Enveloped By The Spirit (Romans 8:9)

Introduction

This was the initial title of my sermon tonight. What does it mean to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit? Or to be led by him? I changed the title. However, this is a subject of growing interest among religious people, among folks who claim to be Christians, and even a growing interest among brethren. What does it mean to be indwelt by the member of the Godhead we know as the Holy Spirit? I want to know how that works. You want to know how that works. And make sure if that’s God’s intention for us, what that means. Exactly. In your circumstances. And so I might put it this way also. Is the Holy Spirit literally inside a believer’s body? That is, when we come into a right relationship with God on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ, and we’re baptized in his name, when we repent and are baptized for the remission of our sins, as we then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Talk about that more in a moment, Acts 2 and verse 38. Is that saying? And there are other verses saying that the Holy Spirit is going to then, at that point, literally be inside my body. And what impact does that have on the life of a believer? Now, I’m going to tell you what I could do with this subject. Tell you everything that the Old Testament and the New Testament says about the work of the Holy Spirit, and we’ll be here till midnight, and Caleb will miss her plane at 8.20. So I’m not going to do that. We’re going to have a study of the Holy Spirit on Wednesday nights, the quarter after next. I’m going to keep you coming back. It’s the winter quarter. We’re going to study this in great detail.

The work of the Holy Spirit. This is somewhat just introductory to that. I’m not going to bombard you with a bunch of verses. We’re going to look just at a handful, including Acts chapter 2 and verse 38 tonight. When we talk about the work of the Holy Spirit and what has commonly been taught among brethren, at least as far as I can ascertain, I don’t know what brethren have taught everywhere. You know, I’m talking about just my experience, and perhaps it’s broader than yours in terms of the number of congregations I’ve been with, things I’ve learned through the years, perhaps not in terms of its broadness. But I think there’s a sense, because this is such a big deal in the religious world, and becoming a bigger deal among brethren, that if we don’t say that the Holy Spirit is literally inside us, I remember a conversation with a preacher that seemed to be making fun of me because of my particular stance on this matter.

That if we don’t acknowledge that what is clearly being said in the New Testament, that the Holy Spirit is inside our bodies, that if we don’t acknowledge that we’re somehow missing something. Something that would be extremely helpful to us. I just want to tell you, I don’t want to miss anything that God has in store for us and God intends for us. And that’s one thing I need to be careful to do as a teacher of God’s word, to not take away anything that God has designed to be helpful for us in our salvation. And so this comes up, after all, Tony, you’ve been around for a while. I knew at least somebody would giggle at that. But you’re just holding on to some outdated tradition, you’re stuck in the mud.

You know, whenever I go with an idea that brethren have had for a long period of time, I know as I get older that I’m going to get pigeonholed more and more as the guy who’s just resistant to change. And there’s some aspects of my life where I am pretty resistant to change. But I don’t hold positions just because a lot of brethren hold them, or that’s been the majority position that brethren have seemed to hold through the years, and you know about some of the things like that I’ve taught through the years here. So am I just holding on to some outdated tradition, and as a result, I’m missing something. And I think this is one of the reasons why the idea of the Holy Spirit literally inhabiting Christians is so attractive.

That it comforts people. People are comforted by the idea. I mean, we have struggles we face, uncertainties and difficulties in our lives. And if the Holy Spirit, if we believe that the Holy Spirit is literally inside us in some way, it’s comforting. It’s a sense of assurance, perhaps, about our salvation. But then the question goes even deeper. If the Holy Spirit is inside us literally, what goes along with that? Is he doing something, some extraordinary assistance that would not be possible otherwise beyond his instruction? This is the product of the Spirit, as we’ll talk about in a moment, and our own wills in regard to the battle against temptation and sin. Is there some extraordinary thing that the Spirit is doing, helping us, because He’s inside of us, helping us in our battle against temptation and sin.

And then this concern, more troubling, is because of a belief that the Holy Spirit is literally inside our bodies. Does that give me an out in the area of personal responsibility for my behavior? Now, if the Holy Spirit is literally inside of me and I am committing a sin, what are the implications of that? And if the Holy Spirit is fighting the battle against sin for me, and yet I still do what is transgression, what are the implications of that idea? And so for some people, the idea of the Holy Spirit being inside them is like whatever they decide to do is like a direct message from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit directed me to do this, and the Holy Spirit directed me to do that.

