What is the Indwelling Spirit?
Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God - the sons and
daughters of God can expect the leading of the blessed Holy Spirit
.
When you come to Jesus Christ, you receive Christ into your heart. Jesus does not physically enter into your chest cavity and live there, but the Spirit of God comes and joins with the spirit of the believer. This is what is meant by the term "the indwelling Spirit."
.
His function is to reproduce the life of Jesus in the believer. He will
manifest the fruit of the Spirit in the believer's life. The nine attributes of
Jesus that develop in the life of someone who has been born again and who has
been indwelt by the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
.
The Holy Spirit does not
force Himself on us. Our wills and our egocentric natures have to decrease,
whereas the Spirit of Jesus within us has to increase. This is a continuing
process. Little by little, Christ is being made bigger, and we are being made
smaller. The struggle will go on as long as you give your flesh, the world, and
the devil a place in your life.
Pat Robertson
"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
Jesus does not physically enter into your
chest cavity and live there, but the Spirit of God comes and joins with the
spirit of the believer.
This is what is meant by the term "the
indwelling Spirit."
His function is to reproduce the life of
Jesus in the believer.
He will manifest the fruit of the Spirit in
the believer's life.
The nine attributes of Jesus that develop
in the life of someone who has been born again and who has been indwelt by the
Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
In Romans 8:14 the apostle Paul tells us
that those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.
You might ask then, where does the constant
struggle in the life of some Christians come from?
Many Christians run into problems when they
do not cooperate with the Spirit. We have a choice.
The Spirit does not force Himself on us.
For example, in the first century the
apostles and elders in Jerusalem were debating a matter of doctrine.
After they heard
much discussion, they responded to the believers in Antioch, saying, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and
to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things" (Acts 15:28).
That was an awesome statement for those men
to make. They were saying, in effect, that their opinion was equal to the
opinion of the Holy Spirit.
They said, "It seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and
to us."
They were acknowledging a God-given
partnership.
They could choose whether or not to
cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
They can hold back and fail to acknowledge
Him, or they can accept His leading to do what He wants them to do.
They have that freedom, but they eventually
have to deal with the blessings or problems resulting from their free
decisions.
John the Baptist can be our role model.
He said, "He must increase, but I must
decrease" (John
3:30).
Our wills and our egocentric natures have
to decrease, whereas the Spirit of Jesus within us has to increase.
If you fight that
process and say, "I am going to
assert myself and have my own way, but I will go to church on Sunday,
acknowledge Christ, and take His benefits," you are going to be a
defeated, immature Christian.
The struggle will go on as long as you give your flesh, the world, and the devil a place in your life.
Excerpt taken from Answers to 200 of Life's Most Probing Questions, Copyright 1984 by Pat Robertson.
Pat Robertson
M. G. "Pat"
Robertson has achieved national and international recognition as a religious
broadcaster, philanthropist, educator, religious leader, businessman, and
author. He is the founder and chairman of The Christian
Broadcasting Network (CBN) Inc., and
founder of International Family Entertainment Inc.,Regent University, Operation Blessing
International Relief and Development Corporation, American Center for Law and Justice, The Flying Hospital, Inc. and several other
organizations and broadcast entities.
Founded in 1960, CBN was the
first Christian television network established in the United States. Today CBN
is one of the world's largest television ministries and produces programming
seen in 200 nations and heard in 70 languages including Russian, Arabic,
Spanish, French and Chinese. CBN's flagship program, The 700 Club, which Mr. Robertson hosts, can be seen in 97 percent
of television markets across the United States and is one of the longest
running religious television show.
https://www1.cbn.com/questions/what-is-indwelling-spirit
No comments:
Post a Comment