Last week I began a short series of posts on why every Christian MUST be filled with the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18, we are given this urgent admonition, “…be filled with the Spirit.” The continual infilling of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for daily Christian living! It is not a nice option. It is foundational to a victorious life in Christ. Today, I want to continue looking at the five reasons why every Christian must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
2. The second reason why you must be filled with the Spirit is found in Ephesians 5:17. We need his infilling in order to “…understand what the will of the Lord is.” The will of God cannot be understand with simple human wisdom. We need spiritual wisdom, that comes only from the Holy Spirit, to discern the will of the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 2 we find these words, “However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory…. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (I Corinthians 2:6-7, 12 NKJV) When Paul speaks of the “hidden wisdom of God” he is not saying that God hides his will from us. Sometimes it may feel like he does. However, it simply means that in order to understand spiritual truth, spiritual wisdom is required. This means that we need the Holy Spirit to aid us in that understanding. Which, is exactly what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do after he had come – “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13 NKJV) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. Therefore, by nature, he will give us understanding into the will of God. As the Holy Spirit fills us and guides us into truth, our minds are transformed to understand his will and our lives prove that his will is good and perfect – “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2 NKJV)
3. The third important reason for why you must be filled with the Spirit is so that you will not be controlled by sinful appetites. The beginning of verse 18 states, “And do not be drunk with wine….” The heart of the issue, when it comes to the filling of the Holy Spirit, is the issue of control. Who is in control in your life? Who is calling the shots? Is your life controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit, or are you dominated by sinful appetites? What Paul is essentially saying in verse 18 is, “Do not let any outside force control you except for the Holy Spirit!” Whereas, once we presented ourselves as slaves to sin, so now we are to present ourselves as slaves to the Holy Spirit (see Romans 6:11-18) – “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16 NKJV) Our sinful appetites cannot be managed. We cannot have the filling of the Holy Spirit and allow our sinful flesh to have any right-of-way in our lives. The flesh must be put to death so that we can then be mastered by the Holy Spirit!
Check back next week for Part 3 of “Five Reasons Why You MUST Be Filled With the Holy Spirit”.
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All Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.
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