And so every whim that they have gets sanctioned because the Holy Spirit is guiding me. Every decision that they have is Holy Spirit determined, if you will. Okay. So, where does this sermon come from? Some class material, incidentally. Written for young people, perhaps innocently done, but reflecting the thoughts of our times. Some true and false questions that relate to this subject of the Spirit, how he works in our salvation. Question number one. Are you ready for the test? How are you going to do on the test? You didn’t realize when you showed up on a Sunday night that you would be taking a test. Let’s see how you do. This was written for kids, by the way. When people repent and are baptized, the Holy Spirit comes to live in them.

Obviously, a reference to the verse that I quoted, Acts 2 and verse 38. I’m thinking, though I don’t have the answer key, that the writer of this material was thinking. True. That the Holy Spirit literally comes inside us as believers. My answer to that question is false. I don’t believe that’s what Acts 238 is saying. You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I preached a whole sermon on that. You can research it on our website and listen to an entire 30-minute sermon on that subject where I talk about what that passage is saying. Everything the Holy Spirit has been promising in the Old Testament, all the blessings associated with the Messiah and His coming, you get to partake in that. There’s several times the word promise is mentioned.

For the promise is for you and for your children. And for all who are far off. He would go on to say the next verse. Acts 2 and verse 39. Not going to repreach that whole sermon. But that’s not what he’s talking about. Yes, it’s talking about the miraculous manifestations that the Holy Spirit would bring in the first century, but it’s much more than that. It is a larger picture than that. It is all that issues from the Holy Spirit in regard to our salvation. And I would attest and affirm that it does not include him literally being inside my body. Now the strongest support for this idea is often Acts 5 and verse 32. This is a starter course. Remember, the full enchilada comes over three months from now.

This is the verse that I heard cited probably second most. Ephesians 5 and verse 32. And we are witnesses of these things. And so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. Says it right there. The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey him. I want to suggest a word to you that folks who attend here regularly have heard me use before. That this is an example of a figure of speech known as metonymy. You know one of my favorites. Me, Tony, my tonomy. This is not literally the Holy Spirit inside our bodies, but things that are associated with the Holy Spirit’s work. Let me give you an example of that. What was the rich man told about his brothers who were still alive?

They have Moses and the prophets. Well, they didn’t literally have Moses. He was long since dead. But they had the law of Moses, something associated with him to guide their footsteps. They have Moses and the prophets. That’s an example of autonomy. You want to study a very intense book, Hermeneutics by Dungan. And he said that there is uses of metonymy in relation to the Holy Spirit all over the New Testament. And I agree with that. It’s not literally the Holy Spirit. But you have to remember in the first century, the work of the Holy Spirit was much more visible. There were miracles being manifested. There were people speaking in tongues and prophesying. And so the work of the Spirit in the lives of believers was something very visible that all believers saw.

And so simply to say, the Holy Spirit is given to those who believe, that conveyed something in the first audience who read Acts. That conveyed something of them far different than to our circumstances in the 21st century. When that part of the Holy Spirit’s work has concluded long ago. Now that’s the short course on Acts 5 and verse 32. Second question, and we will go quicker. We have to work hard to get the Holy Spirit.

But again, I think the question implies the idea that the Holy Spirit is going to literally come inside of it. And we don’t have to work hard, although we could talk about repentance as being a difficult work. But I think the point was you repent and are baptized, receive the remission of sins, you get the Holy Spirit. You don’t have to work hard to get it.

Question number three. God’s Holy Spirit gives us hope. Now, I think the answer to that, of course, is true, but not because I believe the Holy Spirit is literally inside my body. The evidence of the Spirit-led life. That sounds like Galatians 5. That’s right. Love, joy, peace, and kindness in our lives. And so, again, I would give the answer to that as true. That’s a fruit of the Spirit or the Spirit’s work, and we’re to walk after the Spirit. Galatians 5, 25. Now I’m going to skip to question 9. Not to confuse you, but it relates to question 4. Question 9. The evidence of a spirit-led life is goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I don’t know why that wasn’t question number five. But it relates to question number four.

So now we’re going to go to the last four questions. Question number five. The whole Holy Spirit lives only in heaven. Again, I think this question is asked because the answer that was intended is false because he lives inside you. The belief. Actually, that’s true. That’s true. Because, yes, God is omnipresent, but that doesn’t mean God is everywhere at all times. It simply means there is nothing that escapes the presence of God. There is nothing outside of his view. There is no place in the universe or anywhere that he cannot superintend and control. But clearly, God is in heaven. Jesus is in heaven at the right hand. The Holy Spirit is in heaven. And depending on your view of the Holy Spirit, I want to suggest to you that the Holy Spirit is with the Father and with the Son.

