LESSON 26 – HOLY SPIRIT – FILLING
Holy Spirit – Filling
1 Thessalonians 5:19
Ephesians 4:30
Galatians 5:16
Hebrews 4:1-4, Romans 12:1-2
2 Timothy 1:6
Hebrews 12:5-13
1 John 1:9
Galatians 5:16, 22-23
Ephesians 5:19-21 Holy Spirit – Filling
Spirituality
INTRODUCTION
In Ephesians 5:18 we are told "Be filled with the Spirit". This is in the present tense which means continuous action.
DEFINITION It is the spiritual state where the Holy Spirit is fulfilling all that He came to do in the hearts and lives of the individual believer.
The filling of the Spirit did occur prior to Pentecost but it was limited and was observed only in a small number of individuals prior to the start of the Church
Since Pentecost however the Holy Spirit indwells all believers in New Testament times. Everybody therefore has the opportunity to be filled with the Spirit and can now conform to Ephesians 5:18.
EFFECT OF THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
There is an observable difference in the daily life and character of Christians who are filled with the Spirit. Unfortunately there are few who can be characterized in this way. This is based on the failure of man rather than the lack of provision by God.
With Satan so active in the world we are told to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is very important on a moment by moment basis. You need to be spiritually led by God. If you can get your congregation to live under the control of the Holy Spirit you are going to have a wonderful church, active, blessed and very productive. If you are going to achieve this everything else will happen, you will never need to seek funds, there will be evangelism and spiritual growth, blessing and impact.
If you do not stress the Holy Spirit you will have a hymn singing social club. You will be counseling and have a mess on your hands which you will call a church. Without the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit in your church you will have to have all the gimmicks to get people to give.
It is important that people come to church to know the Lord without coercion. If you teach systematically, verse by verse, stressing the filling of the Holy Spirit, they will come freely. If they are not interested it is a sign that they are not filled with the Spirit. If the people do not come the pastor should look at himself as to whether he is teaching or not.
In the church you should refer to the filling of the Holy Spirit every week. The Holy Spirit is the dynamic of the Christian life. If you have not got the Spirit you are not a Christian. This topic and your attitude to it, is going to determine how you are going to run your church.
The secret of church growth is for the individual to pray the prayer, "let there be a revival and let it start with me." You should walk with the Lord in the Spirit, study and teach the Word systematically. As you see people come alive you ask them to pray. Two or three people can change a church or a nation.
Filling of the Holy Spirit Contrasted with Spiritual Maturity.
The filling of the Holy Spirit can occur if you are mature or not. Maturity occurs as one spends a lot of time in the filling of the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit should be the normal Christian life. It is only in that state that you are going to grow spiritually. The longer and more often you are under the control of the Holy Spirit the quicker you will mature. The baby believer does not spend a lot of time working under the power of the Holy Spirit. Spirituality is therefore not the same as maturity. You are only spiritual if God rules in your life as He intended it to be. You are spiritual if there is no sin in your life.
Three Conditions for the Filling of the Spirit,
[a] Quench not the Spirit 1 Thessalonians 5:19,
[b] Grieve not the Spirit Ephesians 4:30,
[c] Walk in the Spirit Galatians 5:16 and do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Quench not the Spirit.
Do not put out the fire, is the literal meaning from the Greek. Do not smother the Holy Spirit's work. There are three components to a fire, fuel, air and heat.
If you want to put the fire out you eliminate one of the three items, remove the fuel, air or heat and the fire will go out. A great example of a Christian getting cold is given by the ember that is taken from a glowing fire. As the ember is removed from the fire and laid aside it ceases to glow and becomes cold. It does not matter how strong a Christian you are, if you lose your ardor you will grow cold. Stay with the fire and do not quench the Spirit. Sometimes it gets tough in the Christian life but we must keep the heat on.
This can also happen if you have no fuel or the wrong fuel. In John 14 16 the Lord says that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. It is important to feed upon the Word of God and not people's experiences however moving they may be they are not fuel for the Holy Spirit they are fuel for your emotions. Only God's Word will strengthen you as a believer.
The third way to put a fire out is to rob it of air; also if you do not breathe you do not live. Inhale taking in the Word exhale letting God's Word work through you into every detail of daily life. After breathing in by means of a good message you breathe it out with a great worship songs or hymns at the end of the service.
Paul says to Timothy, “stir up the gift that is in you”, 2 Timothy 1:6 – literally he is saying, keep the fires burning. Throw more fuel on the fire. You can be smothered by the cares of the world, concerns of family and friend or work pressure, especially if you are surrounded by non believers all the time. Do not let yourself get smothered by the evil of the world.
