The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us

 Indwelling:

        

            Know He abides in us:

 

1 John 3:24

24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

 

1 John 4:13

13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

 

            When we came to Him, God gave us of His Spirit. Since we can know that the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we know that God Himself dwells within us. Some people have actually felt something within them after conversion, while some have never felt anything.

            In the first volume, Your Destiny, I mentioned that the evening after I asked Jesus to come into my heart I was at a basketball game. I felt something like a hollow rubber ball around my heart. The enemy was shooting arrows at my heart, but they bounced off the ball.

            You too may have felt something and perhaps more than once. Each person is different.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You can know that you are Mine. When you sense the presence of My Spirit, then you can know that I am in you and you are in Me. I have not left you alone. I have sent My Spirit to abide in you. He it is who will bring you into My Kingdom. Do not fear. I will never desert you. I will always be with you, and you can always sense My presence in you. Trust in My Spirit to guide you into the paths of righteousness. He will show you the way. You cannot survive without Him. He it is who will bring you into victory.”

 

            43. I know for certain that I have Jesus abiding in me and I in Him. I know this because of His Spirit living inside me which He gave me.

For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 Water metaphor:

             Baptized into one body:  

 1 Corinthians 12:13

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

 

            We may be different from other believers throughout the world, but we are all part of the same body. Therefore, we should not look down on them nor condemn them for their beliefs that are different from ours. We were all made to drink of one Spirit, so we should have the same driving force within us. We should all be approaching the kind of person Jesus was; even though we might get there from different directions.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are one in Me. There are no boundaries in Me. There are no differences in Me. I am One, and you shall be one. There is no division in Me. I am the only One, and you cannot succeed as separate peoples. You must be one as the Father and I are One. Abide in Me, and you shall be one … for My Spirit is not a spirit of division, but of unity. Stay in Me, and you shall be one with one another. They are your brethren. Do not treat them as less than you. Treat them as you would Me.”

 

            42. I was baptized by the Holy Spirit into one body. I am one with all other believers.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

                                                                          Chap 4

The Holy Spirit

 

             The Holy Spirit is not some inanimate creation of God that floats about the universe doing whatever God dictates. He is God. However, He is the instrument through which God accomplishes His will in the universe. Without Him, nothing would happen in our lives despite all that Jesus bought and paid for. We would not see our destiny come to fruition. Now let’s look at some of the ways we discover and obtain our destiny through Him.

At Work in Salvation:

            Gift:

             Given without measure:  

 Luke 11:13

13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

 

John 3:34

34 “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.

 

            First notice that the Holy Spirit is a gift. We don’t have to earn His presence in our lives. If earthly fathers give good gifts, then surely our Heavenly Father gives the good gift of the Holy Spirit. Second, notice that we have to ask. Now some believe that we receive the Holy Spirit at rebirth, and others that we must have a second experience (the Baptism in the Holy Spirit) in order to have the indwelling of the Spirit. Remember, we’re not going to argue over this. We are assuming that we do have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, whether it happens the moment we are born again or during a later experience. Of course in the first instance, there is usually not an asking for the Holy Spirit to be given. It is assumed that He comes in at rebirth.

            Finally, notice that we don’t just get a little dab of the Holy Spirit. He is given without measure. We have all of Him that we will ever need.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "For I have given you more than any earthly treasure. I have given you of My Spirit. It is He who will bring you into all the truth. This is the truth that will set you free … not the truth of the world, but My truth. You cannot survive without this truth. You cannot succeed without My Spirit. For it is He who will bring justice upon the earth and no one can escape His wrath. He is the one who will show you the way to go. He is the one who will be with you in all circumstances. He will guide you into the path of light for My name sake. Do not refuse Him. Do not refuse to follow His guidance. I could have left you alone, but I desired that you experience My presence through His indwelling. You cannot fail as long as you obey Him.”

 

            41. I have been given the Holy Spirit without measure as a gift. I wasn’t given just a little “dab”; I received Him in full. Because He was a gift, I did not have to do anything to earn this privilege.

From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever

 Kingdom – priests to His Father:

 

Revelation 1:5-6

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

            I know the King James reads that we are kings and priests, but this is the better translation. We are a kingdom … His Kingdom which He rules over. It is not some ordinary kingdom. It is a Kingdom of priests. We are ministers unto the Father. We are able to be this because He released us from our sins by His blood. The priests could not come before God to minister to Him unless they had made a sacrifice for their sins. Jesus was the only sacrifice needed for us to come unto the Father to minister to Him. We need only confess our sins and come before Him with a repentant heart.

           

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have not chosen you to be slaves. I have chosen you to be My children. As such, you are not some lowly creature. You are My chosen and anointed ones. You shall minister unto Me as the priests of old did. Only those of Aaron’s descendants were privileged to minister unto Me, but you can all be ministers unto Me. For I have chosen you to be special priests unto Me. No one can overcome you for you are My chosen priest who will reign with Me eternally.”

 

40. He has made us to be a Kingdom of priests to His God and Father. We should therefore behave in a manner befitting such people.

 

 

            Jesus has done so much for us. He has accomplished a lot for our destiny. He paid the price for us to obtain our destiny in God. If it weren’t for this, we would have little to look forward to in this life. But because of Him, we can go boldly through life trusting in what He did to supply all we will ever need to do whatever God asks us to do.