42
The
Foundation of the Home (3)
The Means
of Spirit-Filling
Eph.
5:18b
be filled with the Spirit;
Having
studied the meaning and the many manifestations of
Spirit-filling, we now turn to the third principle.
III. The Means of Spirit-Filling
We have
purposely saved this principle till now, and we once again consider the latter
part of that marvelous verse, Ephesians 5:18: be filled with the Spirit. As we’ve noted before, this is a
command. Spirit-filling is not optional, rather mandatory. As the
preceding verse declares, this is the will of God. God would, therefore, not
give us a command unless we were being put in charge of carrying out the
command. It is up to us to obey the command of being filled with the Spirit.
How, then,
are we to be filled with the Spirit? We approach this
subject with great caution because we want to avoid the idea that certain
“formulas” in the Christian life. We are told that there is a certain formula
to follow in order to know God’s will, that there is a formula for revival,
that there is another formula for finding one’s spiritual gift, and that there
is a formula for being Spirit-filled. Well, there are no such “magical” formulas.
But since God does command us to be Spirit-filled, then there must be a means
to bring about this end. Again, some tell us that this is accomplished by
“praying through,” which actually means different things to different people.
Not only is that idea vague and scripturally indefensible, Scripture nowhere
speaks of prayer being involved at all in Spirit-filling.
That being
said, we do see in Scripture three commands concerning the believers
relationship to the Holy Spirit that without question affect the control the
Holy Spirit will have on the Believer.
We Must Not Grieve the
Holy Spirit
As we
studied back in 4:30, we must not “grieve” (lupeō, “to sadden or bring pain
to”) the Holy spirit. While all sin grieves Him, the sins listed in verse 31
are especially painful to the Holy Spirit because they are particularly
inconsistent in the Holy Spirit indwelt life: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,
evil speaking, and malice. God warns us that continuing to grieve the Holy
spirit invites God chastening: “But let a man examine himself, . . . For if we
would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are
chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (I Cor.
11:28, 31-32).
So, when
we become aware of our grieving the Spirit, the obvious cure is to cease doing
so and claim the promise of I John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This puts us back on the path to Spirit-filling.
We Must Not Quench the
Holy Spirit
Closely
linked to but still distinct from “grieving” the Holy Spirit is “quenching” the
Holy Spirit. We read of this in I Thessalonians 5:19: “Quench not the Spirit.”
The Greek behind “quench” is sbennumi, which in the literal sense means
“to extinguish by drowning with water, as opposed to smothering.”[1] It’s used in the literal sense in
several places such as Mark 9:44, which speaks of Hell as a place “Where their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” We see it again in Ephesians
6:16, where Paul declares that the “shield of faith” is “able to quench all the
fiery darts of the wicked.” The leather covered shield of the ancient warrior
was often soaked in water to extinguish arrows that had been dipped in pitch
and set on fire.
Figuratively,
then, sbennumi means “to dampen, hinder, repress, as in preventing the
Holy Spirit from exerting His full influence.”[2] How do we quench the Holy spirit?
By simply saying “No” to Him, by resisting His guidance, by opposing His will.
It’s
significant that the original sin of Satan was rebellion against God, as
declared in Isaiah 14:14: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I
will be like the most High.” Just think, then, when a Believer says “I
will” instead of “Thy will” he or she is acting just like Satan and
therefore quenching the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Himself yielded to the
Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane with the words, “Not my will, but
thine, be done,” and we must do the same or we extinguish the work of the Holy
Spirit in us.
What are
the ramifications of quenching the Holy Spirit? Think a moment of the qualities
of fire and how the metaphor of quenching applies. The first quality of fire we
usually think of is that it produces heat, so when we quench the Spirit,
there is no longer any warmth in us. We become cold and indifferent. Paul
counseled Timothy to “stir up the gift of God, which is in thee” (II Tim. 1:6).
“Stir up” translates the Greek anazōpureō, which appears only here the New
Testament. The root zō means “life, the root pureō (English, “pyromaniac”) means
“fire,” and the prefix ana means “up.” Putting all that together gives us
the picture “to kindle up the flame” or “to rekindle the fire.” As one Greek
authority puts it, “to stir up smoldering embers into a living flame.”[3] Just as we have to occasionally
stir a fire in a fireplace, fan it a little, and add some fuel, every Believer
needs the same spiritually speaking. Our fuel is the Word of God and the Holy
Spirit is the fan and the stirring. So the first implication of quenching the Holy Spirit is that
we will “cool off,” the warmth of God having faded from us.
A second
quality of fire, of course, is that it produces light,
so when we quench the
Spirit, we “lose the light.” As construction workers sometimes must stop
building or filmmakers must stop shooting because they “lose the light,” we
will lose the light of knowledge and discernment.
