Part 3 (2/2)

Christians are to be, first, full of the Word of G.o.d. The Word is to dwell or live in us. COLOSSIANS 3:16 16 Let the word of Christ DWELL in you RICHLY in all wisdom....

If the Word is to dwell in us, does the Bible say to what degree it is to dwell in us? Just a little? To a small degree? Just enough to get by? No, richly! The Word of G.o.d is to dwell in us richly!

Imagine a sponge that is put into water to soak up the water. We are to ”soak up” the Word of G.o.d just like a dry sponge would soak up all the water it can. If you put a sponge in water, that sponge would get so full of water that if you touched it anywhere, water would come out. We are to soak up the Word like that, and get G.o.d's Word into our spirits! Then if we are touched by any circ.u.mstances in life, the Word of G.o.d will flow out of us just like water out of a sponge. That's exactly how we are to be in every situation in life - full of the Word of G.o.d!

Soak up the Word until you're so full of the Word that if you get touched on any side by any difficulty, the Word comes out. If you get touched by persecution, the Word comes out. If you get touched by criticism, the Word comes out. If you get touched by tests or trials, the Word comes out.

There is another area where we are to be so full of the Word that nothing but the Word comes out.

ROMANS 12:3.

3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, NOT TO THINK OF HIMSELF MORE HIGHLY THAN HE OUGHT TO THINK; but to think soberly, according as G.o.d hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

This verse in Romans says that we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think. That means we can be so full of G.o.d's Word that no matter what touches us in life - even if it is the praise and honor of men - nothing but the Word will flow out of us because that's what's in us! Be so full of the Word that no matter what touches you in life - if it's tests and trials or praise and honor - nothing but the Word of G.o.d flows out of you!

COLOSSIANS 3:16.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly IN ALL WISDOM....

Notice something else about this verse in Colossians 3:16. We've determined that the Word of G.o.d is to dwell in us richly. But this verse also adds something else: Let the Word of G.o.d dwell in you richly in all wisdom. The Bible doesn't just say the Word is to dwell in us richly. It says the Word is to dwell in us richly in all wisdom.

Why didn't the Bible just say, ”Let the Word of Christ dwell in you?” Because we need wisdom to know how to rightly divide the Word of G.o.d so we can apply it correctly in our lives. The Word of Christ dwells in some people, all right, but they have no wisdom as to how to apply it in its proper context. They misuse the Word and, really, abuse it by taking it out of context and use it to say things it doesn't say. No, the Word of G.o.d is to dwell in us richly in all wisdom.

Full of the Spirit

What else are Christians to be full of? Full of the Word first; then, second, full of the Spirit.

To be full of the Spirit means to be fervent in Spirit.

ROMANS 12:10-12.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 11 Not slothful in business; FERVENT IN SPIRIT; serving the Lord; 12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.

You couldn't very well be fervent in Spirit without being filled with the Holy Spirit, could you?

These scriptures are written to the saints at Rome, but they also apply to the saints of G.o.d anywhere. Christians who are living today are just as much beloved of G.o.d and called to be saints as the Christians who were living in the days of the Early Church. And in this pa.s.sage of Scripture the Holy Spirit is admonis.h.i.+ng us through Paul to be fervent in Spirit as saints of G.o.d who possess joint seating in heavenly places with Christ.

This same pa.s.sage reads a little differently in a number of different translations, which helps bring out the meaning of the verse. As we have seen, The King James Version says, ”Be fervent in spirit.” Other translations read: ”Be glowing in spirit” (The Centenary Translation); ”Have your spirits aglow” (Weymouth); ”Be on fire with the Spirit” (Goodspeed); ”Be aglow with the Spirit” (The Revised Standard Version); ”Be aglow and burning with the Spirit” (The Amplified Bible).

To be fervent in Spirit, or to be on fire with the Spirit, or to be aglow with the Spirit involves both your spirit and the Holy Spirit; it's not all up to the Holy Spirit. You have something to do with being aglow with the Spirit.

But I like one translation better than any of them. It says, ”Maintain the spiritual glow” (Moffatt). Maintain the glow! G.o.d wants us to maintain the glow of the Spirit. You couldn't very well maintain the glow of the Spirit unless you were filled up to overflowing with the Spirit, could you? In other words, G.o.d wants us to stay filled with the Spirit so we can maintain the spiritual glow of the Spirit.

If G.o.d wants us to maintain the glow, then it must be His will that we stay filled with the Spirit at all times. And the Bible teaches that.

G.o.d's Will for Us

EPHESIANS 5:17,18.

17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE WILL OF THE LORD IS.

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT.

Is it possible to know what the will of the Lord is? Emphatically, yes! Yet some folks are continually asking, ”I wonder what the will of the Lord is for me? I must not be wise because I don't understand what the will of the Lord is for me.” But the Holy Spirit through Paul tells us exactly what the will of the Lord is in verse 18.

The will of G.o.d for us is to be filled with the Spirit! Let's see what being filled with the Spirit involves. For one thing, it means we have to be anointed with fresh oil.

PSALM 92:10.

10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I SHALL BE ANOINTED WITH FRESH OIL.

I want you to notice that our text said, ”I shall be anointed with FRESH oil.” That means the psalmist had already been anointed previously with oil. He couldn't very well be anointed with fresh oil, unless he's already been anointed with oil some time before, could he?

There is a biblical principle here. After a person is born again, there should be an initial infilling with the Holy Spirit, but then there should be many re fillings of the Holy Spirit or fresh anointings.

It will help us to understand this concept of many refill-ings of the Holy Spirit, if we understand the Greek translation of Ephesians 5:18, ”Be filled with the Spirit.” Greek scholars tell us that there is actually a play on words in this pa.s.sage. In the literal Greek, ”Be filled with the Spirit,” actually translates, ”Be being filled with the Spirit.”

In other words, Paul is saying, ”Maintain a constant experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit.” Paul is encouraging Christians to stay filled with the Spirit - to continue to have a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit in their lives. We will now look at New Testament examples of the Early Church receiving a fresh anointing.

<btt:accented>Chapter 5 New Testament Pattern

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