The Indwelling Spirit
“For 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” (Rom. 8:13).
The absolute necessity of the indwelling Spirit of God is demonstrated by the forester. Whitewashing and spraying never reaches some parasites attacking the tree, so the forester bores into the very heart of the tree, and introduces chemical solutions which mingle with the sap and circulate through every branch and leaf. Thus is the old tree rendered absolutely safe from its foes.
Is this not exactly the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers—to so indwell them as to render them safe from their foes? His ministry is very much like that of the antiseptic. To be effective the antiseptic must come in direct contact with the putrefaction in the flesh. Just so the Holy Spirit must be permitted direct access to the innermost secret sins of the believer if there is to be real spiritual blessing.
The absolute necessity of the indwelling Spirit of God is demonstrated by the forester. Whitewashing and spraying never reaches some parasites attacking the tree, so the forester bores into the very heart of the tree, and introduces chemical solutions which mingle with the sap and circulate through every branch and leaf. Thus is the old tree rendered absolutely safe from its foes.
Is this not exactly the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers—to so indwell them as to render them safe from their foes? His ministry is very much like that of the antiseptic. To be effective the antiseptic must come in direct contact with the putrefaction in the flesh. Just so the Holy Spirit must be permitted direct access to the innermost secret sins of the believer if there is to be real spiritual blessing.