In God's Presence

Read 1 John 3:23

1 John 3:23–24 (KJV 1900)

23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

God promised to be present with those who belong to him.

John 14:16 KJV 1900

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

2 Corinthians 1:22 KJV 1900

22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Yet some people dash headlong through life, never seeing or acknowledging God’s hand. But

those who are aware of God’s presence, respond to it.

I know sometimes we talk about the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament -

Whatever they may be - The Holy Spirit is not a New Testament invention.

The Holy Spirit is Eternal and was present and cooperative in creation and worked and filled and has been involved and active in God’s work forever

Listen to some passages of how some Old Testament Saints experienced the Holy Spirit:

Exodus 33:14 “14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.”

Psalm 16:11 “11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

Psalm 21:6 “6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.” (He’s saying “you have made him glad with the joy of your presence.”

Psalm 68:8 “8 The earth shook, the heavens also dropped At the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved At the presence of God, the God of Israel.” In God’s presence the earth itself shakes.

Psalm 100:2 “2 Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before his presence with singing.” (They knew what it was to come into God’s presences singing)

Psalm 140:13 “13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: The upright shall dwell in thy presence.” - The upright dwell in thy presence

I know there are times when The Holy Spirit manifests His presence stronger than at others -

But I also know that He Abides and we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit

In fact lets look at that a moment:

Eph. 5:18-20 “18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Although it is a spatial metaphor, being filled with the Spirit is not really about space, like filling up a cup with water. We will be misled if we conceive of it that way. Essentially this metaphor describes a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit characterized by surrender and abandonment to the Spirit. For though the Holy Spirit is present in all believers, in some he is not preeminent; though he is resident in all, in some he is not president. (p. 23)

That is why Paul exhorts believers who already have a relationship with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

Richard Neuhaus says, "It is our determination to be independent by being in control that makes us unavailable to God. ,20 Those who are filled with the Spirit have died to that determination, surrendered their right to be in control, and made themselves radically dependent on and available to the Holy Spirit. ( p. 24)