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id you know that either the Holy Spirit can help you live your Christian
life or you can hinder His work in your life? The Holy Spirit provides
the power to live the Christian life according to Ephesians 3:14-16.
In fact the passage says that we need the Holy Spirit to strengthen us.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father . . . that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man . . . (NASB) Eph. 3:14-16 Did you notice in the passage that Paul prayed that they would be strengthened
with the Holy Spirit? Paul was not praying that they become Christians
because they were already Christians. The Holy Spirit enters the life
of a Christian when they believe (1 Cor. 12:13). The book of Ephesians
was written to people who were already Christians or “saints” according
to Eph. 1:1.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus . . . (NASB) Eph. 1:1 Paul was asking for the Holy Spirit to strengthen these
Christians. The New Testament tells us that the Holy Spirit is the key
to victory over sin or to living a holy life (Gal. 5:16-17). The Holy
Spirit is the spiritual power for ministry (1 Cor. 2:4; 12:7). The Holy
Spirit also helps us understand the Bible (1 Cor. 2:14; 1 John 2:20,
27). These are just a few ways in which the Holy Spirit ministers to
us and works through us. How does this happen? It happens when we are “walking
in” or are “filled with” the Holy Spirit. There are
several passages in the Bible that will help us understand what this
means.
Walking In The Spirit. The first passage
we will look at is Galatians 5:16-23.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (NASB) Gal. 5:16-17 Here we are commanded by God to walk in the Spirit. To walk in the Holy
Spirit is the key to victory over sin - to living a holy life. The key
to victory over sin is not self-punishment, doing penance, praying the
rosary, or “mortification” of sin. It is not self-help books
or going to prolonged counseling sessions. (Did you know that the success
rate of professional counselors is lower than counseling with a loving
friend?) The key to living a holy life as a Christian is to walk in the
Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s Counselor. As Christians, we are
commanded to walk in the Spirit since we already living in the Spirit
(Rom. 8:3; Gal. 5:25; 1 Pet. 4:6).
The Greek word for “walk” in this verse has
the idea of continually walking in the Spirit and the Greek word for “carry
out” has the idea of accomplishment. That is, if we are constantly
walking in the Spirit, the desire of our flesh will not be satisfied.
That is a strong statement. Now we need to ask, “What is the desire
of the flesh?” The answer is given in the next verses,
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing. . . (NASB) Gal. 5:19-21 The desire of the flesh is to commit sin. The flesh wants
to sin. When we are walking in the Spirit, we will not be constantly
sinning. If a Christian is walking in the Spirit, he or she will discover
some exciting changes taking place in his/her life. He/she will find
that God the Holy Spirit is changing his/her life; and the fruit of the
Spirit is growing, blossoming, and flourishing.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control . . . (NASB) Gal. 5:22-23 Our flesh wants to sin, but the Spirit wants to grow the fruit of righteousness.
How does the fruit grow? It grows as we faithfully and constantly walk
in the Spirit.
The Greek word for “walk” is PERIPATEO which
means “to walk up and down” or “walk about” in
the Spirit. It does not mean to walk up and down on the Holy Spirit.
It does not mean to walk around the Holy Spirit but “in the Holy
Spirit.” How do we do that? Do you climb inside the Holy Spirit?
If so, how do we do that? No, we cannot climb inside the Spirit, but
He can come inside of us and start directing us. The easiest way for
this to happen is to let the Holy Spirit take control of us. We will
discover in the next section how we can let this occur.
God's Will For You. Have you ever wondered
what God’s will is for your life? Did you know that the Bible
reveals His will for us? One very important part of the will of God
is “to be filled with” or “controlled by” the
Holy Spirit.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit . . . (NASB) Eph. 5:17-18 To be filled with the Holy Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has
complete control of us. Notice God’s illustration in Eph. 5:17-18.
He commands us to not become drunk with wine but to be drunk with
the Holy Spirit. To be drunk means that wine has taken control of
our senses. That illustrates the meaning of the Greek word “filled.” It
means “to make full, complete.” It was also used to refer
to someone who was filled full of food. The will of God is that we
be filled full of the Holy Spirit or controlled by Him. When we allow
this to happen, we will be . . .
. . . speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. (NASB) Eph. 5:19-21 A Spirit filled Christian will have joy in the heart, thankfulness,
and humility towards others or submission. These are the marks of
a Spirit filled Christian. The passage does not talk about any other
experiences.
Ephesians 5:19-21 is not talking about smiles on the
face but melody and joy in the heart. A pastor who commented about
the familiar statement that a Christian should have a happy smile
on their face observed, “Where the sun always shines, there
is a desert.” That is true. A person who does not experience
suffering is a shallow Christian. The great saints of the ages suffered.
The great preacher C. Spurgeon suffered greatly with depression between
his messages. The saints in Hebrews 11:35-38 suffered great torture.
The prophet Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet. This passage
is also talking about humility on the inside that causes wives to
submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22), husbands to love their wives
Eph. 5:25-28), children to obey their parents (Eph. 6:1), and slaves
to obey their masters (Eph. 6:5).
Colossians 3:16-22 is a very interesting
passage because it is very close to Ephesians 5:17-6:5.
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God . . . Wives, be subject to your husbands . . . Husbands, love your wives . . . Children, be obedient to your parents . . . Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth . . . (NASB) Col. 3:16-22 In Ephesians 5:17-18 the list starts with “be filled with
the Spirit,” and in Colossians the list starts with the “Word
of Christ.” In both Ephesians and Colossians we are commanded
to do something and then the results which follow are identical.
In Ephesians we are commanded to be “filled with the Spirit” and
in Colossians we are commanded to dwell richly in the “word
of Christ.” Then singing, thankfulness, and submission to others
follows. Why? Because being filled with the Spirit and spending time
in the Word of God go together. One who is filled with the Spirit
will “dwell richly” in the Word. The Greek word for “dwell” means
to “live in” like a person living in a home. This is
an important spiritual insight. It implies we want to spend as much
time as we can reading, meditating on and studying the Bible. The
Spirit then uses the Word of God to make us more like Jesus Christ.
Conclusion. Now let us put it all together.
It is a command and it is the will of God for every Christian. To
be constantly filled with the Spirit results in victory over sin,
peace and joy in the heart, and submission/humility towards others.
But in order to be filled with the Spirit, we must ask God to have
the Holy Spirit take control of us – “to fill us” -
just as the apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians. You must want
Him to take over your life. It is also important to remember that
in order to continue being “filled with” or “walking
in” the Spirit, you must confess your sins to God the Father
every time you realize that you have sinned and ask for the Holy
Spirit to take control of your life again. You should also spend
as much time reading the Bible as you can. This is what it means
to live our life in the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit will change
your life gradually, give you increasing victory over sins in your
life, provide peace and joy in your heart and give you a tremendous
longing to know Him. You will never be perfect. Even though you will
sin, you will see God at work. Come – walk in the Spirit! Just
remember that only those who are
trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins can be filled
with the Holy Spirit.
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