"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
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Lesson 11: Being filled with the Spirit
Review
These are God's promises...
1. Isaiah 44:3 "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring;"
2. Joel 2:28-29 "And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days."
3. John 3:5 "Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
4. Luke 3:16 "John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptise you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
5. 1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit we were all baptised into one body; whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free; and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."
6. Titus 3:5-6 LB. "then he saved us--not because we were good enough to be saved but because of his kindness and pity--by washing away our sins and giving us the new joy of the indwelling Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us with wonderful fullness and all because of what Jesus Christ our Saviour did.
Our objective is...
to look at some biblical words describing the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the believing disciple and to ask God to make His plan clear for us.
A. The promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:38-39 "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
Paul's exhortation "Be filled with the Spirit" comes to every believer and should be the norm in the experience of each one. Being filled with the Spirit is a definite experience that will be shown by the witness of life and testimony. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the individual is a gift from God.
John 7:37-39 "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. "
thirsts = spiritually longs for
believes = cleaves to, trusts in, relies upon.
Luke 11:9-13 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"
The Father is more than ready to give the Holy Spirit to those who...believe...rely upon...trust in.cleave to ... Jesus.
Ephesians 5:18 "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,"
The full meaning of the words "...be filled" is brought out by studying the grammatical sense of the Greek, which is in the Imperative - it is a command, (in the passive mood - it is something God does for us we cannot do it ourselves.) In the present continuous tense - i.e. "go on being filled..."
B. If Jesus needed the "in-filling"...
Luke 4:1, 14 "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness... Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region."
Jesus was filled with the Spirit on His baptism by John in the River Jordan.
Acts 2:2-4 "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
The Apostles needed the Spirit to do the work commissioned to them.
Acts 9:17 "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.""
The Apostle Paul needed the Spirit to fulfil his mission.
Ephesians 1:13-14 "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory."
We have been given the Spirit of God as a guarantee of future completeness.
Matthew 1:18 "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit."
Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:21-22 "When all the people were baptised, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptised; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."
Jesus began His mission after being filled with the Holy Spirit.
John 20:22 "And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
The disciples receive the Spirit initially in the upper room after Christ's resurrection.
Acts 1:4-5 "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptised with water, but you shall be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
The disciples were commanded to wait for the Spirit before going out to serve.
Acts 2:2-4 "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
They were released for service ONLY after baptism in the Spirit.
Malcolm Vine, Cornerstone Ministries. September 2004.
To contact the Bible School email: bibleschool@cornerstoneministries.org.uk
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