This
reminds us of the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness: “And
the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way;
and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.”
Without that light to guide them, they would have wandered aimlessly. We,
therefore, must not quench the Spirit lest we lose the light that will illumine
our path. As the Psalmist declares, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a
light unto my path” (Ps. 119: 105).
A third
quality of fire is power. The power of fire is truly astounding. The
infamous Chicago fire of 1871, for example, destroyed about four square miles
of the city, which was almost one-third of its total area. The Holy Spirit’s
power is infinitely above any power, whether natural or supernatural, that we
can conceive. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that his “speech and
[his] preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (I Cor. 2:4). And as he told young
Timothy, God had given him, and by extension all God’s people, “not . . . the
spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (II Tim. 1:7).
We forfeit all this if we quench the Holy Spirit by rebellion or resistance.
This
principle is linked directly to a third principle.
We Must Yield to the Holy
Spirit
Yielding
to Holy spirit control is at the very heart of Spirit-filling. This is what
makes it possible. As Paul wrote the Romans, “Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as
those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God” (Rom. 6:13). There is no middle ground here. The
Believer either yields to the Spirit or yields to sin. Paul adds a few chapter
later, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (12:1-2).
In both
Romans 6:13 and 12:1, we find the Greek word paristēmi (“yield” in 6:13 and “present” in
12:1). This is a compound word made up of histēmi, “to place or stand,” and para,
“near.” It, therefore, means “to cause to stand near or before.” It was used
widely in secular Greek, such as, “to place at someone’s disposal,” “to bring
[as a sacrifice],” and “bring before (the emperor or the court).”[4] Paul’s point, then, is clear: the
Christian is commanded to place himself before the Lord as a living sacrifice
for God’s glory and use, to yield to the total control of God’s will, to
conform not to the world’s mold but to that of God’s mold as revealed in His
Word. That is what it means to yield, and it is that which brings
Spirit-filling.
We Must Walk by the Holy
Spirit
This
principle is found in Galatians 5:16; “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not
fulfil the lust of the flesh.” We once again see the word “walk.” As we’ve seen
here in Ephesians several times, peripateō means “to walk about,”
figuratively, “conduct of life,” that is, how we conduct ourselves as we walk through
life. Specifically, our conduct is dictated and regulated by the Holy Spirit.
It is again in the Present Tense, showing a continuous, regular, habitual
lifestyle of walking in Spirit control. It is also in the Imperative Mood,
showing that this walk is not an option but a command.
Now, there
is a paradox here that is easy to miss. Think of it: while the Holy spirit is
the source of the all holy living, it is the Christian who is doing the
walking. The failure to understand this paradox has lead to the idea of, “Just
let go and let God,” which teaches that Christian living is simply a passive
submission to God, who will live life for us. This teaching is called “Quietism,” which the old Quakers held.
Other advocates of such teaching to one extent or another were the Keswicks, Charles Finney, and Hannah Whitall Smith in her
book The Christian’s Secret of a Happy
Life. To these sincere though
misguided folks, passive surrender to God means an almost total absence of the
Christian’s actions.
But such
teaching ignores the many commands to the great effort on our part that godly
living demands. As I Corinthians 9:24-27 outline:
Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
The
Christian doesn’t sit on the sidelines eating popcorn while the Holy Spirit
does all the work. The Christian life is a life of struggle, commitment, and
discipline.
So, may we
understand Spirit-filling is not something magical or mystical; it is not the
final goal or outcome of the Christian life; it is not something “exclusive,”
meant only for “special people.” Rather, it is an all-important and
foundational principle of Christian living. In fact, if it does not come early
in our Christian experience, much of our lives will be totally wasted! As we’ve
seen, “Spirit-filling” means “Spirit-control.” Therefore, the only way the
Spirit can have control is if we give it to Him. This is implicitly implied in
our text. We do not willfully give ourselves to wine, rather we willfully give
ourselves to the Spirit. Dear Christian, do you see how foundational
Spirit-filling is?
Again,
this does not mean we are filled once-for-all. We recall that Spirit-filling is
a continuing experience, a repeating reality. Tragically, there are many
Christians who have never really given themselves to the Lord, have never been filled with the Holy Spirit. Even
more tragic is that some never will. It is for that reason that their lives are
a meaningless waste. It is for that reason that they know no warmth, light,
and power. And it for that reason that their homes are in shambles.
Oh, my Dear
Christian Friend, are you filled with the Holy Spirit? If not, you will never
have a “Christian home.” You may have a house with Christians living in it, but
you will not have a Christian home. Oh, what a difference there is between a
house and a home. May each of us as family members be filled with the Spirit. It is this thought that leads us
into our study of the Christian Home.