Rom 8:9-11 (NIV) You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. AND if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, WHO LIVES IN YOU.

You start out with the Holy Spirit living IN you the moment you become a Christian. That didn’t happen to Peter. He started out with Jesus living WITH him. Then when Jesus went away, the Holy Spirit came to empower the training Jesus had already given Peter. You, on the other hand, get the Holy Spirit as a new born, untrained Christian. Then the Holy Spirit does the same work of training you JUST LIKE JESUS TRAINED HIS DISCIPLES.

Jesus explained it this way: John 16:7 (NIV) But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

John 16:13-14 (NIV) But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into ALL truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.

He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you.

That is what He is doing in your life right now. As we go through these studies, He is explaining it, revealing it, and empowering you to live it. He is living IN you like Jesus lived WITH His first disciples.

The Holy Spirit is making the Gospels come alive so you can feel like you are there living as one of Jesus’ first disciples. You are watching Jesus teach the beatitudes and present His sermon on the mount. Then you will walk with Him through the four Gospels as He does His miracles and fulfills His ministry on this earth.

Because the Holy Spirit is in you, you will receive the same training from Jesus at the same time people are being trained by Him all over the world. Now Jesus is able to be training millions of disciples at the same time even though they live in different countries, speaking different languages. This is THE most exciting time to be alive! This has been God’s plan for this world from the very beginning of time.

Gal 5:24-25 (NIV) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.