FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT EPHESIANS 5:18
Believers should live continually under the influence of the Holy Spirit by letting God’s Word control them; to live pure lives; confessing all known sin, dying to self; surrendering to God’s will, and depending on His power in all things. Living in the conscious presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Letting His mind through the Word dominate in everything that is thought and done; being filled with the Spirit is the same as ‘walking in the Spirit’ as in Galatians 5: 16-23.
Christ exemplified this way of life ( Luke 4: 1). John MacArthur
This virile truth contrasts with the flimsiness of so-called charismatic claims of Spirit-infilling.
Our Lord chose alcohol to illustrate the control of a life , ideally to be surrendered to HIM.
No alcoholic stimulation - only the Spirit of God indwelling and empowering, should motivate each believer. Ephesians 5:18 On a University campus, students anticipate alcoholic binging leads to intoxication weekly. ‘He that has not the Son of God does not have life.’ 1 John 5:12
Wine orchestrates the activity of a person, comprising spirit ( our God-consciousness), soul (our intellect, emotional and volitional or mind, emotions and will), and our physical being or body. Proverbs 23:20
When alcohol saturates the brain, it suppresses the spiritual nature of man, and the influence of the Holy Spirit is minimized, wiped out and annulled. Surrender to alcohol obliterates the Holy Spirit’s work. No where in the Bible does God save in the presence of alcohol.
When the intellect, emotional life and volition ( mind, emotions and will or MEW ) of a person is pharmaceutically subjugated, the Holy Spirit cannot infill that person, whom Satan controls.
‘Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord‘.
Visible effects of being overcome by alcohol or other substance abuse attract guffawing and chuckling, totally reversing God’s ideal of one surrendered to the gracious, indwelling Spirit.
The Holy Spirit in the field of music.
The living Lord merits our worship: indeed, the Holy Spirit directs our musical choice: Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. When our Lord instituted the Lord’s supper, they sang a hymn, which Bible teachers accept as psalms 113-118, the Hallel, concluding with psalm 136. Why do we minimize the historic Lord’s supper in excluding these psalms of David?
I reject the imprecise term, traditional hymns, for such treasuries are Biblical, historical, Christ-glorifying. Not self-oriented. Great hymns originated in real living circumstances.
The Presbyterian church majored on the psalms, which have enriched their people. At her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, a New Zealand operatic star, sang The Lord’s my Shepherd to Crimond. We are enriched by the psalms, and impoverished when excluding them.
Hymns from previous generations, such as ‘How Great Thou Art’, 'How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds'; 'All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name'; 'Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty' stir our spirit, revive precious memories of past days: for example, in army experience, we sang these doctrinal truth-packed hymns on troop ships or in the jungle of Papua New Guinea: when Billy Graham and 137, 500 filled the MCG: in our garage in a Muslim, spirit-saturated village. They evoke praise and melodious music.
Giving thanks for all things.
God’s Spirit releases thanksgiving which reverberate through every aspect of life, home, school, office, profession and church. The loss of thanksgiving , even in families, characteristic of the last days, indicates the absence of the gracious Spirit.
What does Scripture mean - to be filled with the Spirit. ?
Strong’s Concordance describes ‘Being filled with the Spirit, as total fulfillment, which is the most common usage of ‘being filled ‘, so God‘s Spirit provides accomplishment in our lives. For example, a slave ship is filled when there is a complement of rowers, dormitories full of slaves: a cup is filled when it overflows; when a dam for sheep or cattle is filled, there is ample water for all seasons. While the size of the vessel varies, the infilling is conclusive.
It is a repeatable, moment by moment enjoyment of the Spirit indwelling.
Submission is a beautiful bible concept.
Even the idea is repugnant to the flesh, and those living for the world, the flesh and the devil. When I volunteered for the medical unit in WW11, I subjected myself to the discipline of the army. Preparation for surgery warrants submission to the surgeon and anaesthetist. When a wife yields her total self to her husband, she enriches their oneness, beautifies her life and her home. We need the Holy Spirit for true resignation or yieldedness.
Submission is to one another, out of reverence for Christ ( the Messiah, the Appointed One.)
We long to see that surrender generally in the body of Christ, the church, parallel to the more intimate husband-wife attitude.
Wives, be submissive ( and adapt yourselves ) to your own husband, as a love-gift unto the Lord. A marvelous stronghold your God granted treasure. V22
Every woman is secure when the Spirit of God gives leadership to her husband, and she rests in that authority. When our dear son and 5 daughters opined ‘Dad. Mother is always right; and you stick up for her‘. I quietly assured them that she did so with my unwavering authority.
