Mentoring Men for the Master

UNDERSTANDING THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Next to the new birth there is nothing more important for a Christian to understand than that of the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  In order to understand this glorious truth, we must raise and answer some crucial questions.

  1. WHAT IS THE NEW BIRTH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? The new birth of the Holy Spirit is the entrance of the Holy Spirit into our lives when we truly repent of our sins and surrender our lives to Jesus.  When this occurs the Holy Spirit regenerates us or gives us a new birth.  This marks one’s entrance into the kingdom of God and assures one of his salvation (John 3:3,5).
  2. WHAT IS THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the gracious act by which the Holy Spirit baptizes or incorporates each believer into the body of the living Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).  This baptism is a once-for-all unrepeatable act of God.  The baptism occurs at the time of the new birth.  Thus the Bible never commands us to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, since that act occurred the moment one trusts Jesus as Lord and Savior.
  3. WHAT IS THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? The indwelling is the presence of the Holy Spirit  (the same as the Spirit of Christ) which begins the moment one is born again of the Holy Spirit and will continue until the day of redemption (resurrection of the body) (Ephesians 4:30).  The Holy Spirit indwells the body of every believer, making our bodies the “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19-0).  This permanent indwelling began on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit transferred His place of abode from the throne in heaven into the bodies of all believers, and “if any person has not the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9b, Acts 19:2).
  4. WHAT IS THE SEALING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? This means that every true believer receives the Spirit of God as a sign that he belongs to God and that he will be kept safe by God until the time he receives his glorified body.  Just as in legal matters, a seal indicates ownership and security, so it does in divine affairs.  The indwelling brands us as God’s property (1 Cor. 6:19-20) and guarantees our preservation until the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).
  5. WHAT IS THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? The infilling of the Holy Spirit is the control of the Holy Spirit over the believer’s life and occurs when one surrenders his life completely to the control of the Holy Spirit.  Luke 5:26 states that the disciples were “filled” with fear, meaning they were controlled r dominated by the emotion of fear.  The word “filled” in Luke 5:26 is the same word found in Ephesians 5:18, “Be ye filled with the Holy Spirit.”  While the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs only once, the infilling may occur at a crisis moment, but it continually occurs as one surrenders to the Holy Spirit.  Examples:  Stephen Olford, Billy Graham, and myself. 
  6. ARE THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE BEING CONTROLLED BY THE INTERNALIZED WORD OF GOD THE SAME ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE? Compare  Ephesians 5:18 -19 and Col.3:16. 
  7. WHAT ARE THE GREAT HINDRANCES TO BEING FILLED AND CONTINUALLY FILLED?

(a)   The grieving of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30)

(b)   The quenching of the Holy Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19

CAN ONE LOSE THE INFILLING? Indeed he can and often does.

WHY DO WE NEED TO BE FILLED WHEN WE ALREADY HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT THROUGH THE NEW BIRTH? Through the new birth, the Holy Spirit indwells us.  He is present and resident within us.  But He can be present and resident without being president.  Unfortunately when the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, we often push Him off into a closet or some dark wing of our soul.  Then He has no access to the TV room, the master bedroom, the kitchen, the refrigerator, etc.-that is, He is resident but He isn’t president.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE AVERAGE CHURCH MEMBER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT? It is my experience that the average church is filled with three different kinds of people:

  1. Those who come to church but don’t know the Lord at all. The Holy Spirit doesn’t live within them, so they can’t be filled with Him.
  2. Those who come to church who are Christians and the Holy Spirit lives within them, but they never give Him control of their lives.
  3. Those who have consciously and knowingly given over their lives to the Spirit’s control.

WHY DO WE NEED TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?

  1. You must be filled to be obedient to God’s commands (Ephesians 5:18).
  2. You must be filled to fulfill the requirements of the Christian life. Example:  “Jesus commands, … Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 22:37-39).  How can I attain that?

Scripture says, ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks’ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  Who can live like that?

Scripture says, ‘Take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.’ (2 Cor. 10:5, NIV). Every thought?  How in the world could I do that?

Scripture says, ‘Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44).  Even on the freeway, Lord?

