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The Filling of the Spirit (Part 3) |
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By Ralph I. Tilley
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Fullness Requisite for Expressing a Passionate Love for Christ For all those who were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (as well as those who experienced a similar filling of the Spirit afterward who were not present at Pentecost), for those who enjoyed subsequent fillings of the Spirit, and for all of those who experienced the fullness of the Spirit as a way of life-each of these were clearly empowered with an ability to cultivate and express a passionate love for Christ which would have been otherwise impossible. For it is the unhindered fullness of the Spirit's indwelling presence which is the great energizer for loving Christ with all one's heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. The fullness of the Spirit makes a passionate love for Christ possible. What else can explain Peter's transformed life apart from the fullness of the Spirit's presence in his life and ministry? After the filling of the Spirit, Peter was no longer afflicted with a plethora of spiritual inner inadequacies which had for so long dogged his every step. While facing difficult odds, he became a courageous herald of the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was transformed into a faithful, zealous disciple of Jesus, a defender of the faith, a loving shepherd and a teacher of the flock of Christ. His spiritual poise, disciplined life, loving service, wise leadership, humble example, evangelistic zeal, steadfast spirit, joyful heart, catholic attitude-can all be attributed to the abiding fullness of the Helper at work in and through him. It is impossible to cultivate and express a faithful passionate love for Christ apart from the Spirit's fullness pervading the hearts of Christ's disciples. The Spirit's fullness is a divine prerequisite. As Gordon Fee has put it, "All truly Christian behavior is the result of being Spirit people, people filled with the Spirit of God. who live by the Spirit and walk by the Spirit."[65] To try to practice the spiritual disciplines, to attempt to know, love and serve Christ as one should-cannot be done without experiencing the Spirit's help and fullness. This is why the filling of the Spirit should be considered as foundational to cultivating and expressing a passionate love for Christ. While many scholars would contest his view, English Anglican preacher and scholar H. C. G. Moule believed that this filling "is always seen as taking place where there is already present the New Birth; and the possession of that Birth is thus the occasion for a holy desire and longing to possess in some sense the Filling."[66] Because of every follower of Christ's great personal inner needs, and because of the great mission to which Christ's disciples are called, the prayer of Charles Wesley is appropriate when contemplating this vital subject: O Thou Who camest from above, There let it for Thy glory burn Jesus, confirm my heart's desire Ready for all Thy perfect will, It has been the desire of every earnest follower of the Lord Jesus these last two centuries, to have "a flame of sacred love" kindled upon the altar of their needy and unworthy heart. As Christ's disciples seek to cultivate and express their love for him, they are empowered from above as they "guard the holy fire" within, being continually filled with the Spirit to be all God intended them to be, and to do what he has called them to do. The Church's Great Need The church's decline in every age can be attributed to her lack of the Spirit. The same can be said of every Christian's decline. When believers fail to be continually filled with the Spirit, walk in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit, conduct the business of the church in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, they will grieve the Spirit; they will be substantially ineffective in their service for the Lord Jesus. What discerning Christian among us is not heartbroken when considering the instability, immaturity, and the powerlessness of so many believers-believers that should be living better than they are. Too often God's people are walking in the flesh instead of walking in the Spirit's fullness. Thus, we have Christians constantly losing their tempers, succumbing to fleshly addictions, materialistic, easily offended, intemperate in controlling natural passions and affections, indolent, lacking a passionate love for the Lord Jesus and the things of God, lifeless in prayer, more selfish than selfless, and on we could go. The church needs the Spirit's fullness! Every follower of Christ needs to be filled-and continually filled with the Spirit. If we are not filled with the Spirit we will be filled with self and act in the flesh. It is the Spirit's unhindered control in the believer that brings great honor to our heavenly Father and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. Without his fullness, we glorify self and parade the flesh. A Grieved Spirit One of the saddest-if not the saddest-occurrence in the contemporary church-is a grieved Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is a person he has emotions, and one of the emotions the Spirit possesses is the capacity to grieve. What is it that causes the Holy Spirit to grieve? Let's take a look at Ephesians 4 for some of our answers. The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:30: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Writing this exhortation some 25 years following his conversion to Christ, this God-chosen apostle and teacher had accumulated years of experience in observing the kinds of attitudes and behaviors that causes deep distress to the Holy Spirit of God. He lists several. Lying. "Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another" (4:25). Evidently all of the Ephesian believers had not put falsehood away or Paul wouldn't have mentioned this. Lying has become part of our culture. Whether on a professional résumé, reporting church and ministry statistics, reporting business expenses to our manager, or caught in an embarrassing situation-professed followers of the guileless Lord Jesus have been know to "cut the corners" on truth-telling. When Christians fail to live with the highest degree of integrity, they fail to be the light and salt Christ has called them to be. In this same Ephesian 4 context, Paul writes, "Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart" (4:17-18). The Christian's walk and mindset is to distinguish them from unbelievers when it comes to telling the truth. When a Christian lies, he or she grieves the Holy Spirit. Anger. "Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil" Eph. 4:26-27). There is an anger that is acceptable-and to be expected-for the Christian, and there is an anger that grieves the Holy Spirit. Of all the expositions of this text I have read through the years, no one has understood the words of the apostle any better than H.C.G. Moule. On the first reference to anger, he writes, Anger, as the mere expression of wounded personality, is sinful; for it means the self is in command. Anger, as the pure expression of repugnance to wrong, in loyalty to God, is sinless, where there is true occasion for it. The Apostle . . . says, let anger, when you feel it, be never from the former motive, always from the latter.