Ryrie discusses in detail what is meant by the filling of the Holy Spirit, also applicable to the indwelling by the Holy Spirit. He points out that “to be Spirit-filled is to be Spirit-controlled. And to be so controlled requires dedication of life, victory over the reigning power of sin, and constant dependance on the Spirit.” In a preceding blog I gave the prime example of one’s being controlled by the Holy Spirit, and that was Jesus Christ as He lived on earth, obedient to the Father even to His death on the cross in our behalf. Ryrie states that “it may be said that one of the consequences of being Spirit-filled is the producing of Christlikeness. This involves . . . nine features. These are referred to as fruits of the Spirit and include love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness and self-control. Again I refer the reader to Ryrie’s book in which each of these fruits is discussed in detail.
In Ephesians 4: 7-11 the giving of spiritual gifts is attributed to the risen and ascended Jesus Christ through His giving of the Holy Spirit to believers. Ryrie stated that “the Greek word for spiritual gift (charisma) is related to grace.” Thus, a spiritual gift is due to grace given to people by the risen Lord and the Holy Spirit. Gifts include apostleship, prophecy, miracles, healing, evangelism, pastoring, teaching, serving, faith, exhortation, discerning of spirits, mercy, giving, administration, tongues and the interpretation of tongues. I refer the reader to Ryrie’s book for explanations of each of these gifts.
Ryrie speaks to the sealing of believers in the Spirit. He states, “According to 2 Corinthians 1:22 it is God who seals the believer and gives the earnest or pledge of the Spirit. Ephesians 1:13 adds that we were sealed with the Spirit when we believed. Ephesians 4:30 states that we were sealed by or with the Spirit until the day of redemption. . . . God does it by means of the Spirit to seal in the sphere of the Spirit. . . . The believer is sealed the moment he receives Christ as Savior. . . . Sealing lasts until the day of our redemption . . . . This refers to that future day when our redemption will be fully accomplished, which includes receiving our resurrection bodies. . . Thus sealing guarantees the complete fulfillment of God’s promises to us.”
I have included these quotes by Ryrie since there is much ignorance within the church about what “sealing” means. Ryrie has made it clear, and we can maintain our faith and hope in this promise of God through His Spirit.
I quote from Ryrie, “It is Christ’s work through the agency of the Spirit in joining those who believe to the church, the body of Christ. . . . Crucifixion involves death, but death is not extinction; rather it is separation. So our co-crucifixion with Christ does not mean that our old nature becomes extinct; rather, we are separated from its domain and dominion so that we can live in a new way of life.”
Ryrie shares that “the permanent and universal-among-all-believers indwelling ministry of the Spirit is at the heart of the distinctiveness of the Spirit’s work in this church age. Although he did live within some people in the Old Testament, that indwelling was neither permanently guaranteed nor universally experienced even by all believers. It was also the focus of our Lord’s promise to His disciples concerning the ministry of the Spirit after His (Christ’s) departure from earth (John 14:17). . . . Today the Holy Spirit lives in the beings of Christians only, and He does so in all Christians. . . . Paul had to remind believers in the early days that this was a fact (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19), just as it is necessary to instruct believers today of its truth. Too often, some of God’s people seem to think that the Spirit comes and goes and that this erratic and usually unpredictable behavior of the Spirit is often based on the individual’s feelings. . . . the truth of the Spirit’s indwelling does not depend on our feeling or knowing that it is true. . . . The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals to the Christian the indwelling of our Lord Jesus in him. . . . ‘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 3:24). Thus the knowledge of the indwelling of Christ is dependent on the ministry of the Spirit, which is not restricted but which operates in all believers.”
Ryrie discussed the role of the Holy Spirit in inspiration, especially as it applied to the Bible. He said, “Spiration (breathing out) rather than inspiration (breathing into) would be a better word to use in that reference. The verse [2 Timothy 3:16] simply says that the Scripture is God-produced without mentioning any of the means God may have used in producing it or the result of its production.”
