It parallels and flows from Christ's command to His disciples not to begin their ministry until they had been clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:48). (Google image, Two women praising God)
They were to wait till they were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). When this was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost another term was used. They were "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4)
Peter explained that this promise of the Father was not for the 120 alone, but, he told them, for "you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39).
When Peter explained that the Romans at the house of Cornelius had received the same experience as the 120 at Pentecost, he said their hearts were purified by faith (Acts 15:8-9).
So the two essential elements are purity and power. Outward manifestations of the Spirit may be varied or not present at all. But the essential need of each of us is purity and power.
In earlier chapters I have written much about the empowering, anointing, and enabling ministry of the Spirit which are essential to our leadership. (See note below) Perhaps you may sigh inwardly as you regretfully admit that this constant empowering, this dynamic presence of the Spirit has not been characteristic of your life and ministry thus far.
Do not be discouraged. God's promise is as surely for you as it was for Peter and Paul. God is neither a respecter of persons nor of periods of Christian history. God is as delighted to pour out His Spirit today as He ever was.
J. Gregory Mantle asks,
"It is one thing to have the Spirit, it is quite another to be 'filled' with the Spirit. You may be full, as the tree in the springtime is full of sap; full in the stem; full in the leaf. You may be full of the Spirit as the white-hot iron is full of fire.
You take the iron; it is cold and hard and black. You put it in the fire, and the fire enters into it. and soon the fire changes its color. That white-hot iron is now possessed, interpenetrated by the fire within it. Are we thus filled?"
Andrew Murry:
"Just as there was a two-fold operation of the one Spirit in the Old and New Testaments, of which the state of the disciples before and after Pentecost was the striking illustration, so there may be, and the great majority of Christians is, a corresponding difference of experience . . .
When once the distinct recognition of what the indwelling of the Spirit was meant to bring is brought home to the soul, and it is ready to give up all to be made partaker of it, the believer may ask and expect what may be termed a baptism of the Spirit [in contemporary phraseology—an infilling of the Spirit].
Praying to the Father in accordance to the two prayers in Ephesians and coming to Jesus in the renewed surrender of faith and obedience he may receive such an inflow of the Holy Spirit as shall consciously lift him to a different level from the one on which he hitherto lived."
It may be that you have never been truly filled with the Spirit. Every person at the moment of the new birth receives the Holy Spirit, so every true Christian is indwelt by the Spirit (Rom. 8:9).
However, the Spirit does not totally fill you until you have made a total surrender of your being to Him. Paul refers to this as offering yourself as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). Only a born-again Christian can do this.
The Holy Spirit does not do a work of purifying, sanctifying, filling, and empowering in anyone in rebellion against God. The sinner must be regenerated, made alive in Christ Jesus.
Then he can present himself as a living sacrifice to be filled, cleansed, and empowered. We receive all of the Spirit at the moment of salvation, but He does not do all of His ministry within us at the same time."
My past post may be of interest to you of
Dr. Duewel's messages, from Dec. 19/2017:
#19 We Need Repeated Empowerings
~ ~ ~ ~
Used by permission of the author and Duewel Literature Trust, Inc., Greenwood, Indiana. Creative reading style by Jean.
Ablaze for God
#100 Be Filled with the Spirit
by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
(pp. 295-297) ZondervanPublishingHouse
Let's pray-
Father, we understand that our being filled with Your Holy Spirit is a command that the early disciples gladly experienced.
As You are neither a respecter of persons nor of periods of Christian history, You are delighted to pour out Your Spirit today as You ever did.
Praying in obedience to this command, believers receive such a flow of the Holy Spirit. We find that there are two elements: purity and power.
The outward manifestations of the infilling of Your Spirit may be varied. Such an inflow of the Holy Spirit will consciously lift us to a different level from the one on which we used to live.
Peter explained that this promise was not just for the 120 alone on the day of Pentecost; we are promised it as well!
After a total surrender of our being to You, Father, help us offer ourselves as living sacrifices, which we understand only born-again Christians can do.
