This topic was begun in “Holy Spirit-Filled (1) – Death to Self-Will”. It discussed the symbolic death of the old self/old nature, using the life and writings of the apostle Paul as an example. Part 1 should be read first. In this Part 2, we’ll tie-in the life of the apostle Peter also.
Part 1 ended with the question…How much time do we live filled with, or aware of, the Holy Spirit? Paul exhorted the church in Ep.5:18, “Be filled with the Spirit”.
In the Old Testament (OT), the Holy Spirit (HS) wasn’t universally available to all. OT saints weren’t baptized into the Body of Christ. He hadn’t yet incarnated as Jesus. Some were (occasionally) Spirit-filled to do God’s purpose. To name a few: Bezalel Ex.31:1-3, elders of Israel Nu.11:25, Caleb Nu.14:24, Gideón Jg.6:34, Samson Jg.15:14, David Ps.51:11, Micah Mic.3:8, other prophets.
Later, John the Baptizer was Spirit-filled; Lk.1:13-15 “He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb”.
Christians are enjoined to be Spirit-filled…or refilled! Pastor Don Finto “The Presence of God should differentiate us from all other people on earth.” A personal awareness of the HS or God’s Presence.
Jesus was so aware! Jn.3:34 “He [Jesus] whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives Him the Spirit without limit.” Jesus was continually Spirit-filled! And the spiritual believer should be Spirit-filled. HS infilling brings boldness (for testimony) and fellowship with God.
After Jesus’ resurrection, in Ac.1:5 He promised His disciples would soon be filled with the Spirit. This infilling occurred in Ac.2:4. “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Their baptism in the HS and filling with the HS was simultaneous. Peter was one of those (Ac.2:14).
Peter was emboldened by the HS to take his stand and speak with confidence (Ac.2:29, 36). The now Spirit-filled Peter isn’t fearfully denying Jesus, as he’d done earlier 3 times (ref Jn.13:38, Jn.18:12-27)! Throughout Ac.3, Peter continued to boldly proclaim Jesus the Christ publically, while exhorting Jews in Jerusalem to repent of their wicked ways. He healed a lame man in the name of Jesus (Ac.3:6-10).
We read that Peter is still Spirit-filled the next day. Ac.4:8 “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit….” Then v.31 “When they prayed, the place where they’d gathered was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” Peter and other Jewish Christians in that meeting place were filled or refilled. (Note: Ron Phillips Awakened by the Spirit, p.117 “This manifestation gave early American Quakers their name.”)
HS indwelling provides spiritual power and gifts for Christians. But we can subsequently become unfilled or less filled by: sin in our life, not spending time with God, not yielding to God’s will.
Paul wrote Galatians c 50 AD. Ga.2:11-14 “But when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, for he was to be blamed. The Jewish Christians joined him in hypocrisy. Barnábas was swept along with them.” This dispute (noted only by Paul, not Luke) indicates that the apostles Peter & Barnabas, or Paul himself, wasn’t then filled with the HS. Being in error, someone(s) had become unfilled or less filled.
Later their falling out was mended. cf. 2Pe.3:14-16. Peter as an old man went on to write two epistles included in our Bibles. And in Paul’s subsequent letters, Paul recognized Barnabas (1Co.9:6, Col.4:10).
The Spirit can be rekindled. 2Ti.1:6 “I remind you to rekindle the gift of God which is in you.” Barnes Notes 2Ti.1:6 “What was the ‘gift of God’? Paul specifies in the next verse, 2Ti.1:7, ‘the Spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Paul exhorted Timothy to stir up, or be refilled with, the HS. When the fire gets low, stir the coals or add more coals.
If the sense of HS fullness has waned in us, we heed Paul’s exhortation to be (re)filled, Ep.5:18.
There were periods when Paul felt unfilled. He admitted in Ro.7:19, “I don’t do the good I desire to do. Instead, I practice the very evil that I don’t want to do.” v.24 “O wretched man that I am!” It seems Paul wasn’t sufficiently filled at that time, to victoriously combat old wrong tendencies. JFB Commentary Ro.7:19 “The conflict here…cannot be the conflict between passion and struggles in the unregenerate, because of this description given to ‘the desire to do good.” Here he’s the regenerate, converted Paul. Barnes Notes Ro.7:24 “This frequent subjection to sinful propensities.” There were times when HS influence was neglected or unsought for Paul (and Peter) to obediently mind God.
An unfilled worldly Christian may feel wretched, miserable; he’s not yielded away from his self-will, and is controlled by his old self or ‘flesh’. (ref Part 1.) Having lost (close) contact with God, he may feel fruitless and defeated…depending on self-effort to try to live the Christian life, rather than living by the indwelling HS. This can result in frustration or confusion, living by emotional feeling & self-desire, rather than by active faith and HS guidance. We are to trust, obey, and follow the Lord via the Spirit.
Alfred H. Pohl said, “Every Christian has the HS in his life as Resident, but the Spirit-filled (controlled) Christian has Him as President!” (The Godhead is one in essence. Jesus is Lord!) West Colonial Hills Baptist Church “Where the Baptism of the Spirit makes the Spirit resident of our lives, the Filling makes the Spirit president of our lives. The Filling of the Spirit happens to those who obey, submit and surrender to the Spirit.” But we can become complacent or lackadaisical in submitting to the HS.
