This is the manuscript of the third sermon in the Recognizing and "Responding to the Indwelling Spirit" series of sermons to start the year of 2022. Without a proper response to the Holy Spirit, our lives will be unproductive and our service will be feeble. We closed out 2021 with the series “Come Let Us Adore Him” and in the last message of 2021 we said the real spirit of Christmas starts when we accept the best gift of all, the gift who was born in a manger, the Son of God. When we accept Jesus Christ, we accept the gift of salvation, the gift of forgiveness. But that is not all. We also receive the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us and guide our steps.
You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/QW-W0JzPQ14
Scripture
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 NIV “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Text:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Introduction
Jesus Christ came to take away the sins of his people.
Matthew 1:21 NIV She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
John the Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.
John 1:29 NIV The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Paul declared that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures”.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 NIV For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
And Peter emphasized the substitutionary nature of the death of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 3:18 NIV For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
Many people think of salvation only in terms of forgiveness for the guilt of sin and the removal of the penalty of sin. But this is to fall far short of the great salvation Jesus Christ came to provide. He came not only to save us from the penalty of sin but also to save us from the power and the practice of sin.
God wants us to be living, powerful demonstrations of what Jesus Christ can do in the lives of those who trust him as Savior and Lord. Remember God is interested in saving us from the power and the practices of sin. To accomplish this great purpose, he has given us the precious, personal gift of his Holy Spirit as an indwelling presence.
In the Scripture passage for today, we have heard the instructions that God sent through the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth, which declare that we are to honor or glorify God in our bodies.
As our text says
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
What Paul was saying is that we are to reveal the graciousness of God in our bodies. He was demanding that we demonstrate the presence of God in our bodies. He was inviting us to introduce God to others by our very being, our very lives. Last week we talked about making a positive response to the gift of the Holy Spirit. Making a positive response is part of the great salvation God wants us to experience through faith in Jesus Christ.
The Father God, through the apostle Paul, called on the people in the church of Corinth to be the place where God dwelled so that the other people of that pagan city could be saved. To live a life of immorality was to defile and to degrade the temple—the residence, the meeting place where people could experience the very presence of God.
Because it is through the Holy Spirit that the people of God experience the presence of God in their lives.
I. The Holy Spirit came to continue the work of Christ.
As a consequence the Holy Spirit never calls attention to himself.
The Holy Spirit is always pointing to Jesus Christ.
John 16:12-15 NIV “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
As Luke began writing the Acts of the Apostles, he said that he had dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach in the book of Luke which he wrote earlier.
Acts 1:1-5 NIV In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
The Acts of the Apostles would be more correctly thought of as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit continues to do today what Jesus began to do and teach.
II. The Holy Spirit convinced each of us of our need for salvation from sin.
John 16:8-11 NIV When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
III. The Holy Spirit brought about the new birth when we responded to the gospel by faith.
You’ll remember Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.
John 3:4-8 NIV “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
In his letter to Titus Paul wrote.
Titus 3:5-7 NIV he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
This same precious Spirit—who brought about conviction of sin and conversion from sin and the miracle of the new birth—wants to lead us in a way of life that will demonstrate to the world that we are the people of God.
Titus 2:11-14 NIV For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Because we are the people of God we are special.
1 Peter 2:9 NIV But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
He has also made us ambassadors and the Holy Spirit enables us to be those ambassadors.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NIV All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
IV. The Holy Spirit causes conflict between our old nature and our new nature.
Once we are in Christ we are a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Yes we are a new creation but there is still some residue of the old fleshly nature there that's why Paul in his letter to the Galatians wrote;
Galatians 5:16-17 NIV So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
And in that same letter to Titus Paul wrote
Titus 2:11-14 NIV For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
New believers often experience a great deal of inner tension as they struggle with the presence of some of the old self in them.
Some are quite disappointed to find that a life of faith is not a life of comfort and relief from tension.
There is always going to be conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.
Romans 8:5-8 NIV Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
V. The indwelling Spirit is God’s seal of ownership.
The Holy Spirit is also God’s guarantee of our final and ultimate salvation from death and the grave.
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Paul affirmed this divine seal of ownership in his letter to the Ephesians.
He also declared that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit is his guarantee that he will give us the ultimate and complete victory over death and the grave.
Romans 8:9-11 NIV You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.
VI. The Holy Spirit has been given to us so that with our cooperation he can produce the fruit that will indicate that we are indeed children of God.
Galatians 5:22-23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Agreement with the Holy Spirit is necessary if you want to live the life that God wants for you.
The first step in agreeing with the Holy Spirit is receiving salvation, a born–again experience. The Lord loves you. If you confess to Him your sins—realizing that you are lost, that only Jesus can help—and invite Him into your heart He,saves you.
Romans 10:9-10 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
B. Not only do we have to agree we also must have continuous cooperation with the Holy Spirit if we are to experience God’s full salvation for us.
Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
We must choose to let go of old ways of acting.
Here's Ephesians 4:22 from the Message Bible “Everything — and I do mean everything — connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it!”
Next we must change the way we think.
Ephesians 4:23 CEV Let the Spirit change your way of thinking
The Bible says we are “transformed” by the renewing of our minds.
Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
That transformation makes it possible for us to glorify God, which is, to make him known to others.
Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Living the Christian life is something much more than lifting ourselves by our own bootstraps. It is a life of joyful cooperation as the Holy Spirit works within us. When we recognize him and cooperate with him, it is possible for us to glorify God in our bodies today.
Conclusion
Remember what I said last week. We are always in danger of making a negative response to the Holy Spirit. But we have the joyous privilege of making a proper response which begins by establishing a relation to Jesus Christ in salvation. Trust him as Savior. Listen to him and obey him as your Lord. Trust in the abiding presence and power of the Holy Spirit to help you become all that God wants you to be.
That is what happens when you do what it says in
Romans 10:9-10 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
I invite all of you who have not done that to do it today, right now.
Heavenly Father, we thank You for saving us through the sacrifice of Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. We thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to instruct, guide, teach and comfort us. Thank You, H¹oly Spirit, for empowering us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ and being God’s guarantee for the inheritance He promised. Because of You, this guarantee includes that we have been purchased to be His own people.
In Jesus' name
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