Christians Have The Holy Spirit, Part 1

Chuckle: "Parents are people who bear children, bore teenagers, and board newlyweds."

Quote: "The Holy Spirit will show you the inexhaustible riches available to you as a child of God." --Henry Blackaby

"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the (Holy) Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you" (Romans 8:9-11 NIV).

I hope you took the time to ponder and meditate on the powerful words of our Scripture passage for today. As our passage clearly states, you can't know Christ as Savior without His Holy Spirit being resident in your life. This is a profound revelation by the Apostle Paul. It confirms the words of Jesus when He said to His disciples, "But you know Him (Holy Spirit), for he lives with you and will be in you" (John 14:17 NIV). The Holy Spirit ministers to us by coming alongside to help us when we find ourselves feeling hopeless and defeated. He encourages us, admonishes us, and restores our hope and our faith.

Three men claimed to own the same house. The first one said, "it's my house because I built it." The second said, "no, it's my house because I bought it." The third said, "no, it's my house because I live in it."

God's claims on the Christian: (1) The Father says, "I created you in my image, so you are mine." (2) Jesus says, "I paid the price (bought) for you on the cross, so you are mine." (3) God's Holy Spirit says, "I live in you, so you are mine." All are valid and since God is one, they are the same.

God is One God, but reveals Himself in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit." We often refer to this triune God as the "Trinity." The Holy Spirit is as much God as is the Father and the Son. He is also the one who brings us salvation, and seals it for eternity, when we repent and ask Jesus into our lives as Savior and Lord. I want us to see how the Holy Spirit lives and works in our lives, so you can know you are a child of God bound for heaven.

To attempt to cover everything we need to understand about this truth in a single lesson would make it too lengthy. However, this subject is much too important to take lightly. So, for the next three or four lessons, we'll look at the reality and impact of the Holy Spirit on your life and mine as Christians. Let's give praise to our Lord.

Love, Jerry & Dotse