We’re on that in a moment. Since our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we should honor God with our bodies. What’s the answer? True. That’s correct. We can go with that. But again, I would probably differ with the author about what that means. The temple of the Holy Spirit. If a person does not have the Spirit, she can still belong to Christ. Now that’s the question. I want to change that. I don’t know why this is partial to females. But he or she is what I would almost change it. No, that’s where the question was. I don’t know if this had a female author or what. But let’s go he or she here. If a person does not have the spirit, she can still belong to Christ.

That’s false, but again, I think the author is looking at a literal indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside a person. God gives us the Holy Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing a place in heaven for us. That’s probably the most quoted passage. Ephesians chapter 1. Let’s look over there. We’re going to go look at a few more passages tonight. Ephesians chapter 1, 13 and 14. Let’s look at these. And again, more explanation several months down the road. I love this concluding opening salvo in the book of Ephesians about God’s salvation. As it gets to our response, it says, in him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession to the praise of his glory.

Okay, the Holy Spirit is given, but there’s no explanation given in Ephesians, specifically, at least not in chapter 1, as to how that happens or what that means necessarily. But the Holy Spirit is involved in our salvation and is some kind of deposit or guarantee of what God has promised. But this obviously doesn’t mean that if you have the Holy Spirit, that it’s signed, sealed, and delivered. You’re going to heaven, can’t miss it no matter what. Obviously, your behavior still matters. So as I look at this question, realizing where it’s come from, I’m just going to give this the old question mark as an answer. It really depends on what you mean by the question. Now, one of the reasons why I did this is what the Holy Spirit is doing, it’s a difficult subject.

It is an even more difficult subject if you don’t understand how metonymy works. That when metonymy is given, if that is the case with the Holy Spirit in a number of these passages, that it’s not the Holy Spirit himself as a person who is given, but something associated with him. This becomes a challenge for people. There’s all kinds of, we talked before, I talk about figures of speech all the time. Sometimes when figures of speech are used in the Bible, it just goes right over people’s heads, and they don’t get it. If it says something that sort of matches their theology, they go with a literal understanding. Like Christ did not send me to baptize. See, baptism is necessary to salvation. Well, what about Acts 2 and verse 38?

The past we just read. Maybe Paul is doing something different in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 17. It is a figure of speech. Christ did not send me to baptize merely, but to preach the gospel is the sense of that passage. Figures of speech are all over the Bible. So metonymy makes this a little bit challenging for some students who don’t dig deeper. I want you to think deeper about this subject. You have to consider everything the New Testament has said about the work of the Holy Spirit. We’re getting ready to look at a couple of things. And then as I say that, and we look at these questions, and you’re probably, some of them are scratching your head. There’s one thing I’ve learned in 33 years of preaching and all the religious materials that I’ve read, even materials written by brethren, young people.

We have to be careful about what we read. We must measure it by the most complete understanding that is possible of the entire Word of God.

We can draw conclusions that cause us to come into conflict with other passages of Scripture. And there’s something very fundamental about this idea of the Holy Spirit literally living inside of us that I don’t believe most of us would accept the implications of be discerned. I’m not asking you tonight to jump on board with me tonight. Of course I think you should. I’m saying take some time, weigh what I’m saying, dig into the subject of metonymy a little bit. Perhaps find a copy of Duncan’s book and read up on figures of speech. But I want to give you a couple of things tonight. I said two points.

1. Be Enveloped by the Spirit

It feels good. Be enveloped by the Spirit. What does that mean? How does salvation work? Salvation works by the Spirit’s work and promise, as we’ve been reading in Acts 2 and Ephesians 1. And what that means is in salvation, if you are saved in Christ tonight. If you have been baptized into Christ in the past and are now living faithfully before God, this is true. God indwells you. And then this. You indwell him.

A lot of times in this discussion of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, people only want to accept one side of the equation on the literal side. I want to have the Holy Spirit living inside of me. After all, that’s comforting. Not just to be enveloped by the Holy Spirit in that way. Well, no, that’s not the way it works. But let’s suggest even that it does, that the Holy Spirit is literally inside me. That makes me feel better about my walk as a Christian. I have this divine assistance so close to me inside of me. And that really makes me feel better about my struggle. Okay, now once you go that literal direction, now you’ve got to understand something. Are you going to go the literal direction on the other side of that?

