In this sermon, the preacher discusses the concept of being born of the spirit and the effects of the spirit in our lives. He explains that while we cannot physically see the spirit, we can observe its effects. The preacher also mentions the story of Nicodemus and how he was perplexed by the idea of being born again. The preacher then explores the analogy of water and seed in relation to the word of God, emphasizing the importance of having faith founded on the truth of the Bible. He concludes by posing a question to children about who they would rather have confirm their salvation, himself or the Lord.

We are allowing ourselves the luxury of a whole week to study the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is the ministry of the Spirit of God in our lives. I've just trusted it will be a blessing to our souls and lead us to place ourselves more under His leading and guidance, and will result in holy living. Now, last night, we looked at the reality of the Spirit, first in His work in the early church, and then in His work of conviction in our own hearts. And then we saw His leading, His speaking ministry, how that He has sought man from the early chapters of Genesis to the very last chapters of the Bible. Therefore, we see the Spirit of God seeking out man because He knows that He can be blessed in the Lord. Tonight, we want to consider two subjects closely related. That is, the Spirit's ministry in regards to the new birth in the third chapter of John, and incidentally, that's where we'll be reading. And then, His ministry in indwelling us, in sealing us. And that's something of the results of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God that's in our body, our bodies being His temple. In the third chapter of John, we read, verse 1, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, that can't not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Now, the last verses that we have read would not seem to be connected with the New Birth, but I think we will see the connection. Now, this is elementary. The third chapter of John is not new to any of you, I suppose, here tonight. But these are precious truths, and I think we need our hearts and our minds stirred up. We need to be stirred up by a way of remembering. Nicodemus was a remarkable man. He was an earnest man. He was a well-read man. He was a man of prestige in the nation of Israel, as we would see in the eighth chapter of the book of John. No doubt Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the nation of Israel. It was seen so in the eighth chapter of John. And this earnest man came to our Lord Jesus Christ by night. I feel that he came by night not because he was ashamed to be seen with Christ, but because he wanted to spend some time with the Lord Jesus. You remember, our Lord was very, very busy during the day, and Nicodemus was so earnest that he wanted, he did not want his interview with this wonderful teacher interrupted. Now, he did not rise into the reality of who Christ really was. He said that he was a teacher come from God. He accorded him that privilege, or that honor, rather. We know, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God. But he was more than that. He was God himself. Now, I don't think Nicodemus realized this, but I think Nicodemus realized a little more after this interview with our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord takes him on his ground. He takes him on his ground. He says, you're a great teacher. We know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. So the Lord meets him on his own ground. The Lord, indeed, to the thrower, he shows himself forward. To the merciful, he shows himself merciful. To those that are in rebellion, God shows himself with resistance. Now, he meets Nicodemus on this ground. Nicodemus, of course, in the place of being a teacher, so the Lord says, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. One must be born again, born anew, in order to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus immediately starts asking questions, and well might he ask questions of this man. Nicodemus says unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? This immediately challenged his thinking. I don't think here that Nicodemus is denying the Lord. I think he's an earnest man. I think he's seeking. He's asking questions. And he says, he asks this question. The Lord repeats it. He doesn't tone it down. He says, Verily, verily, truly, truly, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And then he says, Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again. There are two famous musts in this chapter. Ye must be born again, verse 7. Then we read in verse 14, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in his brotherhood, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And these two musts are connected together. Christ must be lifted up on the cross, and because he was lifted up on the cross, man must be born again. And because he was lifted up on the cross, man can be born again. Now he tells Nicodemus that this birth is a birth of the spirit. He answers Nicodemus to quite a degree, although I think that raises more questions in Nicodemus' mind. No, it's not a matter of entering the second time into another's womb and being born. This is a different birth. This is a birth of water and of the spirit. Now, he also tells him that that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. This is a spiritual birth. It's not like our natural birth at all, but it's absolutely necessary, this spiritual birth. Now, as we were born into the human family, so must we be born into the family of God. And being born into the family of God is a spiritual birth. It is a birth that is accomplished by the power of the spirit of God. And I believe that the water that we have here is the word of God. I do not believe that it's baptism. We'll examine that. Now, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. Flesh can never rise above flesh. And that which is born of the spirit is spirit. The two realms are separated. And we must be born into God's family, and it's a spiritual birth. Now, we do not have anything to do with our first birth. I was not consulted when I was brought into this world. No