May we then present ourselves to be filled, cleansed and empowered. We receive all of Your Spirit at the moment of salvation, but He won't do all of His ministry within us at the same time. That takes time, as we'll have much to learn through life's experiences, so as to become like Christ.
We ask for You to move on and in us, and to fill us with Your Spirit, so we can experience the power of Pentecost working in our lives today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Today's Bible verses-
Eph. 2:8-10 (NKJV) "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God, (v. 9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. (v. 10)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that
we should walk in them."
Eph. 3:19 (NKJV) "To know the love of Christ which
passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God."
Heb. 11:6 (NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him."
2 Tim. 1:7 (NKJV) "For God has not given us a spirit
of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
Eph. 2:8-10 (NKJV) "For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of
God, (v. 9) not of works, lest anyone should boast. (v. 10)
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that
we should walk in them."
Eph. 3:19 (NKJV) "To know the love of Christ which
passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God."
Heb. 11:6 (NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible to
please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him."
2 Tim. 1:7 (NKJV) "For God has not given us a spirit
of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
Today's popular post-
After Surrender What?
DEVOTIONS for MORNING and EVENING
“The whole of life after surrender is an aspiration for unbroken communion with God.”
Today's question-
Do you feel a need to know God?
It may surprise you to know that He desires for you to get to know Him! Let it be known that we all really have need to know Him, as we fall short of perfection, and what it is that we could do and be in life, due to our inherit sinful ways.
You've no doubt discovered that you simply can't "fix" yourself, or others, for that matter. Encounters with God seem to be ones that are challenging and sometimes problematic, in that we simply don't know what to do to get right with Him, and find peace to our soul.
As Christians, there is hope for us though, as we can ask God to forgive us our sins, and invite Him to have His way in "fixing" us to become folks others can feel comfortable around; they'll sense our peace and connection to God.
As we are open for the Lord to bring us into a closer relationship with Him, we become conduits for the working of the Holy Spirit to minister to others, and to point them to God. He is ready and willing to reach out to them, and to draw them to His heart.
Our faith is displayed by our living as Christ has directed in the Bible. Even though there are many worldly invitations to participate in ways that are harmful and sometimes dangerous, we can get the help needed by simply getting to know God through Christ Jesus, His Son.
It's up to us to reach out to Jesus and get to know Him, seeking His will and way for us as individuals, as well as a church body, community and nation.
Do you feel a need to know God?
It may surprise you to know that He desires for you to get to know Him! Let it be known that we all really have need to know Him, as we fall short of perfection, and what it is that we could do and be in life, due to our inherit sinful ways.
You've no doubt discovered that you simply can't "fix" yourself, or others, for that matter. Encounters with God seem to be ones that are challenging and sometimes problematic, in that we simply don't know what to do to get right with Him, and find peace to our soul.
As Christians, there is hope for us though, as we can ask God to forgive us our sins, and invite Him to have His way in "fixing" us to become folks others can feel comfortable around; they'll sense our peace and connection to God.
As we are open for the Lord to bring us into a closer relationship with Him, we become conduits for the working of the Holy Spirit to minister to others, and to point them to God. He is ready and willing to reach out to them, and to draw them to His heart.
Our faith is displayed by our living as Christ has directed in the Bible. Even though there are many worldly invitations to participate in ways that are harmful and sometimes dangerous, we can get the help needed by simply getting to know God through Christ Jesus, His Son.
It's up to us to reach out to Jesus and get to know Him, seeking His will and way for us as individuals, as well as a church body, community and nation.
Upcoming posts-
What's to Fear?
17th- Saturday's post by Jean Oathout
#101 Terminology of the Spirit's Infilling
20th- Tuesday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
#102 Definiteness of the Infilling
22nd- Thursday's post by Dr. Wesley L. Duewel
Focus
24th- Saturday's post by Lee Forbes
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| Hovering eagle |
Jean's blog (Click to see snippets of the 7 recent posts)
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