You literally living in God. Now you’re going to struggle with that, I think. And there’s another part of this that I want to take you to in Romans chapter 8. We’re just going to read a few verses here. Romans 8 and verse 9 through 11. While people want to argue that the Holy Spirit is literally inside your body, let me tell you what I don’t care. That the Father is literally inside your body. Or that Jesus is literally inside your body. But I want you to see this. I believe we’re indwelt by God. Period. If you understand it properly. Romans 8 and verse 9. You are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. Now that really requires an explanation of the whole context, but we did that when we studied Romans.

But then this. If indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you, this is not a question of the Spirit of God indwelling us, like I said by the opening slide, but what does that mean? But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, and that could be Christ’s Spirit or the Holy Spirit, difficulty in interpretation there, perhaps. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. And that goes to one of the questions that the teacher raised. But then this, verse 10. And if Christ is in you, whoa. And dwelt by the Holy Spirit in verse 9. But in verse 10 it says, 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 Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who indwells you. I want to tell you can’t have it both ways from this passage. You cannot have the Holy Spirit literally inside your body, but not Jesus. Because he says clearly, you’ve got to do something with this language. But this is what people do. They like to hear the part about the spirit indwelling us, but the part about Jesus in dwelling us, you know. But it says, if Christ is in you. Now I think that’s metonymy, okay. But I think the Holy Spirit part is too. Oh, no. But it says, it already says in Ephesians 3, verse 17, that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith.

And my answer to that is the Holy Spirit dwells in you in exactly the same way. And you dwell in God in exactly the same way. By faith. Faith that comes by hearing by the word of Christ. And when we embrace that message and walk in it, God envelops us, and in a sense, we envelop him. That’s right. We are to walk after the Spirit. Why tell people? Why tell people that? If the Holy Spirit is already literally inside them, and that just sort of settles everything. Why tell people, Ephesians 5 and verse 18, that’s the passage, kids, where we tell you, don’t drink. Do not be filled with wine. And that’s talking about a process that leads to drunkenness. Stay away from the process, is what Paul is saying in Ephesians 5 and verse 18.

But the other part of that is, instead of being filled with wine, be filled with the Spirit. Wait a minute. I thought the Spirit was already inside of us. Why tell people in whom the Holy Spirit is already supposed to be in there? Why tell them to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Good question. The Spirit’s work, the Spirit’s work is to nurture in us the mind of Christ.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 5. Some other passages, let me just roll these off. I can’t remember all of them that I put here. Oh no, let’s not get to that. Okay. Quickly about what I just said. The Holy Spirit’s work is to nurture the mind of Christ. Let the mind of Christ be in you. And if that’s the if you develop the mind of Christ, guess what? Christ is in you. And it gives life to you. That’s what Paul is saying in Romans chapter 8. Christ in you is the hope of glory. You don’t have just one verse. Colossians 1 and verse 27. Christ in you is the hope of glory. That’s the Holy Spirit’s work.

He wants you to model Christ in your thinking and behavior. That’s what our hope is all about. If Christ is not in you fail the test. Right? 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5. Examine yourself to see whether or not you be in the faith. If Christ is not in you do not pass the test. And so, why all this emphasis on the Holy Spirit? Now.

And when you were baptized into Christ, you know what? You didn’t say, you know. I need to serve the Lord. And how could I do that? I need to be right with God. I think I’m going to invent baptism for the remission of sins. I’m going to be immersed in water. In likeness of Jesus’ death, burial and reserve. I think that’s the way to do it. That’s not how that worked, was it. You came to the Holy Spirit’s work. And you read, and he said, Jesus said, He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. He said, Acts 2 and verse 38. Which was all that the Holy Spirit had been talking about in the Old Testament, leading us to this moment of the establishment of His kingdom and His disciples.

Jesus church, His special possession. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of your sins, and you’re going to receive all of these things that the Holy Spirit has promised. That’s the idea. And so you did that, and you said, wow, I invented baptism. No, you didn’t. The Holy Spirit, I would never have known that being immersed in water was the final step that places me in Christ. Or that repentance was a part of this process or confession with my lips. Why do we do all of that? Because the Holy Spirit sent to it. That’s what causes us to be in a right relationship with God. So, now the verse. Which really need the whole context of this, but we’ll get to this in the Holy Spirit class.

