1470. We Know by the Indwelling Spirit
We Know by the Indwelling Spirit
"Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit" (1Jn_4:13).
We have before us something that is quite unique in the experience of the believer.
The father, in an earthly family, may instruct his son; he may set a splendid example before him; indeed he may do many things to aid him in a true life; but he cannot "indwell" him.
The Heavenly Father goes far beyond the possibilities of an earthly father. He not only tells us how to walk, and how to live; but He places within us His Spirit, that we may be empowered, to walk and to live. He puts the "enabling" in us.
1. This indwelling Spirit is given only to sons. In Galatians we read: "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts" (Gal_4:6).
"Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" (Rom_8:9).
When the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer's heart, he knows he is a child of God, because the Holy Spirit is God's gift to the saved alone.
2. This indwelling Spirit cries "Abba, Father." "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father" (Gal_4:6).
The man of the world may talk of the "all-father," but he knows nothing about this spirit of worship, this cry of the heart, this fellowship, this appeal of the soul expressed by, "Abba, Father."
When Jesus Christ hung upon Calvary's Cross, in the sinner's stead, He cried: "My God, My God,"–this is the cry of the sinner, when he is yet in his sins.
The cry of the saint is, "Father, Father."
The redeemed have a response of soul, an upward leap, a Divine affiance toward the Father, that the world cannot feel.
3. This indwelling Spirit shows us Christ. We know we are born again when the Spirit of God, who dwells within us, testifies of Christ, glorifying Him, and takes of the things of Christ, showing them unto us.
The mission of the Holy Spirit is to transform the believer into the image of the Son of God. In doing this, He continually magnifies Christ.
Hold Thou the Christ,
Before my opened eyes,
Lead on to Him,
And point us to the skies.–(Arranged).
As the Lord Jesus, therefore, becomes more precious because of the Spirit; and as the heart and life more and more reach out toward Him; as we learn, the more, to love Him Whom we have not seen, and to rejoice in Him Whom we have not known, face to face–we know that we are born of God.
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR