Focus: The Spirit's Presence In The Believer's Life

Text: Jh.14:16,17

"And I will pray the Faither, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide WITH you for ever. The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth WITH you, and shall be IN you."

The Holy Spirit dwells in a born again believer. He does not dwell in every human being, not even in the religious man or the person who goes to church. John tells us that the world cannot receive Him and does not know Him.

In John 17, the Lord Jesus Christ prays for His own disciples, and in His prayer to the Father, He acknowledges that the Father has given Him the authority to grant eternal life to as many as He has given Him. In verses 6,7, He says, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee." 

Go through the whole chapter and note certain details. He has given them the word of God. They have received the truths of God. They have known the truth about the identity of their Master, Jesus Christ. They believe in the truth about His mission and the fact that the Father has sent Him. They belong to the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is glorified in them. He has downloaded a lot about the Father to them so that they can be filled with His joy. They are not of the world. They have received the glory of Jesus Christ given to Him by the Father. They are sent on a mission the same way the Father did send Jesus Christ. They are loved by the Father.

Jesus Christ also prays for them to be sanctified, secured, and made perfect.

These are the people who would have the Spirit living in and being with them. Those who believe in, and have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the Spirit comes to dwell in them. Paul says, "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom.8:9).

The believer's body is the temple of God and the Spirit dwells in him. The indwelling of the Spirit is another Emmanuel - God amongst men, and God in the believer's personal space. The presence of the Spirit within the born again believer is a clear indication that his heart has become the shrine of God. He is God's sacred space. It means that the transcendent God is now immanent. God who is 'out there' is now 'down here' and in his life. The believer's body is the home of the Holy Spirit. He houses the Spirit of the most high God. By the Spirit's active presence in his spirit, he has become a powerhouse. 

John writes, "And we know by this that He abides IN us, by the Spirit which He has given us," and again, "By this we know that we abide IN Him and He has given us of His Spirit" (1Jh.3:24; 4:13). 

Do you understand what it means for the Spirit of God to live in you as a Christian? It is so that He would manifest Himself to the world through you. He wants you to become His medium of expression and His vehicle of vision.

The Holy Spirit is a presence that cannot be hidden. He doesn't come to hide in a corner. He has come to reveal Jesus Christ to us. When the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, there was a manifestation, which shows that the Spirit has not come to hide Himself in a corner of our lives. Also, whenever Jesus Christ enters a house it was always noised abroad that He was in the house. He never hides. The Spirit takes the place of Christ in the believer's life. He makes His presence felt. Peter declares, "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath SHED FORTH THIS, which ye now SEE and HEAR" (Act.2:33).

The Spirit in your life is meant to be seen, heard and felt.

Paul, speaking to Festus about king Agrippa, says, "For I am persuaded that none of these things are HIDDEN from him; for this thing was not done in a CORNER" (Act.26:26).

Don't relegate the Spirit to a corner of your life! He is a mighty presence. The Spirit is real. He is a person. He is God. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present in all places and at all times. He is sovereign. Let God be God in your life! Open up to the Spirit of God.! Yield yourself totally to Him! Let someone feel the touch of His hand and the love of His heart through you! The Spirit has come to live in you. He wants not only to be present, but also to be prominent, pronounced, and preeminent in your life. Amen!

by Bishop Moses E. Peter