Sunday Sermons
Be Filled with the Spirit
Be Filled with the Spirit
How qualities make a person “spiritual”? Those who love God have a deep desire to be spiritual, and God has desire for us is the same. He has given us many blessings toward that end, including the Holy Spirit. In this lesson, let's explore what role the Holy Spirit plays in the process of becoming a spiritual person so that we can more accurately discern our own level of spirituality, and strive to grow therein.
Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine…but be filled with the Spirit”
Note that these are Christians being addressed, are people who already believed and were baptized (Ephesians 1:13; 2:5-6) and are said to have been sealed with the Spirit of promise (1:13). Such individuals are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit, therefore, being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time act, but a continual choice that we make. Obviously, that being filled with the Spirit is a choice that we each are given. We can choose to fill ourselves with wine or other intoxicants or we can choose to filled ourselves with the Spirit. What a blessing that being filled with the Spirit is not something that “just happens” or something that we must sit around wasting precious time, waiting for it to happen. Beginning to be filled with the spirit is just a decision away.
Even The Spirit-Filled Struggled
There are times in the Bible when the Holy Spirit miraculously came upon an individual or individuals (Acts 2:1-4; 10:44). It is tempting to think that such an event would solve all our problems, that we would instantly have the right mindset and that serving God would be effortless from then on, yet this is clearly not the case. The Bible is filled with examples of various people who miraculously came into contact with the Holy Spirit yet did either not improve much or completely fell into sin.
- King Saul: 1 Samuel 10:6; 18:12
- King David spoke by inspiration and yet committed adultery: Psalm 51:11
- Peter was an apostle, God spoke through Him, he worked miracles, yet he sinned: Galatians 2:11-13
- Timothy had the Spirit, yet was warned about becoming timid and was exhorted to keep on preaching the word: 2 Timothy 1:7; 4:2
So it would be fallacious to think that men like the apostles and prophets who had miraculous gifts of the Spirit did not have to work hard at being pure and good or that they did not have to struggle against lust, anger, fear or despair, or work on controlling their thoughts. Paul worked miracles and God spoke through him, yet he still had to buffet his body (1 Corinthians 9:24) and control his thoughts (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Be encouraged knowing that exerting a lot of energy to keep sin at bay, is no indication of being without the spirit. Satan often targets those who stand to accomplish much for God's glory. Stand firm. Stand strong.
The Indwelling Spirit
When I find passages that speak of Deity, like the Holy Spirit dwelling in the Christian I always find that this situation is a mutual relationship, that is, the Christian is also said to dwell in the Deity (John 15:4 “Abide in Me and I in you”). So the language is speaking of a close relationship with God, Jesus and the Spirit rather than the Spirit or Jesus in me pulling spiritual levers, so to speak, and controlling in my life. I say this because the previous passage likewise speaks of “us” abiding in Jesus. Clearly, we are not literally in Jesus and controlling His thoughts or actions. So the Spirit or Jesus abiding or dwelling in me never meant that God is controlling me against my will. So what might it mean? A parallel passage to Ephesians 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” reads, “Let the word of God richly dwell within you” (Colossians 3:16). Hence the way that the Spirit leads, encourages, and fills believers is when we embrace His message and make it our own — when I love what He has said and act upon it, making it the number one reason why I do or don’t do this thing or that. Jesus manifested such a close relationship with the Father when He was constantly citing Scripture or bringing people back them. Another way of stating this, is that doing His will becomes our food and reason for living.
Passage |
Being lead by the Spirit, walking by the Spirit, |
We have a choice in this process. |
Romans 8:9 |
8:9 |
8:5-6,11-13 |
Ephesians 1:13 |
1:13-14 |
Ephesians 4:30 |
1 John 3:24 |
3:24 |
1 John 2:3-5 |
What the Spirit Does
- Gives a very convicting message about sin to the world: John 16:5-11
- Points us in the path of regeneration: John 3:3-5
- Brings enlightenment about what is really important: Ephesians 1:17-18
- Tells us all about the life of Jesus: John 15:26
- Has delivered all truth through the apostles: John 16:13
- Points and encourages us in the path of purity and character: Galatians 5:16
- Gives us clear direction concerning the transformation process so that we become more and more like Jesus: 2 Corinthians 3:18
- Assures us that our prayers are always heard and every detail, even unspoken yearnings are heard by God: Romans 8:26-27
Galatians 5:16-26
In these passages I find that there are predictable results of either obeying the teachings, will and desires of the Holy Spirit or instead complying with the desires of the flesh. These passages also teach that these are two different paths that can never be combined (5:17). (Ideas for the following chart came from a similar chart found at Strongarmor.blogspot.com)
Walking/Led by the Spirit |
Walking by the Flesh |
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Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net