Walking in the Spirit
Living with and for Jesus the King, in His Kingdom, is a supernatural lifestyle that cannot be accomplished living out of our human abilities. Loving God and loving others as Jesus loved us, living by faith and representing the Kingdom of God to the world around us cannot be accomplished apart from the Holy Spirit’s activity in our lives. In the midst of our daily routines, the Holy Spirit grants us ordinary grace gifts of light for the mind and strength for the will, thereby enabling us to bring the Kingdom of heaven to earth. In addition, as we cooperate with Him, He activates the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit empowering us to advance the Kingdom of God. It is clear then that we need to understand how it is that we can be filled with God’s Holy Spirit and how we can cooperate with Him each day, what we call walking in the Spirit.
Jesus knew that His original disciples could not carry out His will for the world without supernatural empowerment and He warns them to not leave Jerusalem until they had received the Holy Spirit. “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay the city until you are clothed with power from on high. This promise is then fulfilled in Acts 1:8, “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Scripture teaches that it is God’s desire to fill us with His Spirit. In Luke 11:13 Jesus says, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
If we look at Ephesians 5:18 and following where Paul gives the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we find out a number of things by looking closely at the Greek word plerousthe, which is translated “be filled.” A more accurate translation that better reflects the sense of the original is “be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Parsing the word down we discover the following. It is in the:
o Imperative mood- It is a command of God, not a suggestion or a good idea.
o Plural- not for individual only but the whole Christian community
o Passive voice- Let the Holy Spirit fill you
o Present tense- Keep on being filled with the Spirit
The results or signs of being filled with the Spirit are expressed in 4 participial phrases in Ephesians 5: 19-21.
1. Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
2. Singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord
3. Always giving thanks for all things
4. Being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ (Jesus, John 4:34; 6:38)
· Wives submit to your husbands.
· Husbands love your wives.
· Children obey your parents.
· Fathers do not provoke your children.
· Servants obey your masters as you would Christ.
Because we always want to be keeping things practical, focusing on how we can actually experience what the Bible teaches, here are some steps to living the Spirit-filled life.
1. Faith and obedience (Acts 5:32)
2. Repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38)
3. Thirsting (Desiring) (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-38)
4. Asking (Luke 11:11-13)
5. Receiving (John 7:37)
6. Yielding (Obedience) (Hebrews 3:7-19)
We must also be aware that we can quench or grieve or otherwise resist the Holy Spirit through disobedience, sin and ignoring God’s voice when He calls us to do something. When filled with God’s Spirit we can expect to experience the fruits of the Spirit listed for us in Galatians 5:22-23 and the gifts of the Spirit listed for us in 1 Corinthians 12, 14 and again in Romans 12:4 and following. It is the Spirit’s empowerment that enables us to live in the Kingdom, conquer sin, and bear witness for Christ.
Reflection
1. As you consider the more literal translation of “be filled: what stands out to you? Which part do you find the most encouraging? The most challenging?
2. While being filled with the Holy Spirit is an experience, we don’t always feel something, nor does something extraordinary always take place. Can you remember times when you believe you were the Holy Spirit was operating in your life but you just didn’t recognize it at the time?
3. What changes would God have you make in order that you might walk in the Spirit each day? Be specific and practical.
Author
Pastor Bruce is the Executive Director of God's Living Stones. He lives in Omaha, NE, with his wife Barb. They have two adult children.
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