Paul developed the Theology of the Holy Spirit which is best summarized in Romans 8:16: “The Spirit joins with our spirit to bear common witness that we are children of God.”
Unless we have super-human discipline and willpower, it will only be when our spirit is united with God’s Spirit that we gain the strength to stand guard over our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:7).
Paul understood that Jesus left his Indwelling Spirit as a permanent, strengthening gift. Therefore, to Paul, Christ is not out there; the Eternal Christ is inside us in the form of His Indwelling Spirit. God has implanted Himself in us. He is the source of true inner knowledge, the calm inner authority whereby we know spiritual things for ourselves (1 Corinthians 2:1-16).
The knowledge of the Indwelling Spirit is the foundation, not just for Paul’s mysticism and ours, but for the fully charismatic church that Paul was establishing. A church that does not depend upon patriarchy and hierarchy to generate itself, but one where power and authority are inherent in every member. A church where everyone can call upon this Indwelling Witness.
Humility and surrender are the means by which we could draw from the Source within us. The Spirit that creates lovers, not rebels or heretics (1 Corinthians 13). Only with God’s Spirit-in-us can we fully forgive, accept, and allow reality to be what it is.
Romans 8:11 “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”
