The Indwelling of God

The Indwelling of God

Did you know there are nearly as many verses in the New Testament promising the indwelling of God the Father and Jesus as there are which promise the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? Yet, we never talk about them. We never claim any special blessing from the Father’s or the Son’s presence. We hardly discuss the topic at all.  Our energy is singularly focused on the personal indwelling of the Spirit.  It is almost as if because He is a “Spirit” (Ghost – KJV), that we assign to Him mystical properties that we never do to the Father or the Son. It is almost as if we feel free to make claims about Him that are unique within the Godhead.

What and Who indwell you?

What and Who indwell you?

To me, the whole construct feels limiting.  I, for one, do not want to settle for one member of the Godhead dwelling within me.  I want – and have – all three within me. And I am in them. Its called a relationship. There’s nothing mystical or hard to understand about it.

Here is a sampling of verses that state the indwelling of the Father and Jesus:

Joh_6:56  Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

Joh_14:20  In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

Joh_15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Joh_15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Joh_17:23  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

Joh_17:26  I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

Rom_8:10  But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

2Co_13:5  Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Gal_2:20  I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Eph_3:17  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Col_1:27  To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1Jn_3:24  Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1Jn_4:4  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1Jn_4:12  No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

1Jn_4:13  By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

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How Long in the Tomb?

How Long in the Tomb?

Jesus described how long he would be in the tomb. The words and phrases He used as He did this have often troubled Bible students. Those who focus only on the words of Matthew 12:40 usually concluded that these words demand that He was crucified on Thursday and raised up on Sunday. In their understanding this is the only way Jesus could have been in the tomb for three nights.jesus tomb

Then, there are those denominations whose emphasis is on the Sabbath. One such group says that Jesus was raised precisely 72 hours later and that resurrection was on Saturday just precisely at the same time He was buried three days before. To them, the resurrection was “discovered” on Sunday morning.

Other Sabbath keepers use the words of Matthew and conclude that he was crucified on Wednesday and raised on Saturday morning. To them the three nights are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night. Is there any way to know just what happened?

Remember that Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Jesus often mentioned the time He would be raised but uses two other phrases to describe that time. He only once spoke of “three days and three nights,” but in the gospel accounts He used the phrase “the third day” at least eight times. Both Peter and Paul also use this phrase (Acts 10:40; 1 Cor. 15:4). The accounts of His resurrection show He was raised on Sunday morning. Those disciples walking on the road to Emmaus said, “Today is the third day” (Luke 24:21). If Sunday was the third day, then Saturday and Friday were the other two. This does not solve the problem of the three nights of Matthew, but it shows one cannot simply read the one account. He must deal with every word Jesus spoke. Consider what Jesus said in His message to Herod. “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold,’ I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the third day I shall be perfected’” (Luke 13:32).

Jesus also used another phrase which complicates this matter. In Mark 8:31, Jesus said that “He must…be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” There is no way to take the phrase “on the third day” and “after three days” literally and not make the Bible contradict itself.

So, what is the solution? Was He literally in the tomb three nights, raised on the third day, or after three days. Atheists and unbelievers use this problem to say that the Bible contradicts itself. What is the solution? Was it on the third day or after the third day? We will look at the solution in next week’s article. It may not be as hard as it appears.

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Chance of Dying 100%

Chance of Dying 100%

Several years ago, there was a doctor in England who said he was working on a drug that was going to reverse the effects of aging. He claimed that remarkable medicine would prevent the body from growing old. When someone asked him whether it would prevent people from dying, he said, “no.” The treatment wouldn’t prevent diseases, cancers, or accidents. The average human lifespan would increase to, he thought, nearly 1000 years in the best-case scenario, but eventually, chance would catch up, and we would be hit by a bus or something like that.

dying 100%

Chance of Dying? 100%

The point of this little story is that even if we were to eliminate cancer, disease, aging, and all other afflictions that may come our way, we would still contend with death. The Bible says, “it is appointed for men once to die, and after this, the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Paul wrote, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). Notice the juxtaposition of life and death in these verses. We are confident being in the body, but we are also pleased to be absent from the body and present with the Lord. Death has no power over us. Christians don’t invite death, but they accept its reality. Revelation 14:13 states, “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”’ ‘Yes,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.’” Jesus has released us from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Do we trust Him?

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The Death of Peter

The Death of Peter

In the closing verses of John, Jesus foretold the nature of the death of Peter. He reminded Peter of that time when he was young and could dress himself and was free to go wherever he wanted. He then said, “But when you are old another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”

The Holy Spirit then adds these comments, “This He said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God” (John 21:18-19). Tradition says that Peter was crucified, but, at his request, he was crucified upside down for he did not feel worthy to die like Jesus.