By one Spirit. Talking about the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the unity of the Holy Spirit’s works. They’re not a source of conflict and division. By one Spirit, you were all baptized into one body. How did I get in Christ? Not literally inside Christ, but relationship. How did I get inside Christ? I submitted to God’s instruction through the specific person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit. And thus, who do I boast in? Not me. I boast in the Lord. I am a product of the Holy Spirit. And so everything that we become in Christ as we grow in Him, we are a product of the Holy Spirit. And when we submit to what the Holy Spirit has instructed, and oh, by the way.

2. Indwelling Speaks to Relationship

When we listen to the word unto the salvation of our souls, our souls are purified in obedience to the truth, right? 1 Peter 1.22. What is also true about us? We are born of the Word. The living and abiding Word of God. That’s a product of the Spirit, isn’t it? And that’s why the scriptures say we are also born of the Spirit. The Spirit’s product produced the behavior that causes us to be in Christ. Point number two, and this is my explanation of that. Indwelling. What does it mean with the Holy Spirit indwells me? Indwelling speaks to relationship. God’s will dictates my behavior and the course of my life. That’s right. This is the passage. One last passage, John 14, 23. What did Jesus say? This is a simple verse, really.

If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. You want to sum up a right response to God in a single statement? Here it is. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. And my Father will love him. And we will come to him or her. We will come to him and make our abode with him. There it is. You want to understand how this whole indwelling thing works? It’s about religion. We’re at home together. And it’s not just the Holy Spirit, it’s Jesus. It’s the Father. It’s just the Holy Spirit’s work in a unique way that involved the miraculous manifestation of spiritual gifts in the first century. That’s why there’s so much emphasis on what was visible to first century believers. This magnificent, miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit, you’ll remember, not literally. Cloven tongues of fire came upon the disciples. The cloven tongues were literal. I’m just saying, the Holy Spirit didn’t jump inside Peter’s body. That was the work of the Holy Spirit being manifested by the clothing tongues of fire. And then they spoke in tongues, and that was the work of the Holy Spirit. And men were saved when they listened to that instruction, which was the work of the Holy Spirit. And the end result of that is we come into a relationship with God. Period. And that’s why. Well, how does this work? Okay. What does it mean to be indwelt by God? To be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Well, what does Colossians 3 verse 16 say? Let the word of Christ, it doesn’t even say the Holy Spirit there.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.

There’s some autonomy. You get the message. You get the message, and you get it planted inside you. And you become like Christ, think like him, then you’re the product of the Holy Spirit, and you’re in relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s how salvation works, and it’s that simple.

So people want to get into this mystical feeling. I think people want to feel something. I tell you, we do need to feel something about our faith, but it comes from the knowledge and the promises that we trust from God’s word and our hope, as we talked about this morning. Does not come from some feeling that results because the Holy Spirit is literally inside my body because that’s not in it. What it means is we adopt his purposes, his concerns, and his goals. What he loves, I learned to love. And what he hates, I learned to hate. And that is by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh. That’s the meaning of that. Romans chapter 8 and verse 13. But that doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit is doing all the work in our fight against sin because Timothy was clearly admonished.

Conclusion

He is one who had spiritual gifts, was told to kindle that gift, whatever that means. But he is told later in that context, flee youthful lust. That was Timothy’s responsibility. Coming from the Holy Spirit. Flee youthful lust. And so, in conclusion, God initiates the whole thing. God is working in the lives of those that he saves. I’m not saying he only works through the word. We have the very real assistance of God providentially. The Holy Spirit yearns on our behalf, Romans chapter 8. God is working in the lives of those he saves, and he will consummate it. He will bring to conclusion his great word that he began in us. And that’s why I like Philippians 1 and verse 6, and I want to end there.

He who began a good work in you will complete it at the day of Christ. Is that going to be true of you? I don’t know if that’s even possible. You know, there’s been some missteps along the way. I’ve had some bad days and some struggles. I could ask for a show of hands, but what’s the point of that? Because all of us would raise our hands.

This is a process. That’s why believer after believer in the New Testament is being admonished. To walk after the Spirit. Put on the mind of Christ. Let the word richly dwell within you. Because this is a lifelong pursuit and process. And as we keep plugging away, as we press toward the mark of the prize. Press. You’ve got to press. That’s your job. Press toward the mark of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. You keep pressing, God finishes it. And you can have every confidence in that. You stop pressing.

Do not fall back to destruction. Let God have his way with you. Let the Holy Spirit have his way with you. Grow in the likeness of Christ. And the end result will be phenomenal. The Spirit and the pride say, come. Let’s stand and say.