for him and seeking to catch something out of his mouth that they might accuse him.
We thank you, Heavenly Father, for this King James Bible, dear Lord.
We thank you for our salvation, for this church, dear Lord.
We ask that you please bless the pastor as he preaches your word this morning.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Awesome.
Verse number nine, but ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit
of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his, and if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
So here we see the constant battle that a Christian's gonna face for the rest of their
lives.
We have the Spirit of God living within us, but if we don't walk in the Spirit, we're
gonna constantly fulfill the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and ultimately bring
condemnation upon ourselves.
Now when we think of condemnation, we think of hell, but that's obviously that is referring
to hell when it refers to unsafe people, but when we're talking about safe people, condemnation
simply means punishment.
And make no mistake about it, if you're obeying the flesh, if you're doing things that are
according to the flesh, you will suffer punishment because of it.
God will allow you to suffer the consequences of your actions.
There's built-in penalties to sin, and when we choose to live a life of carnality, a life
that is fleshly, we bring condemnation upon ourselves, but there is life, the Bible says,
when we choose to go after the Spirit.
It says in verse number 11, but if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead
dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies
by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
So what is he saying?
He's saying, look, to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life, but
don't worry, if the Spirit of Christ dwell in you, that same Spirit is gonna quicken
that mortal body, that same mortal body that is causing you to sin, that same mortal body
that is given over to the desires of the flesh, don't worry, the Spirit of Christ that dwells
within you is gonna quicken that mortal body, that word quicken means bring to life.
And what this is referring to is the redemptions of our body, right?
He says in verse number 12, therefore, brethren, we are debtors not to live, excuse me, not
to the flesh, to live after the flesh, but if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die,
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
So in other words, what he's saying here is this, obviously, we understand that God's
gonna quicken our mortal bodies, but just because we have that knowledge, we shouldn't
continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid, right?
We should seek to mortify the deeds of the body, to live a life that is holy unto the
Lord, to do things that are pleasing unto God, to mortify the deeds of the flesh.
He says in verse number 14, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage against the fear, but ye have received the
spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Now what is he saying there?
Is he saying that when we're not walking in the Spirit, we're not like the children of
God?
Yeah, that's what he's saying.
Now obviously, we understand, but as many as received unto them give you power to become
the sons of God, even unto them that believe in his name.
But hold on a second, when you're in the flesh, you're not living as the son of God.
This is why the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, be separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and ye shall be sons and daughters unto
me, the Bible says.
So when we're walking in the Spirit, we are operating, we're behaving, we're living as
though we're the sons of God, okay?
The son of God within us is manifested when we're walking in the Spirit.
The flesh, of course, is the child of disobedience, child of wrath, etc.
He goes on to say, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God.
For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the Spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
So in case you're wondering, man, am I saved?
Do I have the Spirit of God dwelling within me?
Well here it says that the Spirit itself, capital S, referring to the Holy Spirit, bears
witness with our spirit, referring to the inward man, that we are the children of God.
Now how does he bear witness?
Well the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit testifies of the son.
That's one of his main responsibilities.
And so if he's testifying of the son, and we believe on the son, we know that we're
children of God, based upon that.
And it's not a feeling.
You know, you don't have to feel saved, you don't have to, well man, I just feel like
I'm a Christian, I feel like I'm saved.
You know, the Bible says that we walk by faith and not by sight, right?
This is something that we receive spiritually, something that we perceive with our spirit,
it's something that we believe by faith.
Now look, give it, sometimes you go out there and you go sowing and you get someone saved
and they get emotional, right?
You know, they start weeping or they rejoice and they're happy, but then you run into other
people who don't do that.
They get saved and their personality is just monotone, it's like a dial tone, it doesn't
really affect them emotionally, but they believe it.
Both people get saved, amen?
Why?
Because it doesn't require emotion to get saved, it requires faith, okay?
And so we're going to be talking about the Holy Spirit this morning.
Now go to John chapter 16 if you would, I'm going to give you a couple things here, John
chapter 16, again hold your place in Luke chapter 11, we're going to return there.
So we ought to walk in the Spirit, don't grieve the Spirit by being involved in sin, don't
quench the Spirit when, you know, when you're walking in the Spirit you desire to do the
things that are after the Spirit, when you choose not to do those things you're quenching
the Spirit, and the Bible tells us to be filled with the Spirit.