We are not sure of the details of Peter’s death, but we do have his writings shortly before he died. “Knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as the Lord Jesus Christ showed me” (2 Pet. 1:14). They show us how he used the short time he had.

Note how Peter regarded his own body. It was just a tent. It was not his eternal dwelling. Some who pay so much attention to keeping the body fit and healthy, getting proper exercise and eating the proper food, fail to realize that while bodily exercise profits, godliness is “…profitable for all things, having promise for the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). Paul speaks of how in this tent we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed in heavenly garments (2 Cor. 5:1-2). We must never forget that our body is simply a tent which we lay aside in death.

With death approaching, what was Peter doing with the time he had left? He was spending time with those who already knew truth and was not negligent in reminding the saved of these matters, so that they could continue to be established in the truth they already knew (2 Pet. 1:12).

He was spending time “as long as I am in this tent” to always remind them and to stir them up by that reminding (2 Pet. 1:12-13). There is a grave danger in the lives of Christians today of a vital truth. As they mature, they reach a point when they think they no longer need Sunday Bible classes, Sunday evening service and Wednesday classes. Failure to continue to study the Bible or to think we already know it is so dangerous. Peter knew the Christians to whom he was writing already knew what he was telling them, but he also knew that hearing truths again and again strengthens us.

Peter saw that how he spent his life would impact the lives of those after he brought glory to God in how he died. “I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (2 Pet. 1:15). In death we leave behind a treasure of eternal truth that will remind others.

Think about it. What are you doing “as long as you are in this tent”?

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Beyond Lip Service

Beyond Lip Service

There are many people in this world who say one thing, but do or mean another.  It passes my mind that the bulk of these occur in ignorance.  Two phrases frequently used to illustrate this problem are: “in Jesus name” and “through the Word only”.  Beyond lip service of pronouncing these phrases, what action or teaching should follow to demonstrate proper understanding?

Many individuals and churches declare their worship behavior or individual actions are approved of by God because their motivation is to do them “in Jesus name”.  Colossians 3:17 states: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus...”  The motivation by an individual or church to do and speak in this manner are both expected and appropriate.  However, what does the phrase “in the name” mean?  It means “by the authority of”.  The Christian learns what Christ wants from reading the Bible.  Christ wants the Will of the Father done.  He shared it while He was on earth.  He also sent his Holy Spirit to provide that revelation to His Apostles and those they laid hands on.  They wrote the scriptures so we could now access them to have authority for our actions.

Actually doing something “in the name of Jesus” means going beyond lip service.  Here is an example of correctly applying “in the name of Jesus”.  Christians gather together to worship and sing to God.  The authority for this action comes from Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16.  That is doing something “in the name of Jesus”.  Now, feeling as if you get a better sound by playing a hymn with musical instruments when you worship is a different animal.  Nowhere by the authority of Christ are instruments instructed to be used or encouraged as an option.  Singing alone is instructed.  If you want to do something “in the name of Christ” you must have scripture backing it up.  This excludes praise teams, choirs, clapping, drama, puppet shows, and a whole host of other unauthorized activities.

A second phrase often used is “through the Word only”.  This is most always used when discussing the work of the Holy Spirit.  The reason this is done relies on I Corinthians 13:8-12, Ephesians 4:8-14, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Peter 2:1, Zechariah 13:1-6, and other passages.  These passages make clear that the prophetic work of the Holy Spirit ended near to the end of the first century.  Thus, it is said that today, the Holy Spirit works “through the Word only”.  There are many discussions about that statement that could be had, however, for this writing we will focus only on our purpose which is going beyond lip service to this phrase.

To say the Holy Spirit works “through the Word only”, means that the Holy Spirit Gave the Word and it is the Word working now.  You study it, you learn it, you apply it.  It is the content applied that creates the change not a direct operation.  Unfortunately, preachers will say things like “The Holy Spirit provides a spark to your learning once you are baptized.”  or “The Holy Spirit brings you to baptism and then you make the decision.”.  Both of these are lip service to “through the Word only”.  If something is operating other than the Word of God, the preacher/Christian does not believe or understand in “through the Word only”.  Stating the phrase sounds good, but proper teaching will agree with the statement not contradict it.

Both phrases mentioned in this article are commonly used phrases from a pulpit.  If properly taught and followed they can help the individual and a congregation grow.  If not, they can breed confusion and false teaching for years to come.

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