8)

3. New birth is a creation of the Holy Spirit. (John 1:12, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10, 4:24). Through the Holy Spirit we become aware that we are joint heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:16, 17)

4. The requirement for the new birth is belief on Christ, that He is crucified and risen. (John 1:12, 3:16-18, 36). New birth occurs at the instant of belief in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and confession of our sins.

5. Through new birth (Regeneration) the believer lives in Christ and Christ in the believer. (Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:10, 4:24, 1 Peter 1:23-25, 1 John 5:10-12).

6. Once you are born you cannot be unborn. However we can throw it back in Gods face and that would entail sinning against the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 6: 4-6

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame”.