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  DIVINELY OCCUPIED
  by A.W. Tozer
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Summary: The doctrine of the divine indwelling is a crucial New
Testament teaching that emphasizes God's presence within the believer,
but it requires a deep understanding of God's holiness and our own
sinfulness.

Topics: "Faith", "Divine Indwelling"

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DESCRIPTION
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A.W. Tozer emphasizes the profound significance of the doctrine of
divine indwelling, asserting that it is essential for every Christian to
understand and embrace this truth. He highlights the tension between
God's supreme holiness and human sinfulness, which makes the concept of
God dwelling within us seem incongruous. However, Tozer reassures that
Scripture clearly teaches this reality, as evidenced by Jesus' promise
to abide in those who love Him. The sermon calls for a deeper faith to
grasp the implications of this divine presence in our lives. Ultimately,
Tozer encourages believers to recognize the preciousness of having
Christ dwell in their hearts by faith.

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CONTENT
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The doctrine of the divine indwelling is one of the most important in
the New Testament, and its meaning for the individual Christian is
precious beyond all description. To neglect it is to suffer serious
loss. The apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians that Christ
might dwell in their hearts by faith. Surely it takes faith of a more
than average vitality to grasp the full implications of this great
truth. Two facts join to make the doctrine difficult to accept: the
supreme greatness of God and the utter sinfulness of man.

Those who think poorly of God and well of themselves may chatter idly of
"the deity within," but the man who trembles before the high and lofty
One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, the man who knows the
depth of his own sin, will detect a moral incongruity in the teaching
that One so holy should dwell in the heart of one so vile. But however
incongruous it may appear to be, in the Holy Scriptures it is taught so
fully that it cannot be overlooked and so plainly that it can hardly be
misunderstood.

"If a man love me," said our Lord Jesus Christ, "he will keep my words:
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our
abode with him" (John 14:23). That this abiding is within the man is
shown by these words: "At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father,
and ye in me, and I in you" (14: 20). Christ said of the Holy Spirit:
"He ... shall be in you" (14: 17), and in His great prayer in John 17
our Lord twice used the words "I in them."

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/aw-tozer/divinely-occupied/
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