Now what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?
Well the Bible says, Blessed are ye that hunger and thirst after righteousness for
they shall be filled.
And so often in the Bible the Spirit is equated with the Word of God, okay?
You know, my words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are life.
And so the way to be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the Word of God.
When you're reading the Bible you are practicing what the Bible says, at that point you are
filled with the Spirit.
Now let's talk about His ministry to the saints, I'm going to read to you from John 14 verse
16, it says, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that
He may abide with you forever.
So another name of the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, why is that?
Well when we're going through difficult times, when we're going through trials and tribulations
and times of difficulty, the Holy Spirit that dwells within us can actually comfort us.
Now how does He do that?
Well one manner in which He does that is by bringing into remembrance all things that
Jesus Christ has taught us, right?
We read the Psalms, we remember these principles and these doctrines, and He brings those things
into remembrance.
When you feel forsaken in this lifetime, He reminds us that He will never leave us nor
forsake us, right?
So He brings those things into remembrance, but another way that He comforts us, another
way that He brings consolation is by praying for us, because the Bible tells us that in
Romans chapter number 8, that He makes intercessions for us, with utterances that can't be made.
And so He prays for us, often we pray, we don't know what we should pray for, but we
pray, and what He does is He transcribes that prayer, and He translates it to God in order
for us to receive that which we really need.
You think to yourself, oh man I'm low on the rent, God just make me rich, help me to have
a lot of money in the bank so I can pay off the bills.
And what the Holy Spirit does is says, that's not what He really needs, what He really needs
is this, pay for the rent for this month.
He transcribes it, He translates it in order for us to actually get what we actually need.
And that brings comfort, because when we receive the solution to the problem that we're facing,
we receive comfort, knowing that God is answering our prayers in some way.
John 15, 26 says, but when the Comforter has come, whom I will send unto you from the Father,
even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me.
By the way, another reason why He's referred to as the Comforter is because there's times
when God can actually comfort you without actually giving you a solution.
You know the Bible says, when the Bible tells us, be careful for nothing but in all things
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God,
and the peace of God that passeth understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
So the Bible even says that there's times when we can have peace in our lives without
actually having a solution.
It's the peace that passeth understanding.
Why does it pass understanding?
Because of the fact that our situation doesn't change.
But our perspective, our comfort does.
The serenity to be able to have peace in the midst of no solution is there.
And so He comforts us, He gives us that comfort even though we don't have a solution.
That's how He can comfort us.
But the Bible tells us that He testifies of Jesus Christ.
Verse 27 it says, and ye also shall bear witness because ye have been with me from
the beginning.
Now look at John chapter 16, in verse 13, it says, howbeit when he, the spirit of truth
is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
So another name of the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth, right?
Now what does this mean?
It means that He testifies of the truth, He testifies of the word of God, He testifies
of Jesus.
Now this doesn't mean that He gives new revelation to people today, because that's what people
want to say.
Well He's the spirit of truth, you know, He is gonna, He's gonna guide us into all truth,
He shall reveal things unto us, yeah, reveal things unto us according to the Bible, okay?
Not some new revelation that's not biblical, and the reason I say this is because a lot
of people try to, you know, practice that.
Those saying, well the spirit revealed unto me, I got this new revelation, I know when
Jesus Christ is coming back, this is the day, this is the time, this is the hour, false.
That's not the spirit of truth.
The spirit of truth bears witness of that which is already written, okay?
And look folks, how is it that these people who have all these predictions and all these
visions can have all this extra biblical revelation when they don't even know the 66 books of
the Bible?
I mean, you know, be a good steward of that which is already revealed and then we'll talk,
but even then when we talk, you're gonna see it my way, not your way, right?
Because look, the Bible's inexhaustible.
No human being in this world has complete understanding of the Bible.
You know, they can have a general understanding, they can have a lot of knowledge of the Bible
and learn a lot, but the Bible is inexhaustible, folks.
The height, breadth, length, and depth, and width, right, of the Bible is endless, and
in fact, I believe when we're in eternity, we're gonna keep learning the Bible because
of the fact that it's inexhaustible.
So you mean to tell me that you don't know the 66 books of the Bible, you don't know
all the doctrines that have found their way, but somehow God is gonna favor you to give
you an extra biblical revelation that's not found in the Bible?
False, folks.
Most of these people who do this are charlatans.