questions were asked of me. But I think, gratefully enough, I do have something to do with my second birth. I may be born again, or I may not be born again, according to my own volition. Now, I don't press that point too far, because if I did, then we would say that salvation was of man. But our faith is necessary in regard to being born again. Now, that which is born of the flesh is flesh. It can rise no higher than that. It can be consciously cultivated flesh. And by flesh, we have to take in the whole man, the whole carnal being. It goes farther, I'm sure, than just simply the flesh of our bodies. I have no doubt that in the original sense here, that it is referring to the flesh of our bodies. But, the flesh of our bodies is combined with a soul, and with a spirit, and with an old nature. That old nature cannot enter into God. Now, we can refine the flesh, we can refine that old nature, but we cannot change it. It's absolutely impossible. We cannot cultivate it into a new life. Absolutely impossible. There are lots of people in this world, but if we look at them, they're noble people. They're people of principle. And yet, they don't care anything about God. They're refined people. And yet, they're not born again. And I make bold to say that at this juncture, Nicodemus himself was not born again. This was a truth that was absolutely foreign to him. Now, he was a religious man. He was a gentleman. He was a reverent man. He was a teacher. The teacher of Israel, as the margin has it. And the Lord rebuked him. The Lord said, Art thou a master of Israel? And knowest not these things? The margin has it. The teacher of Israel. And you don't know how to be born again, Nicodemus. You, supposedly a leader of my people, and you cannot tell people how to be born again. I don't believe that Nicodemus was born again at this time. And he was absolutely an exemplary man. We would have looked up to him. We would have admired this earnest gentleman. And yet, with all his culture, with all his education, with all his religion, he needed to be born again. I think that we can say, and I think we should say, that when God announced, when the Lord Jesus Christ announced the truth of the new birth, and gave us this figure, this life, the life of God that comes into a child at birth, and gave us this figure, he chose to announce it, he chose to expound it, to a man that stood head and shoulders above everybody else. He finds the best man in all Israel, and then he tells that man, except you be born again, except the man be born of water and of a student, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. This was something that Nicodemus needed to know. He didn't know it. And the Lord has, he picked out the best man he could find, and then he tells that man, you've got to be born again. Now, strangely enough, in the fourth chapter of John's Gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ meets a woman. She was a woman of poor character. She was ostracized by the other women. And when she went back into the city, and wanted others to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ, she goes to the men. She had an audience there. She could find friends among the men, but not among the women. Now, strangely enough, the Lord does not tell that woman that she needs to be born again. She knew that something was wrong inside. She knew she was a sinner. The Lord put his finger on her sin, and immediately she says, sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. He sought to reveal to her her sin, and when he did, she accorded to him the place of a prophet. Now, he didn't need to tell her that she needed to be born again. This is a truth that people do not realize. It's a truth that moral people do not realize particularly. Sinners, yes, they know that they're not right with God. They know that they need something outside of themselves. But there are a lot of people in this world that don't even know that they have sinned enough to go to hell. They think of themselves as being quite fit for hell, or certainly not unfit enough for hell. A friend of mine once, I talked to him, he said, you talk to me as if I were you. He says, I'm not as bad as you think I am. Well, I said, now, look, are you good enough to go to heaven? Oh, no, I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't say that I was good enough to go to heaven. And I said, well, now, are you bad enough to go to hell? Oh, no. No, he says, I'm not bad enough to go to hell. No. I said, isn't that strange? You're too bad for heaven, and too good for hell. What is God going to do with you? You have created a terrible problem in just what you said. But I don't know whether he saw the truth or not. But this is a truth that we need to press upon people who think that they're quite nice. This man was exemplarated, and he needed to know that he needed to be born again. And the Lord gently pressed this truth upon him. And he says, he told him, he says, The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. Now, you see the effects of the wind. And incidentally, the Lord couldn't have picked a better illustration than this for the word wind and the word spirit come from the same Greek root. We get our pneumatic tire. A pneumatic tire is a tire that is filled with air. And, what is a pneumatic tickle? Don't hold me accountable for that. I've forgotten what it is. But it is the same root. Spirit and wind come from the same Greek root. The theologians of the ecumenical church are talking about this wonderful wind that is blowing. They're connecting that with the spirit. The spirit of ecumenism. And they call it a wind. There's a lovely wind blowing. Well, the Lord uses that illustration. And he says, now, you see the wind. You actually don't see the wind, you see the effects of the wind. It waves the trees back and forth, and you say the wind is blowing. And somebody says, well, I don't see any wind. You look out there, well, I don't see any wind. What do you mean the wind is blowing? Well, don't you see the trees swaying? Oh, I can see the trees swaying back and forth. But I don't see any wind. Of course you don't. So is everyone that is born of the spirit. Do we see the effects of the spirit? We don't see the spirit. But we