All who wish to have a close relationship with God must be concerned also for their relationship with the Holy Spirit. At the point of conversion, the Spirit takes up residence within a person. This was at the directive of Jesus when he ascended to heaven. Like Samson, who became weak when he allowed himself to be manipulated by evil, the believer without the active indwelling Spirit becomes virtually deluded. It was Christ’s purpose that his Spirit abide with us forever. In fact, Jesus said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you and shall be in you.” (John 14:16,17) Scriptures about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit provided for us a mental picture for our consideration.
The Holy Spirit dwells within us in the same way that a person is a factor dwelling within a house. That person has a full use of the house and in our discussion the full use of our heart. As part of our progressive sanctification, our goal is to allow the Holy Spirit more and more to dominate our spirit. (Romans 8:9)
As a whole, the Holy Spirit dwells within us, like a mountain spring filling a well from which anyone can draw. The water is fresh, cleansing, and satisfies. Anyone that allows the Holy Spirit to have dominance in their life can testify to these things. (John 4:14)
The Holy Spirit is like a river flowing from a fountain bursting forth from a rock. There is an abundance in the moving of God’s Spirit as he operates within our lives. He bursts forth with new knowledge and understanding of the Scripture, of the mission of Christ when he came to this earth. (John 7:37-39)
A tree has no life without the sap that flows from the roots to the highest leaf. So, it is with God’s Holy Spirit. He takes the deadness of what we are and produces outflowing beauty that anoints our insides. Like that tree that is alive, the Holy Spirit provides newness, a freshness to our lives. (Romans 8:11)
We can better understand the indwelling of the Holy Spirit by comparing it with the waters in the ocean. It flows everywhere. It chisels away the hardness of the rocks on the shore. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to operate within our lives, we encourage him to invade and flow throughout our whole being. (Ephesians 5:18)
Our bodies only have a limited strength to fulfill the duties of the day. However, when the Holy Spirit is operative within us, we have a special spiritual strength that drives us further. Our goal is for the Holy Spirit to fill us, use us, in every part of who we are, and in every way possible. (Micah 3:8)
When Solomon dedicated the newly constructed temple, God’s glory came down to dwell in the temple, not necessarily as a residence, but as a symbol of God’s ownership of what we are. A Christian can have no better accomplishment within himself than to have the Holy Spirit take full occupancy of his life. (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Jesus said he would send the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter for us in his absence. It is his gift to us to be the source of strength and purpose in this world. We must be willing to accept the gift. Without the Holy Spirit’s full reign over us, we become weak spiritually like Samson. Surely, no one would want weakness to be a label that describes our spiritual life.
Christian Writer 