I have endeavored in my research to identify possible means by which Scripture was produced and how we hear from the Holy Spirit in our time by the process of dualist interaction, the neural synapse being the model for my investigations. Perhaps we are getting a little more understanding of this process thanks to advances being made in the neurosciences. Ryrie continues:
“. . . behind the human was the divine author of revelation, the Holy Spirit. Peter, referring to Old Testament prophecy, declared that ‘men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God; (2 Peter 1:21). The agents were men; the source was God; and the single author moving the human instruments was the Holy Spirit. The word moved indicates that the Spirit bore the human writers along as He directed their writings. . . . man’s will (including his will to make mistakes) did not bring us the Scriptures; rather, the Holy Spirit, who cannot err, did.”
Ryrie relates that the Bible ascribes many attributes to the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say, “If these are the attributes of Deity, then one can only conclude that the Spirit is divine." The following are those attributes:
The Spirit is said to possess omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence and is said to be truth. He is called the Holy Spirit and is said to be a giver of resurrection life. He is said to possess creative wisdom. “Thus the Holy Spirit is said to possess attributes that belong to God, something possible only if He is Deity.”
The prime example of the indwelling by the Holy Spirit is the life of Jesus Christ. I am posting a blog I recently wrote addressing this reality.
INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INDWELLED, OR ANOINTED, BY THE HOLY SPIRIT? IN THE BOUNDLESS LOVE OF GOD: A HOLY SPIRIT STORY, I ADDRESS THIS ACTION. IN THE NEXT BLOGS I WILL SHARE MY COMMENTS FROM THIS BOOK, BEGINNING WITH THE INDWELLING OF JESUS CHRIST, THE GOD-MAN, BY THE HOLY SPIRIT OF HIS FATHER. RECALL THAT I REFER TO THE SOUL AS CONSISTING OF MIND, WILL, EMOTION AND CONSCIENCE AND HEART AS THE SOUL.
THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE JESUS LIVED AND SPOKE IN COMPLETE OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COUNSEL THROUGH HIS INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT. IN JOHN 15:9-15 JESUS TEACHES THAT HE HAS OBEYED HIS FATHER’S COMMANDS AND THAT EVERYTHING HE HAS LEARNED FROM HIS FATHER HE HAS MADE KNOWN TO HIS DISCIPLES. IN THE SYNAGOGUE IN NAZARETH JESUS OPENED THE SCROLL OF ISAIAH AND READ, “THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS ON ME BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS…,” CONFIRMING HIS IDENTITY WITH GOD THE FATHER AND FULFILLING SCRIPTURE THAT IDENTIFIED HIM AS THE PROMISED MESSIAH. TO THOMAS HE SAID, “IF YOU REALLY KNEW ME, YOU WOULD KNOW MY FATHER AS WELL. FROM NOW ON, YOU DO KNOW HIM AND HAVE SEEN HIM.” RESPONDING TO A QUESTION FROM PHILLIP JESUS STATED, “ANYONE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER. HOW CAN YOU SAY, ‘SHOW US THE FATHER? DON’T YOU BELIEVE THAT I AM IN THE FATHER, AND THAT THE FATHER IS IN ME? THE WORDS I SAY TO YOU ARE NOT JUST MY OWN. RATHER, IT IS THE FATHER, LIVING IN ME, WHO IS DOING HIS WORK. BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT I AM IN THE FATHER AND THE FATHER IS IN ME.” THESE PASSAGES CONFIRM JESUS’ INDWELLING BY HIS FATHER THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT WHO DESCENDED TO DWELL IN THE HUMAN SPIRIT OF JESUS JUST AFTER HE WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST. HE WILLFULLY LIVED IN COMPLETE OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER ALL HIS LIFE, EVEN TO HIS DEATH. AS JESUS WAS DYING ON THE CROSS HE CRIED OUT, “FATHER, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” THAT JESUS POSSESSED A HUMAN SPIRIT IS INDICATED BY THESE WORDS HE SPOKE ON THE CROSS. HIS VERY LAST WORDS WERE, “‘IT IS FINISHED.’ WITH THAT HE BOWED HIS HEAD AND GAVE UP HIS SPIRIT.” THESE VERSES CONFIRM THAT JESUS THE MAN POSSESSED A SPIRIT AND SUBMITTED IT IN FULL OBEDIENCE TO THE SPIRIT OF THE FATHER.
MARCH 18, 2021