Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello. Welcome to your daily grace. By Timothy Wilder Foundations Episode 71 the Holy Spirit the indwelling Presence the miracle of the Christian life is not that you are reaching up to God, but that God has made his home in you. Jesus promised that the Spirit dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:17 this is not poetic language or symbolic imagery. It is the literal reality of the new covenant. God has taken up resurrection in the hearts of his people. The presence that once filled the temple now fills you.
[00:00:36] Paul makes this truth unmistakable. You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Romans 8:9. The Spirit's indwelling is not an optional upgrade for advanced believers. It is the defining mark of belonging to Christ. If the Spirit lives in you, you are His. If he does not, you are not. The Spirit's presence is the dividing line between spiritual death and spiritual life.
[00:01:04] This indwelling is permanent. Under the old covenant, the Spirit came upon people for moments, tasks or seasons. But in Christ, the Spirit is given as a seal, a guarantee and a continual presence. You are not visited occasionally by God. You are inhabited by Him. You do not move in and out of his presence. His presence has moved into you. The Christian life is not lived toward God, but from union with Him.
[00:01:30] It is also intimate. Paul asks, do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 9 First Corinthians 3:16. The temple was the place of God's nearness, His glory, his voice, his mercy. Now that temple is your very life. God has chosen the human heart as his dwelling place. He is not distant, evaluating you from afar. He is present, involved, and closer than your own breath.
[00:01:56] And this indwelling is profoundly relational. Paul tells Timothy, guard the good deposit entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. 2 Timothy 1:14. The Spirit is not a passive resident. He strengthens, comforts, convicts, guides and empowers. He shares his life with you. He shapes your desires. He reminds you of truth. He anchors you in grace. He is the living presence of Christ within you.
[00:02:23] To believe in the indwelling Spirit is to reject the lie of spiritual distance. You are not trying to get God's attention. You are not waiting for him to come near. You are not striving to enter his presence. You carry his presence. You are his home, his dwelling, his temple.
[00:02:41] The Christian life is not about climbing toward God, but awakening to the God who lives in you. His indwelling is permanent, intimate and relational. God making his home in your very life.
[00:02:54] Thanks for listening. If you are being fed and or uplifted by these messages, we encourage you to like, comment, share and subscribe. These things help us spread the message of grace.