These are people who are false prophets, you know, and these are wicked people who seek
to make money, make merchandise off of the flock of God to try to give you some extra
biblical revelation, you know, so on and so forth, but the spirit of truth is that which
is basically when we read the Bible, he explains it to us, right, and I'm not saying through
an audible voice, he explains us the word of God comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
As we read the Bible, that's why it's important to read the Bible cover to cover every single
year so that the content of the Bible remains in you, so that when you read the Bible, you're
reminded of other portions of scripture that reinforce those doctrines.
You know, when you read the Bible cover to cover, you'll read things in the New Testament
and it'll remind you of a story in the Old Testament, right?
You'll read something in the Old Testament that's a parable that'll remind you of a specific
doctrine in the New Testament.
That's the Holy Spirit teaching you comparing spiritual things with spiritual, and he's
never gonna lead us into error, right?
He's never gonna lead us into error, and this is the misconception of a lot of Bible colleges,
for example, they're like, oh, you need someone to teach you, you know, because if not, if
you just study the Bible on your own, you can, you know, believe a lot of heresy, you
can come up with a lot of weird stuff, but that's actually contrary to what the Bible
teaches us.
The Bible says that the unction that dwells within us, he's the one that teaches us all
things that we need not that any man teach us.
Now obviously, we have church, right, and the Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 4
that God has provided certain people to teach us the word of God to bring us, you know,
to spiritual maturity, but at the end of the day, if you're saved and you have the
Holy Spirit of God living within you, he helps us to understand the truth, he helps us to
understand the word of God, he's not gonna lead us into error, okay?
No one by the Spirit of God is gonna come up with the works-based salvation learning
about the Bible, right?
No one by the Spirit of God is gonna come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ is the
Father, right?
No one by the Spirit of God is gonna extract dispensationalism from the Bible.
Why?
Because these are all lies, it's error and it's not truth, you know, and I'll get into
that in just a bit because I really wanna talk about dispensationalism in just a bit.
Now go with me if you would to, go to Ephesians chapter 2 if you would, go to Ephesians chapter
1, I'm sorry, Ephesians chapter 1.
So his ministry to the saints is that he comforts us, he gives us truth, and you know
another thing is that he empowers us as well, you know, he gives us boldness.
The Bible says that God did not give us a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound
mind.
When a person is filled with the Spirit, when they are yielded, when they're walking in
the Spirit, often one of the characteristics of that, the attribute is that they're bold.
You know, a person who is fearful to preach the gospel becomes emboldened to preach the
gospel, to open their mouth boldly to make known the mysteries of the gospel.
They become bold to preach doctrines, to go sowing, to stand for truth, this is what the
Spirit of God does to us, okay?
Now let's talk about his position in the Trinity.
Matthew 28, you're in Ephesians, Matthew 28 verse 18 says, And Jesus came and spake unto
them saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost.
Now notice the order in which each person of the Trinity is described.
It says the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
This is the order of submission.
This is the authority structure that he's actually laid out within the Bible, okay?
Now this doesn't mean that they're not equal in power and essence, but what it does mean
is that there is an authority structure when it comes to the Trinity, okay?
They're all important, they're all powerful, they're all essence, powerful in essence,
and they're all God.
The only difference is is that they are separate entities that operate under a different authority
structure.
God the Son is submitted to the will of the Father.
God the Holy Spirit testifies not of himself, but of the Son, okay?
And so that's important for us to understand, you know, the Bible tells us that there are
three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, these three
are one.
And so I don't want to belabor that point, but that's important to understand that.
Now I want to talk about his operation in salvation, okay?
When we get saved, the Bible tells us that the Spirit is that which quickeneth us.
Quicken means to bring back to life.
Now why is he bringing us, or why is he bringing our Spirit back to life?
Well because according to the Bible, we're born with a living Spirit.
We have a Spirit that is alive, but according to Romans chapter number seven, it is slain
when we come to the age of accountability.
When we recognize that we sin against God, we've broken God's commandments, according
to the Bible, the commandments slay us, and we're dead.
In fact, Ephesians 2 tells us, but ye who are dead in trespasses and sin.
You see, we're not born with a dead Spirit, as the Catholics would like to say, right?
The original sin, and that's why they baptize babies, because they say, well, they have
a dead Spirit, therefore if they die a baby, they're going to go to hell, false.
