The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Below is my humble working outline for a sermon I preached at Spring Warrior on Sunday, March 13, 2005. I emphasize working outline because it was drafted for my own use, and neither drafted nor “prettied” for public viewing. As such, it does not contain all of the thoughts expressed in the sermon, but merely served as a guide to what I would say. If you find it useful, then I am most pleased.

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The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit:
What He Accomplishes in Christians and How

Scripture Rom. 8:9-11

Read Passage Rom. 7:15-16; 8:1-16

Additional question, how can we know whether the Holy Spirit resides in us?

What is not involved with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
• Not the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2, 10)
• Not the giving of miraculous gifts (1 Cor. 13)
• Not through means of direct or miraculous guidance (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Gal. 1:8-9)

The Holy Spirit Converts
• The Gospel was announced and confirmed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2)
• Christians are born of the Spirit (John 3:6)
• Saved by the Spirit (Tit. 3:5)
• The Spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6)
o Through New Covenant
o And knowledge (context of chapters 3-5)
o Rom. 8:13

The Holy Spirit Seals Us & Becomes the Guarantee of our Inheritance
• Eph. 1:12-14 (guarantee = down payment, earnest, pledge, deposit)
• 2 Cor. 1:21-22
o Sealed – (1) a mark of ownership, (2) being marked by the words and promises which the Spirit has spoken, (3) an indication that we are children of God
o Earnest – The Spirit becomes our guarantee through the revelation and confirmation of God’s word because our actions and conduct reveal that we have heard, believed and obeyed God’s word has revealed by the Holy Spirit, which was confirmed to us through the same revelation which records the Holy Spirit’s signs and miracles.

The Holy Spirit Strengthens Us
• Eph. 3:16-17
o With Power
o Through His Spirit
o In the Inner Man
• Col. 1:9-11
o Paul here also prays that Christians receive strength with might, but this time indicates that the strength comes through (1) knowledge of God’s will, and (2) spiritual understanding
o Acts 20:32 – God’s word builds us up
o 1 Pet. 2:2 – God’s word causes growth

We are to use knowledge of God’s word to walk in the Spirit
• Eph. 4:17, Eph. 5:15-21
o Walk, unwise vs. wise
o Drunk with earthly spirits vs. filled with the Holy Spirit
• Col. 3:16 equates word of Christ with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
• Gal. 5:16-25

Holy Spirit Sanctifies Us and Provides Hope
(Rom. 15:12-16)
• How? Hope through belief (compare vss. 12 & 13)
• Sanctification through goodness & knowledge (v. 14), but Paul writes anyway (1 Cor. 6:11 also by responding to the Gospel)

God’s Help Towards His People is Not Limited by their own Abilities
• Rom. 8:26-28
• 1 Cor. 10:13
• Eph. 3:20
But we still must be converted, sealed, and sanctified, and none of the foregoing verses stand for the proposition that the Holy Spirit acts upon our hearts apart from the word of God, or affects our own free will.