Romans 12:1 2 shows that you have to commit yourself to your spiritual life. Present yourself a living sacrifice. Throw yourself into this life because it is important.
Grieve not the Spirit:
Ephesians 4:30, shows that you do this when you have sin in your life. You can deal with it quickly using 1 John 1:9. If you do not use that verse you will be subject to Hebrews 12:5 13, which gives divine discipline. You are either going to be living under the power of the Holy Spirit or under Divine discipline. You will be miserable because the Spirit is quenched, miserable because the Spirit is grieved, miserable because of divine discipline. This is why disobedient believers are the most miserable and obnoxious of people on the planet!
Walk in the Spirit:
The word walk means to advance in ranks, making use of the assets you have. Believe the Word, feed on it and apply it. The Christian life is difficult as we are in Satan's world and are surrounded by evil, the world, the flesh and the devil. If you do not walk in the Spirit you will be walking with the enemy. You are either strong in the Spirit or you are being beaten about by the enemy. You have to have the intestinal fortitude to fight, you have the equipment, use it or you will become a casualty. There is a battle being fought out here and the Lord wants winners. The Lord won on Calvary. If you are in Him, you are a winner.
Characteristics of the Filling of the Holy Spirit:
What are going to be the characteristics of the Filling of the Holy Spirit?
[a] Christ likeness, the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 23. Do not be overly impressed by miracles, signs and wonders; because some people are going to be told to depart from the Lord on judgment day because they are unbelievers, even though they have done miracles in the Lord's name. Matthew 7. A lot of people claim miracles, but even when the miracles seemed to be legitimate it only shows that the ‘Healing Ministry’ had power. The question is whether the power is from God or not. It is the fruit and not the signs that are important; as Jesus said by their fruit you will know them.
[b] You will have an evangelistic involvement, if they have no desire for souls, if they are not involved in teaching God's Word there is something wrong.
[c] Praise, worship, thanksgiving and submissiveness Ephesians 5:18 this shows the basis of submissiveness that Christians should be mutually submissive. The basis of submissiveness is the filling of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18. Once you are submissive one to another you can be submissive husbands and wives as you are in submission to the Spirit. We as ministers need to lead as examples.
Characteristics of the Filling of the Spirit:
[a] The Power of the Spirit
[b] Holiness of Life
[c] Ministries of the Spirit
[d] Teaching you wonderful things
[e] Guide into all things
[f] Assurance of Salvation
[g] True worship of the Lord.
[h] Good prayer fellowship.
The major problem in the church is Christians who have grown cold. Obedience is the answer to spiritual coldness; we warm our spirit and soul by obeying the revealed Word of God and letting the Spirit loose again through confession of our sins. Do not be distracted by strange and weird things, for God is straight forward. The devil does not need to go after most believers for they trip themselves up easily by their sin and laziness. If you get someone spouting “words of wisdom” in a convoluted manner you know it is not of the Lord because the Lord is clear and succinct. The Lord is not into dramatic things, he is into transformed and holy lives, living to praise his name.
Many of the healings that take place in special "healing" services are found over time to have been psychological and ‘hyped up’. Many that have been followed up medically have been shown not to be healings at all. Paul towards the end of his ministry was not able to heal his close friend who he had to leave behind in Troy. Miracles are rare, but they do occur; it is important however to be cautious over ‘hyped up’ healing events. We must always be aware that the Lord is the healer and not some ‘anointed’ healing evangelist. The Lord’s name and the faith will be held in derision by the unbeliever who will see through false miracles easily! Paul also used the healing ministry to present the gospel. He did not heal for healings sake, but worked miracles whenever the Lord opened the door. He also saw a vision of heaven which he was told not to speak about and he kept silent on what he saw. Paul was not into drama, he was into obedience to the Holy Spirit and the Word; so must we be!
The Word of God is all important, not the signs and miracles; where they are bone fide they will always lead to evangelism and to people studying the Word and growing through obedience to it. The filling of the Holy Spirit is all important, and the evidence of that is the fruit of holiness in their life.
DOCTRINES
HOLY SPIRIT: FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. We are commanded to allow Him to fill (or fully control) our lives (Ephesians 5:18).
2. The filling (controlling) of the Spirit can be broken by:
a) Grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) - sin, doing something you shouldn't.
b) Quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) - not doing something you should (like quenching a fire, allowing the flame to go out).
