Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus. The founder and perfecter of our faith. The Bible reveals that God works by the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who believe, providing day-by-day guidance, comfort, wisdom, and insight for even the smallest detail of life. Who or what is the Holy Spirit? It's vital to know, so today we'll find out.
From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, give us a preview of your message on the spirit we embrace. You know, Dave, you and I know. that the ministry of the Holy Spirit oftentimes is avoided in some churches and in some Bible studies because there's been controversy about it.
issues regarding miraculous gifts and whether or not everyone has the Holy Spirit and what is the evidence of the Spirit All of these things oftentimes have been issues that have been debated. but the basics are clear. The blessed Holy Spirit of God has been given to God's people as a divine gift. and of course all who belong to Christ, In them is the Holy Spirit.
So even as we listen to this teaching, I hope that it will open our hearts to understand better how we can walk in the Spirit. And my friend, today the reason that you are listening to the ministry of running to win is because people just like you have invested in this ministry. At the end of this message, I'm going to be giving you some contact info. And the possibility of you becoming what we like to call an endurance partner. But for now, You may listen.
Yeah. I think it was A.J. Gordon who was one of the founders of Gordon Divinity School. Who said that on one occasion he was walking along when he noticed in the distance there was a man pumping water? And he was pumping effortlessly, tirelessly, and consistently.
But as Gordon got closer, he noticed that it wasn't a man at all. In fact, it was a man cut live size out of plywood. It was not that the man was pumping water, but the man was being pumped. By an Artesian well. Jesus said on one occasion, He who is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, from within him there shall be rivers of living water. And then John adds these words: But this he spoke of the Spirit that those which believe in him should receive. For the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified.
So Jesus said, you come to me and you drink. And you can have a well of water, as he said to the woman at the well. springing forth. to everlasting life. Why is it that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is so critical for us as Christians?
First of all, because many people think that walking in the Spirit is something that belongs to super saints. They think it is something that is unattainable for those possibly who've walked with God for many, many years.
Well, I'm here today to tell you that the notion of walking in the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit, those doctrines actually apply to all struggling Christians.
So if you're here today and you're a struggling Christian, I've got good news for you. And then there are those who say, well, it's too mysterious, it's also controversial. Churches have sometimes split over the filling of the Spirit, over the idea of whether or not there are certain manifestations connected with it. The devil has used all of these things to somehow blind us to the power that you and I can experience and the intimacy that we can experience with the Spirit. And so today We're going to think about the doctrine of the Spirit, but it will be transforming.
We will leave here differently than we have come because we've heard God's word. And God's truth has changed us. Have you ever thought to yourself how wonderful it would be if you had been with Jesus when he was here on earth? People want to walk. where Jesus walked.
Just ask, Roy Schwartz, who's sitting here. At the front, he's taken many, many trips to Israel. People say, I want to walk where Jesus walked. Show me the steps where Jesus once walked. We all want to walk where Jesus walked, so we'd like to have been back there.
But did you know that we have advantages today that the disciples didn't have? Jesus said, It is good for you that I go away, because if I don't go away, I can't send the comforter to you. But when I send the paraclete, the comforter, He will abide with you forever.
Now he's with you, but he's going to be in you. And Jesus said, it's good that I'm leaving. By the way, that word paraclete has been variously translated.
Sometimes I've seen translations that call him the counselor. I will send the counselor to you. And some translations call the spirit the comforter, the guide, others the companion, the advocate, the encourager. And I thought to myself, what is the best translation of that word, Paraclete? Actually, all of those words fit.
Because the Spirit is to us what we need at the moment. Do you need encouragement? The Spirit is there to encourage you. Do you need guidance? The Spirit is there to guide you.
Do you need an advocate with the Father?
Well, the Spirit is our advocate, and so is Jesus. Your need is to be met. by the Holy Spirit of God. And Jesus said that in Old Testament times the Spirit was with you, but now he shall be in you. permanently indwelling you.
He will abide with you Forever. It's the gift of the Holy Spirit. to God's people. You say, well, When the Holy Spirit of God comes to live within us, as we'll see in a moment, when the Spirit comes, is it right to say that Jesus comes too? and that the Father comes.
Now, what we need to do is to think theologically. You know, this is the fourth in a series of messages titled What We Believe and the Difference That It Should Make.
So let's think as theologians. Of course, it's not possible for the Holy Spirit of God to indwell us without the Father and the Son also coming to indwell us. Because you cannot ontologically separate the Trinity. Jesus said in John chapter 14, verse 23, That if a person loves me, I will love him, and my father will love him, and we. Together we'll come and make our abode with him.