That's a wicked doctrine, folks.
According to the Bible, a person is slain by the commandment, when they understand that
they are a sinner, they recognize that they've broken God's commandments, and at that point
they're slain, and therefore they need to be brought back to life.
They need to be quickened and be brought back to life.
That happens when they believe on Jesus Christ, right?
And so the process is this, when a person calls upon the name of the Lord, the Spirit
quickens that person's spirit, okay?
He revives our spirit at salvation.
Now let me read to you from Titus chapter three, verse five, it says, not by works of
righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost.
So we get saved, the Holy Ghost comes to dwell within us, and what does he do?
He renews our spirit.
He regenerates our spirit, okay?
Now I had you turn to Ephesians one, but go to John chapter three, we'll go to Ephesians
one in just a bit.
Go to John chapter three.
Now why is this important?
Well, because of the fact that dispensationalists will use this teaching to prove dispensational
salvation.
Now if you don't know what dispensational salvation is, it's the belief, the false doctrine,
that states that salvation was different throughout the ages in the Bible, or just the history
of mankind.
So today we believe that salvation was by grace through faith, and it's by grace through
faith today.
But guess what?
3,000, 4,000 years ago, it wasn't the case.
Back in the Old Testament, it was faith and works.
You had to do the sacrifices, you had to keep God's commandments, you had to do all these
extra things in order to be saved.
Now I don't believe that, okay?
I'm just telling you what they believe.
And they'll often say that they'll call these different segments of time dispensations,
and they'll say, during this dispensation, they had to keep the covenant.
During this dispensation, they had to keep the commandments.
And now we're in the dispensation of grace, all we have to do is believe.
But guess what?
When we near the end times, after the rapture, it goes back to being by faith and works,
okay?
This is what's known as dispensational salvation, and it's heresy, all right?
But you know, these dispensationalists, they're very crafty, okay?
Not all of them, but you know, some of them are just dumb, okay?
Some of them are very crafty though, because they'll say, you know, oh, but hold on a second
Pastor Mejia, did the Holy Spirit indwell believers in the Old Testament though?
And the obvious answer is no.
And they'll seek to use that as ammo to say, well, if the Holy Spirit is the earnest of
our inheritance, if we're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption,
and the Holy Spirit is that seal that we have to indicate and confirm that we're saved,
but they didn't have that in the Old Testament, that's proof that it's dispensational salvation
and not what you're saying.
You know, they'll say things like that.
How many of you have ever heard something like that?
Okay?
You know, say, well, you know, the Spirit will come upon believers in the Old Testament,
but they will leave believers as well.
Why?
Because you could lose your salvation, you know, they didn't have it, it just comes,
it comes in and out.
Now we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us because we're in a different dispensation.
But here's the thing is, you know, they that are unlearned and unstable rest the scriptures
all the time, okay?
And these people are not only unlearned, not only are they unstable, but they're also ungodly,
you know?
And they have an agenda behind their dispensational teaching to pervert judgment and seek to confuse
people regarding this subject.
Now you say, well, debunk it then, rebuttal that.
How do you explain that?
Well, keep in mind that I just stated and I just showed from the Bible that it's the
Spirit that quickeneth, right?
Well, that's true, not just in the New Testament, it's also true in the Old Testament because
the Holy Spirit doesn't have to indwell a believer in order to quicken their spirits.
You understand?
The Bible says it is the Spirit that quickeneth the flesh, profit, and nothing.
And in my words that I speak into their spirit and their life, Titus 3 says that the washing
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost is what regenerates us and what changes us.
But does it say there that the indwelling is what saves us?
No.
It says the renewing and regeneration of the Holy Ghost is what brings the Spirit back
to life.
It's not like the Spirit comes in and has to keep the power plant going by remaining
in there, right?
It's like, all right, we regenerated this thing, but I'm not everlasting so I just can't
keep this thing going.
I have to live here.
I have to be like this rechargeable battery that just stays here because if I leave, then
at that point, that person is no longer saved.
No, he can come upon a believer, and he did come upon believers in the Old Testament,
regenerated them, renewed them, but here's the difference, he did not dwell within them.
But just because he did not dwell within them doesn't mean that they weren't saved.
And I'm gonna explain why the Holy Spirit did not dwell within believers in the Old
Testament.
Because obviously, that's the major change between Old and New Testament, right?
