What It Means to be Filled with the Holy Spirit # 20

"Out of His Belly Shall Flow Rivers of Living Water" (continued)

Christ Glorified - The Holy Spirit Given (continued)

Therefore, no matter how mature or immature we may be in the Lord, we must also agree that each of us must heed the direct command of our Lord: "... be filled in the Spirit." Below we have quoted Bishop H. C. G. Moule's paraphrase of our Lord's command. So let us read this as our prayer for a fresh in-filling of God's Holy Spirit:

"But be filled, with a fullness habitual, normal, always supplied and always received, in the Spirit. Let the Holy One, Your Sealer and Sanctifier, so surround and possess you that you shall be as it were vessels immersed in His pure flood; and then, yielding your hearts without reserve to Him, you shall be vessels not only immersed but open; "in Him," and "filled" in Him, as He, continually welcomed, continually occupies all departments of your life. - Amen and Amen."

Sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise"

Now, most of us may wonder, and even despair at times, at the seeming impossibility of our being "filled up to the measure of all the Fullness of God." But God in His Mercy has given us the Holy Spirit, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit "to fill us up to the measure of all the fullness of God." In Ephesians 1:13, 14 we are told that "after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation - having also believed [in Christ], you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of Promise, Who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His Glory".

Thus, when we believe in Christ, when we are saved by His grace, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. This seal not only assures us of our full redemption in Christ, but this seal is also God's pledge of our inheritance in Christ - and as His Church, our inheritance is to become the fullness of Christ. The Word says that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise; let us remember, the Holy Spirit of Promise, which is the Eternal Promise of the Father to the Son, was given upon the Day of Pentecost after Christ was Glorified. The Holy Spirit of Promise was given in order that the Church be empowered to become the Fullness of Him. Therefore, God has given the Holy Spirit to each one of us as His Seal, His Pledge, His Guarantee that we each have our portion in the Fullness of Christ.

John 1:12-16 tells us that each believer in Christ is given a portion, a measure, of the Fullness of Christ: "And of His Fullness, out of His Fullness, have all we received, and grace for grace" - grace in place of grace; new grace, continuous, and unintermitted. Ever fresh grace according to the need. These glorious words indicate that through God's ever-increasing Grace, our measure of Christ's fullness, will be forever increasing; for God's Fullness in Christ is limitless - boundless - endless - fathomless - exhaustless - measureless.

So each of us receive a measure of His Fullness when we are saved by His Grace; and it is the Holy Spirit's work to bring forth the increase of each and every measure, in each and every Christian, "unto all the fullness of God." This is the preeminent meaning of our Lord giving each one of us this command: "... be filled in the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) - be being filled, be filled up, be fulfilled, be made complete in the Spirit.

There is sense of urgency in this command of the Lord, and this urgency emphasizes that being filled in the Spirit is essential if we are to fulfill our part in the Full Purpose of God in Christ. So, beloved, since the Lord commands us to "be filled in the Spirit", then we must willingly commit our life to His command. We must willingly choose to allow the Holy Spirit to do His Work in our lives. 

Fullness - The fullness of God! The Fullness of Christ! The Fullness of God in Christ! The Fullness of God in Christ in the Church, the Body of Christ! Oh, beloved, the Fullness of God in Christ in the Church has always been God's Desire, God's Will, God's Determined Purpose.

Therefore, the Fullness of Christ is the purpose and goal of the Holy Spirit as He works in each of our lives. So we are commanded to "be filled in the Spirit." We are commanded to be immersed into the Realm of the Holy Spirit where He is always bringing forth a greater increase o Christ's fullness.

~T. Austin-Sparks~

(continued with # 21 - "I Was in the Spirit ... And Heard")