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Lesson 4 – The Power Category – the Filling of the Holy Spirit

Lesson 4 – The Power Category – the Filling of the Holy Spirit

Lesson for January 22, 2012

Christian Integrity

The Power Category – the Filling of the Holy Spirit

Just as God the Holy Spirit provided the necessary spiritual power to sustain the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry, the filling of the Holy Spirit provides power for our lives.  Jesus prophesied the coming of the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell believers. (Matthew 12:18; John 3:34; Acts 10:38; John 15:26)

When writing the Gospel of John, the apostle used the Greek word “parakletos” for the Holy Spirit.  The word is translated comforter, helper and advocate in several versions of the Bible.  Advocate is actually the best translation describing the function of the Holy Spirit with regard to believers.  A “parakletos” was a professional advisor or a defense attorney, thus an advocate.   It means aid, assistance, or ability.  Comfort comes only a as result of the aid provided by our Advocate.  In our case, it is the Holy Spirit Who provides aid, assistance and power.  One of the Holy Spirit’s ministries to church-age believers is to provide the spiritual IQ that we need to learn and apply Bible doctrine properly. (I Corinthians 2:4-16)

The filling of the Holy Spirit is available to 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 acknowledge 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. (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.

  1. 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)
  2. To be fully possessed – Since God the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in the Church Age, the potential exists for him/her 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)
  3. 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)
  4. 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)

Results of the Filling of the Holy Spirit

  1. Imitators of Christ – John 16:14; II Corinthians 3:3; Philippians 1:20; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 5:1
  2. Perception of the Word of God – John 14:26; 16:12-14; I Corinthians 2:9-16
  3. Power in witnessing – Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 3, 4, 5
  4. Guidance – Romans 8:14; Ephesians 5:16-18
  5. Assurance of salvation – Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 4:5-6
  6. Worship – Philippians 3:3; John 4:24
  7. Prayer – Ephesians 6:18; Psalms 66:18
  8. Produces the fruit of the Spirit – Galatians 4:19; 5:22-23

Grieving and Quenching the Holy Spirit

(Ephesians 4:30; I Thessalonians 5:19)

  1. Grieving means have entered into Satan’s system of arrogance through personal sin. It also means to bring sorrow, which is against the will of God, takes us out of fellowship with Him and we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit. 
  2. Quenching means we have entered into a state of hatred toward God and His mandates (reversionism).  It means to suppress or say “no” to the Holy Spirit, which is against the will of God, takes us out of fellowship with God and we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit.
  3. Results of grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit
    1. No power in prayer – John 15:7
    2. No understanding of God’s Word – I Corinthians 2:9-16
    3. No joy or happiness in Christ – John 15:7-11
    4. Discipline from God – Hebrews 12:3-15
    5. Unable to produce divine good – I Corinthians 3:12-13
    6. Unable to please God – Romans 8:8

Walk by Means of the Holy Spirit

(Galatians 5:16)

  1. Walking literally means “to align with.”  When we rely on the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us, we are depending on His power.  Therefore, we are allowing Him to control our lives.
  2. Necessity for this walk
    1. To keep us from Satan’s World System – John 15:18-20; I John 2:15-17
    2. To keep us from fulfilling the lust of the flesh – Romans 7:15-25
    3. To keep us from the power of Satan – John 8:44; II Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 6:12; I Peter 5:8
    4. To give us the power to live our spiritual lives – Galatians 5:22-23; John 13:34; II Corinthians 10:5; I Peter 2:9
  3. Results of walking in the Spirit
    1. Power over this world system
    2. Power to overcome the flesh (sin nature)
    3. To give us the power to defeat the influence of Satan in our lives
    4. Power to live our spiritual lives and produce the fruit of the Spirit

The Fruit of the Spirit

(Galatians 5:22-23)

  1. The fruit of the Spirit is the character of Christ being formed in the believer when he allows the Holy Spirit to control his life.
    1. Love
      1. Personal love – the mental attitude of love for God on the basis of His virtue and integrity
      2. Impersonal love – the mental attitude that treats others on the basis of one’s own virtue and integrity
  2. The fruit of the Spirit directed toward self
    1. Joy – stimulated mental attitude of inner happiness as a result of learning and applying the Word of God
    2. Peace – spiritual prosperity; a stable mental attitude knowing that you have peace with God (Romans 5:1) and that you have the peace of God
  3. The fruit of the Spirit directed toward others
    1. Longsuffering – a relaxed outward mental attitude toward the entire human race.  “Suffering long” with the things that would normally make you impatient or angry (Ephesians 4:1-3)
    2. Gentleness – integrity; a mental attitude of kindness and grace toward others by letting them exercise their free will without interference (II Timothy 2:24)
    3. Goodness – the overt act of grace and kindness toward others (Ephesians 4:32; I Thessalonians 5:15; Colossians 3:13)
  4. The fruit of the Spirit directed toward God
    1. Faith – faithfulness, steadfastness (I Corinthians 15:58)
    2. Meekness – humility, teachability and the mental attitude of grace with regard to God’s divine provision; having spiritual self-esteem (knowing who we are in Christ) (Philippians 4:12-13,19)
    3. Temperance – self control and self discipline as a result of right thinking (I Corinthians 9:27; Colossians 3:5-10; II Corinthians 10:5)

The filling of the Holy Spirit is an absolute.  Either you being guided by the Holy Spirit or you are being guided by your sin nature.  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, believers are commanded to be filled with the Spirit, which is temporary and is lost when a believer commits any sin. 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.