2.4 - The Indwelling of the Spirit

The Indwelling of the Spirit The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the Christian is clearly proved by such passages as 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, R.V.: "Or know you not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have from God? And ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price; glorify God, therefore, in your body." The epistle from which this quotation is made was not only written to the church in Corinth, but also to all those in every place who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this passage Paul bases an exhortation to holiness upon the fact that the body of every saint is a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is by no means clear that all the members in any church in the days of the Apostles possessed such miracle-working power as Peter and John were the means of conferring upon those who received the word in Samaria (Acts 8:1-40). That all the saints everywhere possessed such gifts I do not think that any reflecting person would be rash enough to affirm. Therefore, Paul must here be referring to the indwelling of the Spirit possessed by every Christian, and not to those special and miraculous gifts which, though common then, were not possessed by all saints.