The Holy Spirit:
Personal Indwelling or "Word" Only?
1) Acknowledgement that the Holy Spirit does
work through the Word and is closely associated with the Word
The Word of God is "the Sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17). In 2 parallel passages,
Ephesians 5:18-21 says to be "filled with
the Spirit" in our worship and admonishment of one another, while
Colossians 3:16-17 says "let the word of
Christ richly dwell within you" in a worship and admonishment context. And
also, every prophecy of Scripture is through men "moved by the Holy Spirit" and therefore speaking for God (2 Pet.
1:20-21). So the Word is a product of the Spirit and a weapon of the Spirit.
Therefore, a personal indwelling Spirit would not speak any special revelation
to an indwelled individual contrary to Scripture. Neither would the Spirit lead
someone in a direction contrary to Scripture. So to claim that the Spirit
directed me in a way that would not match up with the revealed Word would be a
false claim.
But, there are major problems with SUBSTITUTING
"Word" for "Spirit" in the interpretation of all the SPIRIT passages. To do so
would be to elevate the written Scripture above its intended place. The Bible
is the revelation, not the source of revelation. If we try to REPLACE a
personal member of the Godhead with written words, however powerful they are, are
we not turning the Bible into an idol? As important as Scripture is, the Bible
points us to the God behind it. It does not call us to worship the Bible itself.
2) Language of PERSON and ACTION attributed to
the Spirit
A."Do not GRIEVE the Holy Spirit" (Eph.
4:30). The idea here is for the Christian to take care not to CAUSE GRIEF
to the Holy Spirit through worldly behavior (in the context of Ephesians 4). Do
not DISTRESS the Holy Spirit. Only a person can GRIEVE. The testimony about God
is neutral because it's impersonal. The Testifier grieves.
B."Do not QUENCH the Spirit" (1 Thess.
5:19). Again, this is personal language used in the context of joy, prayer,
and thanksgiving (5:16-18) - all 3 concepts associated with the work of the
Spirit in other passages:
JOY -- a fruit of the Spirit (Gal.
5:22)
PRAYER -- the Spirit plays a major
role in prayer intercession (Rom. 8:26-27)
THANKSGIVING --
"Giving thanks" (Eph. 5:20) is part of the worship that is the outworking of
being "filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18)
C."The Spirit Himself intercedes for us
with groanings too deep for words" (Rom. 8:26). GROANING is personal
language. In the context of Romans 8, all creation knows that things are not
right in a fallen world that is under the curse. "The whole creation groans"
(Rom. 8:22), and so God groans with us. The Spirit gives birth to our words in
prayer, especially when the pain is too much to articulate. The Bible itself
cannot do that. This action requires a creative PERSONALITY.
D."All who are being led by the Spirit of
God, these are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14)... "If you are led by the Spirit, you
are not under the Law" (Gal. 5:18). Again, this is language of ACTION, and
it is attributed to the Spirit. In both contexts, the Spirit's leadership is
the key to victory over the flesh. If God wanted us to interpret this language
as only "Bible," why does the word "Spirit" occur so often?
3) INDWELLING Language
A."Because you are sons, God has sent forth
the Spirit of His Son INTO OUR HEARTS, CRYING, 'Abba! Father!'" (Gal. 4:6).Two obvious observations:
1) Preposition "Into" implies that
He was outside but is now within Us
2) The CRYING is another instance of
personal action attributed to the Spirit
B."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. If Christ is IN YOU, though
the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of
righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead DWELLS
IN YOU, He who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WHO DWELLS IN YOU" (Rom. 8:9-11). This passage is
as clear an example of not only the reality, but the NECESSITY, of personal
indwelling, as we find in the Scriptures. If the Spirit who gave life to our dead
souls (Eph. 2:1-4) already in baptism is not still alive within us, then how do
we expect to be raised bodily one day? It's the same Spirit and the same power
that raised Jesus from the dead. And He's not through with us yet.
C."Do you not know that you (plural) are a
temple of God and that the Spirit of God DWELLS IN YOU?" (1 Cor. 3:16). The
church as a whole is a place of dwelling for the Spirit. It does not say for
the Bible. The TEMPLE was a place where God's presence dwelt personally.
D."Do you not know that your body is a
temple of the Holy Spirit WHO IS IN YOU, whom you have from God, and that you
are not your own?" (1 Cor. 6:19) The whole point of this passage is that
sexual union with a prostitute is bringing God Himself into an unholy
relationship. It's meant to be a shocking reminder of what's going on when a
Christian who houses God's Spirit within his body shares the holiness of a
sanctified temple for God with impurity.
E."It is God who is AT WORK IN YOU, both to
will and to work for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). This sure does sound
like God is personally at work within me.
F."Or what agreement has the temple of God
with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will
DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; and I will be their God, and they shall be
My people.'" (2 Cor. 6:17)
G."God has not called us for the purpose of
impurity, but in sanctification. So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man
but the GOD WHO GIVES HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO YOU" (1 Thess. 4:7-8). This GIFT,
which clearly IS the Spirit, not a just a gift given by the Spirit (some have
said the "gift of the Spirit" is either "eternal life" or "the word of God")
H."Guard, through the Holy Spirit WHO DWELLS IN US, the treasure which has been
entrusted to you" (2 Tim. 1:14). The Spirit plays
an active role in our stewardship of what God has put in our hands.
4) A
Universal GIFT to Christians
"Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. For the PROMISE is for you and your children and ALL WHO ARE FAR OFF, AS MANY AS THE LORD OUR GOD WILL CALL TO HIMSELF." (Acts 2:38-39) As is evident in 1 Thessalonians 4, the GIFT here is not something given by the Spirit. The gift IS the Spirit. And the personal indwelling of the Spirit is promised to all generations of those who are baptized by faith in the working of God for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus' righteousness atones for sin and justifies us. But ultimately the Spirit must go to work to sanctify us. And He sanctifies through producing the fruit (9 virtues in Gal. 5:22-26) that could never be produced completely by just reading through the Bible.
NOTE: I did not even include the language about the
Spirit as an Advocate in Jesus' words in John 13-17 due to the tendency of some
to just see these words as a message to the 12 apostles only. If all that He says
of the Spirit was just meant for the 12, why does it match up so well with the
other New Testament passages that speak of the Spirit's PEACE and JOY (Gal.
5:22-24...2 major themes in John 13-17)? And why do we like to preach on topics
like LOVE, SERVICE, UNITY, and other topics Jesus directs toward the apostles
in that Upper Room Discourse (John 13-17) and automatically think that the
references to the Spirit have nothing to say to us today? The idea of the
Spirit in those passages is of an ADVOCATE, one who pleads for us and helps
protect us from the enemies of peace...especially the internal enemies of sin,
fear, doubt, and anxiety. The Spirit does within my heart what Jesus is doing
before the throne of the Father as our Advocate (1 John 2:1-2).
To His Glory,
Caleb