So you see the Holy Spirit and the father and the son. are separated in Scripture. in certain ways. But then the distinction between them also is somewhat blurred, at least to our way of thinking, because the Trinity, while it is mysterious, is not a contradiction. and how thankful we are that God is a Trinity.
If you were here a few weeks ago and I lectured on the Trinity, you know how important that is.
So it's correct to say that Christ is in you, the hope of glory. It's correct to say that the Father is within us. But the ministry that is emphasized in the New Testament is the ministry of the third person of the Trinity within us, the blessed Holy Spirit of God. And that means that we have the companionship of God. God is with us no matter where we go.
He's with us as we drive along the Kennedy Expressway. He's with us as we ride the L. He is with us wherever we go, the companionship of God, also the power of God. You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. Oftentimes, pastors say, now that word dunamis is the word from which we get dynamite.
The Holy Spirit is the dynamite of God.
Well, that's true. From the standpoint of the etymology of the word, but dynamite is not a good way to illustrate the Spirit's work. The Spirit works imperceptibly. The Spirit works gently. The Spirit works quietly.
Sometimes we don't even observe the work of the Spirit. And he's working, but he's powerful. Because he is God. A very God. The companionship of God, the power of God.
The Spirit of God also gives us the desires. of God. When you got saved, God gave you a new nature, and that new nature comes accompanied with. The gift of the Holy Spirit. You say, well, is it possible for a Christian to be genuinely saved?
and still walk in sin. And the answer is yes. I'm sure we've all done it, and there are those who persistently live in sin. But listen carefully. If you're a Christian, And the Holy Spirit is dwelling within you when you deliberately send your misery index.
goes off the charts. You just can't stand it because You are one person in Christ, and you're living as if you're another person. You belong to God and you're living as if you belong to the devil. God implanted within you a desire for holiness, and now you have chosen to live contrary to that. And it is so, so unpleasant and in the end so guilty and so much.
emptiness. That's why coming to Christ sometimes makes things worse. Guy says, you know, before I got saved, I was sleeping with my girlfriend, and it never bothered me. We just thought that we were fulfilling. Our desires, and after all, we were adults, etc., etc., after he gets saved.
It still wants to. But he can't and when he When he continues that lifestyle, it is so miserable, so unfulfilling. You don't want to hear the Bible. You don't want to go to church. Why?
Because you are a living contradiction. You're contradicting who you have become in Christ.
Now the text for today. is 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, every Bible open. If you don't have a Bible, there is a Pew Bible, at least a few of them. Because it's important for you to always keep your finger on the text.
1 Corinthians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul Has three questions when he gets to verse 15. Three questions. in verse 15 of 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Question number two: Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?
Never. By the way. I'm not going to preach on this today, though I could. The next verse gives the most uh Not only the most interesting, but the greatest insight into sexual immorality. that can be found in all of literature.
All the wisdom of the world put together cannot equal. what Paul says now. If you are a member even of a prostitute because you're involved with her sexually, he says you become one body. And it's that metaphysical relationship of oneness. that has far-reaching implications.
But then he says But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Remember, Corinth was rife. with homosexuality. and prostitution.
Every other sin a person commits is committed outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. There is a kind of corrosion. of the spirit. that takes place in sexual sin that is unique. And then he says, Or do you not know, now we're in verse 19, that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
Don't you know that? You are not your own. You can't live the way you please. Because you've been brought with a price.
So glorify God. in your body. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to take the phrase, we are the Spirit's Temple, and I'm going to look at it. in three different ways.
Three different ways to look at the phrase, each having a different aspect. of the spirits indwelling. First of all, we take the phrase, we are the Spirit's temple. The great emphasis is on the word we. We are the Spirit's temple.
That emphasizes the location of the Spirit. God has always wanted to dwell with His people. The Garden of Eden, he walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. Then in the temple area, God came to dwell in the Holy of Holies. And now what Paul is saying is: do you not know that your body as a believer, because this now is post- Pentecost when the Spirit has come.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit? In Greek, there are two words for temple. One is h eron, which refers to the whole temple complex. The other is the word naos, which refers to the inner shrine or the holy of holies. And that's the word Paul uses here.
Do you not know that the Holy of Holies has been transferred to your body? That when you go to work tomorrow morning You are taking God with you, the Holy of Holies is with you. Do you not know that you are the temple of God individually? But also, Paul teaches elsewhere that we're also the body of Christ collectively. as a church.
That's why he says, Whoever destroys the temple of God, him will God destroy. And now Paul is talking about congregations. This sanctuary is just an ordinary sanctuary built of brick. and plaster and steel and other kinds. of ingredients, features.
And yet, there's a sense when we meet together here, God meets with us here in ways that He does not meet when we're not in church. No question about it. And when you come off of Clark Street or La Salle Street and you step into this building on a Sunday morning, you are actually leaving that which we call profane to come to that which is. Sacred, God comes here. The Holy Spirit of God is among God's people.