Is that the Holy Spirit now dwells within us.
So the question is, why didn't he not dwell within believers back then?
What's the change?
Why didn't he do that?
Stay tuned, for I will explain this.
It's very simple.
But let's look at John chapter three, verse three.
It says, Jesus answered and said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, how can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter the second time until his mother's womb and be born?
Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Now let me explain some things here.
When he says a man be born of water, it's referring to the fact that they are physically
born.
Because a person who is born of water is referring to the fact that they are in their mother's
womb surrounded by fluid.
So he's saying, look, obviously for someone to even be saved, they have to be born physically,
right?
It's not like, you know, they just skip a step and just go into be born again.
To be born again means you were born already once, right?
He says, born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Now listen to this, okay, because this is proving what I just stated about Titus chapter
3 and verse 5.
When is this taking place in the Old or New Testament?
Old Testament.
New Testament does not begin until the death of Christ on the cross.
So if the New Testament does not begin until the death of Christ on the cross, guess what
we see here?
We see that even in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ taught that someone has to be born
again of the Spirit.
Verse 6 says, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit
is Spirit.
Marvel not that I say unto thee, ye must be born again.
So did Old Testament believers, were they born again?
Absolutely, absolutely.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and now hear's the sound thereof, but canst not tell
when's it cometh, and whither it goeth.
So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
Now is it any coincidence that in this same chapter we have the most famous verse in the
Bible, John 3.16, that says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In tandem with the story that we just read here regarding Nicodemus and Jesus telling
him you have to be born of the Spirit.
What does it mean to be born of the Spirit?
It means to believe on Jesus Christ.
Yeah but he didn't dwell, the believers there, you know that's the difference, and if he's
the earner, Ephesians 1 says that he has to, we have to be sealed with the Holy Spirit
of promise until the day of redemption, that's a different dispensation.
No it's not, and in fact, you know I'm sick and tired of dispensationalists adding to
the word of God, and anytime there's a difference between Old and New Testament, they automatically
insert dispensation.
The Bible never says that it's a different dispensation.
Now turn with me if you would to, let's look at some more verses, 1 Peter chapter 1.
So John chapter 3 explicitly tells us that a person has to be born of the Spirit in order
to enter into the kingdom of God.
That's not different from what we see in the Old Testament to the New Testament, they're
both exactly the same.
Well you know, that's not, it's different, it's still in the New Testament though.
Well let's look further into the New Testament to 1 Peter chapter 1.
The Bible says here, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father, verse 2,
excuse me, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood
of Jesus Christ, grace unto you and peace be multiplied.
Skip down to verse 22, seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure
heart fervently.
Go to 1 Peter, let's see here, okay now go to Ephesians chapter 1.
So what do we see in 1 Peter chapter 1?
We see that there is a sanctification of the Spirit.
Sanctification is referring to that renewing, that regeneration of the Holy Ghost.
It's the washing of the Spirit in John chapter 3, okay.
So when you have David, Abraham, you have all these Old Testament believers, they called
upon the name of the Lord, the Spirit of God would come to them, renew them, but He just
would not dwell within them.
But here's the thing, He would dwell with them, just not in them.
So the Holy Ghost was present in the Old Testament obviously.
The only difference is, He wasn't dwelling within them, okay.
Now would the Holy Ghost come upon people in the Old Testament?
Absolutely.
We see that throughout the Scriptures.
You know you see that with Samson and the Holy Ghost coming upon him to do these great
exploits and miracles.
You see this with Ezekiel.
You see this with anybody who wrote books of the Old Testament.
The Holy Ghost would come upon them.
They were able to prophesy.
You see this with Saul, where the Spirit of God would come upon him and the Bible says
that he was turned into another man.
You see that David specifically says, take not thy spirit from me, right.
He's not saying, oh don't take away my salvation, because he specifically says in Psalm 51,
restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.
If you wanted salvation to be restored, he would say, restore unto me salvation.
That's not what he's saying.
He said renewing me a right spirit, restoring to me the joy of thy salvation.
Why?
Because when someone is involved in sin, they're quenching the Spirit, their joy is removed.
And so we need that joy to be renewed, that joy to be restored, etc.
But that doesn't mean that he wasn't saved.
Now this leads into my next point.
The Holy Spirit's role throughout history.
Now look at Ephesians 1, verse 13.