3. The filling (controlling) of the Spirit can be restored by confession of sin and full surrender to do the will of God (1John 1:9)
4. The Spirit produces the very character of the Christ in the believer: (Galatians 4:19, 5:22, 23, Ephesians 3:16, 17, Philippians 1:20, 21, 2 Corinthians 3:3)
a) The fruit of the Spirit:
i) Galatians 5:22-23 - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.
ii) Romans 14:17 - Righteousness, Peace, Joy.
iii) Colossians 3:12-15 - Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Forgiveness, Love, Peace, Thankfulness.
iv) 1 Thessalonians 1:3 - Faith, Love, Endurance, Hope.
b) Rejoicing in Christ (Philippians 3:1, 4:4).
c) Loving one another (John 15:12, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 5:2).
d) Striving for the faith (Philippians 1:27, Jude 3).
e) Putting away all sin (1 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 12:1).
f) Abstaining from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
g) Submitting to injuries (1 Corinthians 6:7).
h) Subduing the temper (Ephesians 4:26, James 1:19).
i) Shunning the wicked (2 Thessalonians 3:6).
j) Abounding in the works of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58 1 Thessalonians 4:1).
k) Showing a good example (1 Timothy 4:12, 1 Peter 2:12).
l) Following after that which is good (Philippians 4:8, 1 Timothy 6:11).
m) Perfecting holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Timothy 3:17).
n) Hating defilement (Jude 23).
o) Overcoming the world. (1 John 5:4-5)
p) Adorning the gospel. (Philippians 1:27, Titus 2:10)
q) Forgiving injuries. (Romans 12:20)
r) Living peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18, Hebrews 12:14)
s) Visiting the afflicted. (James 1:27)
t) Sympathising with others. (Romans 12:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:14)
u) Honouring others. (Romans 12:10)
v) Submitting to authorities. (Romans 13:1-7)
w) Being content. (Philippians 4:11, Hebrews 13:5)
x) Walking worthy of the Lord. (Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:12)
y) Walking in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
z) Walking as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8)
aa) Glorifies Christ in his body. (Philippians 1:20, 21)
bb) Christ is at home in his body. (Ephesians 3:16,17)
cc) A lifestyle which honours God in the presence of men. (2 Corinthians 3:3)
5. The filling of the Holy Spirit in every believer only occurs in two dispensations:
a) Church age Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:22, 23
b) Millennium - Joel 2:28, 29 (characterized by ecstatics)
Holy Spirit – Filling
1 Thessalonians 5:19
Ephesians 4:30
Galatians 5:16
Hebrews 4:1-4, Romans 12:1-2
2 Timothy 1:6
Hebrews 12:5-13
1 John 1:9
Galatians 5:16, 22-23
Ephesians 5:19-21 Holy Spirit – Filling
Spirituality
INTRODUCTION
In Ephesians 5:18 we are told "Be filled with the Spirit". This is in the present tense which means continuous action.
DEFINITION It is the spiritual state where the Holy Spirit is fulfilling all that He came to do in the hearts and lives of the individual believer.
The filling of the Spirit did occur prior to Pentecost but it was limited and was observed only in a small number of individuals prior to the start of the Church
Since Pentecost however the Holy Spirit indwells all believers in New Testament times. Everybody therefore has the opportunity to be filled with the Spirit and can now conform to Ephesians 5:18.
EFFECT OF THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
There is an observable difference in the daily life and character of Christians who are filled with the Spirit. Unfortunately there are few who can be characterized in this way. This is based on the failure of man rather than the lack of provision by God.
With Satan so active in the world we are told to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is very important on a moment by moment basis. You need to be spiritually led by God. If you can get your congregation to live under the control of the Holy Spirit you are going to have a wonderful church, active, blessed and very productive. If you are going to achieve this everything else will happen, you will never need to seek funds, there will be evangelism and spiritual growth, blessing and impact.
If you do not stress the Holy Spirit you will have a hymn singing social club. You will be counseling and have a mess on your hands which you will call a church. Without the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit in your church you will have to have all the gimmicks to get people to give.
It is important that people come to church to know the Lord without coercion. If you teach systematically, verse by verse, stressing the filling of the Holy Spirit, they will come freely. If they are not interested it is a sign that they are not filled with the Spirit. If the people do not come the pastor should look at himself as to whether he is teaching or not.
In the church you should refer to the filling of the Holy Spirit every week. The Holy Spirit is the dynamic of the Christian life. If you have not got the Spirit you are not a Christian. This topic and your attitude to it, is going to determine how you are going to run your church.
The secret of church growth is for the individual to pray the prayer, "let there be a revival and let it start with me." You should walk with the Lord in the Spirit, study and teach the Word systematically. As you see people come alive you ask them to pray. Two or three people can change a church or a nation.
