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 Bro.
Turner:
Please
elaborate on truth about the Holy Spirit and
"indwelling".
Reply:
There
are some basic principles or fundamentals that must be laid as a
foundation for any study of the Holy Spirit. For want of space,
I can only state them here: (1) God is one; (2) The Holy Spirit
is God (Deity); (3) Despite distinctive functions of Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, one can never be completely separated from
the other. This means we must neither limit the Holy Spirit to
"influence" nor presumptuously "take Him to
us", ignoring His divine nature.
To
speak of the Holy Spirit dwelling in man, is to speak of God
dwelling in man — and in neither case can we substantiate the
presence of "naked omnipotence". There could be no
rejection of such power; but man is made a free agent, and can
accept or reject the manifestations of Deity.
Deity
was manifested in Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate, (PHI.2:5-f;
COL.2:8-9; JOH.14:7-9) and man could accept or reject God as he
accepted or rejected Jesus Christ. Ach i the ascension of Christ
the Holy Spirit came to "fill" the Apostles and
Prophets of the NT (EPH.3:2-6; JOH. 14:25-f.). They gave us the
words of God, the means of faith and fellowship with God
(JOH.20:31; 1JO.1:1-f). The word thus became the agency and
manifestation of the Holy Spirit, which man may accept or
reject. Deity is available to all, yet forced upon none.
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JOH.7:37-39
and like passages refer to the coming of power, with the H.S.,
upon chosen messengers of Christ, by which they were equipped to
send forth "rivers of living water" (full and complete
truth) to everyone. There is a sense in which the Holy Spirit
did "dwell" in certain ones miraculously. These had
the Holy Spirit as a "gift" and in them,
representatively, the whole church partakes of the blessings of
this "gift". But one may as well claim inspiration
today as to claim such "indwelling" as theirs. Today's
claims for "direct indwelling" rest upon subjective
proof (?) and drift rapidly into the Calvinistic idea of the
need for "spirit" glasses in order to "see"
the truth of God. The Father "dwells" in the obedient;
JOH.14:23; 1JO.4:12-16. Truth "dwells" in us; 2JO.2;
EPH.5:18-19; COL.3:16. Christ "dwells" in us — study
ROM.8:9-10. He dwells in us by faith; EPH.3:14-19. If we can
grasp these things without swinging to some mystical concept, it
seems we should be able to understand how the Holy Spirit
"dwells" in us (1CO.4:16-17; EPH.2:20-22; 2CO.6:16). I
see no difference in the "indwelling" of Father, Son,
or Holy Spirit today.
Nothing
is changed by slighting remarks about an "inactive"
Spirit. I can believe God is "active" in the affairs
of nations without thinking He personally "indwells".
It is pure assumption to assign "providence" as the
special function of the Spirit. The plural Creator can rule in
His creation, animate and inanimate, without my knowing His mode
of operation. I am content with His revelation.
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