What is the difference between indwelling of the Holy Spirit versus empowering of the Holy Spirit?

One of my brothers in Kenya posed a very good question with specific Scriptures. I prepared this early this morning and shared it with him. After discussing with my dear friend at lunch, I have decided to share it. 

What is the difference between the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the empowering of the Holy Spirit? 

This is a great question and very important in our walk as a believer. 

Indwelling by definition means to reside in. This reflects the permanent residence of the Holy Spirit inside a believer (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  It is a positional promise given to us that if we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will come and dwell within us (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit becomes a seal or mark to show that we belong to God (Ephesians 1:13-14). This is when our body becomes the temple or house of the LORD. It is a one time occurrence that has eternal impact. It shows that we have become a child of God and received the forgiveness of our sins (Rms 8:15-17; Titus 3:5)

To empower by definition is about enabling someone to do what is needed in the moment with strength.  This is an active and ongoing process that is dependant on obedience, a yielded heart, and the willingness to obey (Galatians 5:6). The Holy Spirit will guide us in truth and the way we should go. (Romans 8:14). This is His empowering. His empowering will bear good fruit when we walk in obedience to His guidance (Galatians 5:22-23).

Notice that a believer is indwelled. This is a gift that is only given to the one who believes in the LORD. Empowerment of the Holy Spirit can happen to an unbeliever. Remember, the Spirit of God will guide in all truth and point to Jesus. So if we see the movement of God's Spirit empowering in the Bible it is for the purposes of drawing people to God. As in the case of Acts 10:44 when the Holy Spirit "fell" upon the people. This meant that the Spirit of God was moving among them to bring forth the will of God. In this situation, it was for their belief and to become children of God which enables them to be indwelled by His Spirit.

In the case of Acts 19:15, we notice that a evil spirit or demon knows who Jesus is. This knowing is a belief in the existence of Jesus, but not in Him as their Savior. Yes, the evil Spirit recognized Jesus as the Son of God and even acknowledged that it was aware of His power,  but the evil spirit did not know Jesus with a belief that compeled him to obey in righteousness. The evil spirit did not draw near to God through its belief in Jesus. 

In a way, this provides us an example of the reality that acknowledgement of Jesus as the Son of God isn't the same as believing that Jesus died for our sins so that we can be restored in our relationship with God. One is just head knowledge and it does not lead to life change. The other is a heart knowledge that leads to life change because the Spirit comes in and dwells.  

What about in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel 18:10-11 when the harmful spirit rushed upon Saul? 

King Saul at this point in his life determined to no longer obey God. Most theologians point out that because Saul was choosing disobedience God removed His protection and allowed the evil spirit to torment Saul. First, we must recognize that in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent to dwell permanently in a child of God. This happened after Jesus died, rose again, and ascended to heaven. In the Old Testament, God would send His Spirit to guide but it wasn't an eternal dwelling. The Spirit would empower but not dwell permanently. The Spirit would come and go as God directed. Obedience brought the blessing of fruitfulness, but if they walked in disobedience they could lose God's presence. This is why King David prayed in Psalm 51:11, "Do not cast me from Your presence or remove your spirit from me."

In the Old Testament, they were still waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of the Messiah, Jesus, which would bring about the promise of the Holy Spirit's permanent presence or indwelling. As a person living after Christ's death, burial, Resurrection and ascension, we have the gift of His presence indwelling us permanently and His Spirit guiding us in all truth in the form of empowering when we believe in Him as our Savior. We can hinder His empoweting by not walking in obedience, but once we believe we are marked by His Holy Spirit as a child of God. Now there is a debate theologically on whether you can lose your salvation. This is a whole different discussion. I personally do not affirm this stance. There are theologians that can argue both sides. I don't want to get into the debate since you are asking clarification for indwelling and empowering. They key is indwelling is permanent and empowering is something that cones and goes for the moment.