The Spirit Filled Life
Notes
Transcript
This morning’s Scripture lesson comes from Eph 5:15-21:
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
May God bless this, the reading of His holy and infallible Word.
Before I move on to the Sign Gifts of Healing and Miracles, I want to take a Sunday to examine being filled with the Holy Spirit. I want to do this because I fear Charismatics confuse and conflate Baptism in the Holy Spirit with being filled with the Holy Spirit. In addition, I want to address what I believe is a legitimate criticism Charismatics make concerning the lack of spiritual vitality of most of Christianity. Sadly, most professing Christians live a life devoid of the power of the Holy Spirit. The only disagreement I would have with them is how we are to address this problem. Finally, I want to teach on being filled with the Holy Spirit because this is the source of the power behind all of the Spiritual Gifts.
As we examine Ephesians 5:18 in the original language, the first thing that pops out in bold lettering is that the words “be filled with the Spirit” is in the imperative. An imperative is a commandment. Moreover, its verbal form expresses a continual or repeated action. In other words, the Spirit filled life is not a one time or special event, rather the Spirit filled life is to be the Christian’s normal, every day experience.
The Spirit Filled Life Should be the Normative Christian Life
The Spirit Filled Life Should be the Normative Christian Life
As I just said, the Charismatics’ concern about the lack of spiritual vitality in the Church is a valid one and it is no small matter. However, to confuse and conflate the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with being filled with the Holy Spirit will not bring true revival Charismatics long for.
This is because the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event; in contrast, being filled with the Holy Spirit is a continual or repeated event. For example, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter was baptized in the Holy Spirit and he was also “filled with the Spirit” on that day (Acts 2:4), yet some days later he was “filled with the Spirit” as he preached to the rulers and elders in Acts 4.
Think of it this way, you will have one Baptism in the Holy Spirit, but you should have innumerable fillings with the Holy Spirit. Moreover, these “fillings” are to be so frequent that they are normative, not exceptional.
The American church today is for the most part dominated by the false doctrine of revivalism. Did you notice that I used the word “revival” in a very positive sense just moments ago. Revival is a biblical concept; it is the Holy Spirit breathing “vitality” or life into the believer. This is what Paul means by “being filled with the Spirit”. Revivalism on the other hand, is the attempt to create revival by man-made measures.
In our text this morning, Paul contrasts being “filled with the Spirit” to “getting drunk on wine”. There is more going on here than most people realize. The context of Eph 5:18, is clearly worship. Paul is not contrasting Christian worship with a pagan “beer bust”, but rather he is comparing Christian worship with pagan worship. Pagan worship utilizes alcohol, drugs and emotional frenzy to create an altered state in people. This technique is found in all the religions of the world. This altered state allows "spirits” to come into a person, who in turn, empower the worshiper in some way. This was what was happening in Greek and Roman pagan worship, and Paul is telling the Ephesians they should not do this.
Why is this important? It important because being in the 19th century Charles Finney and others attempted to manufacture revival using emotionalism, they would get people excited in order to create a “conversion experience”. They called this the “new methods”, but this raises the question what are the “old methods”? That is what I want to turn to now.
The Spirit Filled Life is Saturated in the Word of Christ
The Spirit Filled Life is Saturated in the Word of Christ
I read from Colossians 3:16-17, because the book of Ephesians and Colossians are sister letters, written to sister churches. They have many parallel passages and Paul’s teaching on the Spirit filled life is one of them. Let me read Colossians 3:16 again to refresh your memory:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
As I read this verse again, I am sure you noticed the parallels if you did not the first time. The phrases “be filled with the Spirit” and “let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you” are functionally equivalent with each other. In other words, the Spirit filled person is the Word filled person.
The biblical method of creating revival is by hearing God’s Word, conforming our mind to it and then obeying it. This is what people used to call the “old method”.
Now do you see what is so dangerous about the “new method” of revivalism that uses emotion rather than the Word of God to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”?
The Pentecostal/Charismatic moment was born out of 19th century revivalism. The Charismatic emphasis on emotion, excitement and experience is a reliance upon human effort, rather than the transforming power of God’s Word. This reliance upon emotionalism is not limited to Charismatics, most professing Christians are relying upon emotionalism as well.
Each year, the Barna Group released their annual report on the State of Christianity in America and each year the results are more alarming. Even those Christians that identify themselves as “Bible Believing Evangelicals” do not believe what the Bible teaches about life and doctrine. Their world-view is more informed by the world than by Scripture. To give you an idea of how dangerous this is, I want to read from two verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Did you notice that the context is once again worship, and what creates God pleasing worship? Is it not, (using the words of Colossians), “letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly”? Here is the bottom line, Christians lack the supernatural power of God in their lives, not because they do not speak in tongues, but because they are in disobedience to God’s Word!
What happens when Christians allow the Word of God to transform and renew their minds? Our text tells us, we are able to “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”; and this in turn allows up to obey Ephesians 5:
Eph 5:15-17 This is confirmed by the broader context of both Ephesians and Colossians.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
I hope you are seeing how all this fits together. Talk about exciting, I find this exciting! I love connecting the dots of Scripture together!
Therefore, the Spirit filled life is the Word filled life; and this lead us to the finally point:
The Spirit Filled Life is the Empowered Life
The Spirit Filled Life is the Empowered Life
If you go through your Bibles and examine every passage that has the phrase, “filled with the Spirit”, what you will discover is that in each case the person filled with the Spirit was empowered to do something beyond their natural ability. For example, in Luke 1, John the Baptist was empowered to recognized who Jesus was and leap in his mother’s womb. In that same chapter, both John’s mother and father were “filled with the Holy Spirit” and empowered to prophecy. On the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit” and empowered to speak in other tongues. In Acts 4, Peter was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and preached a powerful sermon.
This is so important to understand as we continue to study the spiritual gifts. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit is the source of all the spiritual gifts. This is confirmed by the words of Peter:
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
How are we to use spiritual gifts? First, to serve others, not ourselves; and second, by the power of the Holy Spirit, not our own power. It is absolution critical for the Church to function by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, for if we do not Jesus Christ will not be glorified.
Remember I said at the beginning of my sermon that not being “filled with the Holy Spirit” is a huge issue. Without the filling of the Holy Spirit, the Church is dead in the water. In addition, this is why we should be alarmed each year about the findings of the Barna Research Group. When they find that most professing Christians in America do not have a biblical-world view they are in effect saying most American Christians are not Spirit filled!
The “new method” of “getting drunk on emotionalism” offers a short cut. Charles Finney and the other revivalists did not want to wait upon the sovereignty of God to bring true revival through the faithful preaching and hearing of God’s Word. However, the fruit their “new methods” have produced is a bitter fruit. God’s “old methods” may not be quick and easy, but the fruit they bear is always “good and acceptable and perfect”(Rom 12:2). So, brothers and sisters, “let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly” in order that you may be “filled with the Spirit”.