This is a great portion of scripture to use when you're out soul winning, to prove eternal
security.
It says in verse 13, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation, and whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of
the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
So let's explain this.
This is probably one of my favorite doctrines to teach, even to just think about.
What it's telling us here is that the Holy Ghost is sealed within us and he operates
as the earnest of our inheritance.
What is our inheritance?
It's referring to eternal life, heaven.
Well he's the earnest of that inheritance.
In other words, he is like the down payment on our bodies.
Because it specifically says, until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Now what is the purchased possession?
It's our body.
You see, when Jesus Christ died for us and we believed on him, he not only purchased
our souls, he purchased his body as well.
This body belongs to him.
Now wouldn't you agree that we don't behave like that though?
Sometimes we just do our own thing, you know.
This is why the Bible tells us, likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead a deed unto
sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey in the lustre of,
but yield yourselves unto God and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you for ye are not under law but under grace.
So the constant commandment is this, hey, don't let sin reign in your members, reign
in your mortal body.
You should basically live like you're saved, right?
Like your body is saved.
You should live in accordance to the word of God and when you don't, it doesn't mean
you're not saved, it just means you're living according to the flesh.
You know, sin is reigning over your members.
But these members belong unto God, okay?
This body belongs to him and what he's saying here in Ephesians chapter 1 is that when we
get saved, he's putting a down payment to say, I haven't purchased or I haven't redeemed
the entire body as of yet.
The soul is redeemed but the body has not yet been redeemed, it hasn't been taken.
The redemptions of our body obviously takes place at the rapture, okay?
So he, the Holy Spirit is the down payment on our entire body.
Now go to John chapter 7, John chapter 7.
Here's what's silly about this dispensational teaching though.
What these dispensationalists don't realize is that there were saints who were saved who
transitioned from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
Now obviously David did not trans, you know, he didn't transfer over to the New Testament,
he died a long time ago, right?
Solomon, the judges, all these people who were saved in the Old Testament, that was
a long time ago, they died, their bodies went into the grave, they did not go into
the New Testament but here's the thing, the disciples did.
They were there in the Old Testament going to the temple, doing the sacrifices, keeping
the Sabbath, I mean they're adhering to Old Testament laws.
The meats, drinks and divers washings and cardinal ordinances that were imposed upon
them, they were doing those things even when Jesus was there and in fact Jesus told them
to do those things.
He didn't transfer that gift before the altar, he told the leper, right?
As a testimony of Moses, he's basically telling them to keep the Old Testament law, why?
Because they were still in the Old Testament but folks, there came a point where Peter,
James, John, the apostles and every other believer literally transitioned from Old Testament
to New Testament.
Look what it says in John chapter 7 and verse 38.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water.
But this he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.
Hold on a second, they that believe on him, what in the world, I thought they were supposed
to repent of their sins, this is a different dispensation, Jesus.
Oh no, no, what he's saying here is they that believe on him, those who are saved, will
receive the Holy Ghost.
Did he say they're not saved, he says they that believe on him, which is the same gospel
that Paul is preaching, will receive the Holy Ghost.
For the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
Now let me stop by saying this, you know you have Adam Fannin who taught this, he literally
said that Peter had to get saved twice.
Because of the fact that at the end, when Jesus told Peter, Satan hath desired to have
you that he may sift you as wheat, you know, but fear not, I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
He took that as, well, he got converted in the Old Testament, but now that they're transitioning
to the New Testament, he had to get saved again, he had to get converted again.
So it's just like, hey, I got some bad news, man, I got good news and I got bad news.
The good news is, the bad news is this, is that, you know, you're not saved anymore because
we kind of start with a clean slate after the New Testament, okay?
But the good news is, hey, you can still get saved, you can still be converted, you know?
No, Adam Fannin, that's weird teaching right there.
And this is a gross misunderstanding of the word converted.
Converted simply means to be transformed.
Did you know that when you come to church and you obey the preaching of God's word,
you're being converted?
Not converted from death into life, just converted, just having a renewing of your mind.
You're being converted from one way of doing things to another, from one way of thinking
to another.
And look, he says, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren, not save thy brethren.
Right?
Because if that's what it meant, that he got saved again, shouldn't he have said, hey,
go save those guys because they transitioned too, they're not saved, but you need to just
go give them that new gospel of this new dispensation here.