These standards, and many more I could mention, are just…well, impossible.  If we don’t have a power that is beyond us as human beings, we can’t live the Christian life.”[1]

  1. You must be filled in order to exercise your spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:7)
  2. You must be filled to receive the anointing (1 Cor. 1:21).
  3. You must be filled to walk in victory (Romans 15:13).
  4. You must be filled to overcome the flesh (Romans 8:13). (Illus. D. L. Moody)
  • WHO IS COMMANDED TO BE FILLED? Ephesians 5:18 answers this question.
    1. This command is in the imperative It isn’t optional.  Every believer is commanded to be filled and controlled by the Spirit.
    2. The command is plural which means that the command is given to all of us – not just to “super saints” or “spiritual giants.”
    3. The command is in the passive voice. This means we don’t fill ourselves.  The filling comes from an outside source- the Holy Spirit.
    4. The command is in the present tense. This means the filling is a repeated event.
  • WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO BE FILLED?

Assuming you already have the Holy Spirit through the new birth, you must meet the following conditions.

  1. Desire to be filled. Being filled begins with desire.  As a good football coach tells his embattled troops at half-time, “Guys, you gotta want to.”  Jesus said “If anyone thirst or hunger, he shall be filled.”  (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37). “Does this describe you?  Are you thirsty – maybe a little desperate –for a closer walk with God?  Do you ever find yourself crying out with the psalmist, ‘My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?’ (Psalm 42:2).

Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit controls you, you will have a hunger and a thirst to know God and grow in Him.  Out of this acute, life-defining thirst comes the Spirit-controlled life.”[2]

  1. Denounce all the known sin in your life. “Confession of sin is critical, but denunciation is a step beyond confession. I might confess to a problem with impure thoughts, but what good does that do if I go out and buy a Playboy magazine this afternoon?  Paul explained it like this:

‘Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates the body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God’ (2 Cor. 7:1, NIV).

When we come to be filled with the Spirit, we have to cleanse our hearts through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have to say, ‘God, if there is any sin in my life, if there’s something I’m doing that isn’t pleasing to You, put Your finger on it.  Show me what it is, and Lord, I will denounce it.  I will confess it, and I will turn from it.

You can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit while you’re harboring your own little pet sins.  Maybe it’s a place to which you go, a relationship in which you’re involved, the types of entertainment you indulge in, or a habit you’ve clung to for years—something that you know violates God’s standards.  You will never be filled with the Spirit of God until you denounce it, confess it, and forsake it.  The Holy Spirit isn’t just a title, that’s who He is, and He doesn’t enjoy living in an unclean environment.  If there is known, unconfessed sin in your life, the Holy Spirit will not take control.  The very fact of your sin is evidence that He isn’t in control.”[3]

  1. Die to self (2 Cor. 4:10). To be filled with the Spirit is to yield to His control.  It is to take self off the throne of your heart and enthrone Jesus. Romans 12:1-2 are absolute keys to the Spirit-controlled life.
  1. Depend fully upon the Holy Spirit. A better word is surrender.  Surrender is just the opposite of rededication of life or what we call commitment.  When we commit to the Lord, we name the terms of our commitment.  When we surrender, we let Him set the terms.  :  A blank sheet of paper.

In summary, the requirements are:

  • I want to be filled – desire
  • I want to get rid of the sin in my life – denounce
  • I want to give control of myself to God – die
  • I am depending absolutely on the Holy Spirit – dependence or surrender.

 

  • WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF BEING FILLED?
    1. When you are filled you reflect the character of Jesus (Galatians 5:22-23).
    2. When you are filled, you have victory over indwelling sin (Galatians 5:11).
    3. When you are filled, the Bible comes alive (1 Cor. 2:14).
    4. When you are filled, prayer is urgent and compelling (Romans 8:26).
    5. When you are filled, you have constant fellowship with the living Christ (John 14:21).
    6. When you are filled, you have boldness to witness (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31).
    7. When you are filled, you have great joy (Acts 13:51).
    8. When you are filled you are empowered to keep the moral law of God (Romans 8:2-4).
    9. When filled, Jesus lives his life through you. Paul testifies to this experience in Gal. 2:20.  :  Only if Christ is  living in you can you live the Christian life.  Suppose I went to play basketball and tried to take the place of Michael Jordan.  Could I?  Absolutely not.  But suppose I showed up and played as well or better than Jordan.  How could that be?  If Michael Jordan took up his residence within, then he could play the game for me.  So it is with the infilling. (Gal. 2:20).

 

[1] David Jeremiah, God in You, Sisters, Oregon: Multonomah Publishers, 1998, pp. 76-77.

[2] Ibid, Jeremiah, p. 81.

[3] Ibid., Jeremiah, pp. 81-82