A woman was uh bringing a trashy novel into a church service. And an usher stopped her and said, you know, you shouldn't bring that in here. Maybe the usher was right. Normally, we want the ushers to let people sit down. But here's the question that I have for you.
If it wasn't right for her to read it in the church service or even bring it into Quote, the sanctuary. If that wasn't right, how could it possibly be right for her to be reading it in secret and polluting her soul? We're the blessed Holy Spirit of God. has been pleased to dwell.
So Paul says, the Spirit of God dwells in you, and he who does not have the Spirit is none of his, and it shows you the location of the Spirit. The Spirit is within this body that you brought with you today. Here in Chicago, or the body that you are listening with. around the world. That's the location of the spirit.
Well, now we're going to emphasize the phrase spirits. By that I mean possessive. We are the spirits Temple, that means ownership. We are owned by the Spirit. Paul says, don't you realize you're not your own?
You've been bought with a price.
Now, why is it that Jesus said that the world cannot receive the Holy Spirit? It's because the people of the world Are not included in this phrase of having been purchased with a price. They can prove that they were when they believe, but But it's important to understand that we have been purchased in a unique way by Christ.
Now, let's suppose you're driving through the neighborhood and you come across a house that you really like. And you say to your spouse, you know, I like that house. Let's. Get a truck, a moving van? Let's take all of our furniture from our house.
And let's bring it. to this house. Can you do that? Of course not. You'd be arrested.
At least. And then you'd be tested by some psychiatrist to see. whether or not all the lights were working. You can't do that. You have to buy it first.
Before Jesus can move in by His Spirit, He purchased us. We are his. And that's why the world cannot receive the Spirit, but the Spirit comes to those who've responded to Jesus and He moves in. The Holy Spirit of God takes up residence. And we belong to God by virtue of creation.
We were created. By God, in that sense, everybody belongs to God. But there's a unique sense in which we belong to God as Christians. We not only belong to Him by virtue of creation, we also belong to Him by virtue now of redemption. We have been bought.
With the precious blood of Christ, you say, well, did God overpay?
Well, if you know your own heart, you know right well he overpaid. That's why we call it grace.
So, what the text is trying to tell us is that we belong to God. We aren't our own. This impacts the use of the body, the use of the body. Where the body goes, what the body sees, what the body buys. what the body says using its tongue and its mouth.
All of that is involved. And under the leadership and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And everything that you own is also owned. Everything that that body owns, whether it's a bank account or whatever, a car you drive, everything that the body owns is owned by the person who purchased the body. namely Jesus.
It affects the use of the body, it affects the health of the body. One of the reasons that we should take care of ourselves, eat well, exercise, is because our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Remember, some time ago I told you about the man who stood on a bathroom scale, and as he saw the numbers go by, he said, He said, my body isn't a temple, it's a garage. Yeah. Well, don't treat your body as if it's a garage.
It's a temple of the Holy Spirit. And when it comes time for you to die, as inevitably it will, You say like one woman said who was told that she had cancer. She said, I struggled with it for a while until I realized that this body wasn't mine. It belonged to God. And you know how.
You know how valuable God thinks your body is? He thinks it's so valuable that someday it's going to be raised and recreated like unto the body of Jesus Christ, because God says, I redeemed you body, soul, and spirit, and the day is coming when you're going to be fully and totally redeemed, even your body. is going to be redeemed. Isn't that wonderful?
Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. When you stop and think about it, you can hardly wait. If only we were to better understand our future. We here at Running to Win deeply appreciate the partnership of so many people around the world. I'm holding in my hands a letter from someone who listens to us in East Africa.
I am spiritually motivated and love God more, always thinking about God's love to me. and how I should please him. It's a word of appreciation to the Ministry of Running to Win. Very quickly, I hope you have a pen or pencil in your hand. Would you consider becoming what we call an endurance partner?
Now of course you need more info, here's what you do, go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com. Of course, rtwoffer is all one word. rtwoffer.com and when you're there you click on the endurance partner button. Or if you prefer, you can call us at 1-888-8.
218 ninety three thirty seven At least investigate the possibility of becoming an endurance partner. But I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. for your generous support of this ministry. You've heard me say it before, but because of people just like you, running to win goes around the world. Once again, Go to rtwoffer.com, click on Endurance Partner.
Or you can call us at 1-888-1. 218 Ninety-three thirty-seven. You can write to us at Running2Win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. As we learn about the spirit we embrace, we discover an amazing breadth of provision for our daily lives.
Next time on Running to Win, we'll learn more about the four key ministries of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer and how each one should impact your life. Plan to tune in. Running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister.
Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
