A long list could be made of all that takes place when Christ is invited into a heart.
In John 3:3-8, the Lord Jesus was speaking concerning being born again or born from above.
When we turn to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes down upon us as well as into our hearts and we are born again, regenerated, or born from above. We are also accepted into the family of God and are given new life in Christ. All that is the work of the Holy Spirit. In that instant, as we have said, He takes up His permanent abode in our hearts.
This is the beginning of His indwelling and He remains in our hearts until He takes us home to Heaven. Even though we may grieve Him or disobey Him, the Holy Spirit never leaves a heart once He has entered.
Jesus Christ said that ‘The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth … to abide with you forever’. This truth is repeatedly taught throughout the New Testament, yet we are slow to understand it.
The Holy Spirit lives in every heart that has accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour, 1 John 4:13 reads: ‘we know that we live in Him and He in us, because he has given us His Spirit.’
There are many other aspects of the Holy Spirit’s work which can be included as part of His initial ‘crisis’ ministry.
Every newly born believer is baptisted by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, 1 Chorinthians 12:13 says: ‘For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body’. The Holy Spirit takes every new convert and puts each one into the Body of Christ in such a deep and eternal way that the only term which can be used to describe such action is the word ‘baptise’ or ‘immerse’. To put it simply, the Holy Spirit entered my body at the time of my conversion and I entered the Body of Christ. This latter action is clearly shown from 1 Chorinthians 12;13 to be the baptism of or by the Spirit.
(to be continued)
There are lots of ideas out there about who God is or what Christianity is all about.
Let us invite you for a meal, a short video presentation where we are introduced to the God of the Bible and an informal discussion afterwards where you get to have your input. This course is run on Thursday nights over 7 weeks at Glenorie RSL Club 7- 9.30pm. You can try out the introductory night on February 8th and continue on if you find it interesting. Contact Mark Holt 0418 298 121 for details and to book by 5th February.
Come and find out more at Bible study 7.00 pm, (light meal included) Tuesdays. Sunday Service 10 am at Glenorie Mission Church, 1409 Old Northern Rd. Glenorie.
