Spirit filled life
The Christian Faith is a Religion of the Spirit and unless we are continually filled with the Spirit's resources our lives will be largely ineffective and unproductive.
The Word of God gives us Two Commands concerning this issue:
1. Eph.5:18 tells us we should ensure that we are always filled with the Spirit of God.
We can only be filled if we allow the Spirit to fill us. Water always finds its own level, and so does the Spirit. The parallelism in this verse portrays someone who gets drunk. If you are drunk you are under the control of alcohol. A person filled with the Spirit is under the Spirit's control. Jesus of Nazareth was filled with the Holy Spirit and 'went about doing good'.
The filling is a must before Christian service. The Apostles were baptized and filled before their world-wide ministry. Compare their lives before and after the filling. Jesus said 'the wind
blows where....'. So is the person who is directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit.
2. 1 Thess.5:19, concerns the loss of the Spirit's filling.
How do we quench the filling?
Picture the filling like a spring of water that flows out. To stop the flow we have to block the spring.
Quite often this is not done on purpose but unintentionally. We can block the spring and the
flow in many ways. Even a clean obstacle can stop the flow. Quite often we bottle up the activity of the Spirit by not using His functions, gifts, etc. We can also block the activity of the Spirit by not taking heed to His promptings or impulses. The method of worship can equally quench Him. The Holy Spirit does not work in our lives by force.
The Christian Faith is a Religion of the Spirit and unless we are continually filled with the Spirit's resources our lives will be largely ineffective and unproductive.
The Word of God gives us Two Commands concerning this issue:
1. Eph.5:18 tells us we should ensure that we are always filled with the Spirit of God.
We can only be filled if we allow the Spirit to fill us. Water always finds its own level, and so does the Spirit. The parallelism in this verse portrays someone who gets drunk. If you are drunk you are under the control of alcohol. A person filled with the Spirit is under the Spirit's control. Jesus of Nazareth was filled with the Holy Spirit and 'went about doing good'.
The filling is a must before Christian service. The Apostles were baptized and filled before their world-wide ministry. Compare their lives before and after the filling. Jesus said 'the wind
blows where....'. So is the person who is directed and controlled by the Holy Spirit.
2. 1 Thess.5:19, concerns the loss of the Spirit's filling.
How do we quench the filling?
Picture the filling like a spring of water that flows out. To stop the flow we have to block the spring.
Quite often this is not done on purpose but unintentionally. We can block the spring and the
flow in many ways. Even a clean obstacle can stop the flow. Quite often we bottle up the activity of the Spirit by not using His functions, gifts, etc. We can also block the activity of the Spirit by not taking heed to His promptings or impulses. The method of worship can equally quench Him. The Holy Spirit does not work in our lives by force.
No comments:
Post a Comment