A generation later, they reflect that stance among their own dear children - our grandchildren.
Such submission is reasonable for ‘The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, Himself the Savior of His body. Our head, that is the brain, directs all activity of body, lungs, heart and vessels, digestive, hormonal function, secretory and excretory organs, kidneys and reproductive systems, mobility of arms, legs, fingers and toes. The Holy Spirit chose toxic wine and its influence on the entire body to illustrate eternal truth. Are you filled with the Spirit of God?
The Holy Spirit controls the inner man, as alcohol dominates the body. We should say ‘grace’ before every meal and snack, before intimate relationships, prior to counseling, before child birth or surgery to recognize the Spirit of Christ presiding over us in all aspects. I am often reminded that I prayed for new-born babes to be born anew of His Spirit.
‘As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be also subject in everything to their husbands. V24 Do we see the total subjection in any organized church to the Spirit of God: for example, responding to a call to intercession; choice of the Word of God; sacrificial missionary giving? Seldom. What should be the clearest expression of womanhood is blurred in their subjection to their husbands. No ideal likeness. The visible church is at fault.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. V25
God decreed that husbands show agape love to their beloved partners. This the only acceptable attitude. Sacrifice, even to death, demands Holy Spirit leading and sustaining.
A husband’s decision, reinforced hourly as he reveals the tenderness of the Lord Jesus to His beloved, is only possible through the indwelling, all-pervasive Spirit.
Men and women drink deeply from the Spirit of God in preserving the right heart attitude- to each other. Moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day makes for delightful coexistence.
Christ’s marvelous purifying should stir His church, ‘So that he may sanctify ( set aside for His glory ) having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word. V26
The Holy Spirit’s deepest longing is for Christ to present the church to Himself in glorious splendor without spot or wrinkle or any such things, that she might be holy and faultless. ’ v27
The Spirit of holiness indwells every believer, that is, the church, bringing us into an unblemished holiness, which is utterly impossible outside of the Holy Spirit.
Even so should husbands love their wives (as being in a sense ) their own bodies. He who loves his own wife, loves himself.
‘For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and carefully protects and cherishes it, as Christ does the church.' V29 The primary reference is the preserving of our body: but spiritually is the crucifying the old man. A secondary allusion is to the death of the old man, that is, the life of the flesh. More satisfied !
Highest calling for a husband is to ‘nourish and cherish his own wife‘. Understandably, the non-Christian cannot call on the Spirit of God to aid him in this intimate bond of husband and wife. How do they survive once the strong physical attraction of human love has lost its newness and outward beauty. Beware, lest we lose the Spirit of God’s attractive preservation of our tender oneness as husband and wife.
We are members (parts ) of His own body. The Holy Spirit is likened to the spinal cord, conveying impulses from the head, which are transmitted to all bodily parts. The spinal cord is bathed in spinal fluid, where the Holy Spirit cushions against all the trauma of every-day living. The Lord chose so to illustrate this truth - my joy to discuss how medically fitting it is.
The Holy Spirit fuses us into the body of Christ, when we are filled with His gracious Spirit.
Marriage
‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ As in baptism, when the Holy Spirit fills a man and woman with love for each other and their Lord, and leads them into the sacred, beautiful oneness of marriage, truly such marriages are made in heaven.
V31 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Recently our Grandson in US Ian married Candice, the wedding blessing all members of the family. ‘This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 5:32 Paul received from the Holy Spirit the expressive, intimate and strong portrait of Christian marriage.
The Amplified New Testament has a revealing, yet entertaining description at end of this 5th chapter. ‘Let each man of you ( without exception ) love his wife as ( being in a sense), his very own self; and let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband( that she notices him, regards him, honors him; prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly.' V33 Womanhood is alerted with and sustained by God’s Spirit to follow this prescription. Impossible without His transforming help.
Children obey your father and mother.
Surprising that children are to be filled with the Spirit of the Lord. How? Being responsive, courteous, obeying every command, realizing the Father’s deepest longing is for children. We men must accept children as total personalities, wherein our wives are sensitive.
‘Children, OBEY your parents in the Lord (as His representatives ), for this is just and right.’
‘Honor ( esteem and value as precious) your father and your mother- this is the first commandment with a promise,( Exodus 20:13 ) that all may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.’ Current values denigrate the child’s obligation to the parent, and are unacceptable in this liberated society, and regarded as old-fashioned. Rebellion robs us of certainty, leading to self-depreciation, for the parent must protect the developing child.
