The Holy Spirit is not only the seal within us but also the pledge of the divine inheritance (Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor. 1:22b; 5:5b). In God’s economy we are an inheritance to God (Eph. 1:11), and God is an inheritance to us (Eph. 1:14). God and we are a mutual inheritance. For us to be God’s inheritance, the sealing of the Holy Spirit is needed; for God to be our inheritance, the pledging of the Holy Spirit is required. The Greek word for pledge also means foretaste, guarantee. As the pledge of our inheritance, the Spirit is not only a guarantee, assuring us that all that God is and all that God has shall be our inheritance, but He is also a foretaste of what we shall inherit of all that God is to us.
Therefore, as the seal, the Holy Spirit forms the divine elements into an impression in us for God’s expression; as the pledge, He gives us a foretaste as a sample and guarantee of the full taste of God.
The Holy Spirit in us is also the indwelling Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19). In John 14:17 the Lord Jesus clearly and definitely promised that when the Holy Spirit came He would indwell the disciples. Then on the night of His resurrection, He came into the midst of the disciples and breathed into them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). That was the fulfillment of the promise of the Spirit’s indwelling the disciples. In the Epistles, Paul also stressed the Spirit’s indwelling. Romans 8:9 says that “the Spirit of God dwells in you,” and verse 11 refers to “His Spirit who indwells you.” The word dwell in Greek means “to make home.” The Spirit of God comes into us not only to be the seal and the pledge, the guarantee, the foretaste, but even more to dwell in us, to make His home in us. This is a particular blessing given by God to us in the New Testament age; it was not there in the Old Testament times. In the Old Testament age, God caused His Spirit to come and work only upon man outwardly; He did not cause His Spirit to dwell in man. Not until after Christ’s death and resurrection did God Himself as the consummated Spirit enter into the believers to be the indwelling Spirit. He comes into us not to visit but to settle down in us, to make His home in us, even to occupy our whole being, that He may reveal God and Christ to us and that we may receive and enjoy all the riches of God in Christ.
The indwelling Spirit in us is also the reality of Christ. John 14:16-20 reveals that the Comforter who was coming was the embodiment of Christ. Verse 17 says that “the Spirit of reality...abides with you,” and verse 18 says, “I [Christ] am coming to you.” Again, verse 17 says that “He [the Holy Spirit]...shall be in you,” and verse 20 says, “I [Christ] in you.” This clearly indicates that when the Spirit comes, it is Christ who comes, and that when the Spirit is in us, it is Christ who is in us. The Spirit is Christ, and Christ is the Spirit. The Spirit who indwells us is the Christ who died and was resurrected and who indwells us.
John 14:26 says, “But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name...” The Comforter is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in the name of the Son. To come in the name of the Son is to come as the Son. This proves that when the Spirit comes, it is the Son who comes, and that when the Spirit dwells in us, it is Christ the Son who dwells in us.
John 16:12-15 further indicates that the Spirit’s indwelling the believers is to reveal Christ, to glorify Christ, and to make Christ real in the believers. Verse 13 says, “But when He, the Spirit of reality, comes, He will guide you into all the reality.” The Spirit of reality does not guide the believers into the doctrine concerning Christ but into all the reality of Christ, so that all that Christ is and has may become real to the believers. All that God is and has is embodied in Christ (Col. 2:9; John 16:15), and all that Christ is and has is received by the Spirit and is revealed to the believers through the Spirit (John 16:14, 15). Therefore, when the Spirit is in us, it is Christ who is in us. The Spirit is not Christ’s representative in us, but Christ’s reality.
For example, the Bible says that God is light (1 John 1:5), and it also says that Christ is light (John 8:12). This light can be realized in us only through the Spirit. When the Spirit moves within us, the light shines. The light is both the Father and the Son. The Father is the source and the essence of light, and the Son is the embodiment and expression of this light. We realize this light in actuality through the Spirit. When the Spirit moves within us, He is the reality of light.
The same is true with the matter of life. The Father is the source and the essence of life, and the Son is the embodiment and expression of this life. Through the Spirit this life becomes our experience and enjoyment. Romans 8:2 says that the Spirit is the Spirit of life. When the Spirit moves within us, He is the reality of life. He is not only the shining and enlightening light but also the very life which enlivens, nourishes, and strengthens us.