Filling of the Holy Spirit Contrasted with Spiritual Maturity.
The filling of the Holy Spirit can occur if you are mature or not. Maturity occurs as one spends a lot of time in the filling of the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit should be the normal Christian life. It is only in that state that you are going to grow spiritually. The longer and more often you are under the control of the Holy Spirit the quicker you will mature. The baby believer does not spend a lot of time working under the power of the Holy Spirit. Spirituality is therefore not the same as maturity. You are only spiritual if God rules in your life as He intended it to be. You are spiritual if there is no sin in your life.
Three Conditions for the Filling of the Spirit,
[a] Quench not the Spirit 1 Thessalonians 5:19,
[b] Grieve not the Spirit Ephesians 4:30,
[c] Walk in the Spirit Galatians 5:16 and do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
Quench not the Spirit.
Do not put out the fire, is the literal meaning from the Greek. Do not smother the Holy Spirit's work. There are three components to a fire, fuel, air and heat.
If you want to put the fire out you eliminate one of the three items, remove the fuel, air or heat and the fire will go out. A great example of a Christian getting cold is given by the ember that is taken from a glowing fire. As the ember is removed from the fire and laid aside it ceases to glow and becomes cold. It does not matter how strong a Christian you are, if you lose your ardor you will grow cold. Stay with the fire and do not quench the Spirit. Sometimes it gets tough in the Christian life but we must keep the heat on.
This can also happen if you have no fuel or the wrong fuel. In John 14 16 the Lord says that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth. It is important to feed upon the Word of God and not people's experiences however moving they may be they are not fuel for the Holy Spirit they are fuel for your emotions. Only God's Word will strengthen you as a believer.
The third way to put a fire out is to rob it of air; also if you do not breathe you do not live. Inhale taking in the Word exhale letting God's Word work through you into every detail of daily life. After breathing in by means of a good message you breathe it out with a great worship songs or hymns at the end of the service.
Paul says to Timothy, “stir up the gift that is in you”, 2 Timothy 1:6 – literally he is saying, keep the fires burning. Throw more fuel on the fire. You can be smothered by the cares of the world, concerns of family and friend or work pressure, especially if you are surrounded by non believers all the time. Do not let yourself get smothered by the evil of the world.
Romans 12:1 2 shows that you have to commit yourself to your spiritual life. Present yourself a living sacrifice. Throw yourself into this life because it is important.
Grieve not the Spirit:
Ephesians 4:30, shows that you do this when you have sin in your life. You can deal with it quickly using 1 John 1:9. If you do not use that verse you will be subject to Hebrews 12:5 13, which gives divine discipline. You are either going to be living under the power of the Holy Spirit or under Divine discipline. You will be miserable because the Spirit is quenched, miserable because the Spirit is grieved, miserable because of divine discipline. This is why disobedient believers are the most miserable and obnoxious of people on the planet!
Walk in the Spirit:
The word walk means to advance in ranks, making use of the assets you have. Believe the Word, feed on it and apply it. The Christian life is difficult as we are in Satan's world and are surrounded by evil, the world, the flesh and the devil. If you do not walk in the Spirit you will be walking with the enemy. You are either strong in the Spirit or you are being beaten about by the enemy. You have to have the intestinal fortitude to fight, you have the equipment, use it or you will become a casualty. There is a battle being fought out here and the Lord wants winners. The Lord won on Calvary. If you are in Him, you are a winner.
Characteristics of the Filling of the Holy Spirit:
What are going to be the characteristics of the Filling of the Holy Spirit?
[a] Christ likeness, the fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 23. Do not be overly impressed by miracles, signs and wonders; because some people are going to be told to depart from the Lord on judgment day because they are unbelievers, even though they have done miracles in the Lord's name. Matthew 7. A lot of people claim miracles, but even when the miracles seemed to be legitimate it only shows that the ‘Healing Ministry’ had power. The question is whether the power is from God or not. It is the fruit and not the signs that are important; as Jesus said by their fruit you will know them.
[b] You will have an evangelistic involvement, if they have no desire for souls, if they are not involved in teaching God's Word there is something wrong.
[c] Praise, worship, thanksgiving and submissiveness Ephesians 5:18 this shows the basis of submissiveness that Christians should be mutually submissive. The basis of submissiveness is the filling of the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18. Once you are submissive one to another you can be submissive husbands and wives as you are in submission to the Spirit. We as ministers need to lead as examples.
Characteristics of the Filling of the Spirit:
[a] The Power of the Spirit
[b] Holiness of Life
[c] Ministries of the Spirit
[d] Teaching you wonderful things
[e] Guide into all things
[f] Assurance of Salvation
[g] True worship of the Lord.
