The hope of divine glory

Ephesians 1:17-20, “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.”
When Jesus starts to work in our sinful human nature with His Spirit, we shall first be born again of God and will experience a divine relationship with Him. Then the first spark of life will be ignited in our sinful nature. Thereafter He will baptize us in His Spirit. Generally we then will speak “in tongues” when He has made His abode in us.
Scripture also teaches that He first will come and live in our body.
1 Corinthians 6:19, “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?”
But man does not only exist of a body; he especially is soul and spirit. Thus, God’s Spirit must be able to take possession of our inward man, and this is a sanctification process.

1. The first Work of the indwelling Spirit

Now the point is that we should put our old nature continually and willingly in the baptism of fire of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, that our old nature may die at His hand, and the new nature of Christ may grow freely to maturity. This is the first work of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:11-12, “I (John the Baptist) indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
This divine fire must purify the threshing floor of our heart of all sin, of al the old, sinful life, of all the chaff (the old man), that the pure grain of the new life remain. This is the first work, that the Spirit of God will do after the experience of the baptism in the Spirit, if we submit willingly to Him; we must want, desire, this.
Romans 6:3, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (this applies to the baptism in water as well as the baptism in the Spirit)
John 16:8, “And when he (the Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world (the worldly mentality, also that of the convert) of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement.”
This chastening (purification) work of the Spirit must result in our absolute sanctification (see the sixth work of the indwelling Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ).

2. The second Work of the indwelling Spirit

He not only wants to cleanse us of sin, He also wants to strengthen us against satan’s[1] further attacks and temptations.
Ephesians 3:16, “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”
Isaiah 9:5 calls Him “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God.”

3. The third Work of the indwelling Spirit

He also wants to give you new divine life.

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By E. van den Worm

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[1] We write the word satan not with a capital, as it is not a name, but a word meaning opponent or adversary, accuser.

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