Sermon Tone Analysis

In order for the believer to experience fellowship with God, they must be filled with the Spirit or more accurately, they must be influenced by the Holy Spirit who permanently indwells them.

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Lesson # 6

In order for the believer to experience fellowship with God, they must be filled with the Spirit or more accurately, they must be influenced by the Holy Spirit who permanently indwells them.

Therefore, being filled with the Spirit and experiencing fellowship with God are one in the same.

The believer who is filled with the Spirit or influenced by the Spirit is experiencing fellowship with God and vice versa.

The filling of the Spirit takes place when the believer is obeying the voice of the Spirit, which is heard through prayerful study of the Word of God.

It is not an emotion (though it will result in emotions such as joy) but rather is the mental state of the believer who does not have any unconfessed sins in their stream of consciousness and is applying the Word to their thought process.

The filling of the Spirit takes place in the soul of the believer when they allow God the Holy Spirit to influence their soul, which He does through the Word of God.

The filling of the Spirit is the operational power of God the Holy Spirit, which empowers the believer to execute the will of God the Father.

It enables the believer to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ meaning to become like Him experientially in His death and resurrection.

It enables the believer to become like Jesus Christ in thought, word and action or in other words, it gives the believer the ability to acquire experientially the character of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is necessary for the believer to allow themselves to be influenced by the Spirit in order that they may walk by the Spirit.

Walking by the Spirit is actively choosing to conduct oneself by means of the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit and walking by the Spirit are two sides of the same coin.

You cannot walk by the Spirit unless you are filled with the Spirit since the filling of the Spirit is directly related to the believer’s mental attitude whereas walking by the Spirit is directly related to how the believer conducts their life or in other words, how they speak and act.

A person’s words and actions are governed by their mental attitude and volition.

Therefore, a believer cannot walk by the Spirit if they are not first filled or influenced by the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit is directly related to being a doer of the Word of God since only believers who are obedient to the Word of God are filled with the Spirit since the Spirit speaks through the Word of God.

Therefore, the believer who is applying the Word of God is filled with the Spirit or more accurately is influenced by means of the Spirit.

The Spirit takes the doctrines of Christ, i.e., the Word of God and makes them understandable to the believer.

The Spirit does not act independently of the mind of Christ, i.e., the Word of God (; ).

Therefore, the believer who is influenced by means of the Spirit is a doer of the Word.

The Spirit of God and the Word of God work in concert with one another on behalf of the believer who has no unconfessed sin in their stream of consciousness and is applying the Word of God to their thought process.

In fact, the Spirit inspired the Scriptures ().

The filling of the Spirit is the only means of spirituality in the church age.

Spirituality is the filling of the Spirit and is an absolute meaning that you are either filled with the Spirit or you are living in carnality or in other words, you are governed by the old sin nature and thus out of fellowship with God.

The filling of the Spirit is the only means of experiencing fellowship with God ().

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.

(NASB95)

“Filled” is the verb pleroo, which means, “to be fully influenced” since the English word “influence” accurately, conveys the meaning of pleroo here in .

The word conveys the believer’s relationship to the Holy Spirit who is a person.

The word “influence” conveys this more than the words “possessed, controlled,” or “filled.”

Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary defines the word influence: (1) Capacity or power of persons or things to produce effects on others by intangible or indirect means.

(2) Action or process of producing effects on others by intangible or indirect means.

(3) A person or thing that exerts influence.

If we were to paraphrase Webster’s definition of the word, we would say that Paul wants the Ephesian believers to permit the omnipotence (intangible means) of the Holy Spirit (Person) to produce Christ-like character (effects) in them.

The passive form of the verb is a permissive passive voice, which implies consent, permission, or cause of the action of the verb on the part of the subject.

It indicates that the apostle Paul wants the Ephesians to “permit” themselves to be fully influenced by the Holy Spirit.

Now, we have the present imperative form of the verb pleroo which expresses the idea of continuing to make it one’s habit of performing a particular activity.

The command in is a character building command meaning that Paul wants to build the character of Christ in the Ephesians.

He wants them to “make it their habit” to permit themselves to be fully influenced by the Spirit because that will build the character of Christ in them, which is the Father’s will.

Then we have the preposition en plus the neuter singular instrumental form of the noun pneuma which is a reference to the Holy Spirit.

The preposition is a marker of means indicating the means by which the Ephesians were to execute this command which indicates that the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit is the means by which the church age believer is to continually allow himself to be fully influenced, possessed or controlled by the Spirit.

And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit.

(My translation)

The apostle Paul is contrasting the mental state of someone who is under the influence of alcohol and drunk with that of one who is under the influence of the Spirit.

The issue crystal clear: to be drunk with wine means to be brought under the influence of wine.

Visible characteristics begin to take place as a person comes under the influence of alcohol.

In contrast, to be filled with the Spirit is to be fully influenced by the Spirit so the Spirit-influenced believer does things that are unnatural for him under the influence of the Spirit even as the drunken individual does things that are unnatural for him under the influence of the spirits.

The comparison is a matter of influence or control.

In , the apostle Paul describes the mechanics of the filling of the Spirit and reveals that it is submitting to the Spirit and being occupied in one’s mind with the things of the Spirit.

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

(NASB95)

“According to the flesh” denotes existing in the state of being in submission to the sin nature and being occupied with the desires of the sin nature.

The “things of the flesh” denote the various lust patterns or sinful desires that originate from the sin nature.

“According to the Spirit” denotes that when existing in the state of being in submission to the Spirit, the believer will be preoccupied with the desires of the Spirit.

“The things of the Spirit” refers to spiritual desires produced by the Spirit in the believer and indicates that those Christians who are submitting to the Spirit are preoccupied with the desires “produced by” the Spirit.

“Death” refers to “temporal spiritual death” or in other words, “loss of fellowship” with God.

The “indwelling” of the Spirit occurs at the moment of conversion and is permanent meaning it cannot be lost (; ).

The “filling” of the Spirit is “dynamic,” whereas the “indwelling” is “static.”

The Christian is commanded to be “filled” with the Spirit whereas they are never commanded to be “indwelt” by the Spirit.

There are three sins by the believer against the Holy Spirit: (1) “Lying” to God the Holy Spirit () (2) “Grieving” the Holy Spirit () (3) “Quenching” the Holy Spirit ().