Friday, May 28, 2010

DOCTRINE OF THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT part 3

The Divine Power of the Holy Spirit


A.The divine power of our Christian life has its basis in the indwelling of the Spirit but our exercise of divine Power results from the Filling of the Spirit.
B.The Filling of the Holy Spirit is the first power option of the spiritual life of the believer in the Church Age. It is impossible to execute the unique spiritual life of the Church Age apart from the Filling of the Spirit. Divine power is necessary to execute the divine plan and apart from the Filling of the Spirit, there is no spiritual life whatsoever.
C.A perfect plan (the Grace plan of God) demands perfect power for its fulfillment. The Christian way of life is a supernatural way of life and demands a supernatural means of execution. This is the major dramatic difference between us and unbelievers. Obviously, anything an unbeliever can do bears no resemblance to the Christian way of life.


The inner conflict between the Sin Nature and Indwelling Holy Spirit


A.The prior indwelling of the old sin nature from the moment of physical birth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from the moment of the new birth result in a great inner conflict (Gal. 5:17)
B.The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the principle of victory over the old sin nature, while the filling of the Holy Spirit is the function of victory over the old sin nature.
C.Therefore, emphasis is placed on the baptism of the Holy Spirit which frees the believer from the power of the old sin nature and empowers the believer for a new way of life.

D.The inner conflict between the old sin nature and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is disclosed in Rom. 8:2-8 and Gal. 5:16ff. The old sin nature has a head start since it was in our body from the moment of physical birth. It is only overcome by positive volition toward bible doctrine and the timely and consistent utilization of the rebound technique.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Doctrine Of The Indwelling Of The Holy Spirit part two.

II. Differentiation between indwelling and filling:

  A. It is important to distinguish between the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the Filling of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is permanent and was the act of God the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation of the individual believer. It is 100 % independent of the volition of the believer. The Filling of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is volition dependent and is the result of the volition of the believer whether or not he/she gives in to the temptations of the Old Sin Nature.

 B. Maintenance of Filling of the Holy Spirit depends on our proper and timely use of the rebound technique. When we sin we lose the Filling of the Holy Spirit but not the Indwelling.

 C. Obviously, the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit are not synonymous terms.

      1. While the indwelling of the Holy Spirit emphasizes the body of the believer, the filling of the Spirit emphasizes the believer’s soul. I Cor. 3:16; 6:19 – 20 (The King James uses the term Holy Ghost which was a mistranslation from the Latin to the English {not the translation from the Koine Greek to the Latin}. The Greek noun pneuma when speaking of the third person of the triune God always means Spirit).

      2. The believer’s body is the sacred building of the Church Age. This indwelling makes it impossible for demons to possess the believer’s body. In fact, demon possession cannot take place apart from the consent of the unbeliever so possessed.

      3. While both the indwelling and filling are absolutes they are different types of absolutes.

          (a). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is an irrevocable absolute.

          (b). The filling of the Holy Spirit is a revocable absolute through carnality. However, the indwelling and filling are cooperating absolutes when we are filled with the Spirit.

          (c). When the Holy Spirit controls the soul, the believer is said to be filled with the Spirit but when the old sin nature controls the soul, the believer is said to be carnal, both grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit.

          (d). The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is both permanent and irrevocable whether the believer is spiritual or carnal; whether he/she is a winner or loser believer.

 D. The filling of the Holy Spirit is mandated by God the Father in Eph. 5:18 but the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is stated by God as an accomplished absolute in I Cor. 3:16; 6:19 – 20.