CBN The Filling of the Holy Spirit “D.L. Moody was asked why he continually needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. He replied, ‘Because I leak’. Like Moody, we all run out of gas and need the power of the Holy Spirit to recharge our lives. Scripture says we must be continually filled, not just once or twice.” Friends Review, vol.28 “Baptized once for all, there is need to be refilled for every service.” The HS is likened to living water (Jn.7:38-39). We too leak, become spiritually dry or empty.
If we feel spiritually weak or that our growth is stunted, or that the HS may have been grieved or quenched…we need refilling or renewal! Ep.4:22-24 “Lay aside the old self…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self.” Refilling, renewal, rekindle, stir up the Spirit…these are comparable expressions.
What may we do to be refilled or rekindle the HS? Php.2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Again, Jesus was continually Spirit-filled (He was conceived by the HS, Mt.1:20)!
First, we should examine our lives. Paul wrote in 2Co.13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are still in the Christian faith”. Then quit any (recurring) sin that becomes evident. Is.59:2 “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear you.” Sin separates us from the Lord’s Presence. (So does neglect and self-absorption.) We’re to confess any new sin and repent of it, and then God will forgive, 1Jn.1:9.
Ja.4:7-8 “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” He.4:16 “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.” How do we draw near? There are spiritual tools we can implement that will bring us closer to God:
We can devote more time to God and the things of God. Every day set aside some quiet time. David wrote in Ps.63:1 KJV, “Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee”. Seek His Presence in the morning to start the day right. The HS of wisdom says in Pr.8:17, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently shall find me”. God knows when we’re in earnest. The Lord promised in Je.29:13, “You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”. Heartfelt seeking.
Spend more time praying. Paul said in1Th.5:17, “Pray without ceasing”. As we pray, listen for God impressing or speaking to us in our spirit. Ep.6:18 “Pray at all times in the Spirit.” Throughout the day.
Do daily Bible reading or Bible study. Following a program of reading the entire Bible-in-a-year will give us a broad overview of the scriptures. Let the written words, inspired by the HS, soak in. 1Ti.4:13 Paul exhorted Timothy at Ephesus to “Give attention to the public reading of scripture”. That was primarily the OT scriptures, the Law and the Prophets (and the Psalms/Writings).
Meditate on the Lord, on scriptures, and the wonders of God’s creation. Ps.119:15 “I will meditate on Your precepts and regard Your ways.” This will help us remain mindful of God. Ps.111:2 “Great are the works of the Lord. They are studied by all who delight in them.” Ps.77:12 “Muse on all Thy deeds.”
Occasional fasting too is beneficial. Jesus said, Mt.6:16-18 “When you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father in secret. And your Father which sees in the hidden place will reward you openly.” Fasting isn’t for religious show. It’s for seeking God (and for health). Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be blessed (Mt.5:6).
Worship/fellowship with other Christians. We can edify each other. Pr.27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Spend time praising the Lord (Ps.111:1), corporately and also privately as we go about our day. David wrote in Ps.22:3, “You are holy, You who inhabits the praises of Israel”. Offer-up the “sacrifice of praise” and give thanks (He.13:15)…God shows up.
Exercise your spiritual gift(s). For example, if God has given you the gift of tongues, don’t let it lie dormant. (also see the topic, “Spiritual Gifts and Tongues”.) Speak in tongues privately to God in your prayer closet or secret place. That will build you up spiritually. Paul wrote in 1Co.14:4 KJV, “He that speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself”.
Also, reading Christian books about communing with God can inspire and motivate us. God’s Presence is our best environment (regardless of our church background)! I recommend Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God. Living in the 1600s, Brother Lawrence experienced God’s Presence as a way of life daily, hour by hour! Other such Christian books you may find helpful are: The Joy of Full Surrender and The Sacrament of the Present Moment, both by Jean-Pierre de Caussade; Frank C. Laubach Letters by a Modern Mystic; Gregory A. Boyd Present Perfect – Finding God in the Now. The desire of those writers was to sense God’s Presence habitually.
A HS refilling may seem like a brand new experience to us, especially if we’ve regressed away from God. But we’re still in the Body of Christ. It’s now about us getting right or staying right with God, surrendering the self, personal consecration, trusting and allowing His HS to guide us. In daily situations we encounter, ask ourself…‘What would Jesus do (WWJD) if He were in my shoes today?’
We can still be living as if in the day of Pentecost (Ac.2:1-4)…living a Spirit-led life! God wants us to present ourselves to Him as available empty vessels or jars of clay…to be filled by the HS. cf. 2Ki.4:1-7 the Lord caused the widow’s empty jars of clay to be miraculously filled with oil in Elisha’s day.
We should seek to be Spirit-empowered, Spirit-influenced, Spirit-guided; Spirit-controlled in a sense. Jesus said in Jn.4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”.
Although we won’t achieve complete perfection in this life…life is much more satisfying walking in the Spirit! (e.g. Enoch walked with God, Ge.5:22.)
Our bodies are the temple of God. Paul wrote in 1Co.6:19 KJV, “Your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost [Spirit], which is in you”. We host the Holy Ghost! It’s a great privilege we’ve been given…God desires to actually indwell Christians!
Col.3:1 “If then you have been raised up [cf. Col.2:12] with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God.” Strive to keep our mind & intent fixed on right things of God. Col.3:4 “And when Christ, who gives meaning to our life, appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory.” The glorious goal of our converted Life will then be reality. To God be the glory!
Bible Topic Exposition 