[h] Good prayer fellowship.
The major problem in the church is Christians who have grown cold. Obedience is the answer to spiritual coldness; we warm our spirit and soul by obeying the revealed Word of God and letting the Spirit loose again through confession of our sins. Do not be distracted by strange and weird things, for God is straight forward. The devil does not need to go after most believers for they trip themselves up easily by their sin and laziness. If you get someone spouting “words of wisdom” in a convoluted manner you know it is not of the Lord because the Lord is clear and succinct. The Lord is not into dramatic things, he is into transformed and holy lives, living to praise his name.
Many of the healings that take place in special "healing" services are found over time to have been psychological and ‘hyped up’. Many that have been followed up medically have been shown not to be healings at all. Paul towards the end of his ministry was not able to heal his close friend who he had to leave behind in Troy. Miracles are rare, but they do occur; it is important however to be cautious over ‘hyped up’ healing events. We must always be aware that the Lord is the healer and not some ‘anointed’ healing evangelist. The Lord’s name and the faith will be held in derision by the unbeliever who will see through false miracles easily! Paul also used the healing ministry to present the gospel. He did not heal for healings sake, but worked miracles whenever the Lord opened the door. He also saw a vision of heaven which he was told not to speak about and he kept silent on what he saw. Paul was not into drama, he was into obedience to the Holy Spirit and the Word; so must we be!
The Word of God is all important, not the signs and miracles; where they are bone fide they will always lead to evangelism and to people studying the Word and growing through obedience to it. The filling of the Holy Spirit is all important, and the evidence of that is the fruit of holiness in their life.
DOCTRINES
HOLY SPIRIT: FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer. We are commanded to allow Him to fill (or fully control) our lives (Ephesians 5:18).
2. The filling (controlling) of the Spirit can be broken by:
a) Grieving the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) - sin, doing something you shouldn't.
b) Quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19) - not doing something you should (like quenching a fire, allowing the flame to go out).
3. The filling (controlling) of the Spirit can be restored by confession of sin and full surrender to do the will of God (1John 1:9)
4. The Spirit produces the very character of the Christ in the believer: (Galatians 4:19, 5:22, 23, Ephesians 3:16, 17, Philippians 1:20, 21, 2 Corinthians 3:3)
a) The fruit of the Spirit:
i) Galatians 5:22-23 - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control.
ii) Romans 14:17 - Righteousness, Peace, Joy.
iii) Colossians 3:12-15 - Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Gentleness, Patience, Forgiveness, Love, Peace, Thankfulness.
iv) 1 Thessalonians 1:3 - Faith, Love, Endurance, Hope.
b) Rejoicing in Christ (Philippians 3:1, 4:4).
c) Loving one another (John 15:12, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 5:2).
d) Striving for the faith (Philippians 1:27, Jude 3).
e) Putting away all sin (1 Corinthians 5:7, Hebrews 12:1).
f) Abstaining from all appearances of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
g) Submitting to injuries (1 Corinthians 6:7).
h) Subduing the temper (Ephesians 4:26, James 1:19).
i) Shunning the wicked (2 Thessalonians 3:6).
j) Abounding in the works of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58 1 Thessalonians 4:1).
k) Showing a good example (1 Timothy 4:12, 1 Peter 2:12).
l) Following after that which is good (Philippians 4:8, 1 Timothy 6:11).
m) Perfecting holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1, 2 Timothy 3:17).
n) Hating defilement (Jude 23).
o) Overcoming the world. (1 John 5:4-5)
p) Adorning the gospel. (Philippians 1:27, Titus 2:10)
q) Forgiving injuries. (Romans 12:20)
r) Living peaceably with all. (Romans 12:18, Hebrews 12:14)
s) Visiting the afflicted. (James 1:27)
t) Sympathising with others. (Romans 12:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:14)
u) Honouring others. (Romans 12:10)
v) Submitting to authorities. (Romans 13:1-7)
w) Being content. (Philippians 4:11, Hebrews 13:5)
x) Walking worthy of the Lord. (Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 2:12)
y) Walking in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4)
z) Walking as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8)
aa) Glorifies Christ in his body. (Philippians 1:20, 21)
bb) Christ is at home in his body. (Ephesians 3:16,17)
cc) A lifestyle which honours God in the presence of men. (2 Corinthians 3:3)
5. The filling of the Holy Spirit in every believer only occurs in two dispensations:
a) Church age Ephesians 5:18, Galatians 5:22, 23
b) Millennium - Joel 2:28, 29 (characterized by ecstatics)
No comments:
Post a Comment