In the first chapter we saw clearly that life is the Triune God Himself. In the whole universe all the different kinds of lives are not the real lives. They are simply the types, figures, and shadows of life. The real life is God Himself. We have also seen how God comes to be our life. He comes firstly in Christ and secondly through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christ is called the life (1 John 5:12; John 11:25; 14:6), and the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). This very Spirit of life is the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Therefore, this Spirit is the Spirit of the Triune God. Moreover, the very Spirit of the Triune God comes into our spirit to make our spirit His residence. He dwells there, lives there, and works there, taking our human spirit as His home, His house, His residence.
First John 4:13 says, “In this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, that He has given to us of His Spirit.” We all know that the Holy Spirit is within us, but within what part of us does He dwell? We need to locate the Holy Spirit within us. Romans 8:16 proves that the Holy Spirit today is within our spirit, taking our spirit as His abode, His residence. This verse says, “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” To be the children of God is a matter of life, which is testified by the Holy Spirit as life in our spirit. This proves that the Spirit of God as the Spirit of life resides and dwells in our spirit. Our human spirit is the abode, the residence, the house, of the Holy Spirit.
A rule, or principle, is that in order to have a strong ground in the Scriptures, we always need at least two verses to prove a matter, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses we can establish it. Therefore, we may also use 1 Corinthians 6:17, which says, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” The Lord is the Spirit, and when we join with the Lord, we become one with the Lord in spirit; we are one spirit with the Lord. This proves that the Holy Spirit is mingled together with our human spirit, and our spirit is the place where the Holy Spirit dwells. Today we can locate the Holy Spirit not only within us but also, in a very definite way, in our spirit, because He witnesses with our spirit, and we are joined to the Lord in our spirit as one spirit.
In addition, Philippians 2:13 shows us that God is working within us. This verse says, “For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.” The Triune God who is now dwelling within us through His Spirit is working within us both to will and to do. In the same principle, Hebrews 13:20-21 says that the God of peace does in us that which is well pleasing in His sight. However, by these two passages alone we cannot prove that it is the Holy Spirit who is working. For this, we must use 1 John 2:27, which speaks of the anointing as the indwelling and working Spirit who abides in us and teaches us concerning all things. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life dwelling in us and working within us.
Home | First | Prev | Next