Bible Question:
The Word of God commands us to be filled with the Spirit, i.e. the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 (NKJV) 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, This command, “be filled with the Spirit” comes to us from the Koine Greek verb (PLEROO). This verb isn’t a suggestion but a command in the “imperative mood”; not doing so would instantly produce a sin. It’s in the “present tense”, which connotes a continuous action or keep on doing this; i.e. being filled with the Spirit and it literally means to fill up a deficiency. Pleroo, or being filled is in the “passive voice”, thus the believer receives the action of the verb of being filled. The word with as in, with the Spirit, it's actually the Greek word EN and means by the Spirit. The word (EN) is a preposition in the “dative case” which signifies advantage or in other words, it’s to the believers advantage to be filled with the Spirit continuously. Every born again believer in Christ has the Spirit the very moment after they believe the Gospel message and totally put their undivided trust in the Person and finished work of God’s Son Jesus Christ. Notice the action and timing of the action in the following verses. Ephesians 1:11-13 (NKJV) Speaking of Jesus: 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, God’s sealing or stamp of approval is non other then God The Holy Spirit Himself sent to dwell within the body or temple of every true believer in Christ to guide and instruct and comfort along with many other functions. God has further promised that this is a permanent situation but without mentioning the quantitative aspect, i.e. the “total” filling is not guaranteed and this is not due to any fault of God, needless to say, but to the individual believer. The indwelling Spirit of God can be grieved and quenched but Scripture commands us not to do this. The BIG QUESTIONS are: How do we grieve and quench the Spirit and since we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit, how is this accomplished. I have found that most believers are very uninformed with regards to this function but please don’t be shy in posting your response! Have a great day, CDBJ |
Bible Answer: Coming from the Pentecostal perspective, I believe we are filled with the Holy Spirit at salvation but we have not yet learned to yield our will to the Holy Spirit that now dwells within us. We grieve the Holy Spirit when we quench His leading. It is a very hard thing for a physical being to yield himself to a spiritual being that moves in a higher realm of knowledge and truth. But as we learn to allow our will to be shaped and formed by that Holy Spirit our life more conforms to the Christ likeness we are to exemplify. We experience this leading beginning at salvation because scripture tells us we can not come to God unless we are lead of the Spirit. However because this sensitivity to spiritual things isn’t yet fully developed we tend to move on instead of allowing our spirit man to learn to seek the leading of the Holy Spirit in all things. This lack of sensitivity does not effect our salvation but it does cause us to miss the leading of the Holy Spirit from time to time, which in turn usually results in us not accomplishing all that God has willed for us. We miss opportunities to witness Jesus to others, we miss the opportunity to pray for someone that really needs to know God loves them at that moment. We miss the opportunity to serve God in the fullness that He provided for us to serve in. And that grieves the Holy Spirit who was sent to guide and assist us in these tasks. |