2010 Basics-The Source of Spiritual Power

Thursday, 30 December 2010 14:55

The Holy Spirit is given to every believer at the moment of salvation. If you do not have the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit, then you are not a Christian.

Ro 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. NKJV

1 Co 12.13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body— whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. NKJV

Every believer has received the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. Every believer is permanently baptized into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation, and not afterwards.The filling of the Holy Spirit is not the same as the indwelling or the baptism of the Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is received also at the moment of salvation, but unlike the indwelling and the baptism, the filling of the Spirit can be lost as a result of sin. More on this later.

The Source of Spiritual Power-The Indwelling

Indwelling: The permanent residence of God within the soul of the believer, making possible the other ministries of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling is a big deal, a sign of a new dispensation of the church Rom 8:9; Jn 7:38-39. The anointing is also a reference to the indwelling Spirit and of His enabling ministry to the believer 1Jn 2.20,27.

1 Jn 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. NKJV

Jn 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. NKJV

The Source of Spiritual Position-The Baptism

Baptism of the Holy Spirit: Is the bringing of the believer in spiritual union with Christ resulting in a radical change in his spiritual position. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the means by which the believer becomes part of the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ and how he shares all that Christ has. It is the means by which the believer becomes a part of the universal, invisible and true church. The baptism defines the upward limit of our spiritual development. It occurs at the moment of salvation and provides position but not power.

The Availability and Use of Spiritual Power-The Filling

Filling: Is the control of the soul of the believer by the indwelling Person of God the Holy Spirit. This control allows the believer access to the omnipotence of God for the purpose of doing His will in this life, both in inward victory over sin and in outward ministry Eph 5:18, Gal 5:16.

The filling of the Holy Spirit is commanded. This means that unlike the Indwelling and the Baptism, there is something that you must do to maintain the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Gal 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. NKJV

Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, NKJV

Synonyms for the filling of the Spirit: Be filled with the Spirit Eph 5.18, Walk by the Spirit Gal 5.16, walk in the light 1Jn 1.7, confess our sins 1Jn 1.9, "in fellowship", "in the Spirit" Rev 1.10,

The filling of the Spirit enable the believer to utilize divine power to do the will of God. Certain things we must pray for, other things we can do ourselves in God’s power.

The word "filling" means "to be controlled by". Note the following quote from Dr Kenneth Wuest:

The Fullness of the Spirit: "We must not think of the Holy Spirit filling our hearts as water fills a bottle, or air, a vacuum, or a bushel of oats, an empty basket. The heart of a Christian is not a receptacle to be emptied in order that the Holy Spirit might fill it. The Holy Spirit is not a substance to fill an empty receptacle. He is a Person to control another person, the believer. He does not fill a Christian's life with Himself. He controls that person. The heart is a symbol used to refer to the will, the reason, and the emotions. Thus, the Holy Spirit possesses or controls the volitional, rational, and emotional activities of the believer who is said to be filled with Him. He brings all these into the place of obedience and conformity to the Word of God. Therefore, when we speak of a Christian filled with the Spirit, we are referring to the control which a divine Person, the Holy Spirit, has over a human being, the believer.The believer is exhorted, "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18), or as we have translated it, "Be controlled by the Spirit." " (from Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, Copyright 1940-55 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Copyrights © renewed 1968-73 by Jeannette I. Wuest. All rights reserved.)

How to Lose and Regain the Filling of the Spirit

Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed [sidetrack-the Indwelling makes the believer also sealed-the HS is Gods seal upon the believer, identifying him as His own.] for the day of redemption. NKJV1 John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.When a believer sins, fellowship with God is broken. The Holy Spirit is God, therefore fellowship with him is broken. No fellowship equals no power. When divine power is lost only the power of this world remains until the believer is restored to fellowship with God.The believer who is controlled by the Holy Spirit can be led by God, and can discern the will of God for his life. The believer controlled by the Holy Spirit can grow by learning and obeying the Word of God. The believer out of fellowship cannot grow spiritually. Eph 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. NKJV

To grieve the Spirit is to do that which is against His will, in other words to sin. Sin can be mental, verbal or overt action. The consequence of sin is the loss of fellowship [not relationship-example of husband and wife] with God. The power of the Holy Spirit, who is God is lost, but the indwelling remains.

Is 63:10 But they [the nation Israel] rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. NKJV

1Jn 1.8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. NKJV

It is the height of arrogance to believe that God is empowering us in spite of our sins. There is no half power or quarter power of God. You are either filled or you are not filled. If you are controlled by the Spirit, then your usefulness to God then depends upon your level of maturity.

The filling or control of the Holy Spirit is restored by confession of sins to God according to 1Jn 1.9. It is in this way that we are restored to fellowship with God and as we have already said, the Holy Spirit is God. You do not need an emotional experience to be filled with the Spirit, in fact you will not have a feeling at all because God is Spirit. The filling of the Spirit is accompanied by no physical or emotional manifestations at all. You must believe that you are filled by faith in what the scripture says. Do not mistake an emotion for the Spirit’s power. We do not know that we are filled by how we feel, we know that we are filled because we have no unconfessed sin in our lives.

When the control of the Holy Spirit is restored through forgiveness of sins, then the believer now has power to resist the temptations of the world and of the sin nature.The believer who is controlled by the Holy Spirit has the ability to use his spiritual gift more effectively in ministry. The believer filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit has a clearer understanding of God’s word.The believer filled with the Holy Spirit has effectiveness in prayer. The believer out of fellowship has zero effectiveness in prayer.

Ps 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. NKJV

What happens when you lose the filling of the Holy Spirit? You have zero divine power, You are open to temptation of every kind, including the temptation to use demonic power. You do not have to be possessed by a demon in order to cooperate with one.You will receive divine discipline for the purpose of driving you back into fellowship with the Lord.

Heb 12:6　For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."

In summary, grieving the Holy Spirit is committing sins which may be mental, verbal or overt. The outcome of grieving the Spirit is the loss of fellowship with God which also mean the loss of spiritual power. The total [not partial] loss of power from God results in a lost of the ability to participate in spiritual ministry, the susceptibility to temptation, and divine discipline The filling of the Spirit is regained through the confession of sin per 1Jn 1.9

Listen to the rest of this series online.

Read our blogs on this and other subjects.

0 Comments

Add Comment