In verse 9 Paul says that the Spirit of God dwells in you. He does not say that the Spirit of God is of you, or for you, or with you, or even merely in you. He says that the Spirit of God dwells in you. In Greek, the root of the word dwell means a house. So actually it could be translated that the Spirit of God houses in you. It is not the word that is used for abiding or remaining. It is the word that is used for housing. The Spirit of God dwells in you. No husband can dwell in his wife. The most he can do is dwell with her. Sometimes he may dwell with her, and yet not do anything for her. So perhaps it is better to say that he dwells for her. For you and me the best condition is to be “in.” This means to be in the Spirit. And for the Spirit, the best condition is to dwell in. Concerning us, Paul used a form of the verb “to be,” but concerning the Spirit he used a strong and proper verb, “dwell.”
Furthermore, in the last part of verse 9, Paul picks up another predicate, the verb “has.” “But if anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Him.” So, in these two verses Paul uses two kinds of prepositions and three kinds of verbs. We have already mentioned the significance of the prepositions “of” and “in.” What is the significance of the use of the different kinds of verbs? If I ask whether or not you have the Spirit of Christ you would answer that you do. But if I ask whether you are in the Spirit of Christ you would answer sometimes. The preposition “in” indicates a situation like the California weather. It has a lot of fluctuation. But the phrase “dwells in” is like Mount Rainier, standing there with no change. The Spirit dwells in you. This never changes. When you are of Him, He dwells in you. When you are in Him, He dwells in you. There is no change. Whether it is raining or not, Mount Rainier still stands. Whether the sky is clear, or cloudy, or stormy, Mount Rainier stands solid. But the California weather changes quite often. In verse 9 the verb “has” indicates stability. For example, the fact that you have a wife is settled forever. But whether she is with you in the meeting tonight or not is another matter. If you are going to know the indwelling Spirit you must see these three prepositions—in, with, and of—and these three predicates—are, dwells, and has. Some of these indicate an unchangeable standing. Others indicate fluctuations. To say that we have the Spirit is altogether unchangeable, with no fluctuation. And to say that the Spirit dwells in us even the more indicates no change and no fluctuation. But even these two terms which indicate no change and no fluctuation have a slightly different meaning. To have something means to possess it, while to dwell means to occupy.
Thus far we have been speaking according to the words, according to grammar, according to position, to possession, to occupation, and to condition. Now we need to consider the matter of experience. According to the facts, we, the believers in Christ, all have the Spirit. Also this Spirit dwells in all of us. We have Him, and He dwells in us. These are the unchangeable facts. There is no fluctuation with these facts. We cannot lose Him, and He would never leave us. We have Him forever, and He dwells in us forever. With these two points, there is no problem. But whether or not we are in Him is a matter of condition. How then can you care for the condition? This is a crucial point. If you say that you want to be in, right away you are out. But if you dare to say that you are in, right away you are in. You have to believe that you are in. Let me tell you why: you have Him, and He dwells in you. These are facts. In a sense you don’t need to turn to the spirit. You are in already. Don’t turn; just remain there. You are in. It is the same with the matter of abiding in Christ. If you see that you are in Christ, you don’t need to abide. If you still need to abide, it means you are still outside of Christ. If you have seen that you are in Christ, you are in already. You don’t need to abide. You just need to remain there. Right now He is dwelling in you, and right now you still possess Him.