No, he says, when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren because of the fact that his
faith in being delivered physically is strengthened, and therefore he can go exhort his brethren
to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might as well.
So no, you don't get saved twice.
Here we see that he's telling them that those who have believed on Jesus will receive the
Holy Ghost in them once he is glorified, once he is glorified according to the Bible.
Now go to John chapter 20.
Let's look at when that took place.
John chapter 20 verse 20 says that when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands
and his side, verse 20, then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
This is after his resurrection.
Then said Jesus to them, again, peace be unto you as my Father had sent me, even so
sent I you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy
Ghost.
Whosoever sins he remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins he retain, they
are retained.
Now notice, this isn't referring to he's giving them the power of the Holy Ghost, because
what does he tell them later on?
To abide in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high.
So that power of the Holy Ghost doesn't come until Acts chapter 2.
When they're supposed to receive power from on high, they're given cloven tongues like
as a fire, and they're able to preach the word of God with boldness in different languages.
They're doing these great exploits in order to see people saved, but notice that in John
chapter 20, they had already received the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.
So there is a difference between the indwelling of the Holy Ghost and being filled with that
Holy Ghost as power.
When you go osoining, when you see someone saved, the Holy Spirit comes to live within
them, but they're not necessarily Spirit-filled.
Being Spirit-filled comes when they begin to read the Bible, they get Bible content
within them, they're walking in the Spirit, et cetera.
Look at John chapter 14.
Go to John chapter 14.
So he received it, he breathed on them, he said, receive ye the Holy Ghost.
And they got saved again.
Now you guys are saved again.
Good thing you didn't die before all this took place.
No, that's not what it says.
Look at John 14 verse 16, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him.
Look what it says, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
So is the Holy Spirit just completely absent in the Old Testament leading up to this point?
No.
He says he dwells with you.
So he's among the disciples, he's among Christians, he's among believers.
He's dwelling with them, but he's just not dwelling in them.
Yeah, you keep saying that, why?
Why is it that he chose not to dwell in them in the Old Testament, but now he chooses to
dwell within them in the New Testament?
Why is he dwelling among them in the Old Testament, even up to this point, but now he can dwell
in them?
Well, I'm gonna explain to you why.
Go to 1 Peter chapter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1.
So again, he's dwelling with them, but he's not in them as of yet, and he's like, he will
be in you though, okay?
By the way, he wasn't the spirit of truth, I mean, excuse me, he didn't just get that
title the spirit of truth in the New Testament, he's always been the spirit of truth.
He changed it, nah, folks, it was through the Holy Ghost that the Bible was even written.
Holy men of God spake as they're removed by the Holy Ghost, right?
And look, just because it says holy men of God doesn't mean that they're like the special
elite.
Holy basically means that they're sanctified, they're separated, they're saved people, okay?
Look what it says in verse 9 of 1 Peter chapter 1, it says, receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched
diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.
He's referring to Jesus Christ, right?
Searching what or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify?
When it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.
So even in the Old Testament, when the scriptures are being written, as they're being written,
the spirit of Christ was dwelling in them.
The only difference is, he would not dwell in them permanently.
He would come in them to do a great work, you know, come into Samson, come into Moses,
but he just would not dwell within them.
Now go back to Luke chapter 11 where we first started.
So what is the major difference in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testament?
The major difference is just where he resides, where he dwells.
He operates the same in the Old Testament as he does in the New Testament.
He regenerates, renews people in the Old Testament just as he did in the New Testament, okay?
He dwells with believers in the Old Testament just as he does with the New Testament.
He emboldens, he empowers the saints of the Old Testament just as he does with the saints
of the New Testament.
Literally the only difference is this, the only difference is where he dwells, okay?
Now look at Luke 11, verse 11, it says, if a son shall ask bread of any of you that is
a father, will he give him a stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Now this isn't referring to salvation because when people want to get saved, they don't
say, God, give me your Holy Spirit, right?
They don't say, God, please give me the gift of the Holy Spirit to be saved.
They don't even know about the Holy Spirit at this point until someone explains it to
them, right?
But the emphasis when we preach the gospel is on who?
Jesus.
Not on the Holy Ghost.
So what is he saying here?
He's talking about the power of the Holy Ghost.
And notice this is Old Testament still.
And this is why he's saying, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit
to them that ask him?
So look, it's not like only a select few Christians or believers in the Old Testament could get
the Holy Spirit.
