His Word Dwells Within Us

 Col 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

To dwell is to live in. How does the word of Christ live in us? Reading His word and committing it to memory is one aspect of His word dwelling in us, “if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee”- Prov 2:1. It is good to know the word of Christ and know His teachings. But, His word living in us must be more than a mere intellectual knowledge of knowing his teaching, it is an abiding presence that lives in us from day to day. It is a fountain of life that springs from our heart. The word is living and working in our lives every day. It is not something we do on Sunday when we go to the house of worship. His word lives in our heart and is expressed in how we live. Through prayer, mediation, singing, and reading his Word, we learn to let the word of Christ abide in our hearts, to dwell in us richly.

The Comforter

 John 14:18, 20 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you…At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you… you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.

The promise is given to believers. The Comforter, who is the Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to live in His word. For He is the Spirit of truth and lead us into a deeper relationship with Christ. He leads us to help us find who we really are. Our identity is found in the person of Christ. We have left the ways of the flesh. By the Holy Spirit, the flesh has been crucified and put to death. In the newness of life, The Holy Spirit dwells within us. He is not just with us, but He is the power that lives within us to give us power over sin and fear. He is the Spirit of love that will cast out all fear. This is the comfort given to believers, that Christ dwells in us and we in Him. 

Committed to God

2 Tim 1:12.14 I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day…That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwells in us.

Being committed has lost its meaning in our present culture. There are fewer and fewer people willing to stay committed to what they say they will do. Being committed is like keeping a promise. Staying true and following through what you started regardless of the inconvenience or hardship that it may cause. As Christians, we came to Christ as sinners, and He forgave us of our past and made us new creatures. We become a follower of Christ. As we walk with Him, we commit our ways to His way and make decisions and promises to follow Him no matter what comes. Our commitment is test and in our own humanity we fall short of keeping that commitment. But, staying true to our word is made possible when we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. It was not until Pentecost that the disciples were able to stay true to their commitment to follow Christ regardless of the circumstances. Before then, they boasted of their commitment, but came short when they were put to the test. What a difference in their commitment when the Holy Spirit came to live and dwell in their hearts. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit with power does not happen by accident. It happens when believers are willing to surrender not only their sins to the cross, but to commit their entire lives to perfect will of God.

He Dwells Within Us

1 John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

How do we know that God can live within us? How do we know that we are part of the branch, living in the vine? Jesus promise that the Comforter would come and would dwell with us and in us after He would ascend and go to the Father, He would lead and guide us into all truth. We don’t fully understand how God, who is one can be three. Many analogies have be given to demonstrate this wonder, but they seem to come short of the mystical possibility that God manifest Himself in three personas, each part of the Godhead, and yet individual entities. The Spirit of God bears witness, or testifies with our spiritual nature that we are of God. All that confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that He came to die for our sins can have this witness in their heart. The Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, Elohim, have condescended to earth to dwell with in our hearts. Emmanuel, God is with us, can be a reality within each one of us if we but let Him in.

Dwelling in the House of God

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

Dwelling in the house of God is more than going to a building were we gather together to sing and hear the word of God preached. To dwell in God’s house is to live in His presence, to behold the glory of God in the world around us. I don’t always feel like going to church. There are days, I would rather be alone with my thoughts, contemplating the things of God. We call it the house of God because it is a place we come to worship, but the true temple of God resided in our hearts. It is from this temple that we seek and desire to behold His beauty. To worship Him in the beauty of His holiness. The thing I desire and enquire most in life is to know that my life is pleasing to God and that my priorities in life are inline with His perfect will. It is important to seek God in the place we gather together and asked that He come and meet with us, and we should not forsake the assemble of God’s people, but make no mistake, going to church will not grant you eternal life. We our the temple of God, He must dwell in us. 

Dwelling in Love

1 john 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Dwelling in God is to dwell in love. There is no room for hate when we are dwelling in love in the presence of God. God is love, and in Him we can know what real love is. The world has perverted the meaning of love with the pleasures of sin and self satisfaction. The love of God that is shed in our heart by the Holy Spirit gives us power over hate and we can not only survive, but we can be victors over hate. We are surrounded by the worldly view that we need to take care of self, or no one else will. I’m so thankful, that the God of Love cares for us and will provide for all our needs. For those that live in God, God lives in them and the fruit of love is seen in the actions and reactions of our life. We do what we do because the love of God constrains us to. What a pleasure to dwell in God and bathe in the presence of His love.