The child rests securely in the manhood of the father and the ingrained, sweet womanhood of the Mother. Our God ensures the obedient child, gently empowered by the Holy Spirit will live longer in this hostile world, for He stabilizes the child from countless ills. Our civil government would solve multiple problems by observing this law . Disobedient children disrupt family sweetness, destroy harmony and shatter the heart expectation of the parents.
God cannot live in a grubby home. Nor does He sanction an infested life. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:12, ‘Come out from among them and be separate says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you shall b e my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.’ A staggering addition is, ‘Therefore having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord.’ 7:1
Fathers do not provoke your children.
We fathers need God’s Spirit indwelling to maintain a peaceful, home life for our children, and a generation later, our grandchildren.
‘Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger ( do not exasperate them to resentment) but rear them tenderly in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.' In this recurring reaction, we men need the gentle striving of the Holy Spirit, and the tender pleading of our dear wives ( as Spirit-filled helpmeets) to pacify our distressed spirits and calm our frittered nerves. ‘Be filled' takes on new meaning with such unforgettable moments with our beloved bairns. John is barely home from Selawesi, Indonesia, and his grandchildren plead that he take them to the snow country - for the first time. They went.
David trained his son Solomon to become the wisest man who has lived. He did not relax his training, when he saw the potential of this boy; rather he pleaded with him to be loyal to his God and submit his intellect to his God. He taught David how the Lord searched more intimately than a MRI distinguishes between hard and soft tissues to know the intent of his heart. While he assured Solomon of the Lord’s watch-care, he warned that his God would not tolerate departure from Him as living Lord. Let’s read the Scripture, ‘As for you my son, Solomon, know the God of your fathers and serve Him with a loyal heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intents of the thoughts.' In effect, ‘Solomon. Be filled with God’s Spirit.' Then the telling summary, ‘If you seek Him, he will be found of you.; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off for ever.'
1 Chronicles 28:9 Child delinquency reflects the deficiency of parental teaching and control of our children. These truths should percolate through our home, church and legislation.
Verse 20 reinforces this to his son, Solomon, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed for the Lord God, my God, will be with you.’ Then the delightful certainty that ’He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.' Only the resident Holy Spirit can imbue this attitude.
Solomon relates to this injunction in Proverbs 4:3, ‘When I was my father’s son, tender and the only son in the sight of my mother. ‘ David had shown loving-kindness to his special son.
Unexpectedly, Hebrews is courageous on a father’s chastening of his son. Only God’s gracious Spirit can soften and mould the son to readily receive chastening. Christ’s Calvary sufferings are the foreground for this process, having endured such contradiction ( or hostility ) of sinners against Himself. He reminds us ’that we have not resisted to blood-shed, striving against sin’as our beloved Lord had; and they had forgotten the exhortation from the Proverbs , ’My son, Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; ( this is real chastening ), for whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.’ God’s Spirit emboldens the father to chasten, and grooms the son to receive it. This makes for a healthy home, balanced, prepared for mature years. The writer, continued, ‘If you endure chastening God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten. If you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate ( bastardry ) and not sons.’ ‘They indeed for a few days, chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness; that is to be filled with His Holy Spirit.’ Hebrews 12:5-10
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, ‘God commanded fathers not to irritate or tease their children, arousing their anger. We fathers may insensitively exasperate our children; and therefore must be humbled before the Lord, for our children are developing. Mothers evaluate a husband’s discipline and a child’s ability to profit from it. The Spirit sensitizes the mother as peace-maker among fathers and our children.
‘Bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord‘. The RN attending my dear one told of a father, alcoholic and brutal to her mother, siblings and to her, and a husband, harsh , jarring, who eventually abandoned her while overseas. The term ‘nurture’ includes godly training; education in morals and spiritual realities; developing mind, morality, discussing potential errors and controlling passions. My wife’s gentle ‘cukup’, sufficient, was heavenly wisdom.
Oh, for our home lives to have the sweet touch of God’s Holy Spirit , utterly impossible under the control of the flesh - yet the eternal Spirit gloriously energizes us.
Servants be obedient to your masters.
Unexpectedly, slaves or servants are included in the list of those ‘filled with the Holy Spirit.’
