114. Spirit Dwell with and in
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
The Spirit of truth will dwell with you and He will be in you. This is why you know Him. “In and with” is a remarkable promise; and it must be believed since we do not usually see or know or feel His Presence and Indwelling. We believe it is true because Jesus said so. We receive the Spirit by faith in Christ; we know the Spirit by believing the Gospel.
Because the Spirit of truth dwells with and in us we know the truth; even opposed to sight and appearances we believe the Truth of the Word. The truth is that we are miserable sinners, even evil people by nature, living in the darkness of death with no hope for the present or the future. The greater truth is that God loves us in this way, that He sent His Son to forgive the sin and bring us into the light and defeat death forever. These twin truths of Law and Gospel result in one great truth: Jesus loves me, this I know. The Spirit of truth has so convinced me that this is true that nothing can shake it; that sight and appearance to the contrary cannot move me from this truth; that all the thoughts and ways of the world cannot convince me; that the works and lies of the devil cannot cause doubt and uncertainty.
Blessed assurance is comforting in all the various circumstances of life. The Truth will make free: we are no longer slaves to sin, nor under the power of the devil, nor overwhelmed by death. If we should believe the Lie, and not have the Truth, we would be plunged back into the chains of sin, death and the devil. But no, we have the indwelling Spirit of truth with us and in us.