Anybody could get him at that point.
If they ask.
If they ask for the power of the Holy Ghost, they could get him if they wanted to because
God was willing to do that for them as well.
Now here I go into my last point, okay?
And this is basically the conclusion of the sermon here, all right?
Is this.
So why is it if all his operations have been the same, the way he did salvation, he renewed
people, if it's the same in the Old Testament as in the New Testament, what's with the whole
indwelling them?
Why did he not indwell believers in the Old Testament as he does in the New Testament?
I'll explain to you why.
Because in the New Testament, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
But here's the thing, in the Old Testament, the bodies were not the temple of the Holy
Ghost.
Why?
Because there's a physical edifice known as the temple, the tabernacle, where God's presence,
synonymous with the Spirit, would dwell.
That's it.
Pretty simple though, right?
So in the Old Testament, you had the tabernacle, you had the temple, okay, where God's presence
would dwell, and that's where he would live.
But in the New Testament, now that we're saved, now that the temple no longer is a
place that is sanctioned by God for a place of worship, what is the place that is sanctioned
for worship in the New Testament?
The body of the believer.
They that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth, the Bible says, okay?
And the Bible says, know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwell within you, if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.
For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are, the Bible says.
So why did that transition?
Well, if you remember when Jesus Christ was crucified, the veil of the temple was rent
and twain, right?
From top to bottom.
That veil that we would say is like the sin that would keep us from God was rent and twain.
Now people have access to the holiest of all, according to the Bible.
Now it's not just Aaron and the Levites who have access to this priesthood, now it's the
royal priesthood made up of all believers, which is the holy nation, the spiritual household.
So now that physical temple, no longer valid.
We don't need it.
Why?
Because we are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
That's the difference, folks.
So people were saved the same way in the Old Testament, in spite of where the Holy Spirit
was dwelling, okay?
Because when people believed on the Lord in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would still
renew, regenerate that individual, they would get saved, the only difference was he was
dwelling in the temple.
That's where the presence of God was.
But once that was completely done away with, once that temple was completely destroyed,
now he dwells within every single individual believer, okay?
And praise God for that, amen?
So look folks, you know, where the Holy Spirit dwells doesn't mean, doesn't change the fact
whether we're saved or not.
Just as it doesn't change whether a person is in hell or not, right?
Because someone who's in hell is burning before the presence of God.
What is the determining factor whether we believe on Jesus Christ?
He comes, he regenerates our spirit, he renews us, we have a living spirit, our spirit is
alive.
The plus now is that now the spirit of God dwells within us.
But here's the thing, now we have a greater responsibility to not grieve the Holy Spirit,
not quench the spirit because now he lives with us 24-7.
Now we are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
And you know, I wanted to preach on this because I've just been thinking about the Holy Spirit
lately, you know, being filled with the Spirit lately and these commandments that we see
here but also because I just hate dispensationalism because it just, they seek to pervert the
ways of the Lord.
And you know, this is a simple truth, wouldn't you agree?
Once we, I mentioned the temple and you're like, oh yeah, but you know what?
The dispensationalists will seek to take advantage of that and try to misconstrue things.
Look, they seek to beguile that which is simple in Christ.
And this is a very simple truth.
But those that are unlearned and unstable will try to twist this and say, well no, they
were saved differently.
No, folks, the Holy Spirit just dwelled in a physical temple, his presence was in a physical
temple.
That was the only difference and now the reason he dwells within us is because there is no
physical temple.
We are the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Amen?
And thank God for that.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for your word and Lord, thank you for the earnest of our
inheritance which is the Holy Ghost.
And we know that even those in the Old Testament had the earnest as well.
He was still the earnest of their inheritance because we have Daniel, you speaking to Daniel
in Daniel chapter 12, that he was going to stand in his law at the end of days, referring
to the rapture.
And so we're so thankful that salvation has always been the same, both Old and New
Testament and we're thankful that we have the privilege of having the Holy Ghost dwell
within us, that this is the temple of the Holy Ghost which we have of God and we are
not our own.
And I pray God that you help us to continue to walk in the Spirit, be filled with the
Spirit and when we quench the Spirit, help us to immediately get right with you, to confess
our faults or our sins to you Lord and get right and stay on the right track and do that
which is pleasing to you to be spiritually minded, not carnally.
And in Jesus' name we pray, amen.