Humanly, we would exclude them; however, on their amazing new birth, many slaves were born of the Spirit of God and were baptized by the Holy Spirit. God intended the same evidence of the indwelling Third Person of the Trinity to transcend their mundane lifestyle. How they would magnify the Lord’s name in their privileged role. They were required to ‘obey their masters, according to the flesh; to exhibit fear and trembling; to be sincere of heart; and to perform every duty as to the Lord Jesus.’ Spirit- led slaves dignify every home or residence where they served. ‘Look at that slave or doulos‘, whose life enriches all his associates. In some measure, I learned submission to the Holy Spirit during my army experience, knowing I was committed to serve weary months with my medical unit. Although homesick, I was content as the Lord worked out His holy purpose. I was a slave of the war system, yet strangely peaceful. The Spirit indwelt me.
There are 27 million slaves world-wide, among whom are God’s witnesses and liberators. Alarmingly, 14,000 enter USA annually as sex slaves. Some seek their rescue in the Name of our Lord. High pressured business life enslaved many, demanding their time, resources, even their soul, so detrimental to family life, partners and children. Urgent travel with separation from home, and subtle temptations to sexual attractions, unmasked internet exposure outside home atmosphere are debilitating slavery. The sensitive Holy Spirit energizes our lives, countering all the demands of a grasping world.
Romans 2 accentuates this truth, ’He will render to each one according to his deeds, eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor and immortality, but those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil.’
Each person, including slaves ‘Must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done whether good or bad.
2 Corinth 5:10 ‘Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ.’ Colossians 3:24
Moses ‘Esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt ( however immense , vast, they were ) . Hebrews 11:26 No CEO could match Moses’ caring for 2½ million emigrants during 40 years in harsh, wilderness wastes. Missionaries regarded themselves as slaves of our beloved Lord. Bill Bright , founder of Campus crusade for Christ asked that ‘A slave of Jesus Christ’ be inscribed on his tombstone.’
What value do we ascribe to ourselves.
The slave must be transparent, not ‘turning on’ their effort when a master appeared, that is with eye-service; nor only to satisfy them in their immediate presence. Rather they are to be the slaves of Christ their Master; they must learn and demonstrate obedience; impelled with good will from a heart yielded to the Living Lord. Many nations release menial workers to wealthier nations, who may enslave them in domestic drudgery or into sexual servitude. A saved worker radiates the presence of the indwelling Spirit even in a nation where possession of God’s word is forbidden.
The Holy Spirit superintends our spiritual struggle.
Inner power flows not from ourselves, but from the ONE who resides in us.
‘Finally , my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.’
We need the Holy Spirit ‘to put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the evil one.’ 6:10 This truth is often quoted apart from the glorious Holy Spirit.
Reminder that ‘We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places.‘ Only the Spirit of God can equip us for this.
Therefore, take up the whole armour of God , that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand,’ which is utterly impossible humanly!
Only an ultra-sensitive Spirit can equip us for such combat. ‘Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. V13 Just as David could not accept Saul’s fleshly protective armor, rather he relied on the word of the Lord. Five smooth stones are likened to the five books of the Decalogue. So we have the most effective equipment in the Holy Spirit.
Stand therefore, having girded yur loins with truth ( reproductive and excretory ) having put on the breastplate of righteousness. V14 - a cleansed , renewed heart. Breathing God’s pure air.
The term ’loins’ expresses our sexual life, for chastity and purity, while the Holy Spirit keeps us while we walk in the Light , as He is in the light. Sexual purity rules in the Spirit- directed life.
‘And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace , only taught by the indwelling Holy Spirit. I consulted Repatriation. A radiant assistant told of her interest in Cambodia. She ministered to me, while I spoke of the Lord‘s guidance in Indonesia, years back.
The Spirit of God directs our feet into His paths. Life is exciting, when we are Spirit-led.
‘Above all, taking the shield of faith , with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. V15 Remember ’Faith comes by hearing; hearing by the word of God.’ God’s Spirit embosses the truth on our heart and burns it on our cortex, so that we may recall it for the crisis. John has returned from Selawesi, home of CMA pioneering work. The Indonesian language resurged for two weeks of teaching on peace and forgiveness. Holy Spirit release.
Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.’ Daily study and hourly musing on the Word are essential for the Spirit to make it viable within us. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ( how broad His influence ) being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints - and for me , that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an Ambassador in bonds, that I may speak boldly , as I ought to speak. ‘ v20
Recount how an ambassador is called to her Majesty, and anointed or ordained to represent her person and her kingdom in another realm. The Holy Spirit shapes us to represent His Majesty King Jesus in preparation for such ministry, to make Christ known and plead with men and women to bow to the claims of our Lord Jesus.
May the words linger in our memory. ‘BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT‘.