Genesis 1:26 Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;
Your responses to the Morning Message yesterday lead me to believe that there is some confusion about Who actually lives within the believer. Does God live in us? Does Christ live in us? Does the Holy Spirit live in us? Which of the Three Persons of the Godhead actually lives within us?
God consists of Three Persons: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Together, they are the Three Persons that make up the Godhead. We know Them as the Trinity. Although the word Trinity is not found in the Bible, it has become a well-accepted term in Christianity and describes the Three Persons of God.
Scripture tells us that we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and that it is He Who dwells inside us. Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Scripture also tells us that Christ (the Son) lives in us. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Jesus said: I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
The Word of God tells us that God abides in us. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. (1 John 4:12)
The answer to the question: Who actually dwells in the believer? is this: All Three Persons of the Godhead dwell within believers. The fact is, we cannot separate Them. They are One; the Trinity. The Three Persons, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit function as One. They are of one Mind.
HOWEVER, having said all that, it is actually the Person of the Holy Spirit that takes us residence in the heart and life of the believer. He is the Promised Comforter and Helper Jesus spoke of in John 16:7 It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (Helper) will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Jesus also said, These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:25-26)
While our faith in the Finished Work of Christ is what opens the door for the Holy Spirit to come in and dwell within us, it is the Work of the Holy Spirit that will always point us back to Christ so we can become more and more Christlike every day as we allow ourselves to be led by Him.
Although the Three Persons of the Godhead are three distinct Persons, they operate and function as One. They are the “US” in Genesis 1:26. Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; All Three have always been there………...together.
Together they will……….turn the tide……….in this lost and dying world.
I believe in the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, Doreen
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