can certainly see the effects. Now, I know when the wind is blowing. Because I can see those trees. I can feel it on my face. I know, incidentally, that I am indwelled by the spirit. Because the spirit witnesses with my spirit that I'm born strong. Now, that spirit is a power. That spirit is a wonderful, wonderful power. But to go on into our chapter, Nicodemus finally is non-blessed. He asks the question, how can these things be? And then the Lord has to rebuke him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou the teacher of Israel? And knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Ye speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things? Now, the important thing is that the Lord said to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, I'm talking about an earthly experience. This matter of being born again is an earthly experience. It's an experience that we have down on earth. Now, Nicodemus, if you can't understand that, how am I going to talk to you about heavenly things? This must have been very humiliating to Nicodemus. But, you know, Nicodemus, I believe, was a proud man. I think, probably, he was proud of his race. I think, probably, he was proud of his position. And, you know, none of us ever really get praised and salvage our pride in the process. It wasn't necessary for Nicodemus to be humble, and he actually is perversely humble. In verse 16, the Lord is preparing Nicodemus for the salvation of the Gentiles. We'll touch on that in just a moment. But now, Nicodemus has answered an honest question, or asked, rather, an honest question. How can these things be? Nicodemus is an earnest man now. He's really searching. And the Lord gives him the illustration of the serpent in the wilderness. He says, Nicodemus, and Nicodemus knew exactly what the Lord was talking about. Do you remember that time, back in the history of the children of Israel, when they were going through the wilderness, encompassing the land of Eden, and the way was long, and they ran out of water, and they were lost and tired, and they complained against the Lord. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among them, and they picked the people, and the people of Israel died, and they came to Moses and confessed their sins. And Moses went to the Lord, and the Lord said, Now make a fiery serpent, a blazing serpent, a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole. And it will come to pass that if any of the children of Israel are bitten by those fiery serpents, if they will look at that serpent of brass on the pole, they will live. It will just take a look. Remember that, Nicodemus? Nicodemus remembered it as it was. And then he said, Now, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. Just as that serpent was lifted up in the wilderness on that pole, as it were a banner pole, and I would like to think of it as being a banner pole, it had a cross on it. It was a very appearancely cross. Of course, it would not be in the same proportion. That serpent lifted up on that banner pole. Nicodemus, once that serpent was lifted up, the Son of Man, he's referring to himself here in the third person, is going to be lifted up. That whosoever looks to the Son of Man shall not perish, but have eternal life. Life that lasts forever and ever. Now, he's telling Nicodemus, he's answering Nicodemus, how can these things be? Because, when I look at the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, and I realize, perhaps for the first time in my life, he was there for me. He was there out of personal love for me. He was there dying for my sins on that cross. He was feeling the wrath of God that should have fallen upon me. When I realize that the Lord Jesus Christ loved me to that extent, that he was there on that cross for me, and I put my faith in him, I'm born again. Now, he didn't tell Nicodemus how he needed, or how the actual birth, that new birth took place, but that new birth was accomplished by the power of the Spirit working through the word of God. Now, it is spoken of here as war. There's a reason for that, and I think we should explore that right now, because as he was making that claim to Nicodemus, he was furnishing you and me with an example so we get saved exactly the same way. And as he was illustrating it to Nicodemus, he was really illustrating it to you and to me. Two things are necessary. The water and the Spirit in connection with the new birth. Now, the water is not baptism. We're going to not consider the negative just at the moment. We will consider it with the help of the Lord. But we will consider the positive. What is the water? Well, before we turn to another scripture in John, I'd like to refer you to Titus, chapter 3, where the same truths, almost the same truths, are mentioned. Titus, chapter 3, verse 5. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. Now, here the same figure is used by the washing of regeneration. This is water. What kind of water? The water that will give me regeneration. The kind of water that will give me a new birth. Now, let's notice first of all the word of God seen under the figure of water, and then the word of God seen under the figure of a seed, and see the reason for it. Now shall we turn back to John's gospel, chapter 15. John, chapter 15. The Lord says, I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away. And every branch that beareth fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Now Ephesians, chapter 5. Ephesians, chapter 5. Verse 25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that ye might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. Here it is, the washing of water by the word. The word of God is seen as a cleansing agent. Now, as the Spirit takes the word of God and gives it application in my life, I am washed from my sins. But there's another figure that we need to consider. That in 1 Peter, chapter 1. Two things take place. 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 22. Well, let's read verse 21. Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God, seeing ye have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit. Now, the truth is contained in the word of God. And here we see the word of God and the Spirit of God working together. Seeing ye have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit. The word of God and the Spirit of God acting together. And through untamed love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart perfectly. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Now, this verse tells us plainly that we're born again by the word of God. It answers to the water of John, chapter 3. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Now, the word of God here is seen under the figure of a seed. Now, a seed has life in it. That seed may lay around for centuries. They took some of the wheat out of some of the Egyptian tombs that had been sealed up there for centuries, and they planted it, and it grew. There was life in that wheat. There is life in the word of God. The words that I speak unto you, the Lord Jesus says they are here, and they are life. This book is different from any other book. This book will give me eternal life. This is the precious seed right here. It has life in it. This book is like no other book. Now, in the matter of my being born again, in the matter of Nicodemus' being born again, the Spirit of God takes the word of God, and those two agents working together have a double effect. They have a cleansing effect and a life-giving effect in my soul. Now, it does not mean that I am saved by John 3.16. I am saved by the Savior that's presented in John 3.16. I am saved through the word of God having its effect in my life. No one has ever yet been saved apart from the word of God. Now, I don't mean by that that perhaps you were saved. Well, let's take an illustration. Perhaps you were saved on an occasion when the last barrier of resistance that you could raise against the Lord Jesus Christ was crumbled underneath the ministry of the Spirit of God, and you just simply trusted. You just simply resisted and gave up and said, Lord, you win. Now, it's possible that that could happen and you didn't have any verse in the Bible in mind at the time that that happened. But let me remind you of the fact that the truth that led to that point came from the Bible. Now, I was saved through Matthew 11 and 28, and I was thinking about that verse when I got saved. The Spirit of God gave it meaning, and I found out that there was life in that verse for me. Many have been saved through John 3, 16, John 5 and 24. Now, you do not have to have a certain verse, but let me tell you this. You will have the truth of all of these verses. You will have the truth that the Bible gives us as the Spirit of God takes it up and uses it, it will be involved in the matter of your salvation. It is a good seed. It is the good word of God that the Spirit of God uses in the matter of your salvation and mine. Now, let me tell you why. Our faith needs to be founded upon something. Our faith needs to be founded upon facts, and there is no other fact greater than the word of God. I frequently, in dealing with children at camp, I'll ask the children when I'm talking with them about these things, I'll ask them this question. Who would you rather have tell you that you were saved? Would you rather have me tell you that you were saved, or would you rather have the Lord tell you that you were saved? Well, you can anticipate their answer, can't you? Why, they say, well, I'd rather have the Lord tell me that I'm saved. Next question is mine. Now, if the Lord tells you that you're saved, you've got something. You've got something. You are placing your faith on the word of God, and the Spirit of God has led you to that point, for you're willing to do that. And if you can place your faith on the word of God, if you have got the assurance from the Lord himself to your own soul, you're saved. And if you've got Ken Baird's word for it, you haven't got a thing. Not a thing. I'm not telling anybody they're saved, but I can show them where the Lord tells them they're saved, if they believe it, if they'll just simply trust it. He tells them that they're saved, and that's the best authority that we've got. Can we place our faith on the word of God? The Spirit of God will lead us to that point. This all is so dutifully simple to me, where the Spirit of God and the word of God act together and accomplish our salvation. Now, a little more about the negative aspects of this. Salvation does not come by baptism. Now, I don't know whether any of you will ever have to grapple with that heresy or not, but I want to refer you to one verse in 1 Peter 3 in this connection. 1 Peter 3, verse 18, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient. And once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a-preparing, wherein few, that is eight foals, were saved by water. Now, the same water that drowned at the end of the Luvian bore up the ark above the scene of judgment. And the same words that hath given me eternal life is going to condemn those that will not believe. But he goes on to say, The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, some have misunderstood this verse. It says, The like figure whereunto baptism doth also now save us. Now, the ark was a figure. They were in the ark, and they were saved, and the water bore up the ark above the scene of judgment. Now, baptism is also a figure, because Peter says, The like figure, the like figure, whereunto even baptism doth also now save us. Now, baptism is a figure, and believe me, figures don't save us. But what the figure prefigures does save us. And baptism prefigures the death of Christ upon the cross for me, His burial, and His resurrection. Now, that's what saves the soul, is what the figure prefigures. And the figure shows that Christ died for me. He died on the cross for me. He was buried, and He rose again as living proof that all of my sins were gone. That's what saves the soul. Now, baptism has a beautiful picture of it, but please remember this. Baptism is a figure, and figures don't save us. Now back to John 3 before we leave it for just a final thought. Nicodemus is in the process of being humbled, and the Lord is serving notice on Nicodemus in John 3 and 16 that salvation isn't for the Jews only. Remember, Nicodemus was a Jew, and he was prejudiced as a Jew. And he thought salvation is of the Jews, which it is when you think of Christ being of the Jewish race, but not in that sense. And the Lord has the message for Nicodemus, this righteous man, this righteous Israelite. And the message is this, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He goes and goes far beyond Israel, and He's preparing Nicodemus for this, even as other Jews had to be prepared for it here, on another occasion had to be prepared for this truth. There is a dispensational teaching in John 3, 16. It's a large verse, a verse that is much larger than we ever think of it to be. But this is a very, very important verse as far as Nicodemus is concerned. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him. I'm glad for John 3, 16. I'm glad in a good many ways for John 3, 16, because it takes me in as a Gentile. I was one of the whosoevers. I have no connection with a nation of Israel. But I was one of the whosoevers, I believe. Now, later on we have every reason to believe that the Lord's ministry was not in vain in regard to Nicodemus. In the 8th chapter of John, he defends our Lord. And in the latter history of the Lord, well, as a matter of fact, at His burial, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, two gentlemen indeed, came lovingly to embalm the body of our Lord Jesus. Nicodemus was taking his stand. The Lord's ministry on this occasion had borne fruit. As a matter of fact, the Spirit had done His work just exactly like the Lord said that He would do it. And incidentally, the Lord used His Word in that portion of Scripture which we refer to as Numbers chapter 21 to accomplish His new birth. In Nicodemus's tent. And the truth of the Scriptures will be used in accomplishing your new birth and mine. If we base our faith on the Word of God that never fails, we're safe. How firm a foundation is laid for your faith in His excellent Word. Now, just to consider the end-running Spirit of God, the moment that I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and born again. Now, don't ask me how it happens. That is not my responsibility. My responsibility is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit's responsibility is to put the light of Christ in me. And I don't interfere with His responsibility. All I have to do is believe. There are lots of people that are afraid to believe for fear they won't do it right. There are lots of people that say, well, will I have enough faith? Will I have the right kind of faith? You put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and I guarantee you the Spirit of God will do His work. And He will not fail. You will be born again. The Spirit accomplishes that. But it's the light of Christ Himself that He puts within me. The Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter 2 says there, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. Christ lives in me. It's Christ's life that is put within me. Now this is not fancyism. It's His life. In Him was life. And the life was the life of men. Life is in Christ, and it's His life that He puts in here. It's also seen in Colossians chapter 1. I think I'll turn to it because I don't think I can quote it. Colossians chapter 1, verse 27. We're going to break right into this since the time is slipping away from us. To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Now we're told elsewhere in the scriptures that we are in Christ. And I'm not even going to turn to it. Christ in me, and I am in Christ. We're bound up in the same bundle of life. I know that's an old cliché. A religious cliché, or a theological cliché. But it's a good one. I love it. We're bound up in the same bundle of life. I am in Christ, and Christ is in me. That's a pretty sure connection. So I'm so glad I know the Lord Jesus. I'm so glad that it's His life that is in me. Now the Spirit has something to work with. And about that, if you want to be further expanded, the Spirit of God takes up His abode in us, too. He puts the life of Christ inside of us, and then He comes inside of us. Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 13. In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, and Marginetta more correctly, in whom also upon believing, ye were sealed with our Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, unto the redemption of the purchased possessions, unto the praise of His glory. Now, we're going to link this with a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Do you remember last night we read in the 16th chapter of John, the 14th chapter of John, rather, that the Holy Spirit was with His disciples when Christ was on the earth? And the Lord Jesus says, He shall be in you. Now here in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 15, we read, Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body. But he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 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? For ye are bought of the price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God. Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost. He's living in here. He's dwelling in here. Now, the Holy Ghost himself is the seal. Whenever any property is sealed, a faith tower or something of that nature, whenever any property is sealed, it is always to show ownership. And the very fact that I have the Spirit of God within my body is a seal. God is saying, this property is mine. And it is. This body belongs to him. My body is a temple of the Spirit of God. Certainly that should lead us to holy living. It should lead us to exercise real care of what we take into that body. It should lead us to real care as to where we take that body, because wherever we take that body, we take the Holy Spirit of God. It should lead us to be very careful what we do with our bodies. This should be an incentive to holy living. This body of mine is the temple of the Holy Ghost. He lives inside. Now, something more of his ministry, we'll see in the will of the Lord tomorrow night. This has been, you say, well, in fact, that was the luxury of a whole week. I'll be glad for heaven, and then I'll never have to go. But we are creatures of time. I just think it's time to go. We just, there's just too much to talk about. But I want you to pray for me each night so you'll feel like coming back. By the grace of Jesus, the Lord is with you.