Knowing the Bible
Lesson 1
Preparing to Learn
The Rebound Technique
The Greek word for confess is “homologeo” and it means to name, admit, acknowledge or cite (as in a courtroom). Rebound is a word used to describe confession because it means to bounce back.
Jesus Christ was judged for all sins in human history and therefore these sins cannot be judged again. God was completely satisfied with Christ’s substitutionary payment for our sins. We have studied this as the Doctrine of Propitiation. The blood of Christ, pictured in the Old Testament as animal sacrifices, is a technical term for the spiritual death and physical death of Christ on the Cross. Christ’s spiritual death is the foundation for all forgiveness both at salvation and afterwards when a believer confesses his sin. The Word of God is very clear that the wages of sin is death. This refers not to physical death, but spiritual death, or separation from God for all eternity. Christ paid the penalty for sin by dying spiritually on the cross, as well as dying physically. Both deaths and the resurrection of Christ are part of our salvation. (II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 10:10-14; I John 1:6-10; 2:2)
We rebound after sinning by naming, admitting or citing a particular sin directly to God. The believer in this age is a priest and represents himself before God. We are not to confess our sins to another human being. Another human being, regardless of religious title, has no authority to forgive sin. Only God can forgive sin. The Greek word for “confess” literally means “same name.” In other words, call it what God calls it. If it’s resentment, call it resentment, if it’s being judgmental, call it being judgmental, etc.
The second part of the Rebound Technique is to isolate your sin, put it behind you and forget it. This should eliminate any feeling of guilt for past failures. Remember that God casts our sin as far as the east is from the west and remembers them no more. We need to learn to do the same. The final part of rebound is to resume your spiritual life or move on under the control of the Holy Spirit. Rebound means to be restored to fellowship with God. Confess it, isolate it, forget it and move on! (I John 1:6-9; Hebrews 10:17; 12:1-2; Philippians 3:13-14)
The Filling of the Holy Spirit
The filling and the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit are not the same, and should not be confused. At the moment a person trusts Christ as Savior, he is permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. After salvation, the believer is commanded to be filled with the Spirit, which is temporary and is lost when the believer commits any sin. To be filled is to be controlled by or empowered by the Holy Spirit in the same manner as a person is controlled by alcohol when he is intoxicated. We choose to allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives by allowing Him to control our thinking. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ.” This means we must have the Word of God stored in our souls. It is this doctrinal information that the Holy Spirit uses to control our lives. Divine Viewpoint Thinking produces divine production.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is for every believer in Christ. The purpose of this filling is to empower the believer to live the Christian Way of Life. When a believer is living the Christian Way of Life, he brings glory and honor to Christ. All believers are immediately filled with the Holy Spirit the moment they trust Christ as their Savior. The first time we sin after salvation however, we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit and we are out of fellowship with God. In order to restore both the filling of the Holy Spirit and our fellowship with God, we must simply name our known sins to God. (I John 1:9) We are then commanded to move forward with the execution of the Christian Way of Life, which the Scripture calls “walking in the light.” (I John 1:5-10) The filling of the Holy Spirit is potential, depending on the volition (free will) of the believer. It is also a command and literally means “keep on being filled with the Spirit.”
The Greek word for “filling” is “pleroo” and has four meanings, which all apply to the filling ministry of the Holy Spirit.
- To fill up a deficiency – Without the power and control of the Holy Spirit, the believer has no ability to learn and apply Bible doctrine. In other words, he is deficient of the doctrinal information necessary to execute the Christian Way of Life. (Colossians 1:25; I John 4:4)
- To be fully possessed – Since God the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in the Church Age, the potential exists for him to be fully controlled by God’s supernatural power. This means that the believer can reside in God’s plan by utilizing God’s system. (I Corinthians 6:19-20)
- To be fully influenced – If the Holy Spirit is allowed to fill the deficiency and fully possess the believer’s life, then every area of that life will be influenced by the power of the Holy Spirit. If the power of the Holy Spirit is rejected, the believer is going to be fully influenced by Satan’s cosmic system. (Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18)
- To be filled with a certain quality – There is no higher quality that the integrity of God. It is this quality that becomes resident in the soul of the believer as the Holy Spirit is allowed to control, possess and influence the soul. It is also this quality that leads a believer to spiritual maturity. (Ephesians 3:19, 4:10; Philippians 1:11; I John 1:4; Revelation 3:2)