[68] Whenever there are expressions of unjustifiable anger or provocation, the apostle says these should be resolved quickly-"before the sun goes down." However, under no circumstances should the believer allow Satan to take advantage of a wrong temper-giving "no opportunity to the devil." To express the wrong kind of anger toward another, grieves the Holy Spirit. Stealing. "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph. 4:28). To take any property belonging to another, without their permission, is to be guilty of theft. Here is where it is easy for some believers to rationalize their way to stealing, For example, an employee may take an item home from her employer without permission, rationalizing that she deserves more since she is inadequately paid. Before I left the altar the night I was converted to Christ as a teenager, the Holy Spirit convicted me of stealing produce from a grocery store, sodas from a soda machine, and baseball magazines from a drug store. Theft is contrary to the spirit of Christ and grieves the Holy Spirit. Bad Language. "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, . . ." (4:29). The Greek word rendered "corrupting " by the ESV, covers a whole range of unacceptable language: rank, foul, putrid, rotten, worthless, disgusting, etc. Christians are to steer clear of telling off-colored jokes, refrain from using vulgar words (including vulgar slang), engaging in conversation which poisons another's reputation. All such talk grieves the Holy Spirit. Bitterness. "Let all bitterness . . . be put away from you" (4:31). Offenses will come; how do we react to them? Whenever we allow an offense to fester, eventually it will grow into bitterness. Unless we quickly take the offense to the cross of Christ, unless we quickly forgive the offender, unless we permit the love of Christ to cover the trespass-the offense will become a cancer in our soul. The church is populated by many bitter people (some have dropped out of church altogether). Some have been offended, or wronged, by the pastor or leadership of the church; some have experienced a bad divorce; some have been hurt by another believer; and on we could go. Life brings offenses and hurts-even from our fellow Christians. The question is, how shall we handle our hurts? To spiral down into the putrid waters of bitterness is to bring grief to the Holy Spirit. Wrath, anger, clamor, slander. "Let all . . wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice" (Eph. 4:31). Every outburst of anger, every word causing strife, every poisonous morsel spoken of another-these are to have no place among Christians, and when and if engaged in, are to be confessed and repented of. New Testament scholar William Barclay has some excellent words of advice to all of us on this matter: Whenever, in any discussion or argument, we become aware that our voice is raised, it is time to stop. . . . It would save a great deal of heartbreak in this world if we simply learned to keep our voices down and if, when we had nothing good to say to another person, we did not say anything at all. The argument that has to be supported in a shout is no argument; and the dispute which has to be conducted in insults is not an argument but a brawl.[69] All such conduct brings great grief to the Spirit, whose ministry is to form Christ's followers into observable, holy people. Like a Dove The Holy Spirit will rest like a dove upon every truly receptive believer as the Spirit came like a dove at Christ's baptism and rested upon him. But he will not remain upon those who refuse to confess their corruption, their need. At this point I want to draw from the wisdom of a good and great God-shaped and anointed man, A. W. Tozer (1897-1963). One of the symbols of the Spirit in Scripture is that of a dove. Tozer appeals to the Flood narrative in Genesis to make a point about the Spirit's fullness, the Spirit's resting upon God's people. He writes, The Holy Spirit is in some measure resident in the breast of everyone that is converted. Otherwise, there wouldn't be conversion. The Holy Spirit doesn't stand outside a man and regenerate him; He comes in to regenerate him. That is one thing and we're glad and grateful for that, but it's quite another thing for the Holy Spirit to come down with His wings outspread, uninhibited, free and pleased to fill lives, and to fill churches, and to fill denominations. That's quite another thing. Then, continuing his analogy, Tozer says, That some measure of the Spirit is in the breast of every converted man is good and right and real. It is also true that the Holy Spirit wants to come down, as the dove wanted to land on the dry ground and could find no place for the sole of her foot. In our day, too, the Spirit seeks a resting place for His feet, . . .[70] What Should We Do? If you are a follower of Christ and your life is not characterized by the Spirit's fullness, what should you do? Let me encourage you to fall on your face before God. Allow the Spirit to search your heart as you prayerfully mediate upon the Word of God. As the Spirit reveals to you and convicts you of your failures, your sins, confess those sins and take them to the Cross for forgiveness. Ask the Lord to give you a fresh cleansing, a renewed heart. Ask him to fill you with his holy love. Ask the Lord to grant you his promised fullness. Don't seek the gift of tongues, or any other gift. Seek Christ, look to Christ-always look to Christ. On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.[71] The only prerequisite required for a seeking heart to be filled and purified-and continually filled and purified-with the Spirit, is a strong appetite for God, a deep thirst for God. Possibly the prayer of Elwood H. Stokes (1815-1895) would be helpful in closing here: Hover o'er me, Holy Spirit, Thou canst fill me, gracious Spirit, I am weakness, full of weakness, Remember, God forgives what we confess; he sanctifies what we offer; he fills what he sanctifies; he uses what he fills. … - Soli Deo Gloria - 65. Gordon D. Fee, God's Empowering Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Letters of Paul (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1994), 721. |
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