When it is defiled, it is contrary to His nature, tie re sides in the believer in a grieved state, hampered in His desire to use the believer to the fullest extent. The Holy Spirit is likened in Scripture to a dove, which is noted for its purity. Anything sullied or tainted is a cause of grief to Him. The believer has three aids to keep him from sin: (1) the Word of God (Psa. 119:11); (2) the Spirit of God (Gal. 5:17), and the Son of God (Heb. 7:25). God’s remedy for the believer’s sin is explicitly set forth in I John 1:9 as confession, and illustrated in the third parable in Luke 15. The second condition is stated in I Thessalonians 5: 19. If a believer is to be filled with the Spirit, he cannot be quenching the Spirit. The Spirit of God is quenched (a figure taken from the quenching of a flame) or sup pressed when He is not permitted full sway through unyieldedness. There is a lack of reliance and dependence upon Him. The yielded life is pictured in Romans 6:1-23 and 12:1, 2. Lastly, the third condition is given in Galatians 5:16. If the believer is to be filled with the Spirit, he must be walking in the Spirit. This means to be living daily by means °f, in full dependence upon the Spirit, hearkening to His bidding. When once these conditions are met, the believer is filled with the Spirit. In John 7:37-39 our Lord spoke of the Spirit-filled life in tenns of rivers, not trickles, of living water. What abundance and what refreshing are implied! In John 4:14 He spoke of the well or fountain springing up unto eternal life. The foun tain wants to bubble forth; it must have the debris re moved. Moreover, if a fountain is to be springing up, it must always be fed from a source higher than itself. The inlet must be kept open, and the outlet must be kept open. Only then does the fountain send forth crys tal clear, refreshing waters. We obstruct the inlet when the Spirit of God is grieved; we obstruct the outlet when we quench the Spirit. What are the characteristics of the Spirit-filled life? First and foremost is praise (Eph. 5:19). Just as the drunk ard has his song, the Spirit-filled believer has his. Think of the songs of praise of Paul and Silas in the Philippian jail (Acts 16). Only the Spirit can accomplish this. Sec ondly, the Spirit gives the filled believer the spiritual personality. This is the ninefold fruit of the Spirit pre sented in Galatians 5:22. The world and the carnal be liever know nothing of this in their experience. And lastly, there is power. Nowhere does a New Testament writer so much as intimate that believers are to ask God for power for service. If the command to be Spirit- filled is heeded, there will be power for service. See Acts 1:8; 2:4; 4:8; 31; 6:3; 7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:52. Never doubt it; there will be abiding fruit for God (Jn. 15:8). It has been pointed out that you may see the light ning in the sky. The lightning is going to strike, and it comes down the tree that is nearest and the best con ductor. It is a law of nature that, as the lightning flashes along over the tops of the trees, it chooses the tree that is nearest to it, and is the best conductor for it, and down that tree it comes. “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth” (2 Chron. 16:9), to find a good conductor, and He will flow through the man or woman that is the best conductor. Here is a man greatly used of God, and another is not so used of Him, yet the latter is far more accomplished and tal ented. Why is it? Something is the matter with the conductor. When the conditions are met by the believer, the Spirit of God manifests Himself to the full through that child of God. Ephesians 5:18 is shamefully disre garded, but it is just as valid now as when Paul penned it. “Keep on being filled with the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit (continued) of the conditions for the proper relation to the Spirit will issue in the filling. These distinctions have been ably set forth in a brochure, entitled “The Gift and the Fulness of the Spir it,” by R. A. Laidlaw, author of “The Reason Why.” Some fifteen differences are presented. The baptism of the Spirit comes at conversion (Acts 2:38); the filling is realized at the time of the meeting of the conditions (Eph. 5:18). They may be close together or years apart. The baptism is the entrance of the Spirit (Jn. 6:63); the filling is the putting off of the old self (Col. 3:9). There is no filling with the Spirit if one is filled with self. The baptism is the birth of the new man (Jn. 3:5); the filling is the death of the old man (Eph. 4:22, 23). The latter may never occur, for it is possible for one to live and die a carnal Christian. The baptism means peace with God, because the sin question is settled (Rom. 5:1); the filling is the peace of God guarding the heart (Rom. 8:6). The baptism indicates sin is completely judged; the filling is conditional (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19; Gal. 5:16). The baptism comes by receiving Christ as Saviour; the filling when He is crowned as Lord. The baptism means the penalty of sin is gone; the filling, the power of sin is broken (Acts 18). The baptism spells deliverance from death; being filled means victorious life. The baptism may leave the believer a carnal Christian (1 Cor. 3:3); the filling makes spiritual Christians (Gal. 5:16). The baptism has to do with standing before God; the filling with state. The baptism concerns our union with Christ (1 Cor. 12:13); the filling is related to our communion with Him. The baptism is constant and unvarying (Jn. 14:16); the filling is continually varying with most believers, if not all (Eph. 4:30). What are the conditions for the filling of the Spirit? Some contend it is asking or praying for the Spirit. The passage so often cited is Luke 11:13. The Luke passage has nothing to do with this age since Pentecost. Further more, receiving the Spirit is not tantamount to being filled with the Spirit. The filling is not dependent on overcoming an unwillingness on God’s part, but on a willingness on our part to fulfill the Scripture require ments. Others claim the condition for filling is waiting, as the disciples did before Pentecost. They were not waiting for a promise of filling, but for .the Spirit’s advent into the world to take up His ministry in the lives of believers. No one since then has had to wait for such a coming of the Spirit into the world, for He is already here. Still others equate the filling with a crisis experience which is said to result in a permanent con dition of heightened spirituality. The Spirit already indwells believers, and desires only unhindered sway in their lives. Before considering in detail the conditions, what is the specific wording of the command? It is found in Ephesians 5:18 (ASY): “And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit.” Notice with what the command is contrasted. There is a point of simi larity (control by an outside force or power), but there is vast dissimilarity. The apostle is not speaking of a state of high excitement, a condition of sinless perfection, or a second blessing. The command is in the present tense in the original — “keep on being filled.” It is a transac tion that needs to be made again and again. One time will not suffice for a lifetime. In this the filling of the Spirit is unlike acceptance of the Lord Jesus as Saviour. The first condition is found in Ephesians 4:30. If a believer is to be filled with the Spirit, he must not be grieving the Spirit. Sin of any kind is a grief to the Spirit. He is the Holy Spirit and intends a holy temple.
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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