Benja32one
June 26th, 2005, 09:48 PM
THE FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT
By Miles Standford
VITAL DISTINCTION -- "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). The line has been drawn at Pentecost. Nowhere must this line be more fully maintained than between the baptism by the Spirit, and the filling with the Spirit. Failure at this point has compounded the charismatic errors that are devastating so many lives today.
First of all, it is important to note that the disciples were simultaneously baptized by, and filled with, the Spirit at Pentecost. Nevertheless, these are two distinct aspects of the Spirit's work in the believer.
THE BAPTISM BY THE SPIRIT -- The baptism is non-experiential, instantaneous, and concerns our position. The only condition for receiving the baptism is to believe and repent. Each believer is placed by the Spirit into living union with the risen Lord, as a branch in the True Vine. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body." "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27).
Having been baptized into Christ, one can never be out of Him, since this eternal position is the result of Christ's finished work on the Cross and His risen life--not our human merit or condition. Grace!
THE FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT -- On the other hand, the filling with the Holy Spirit has to do with the believer's condition--his walk. It is repeatable, and is the basis of spiritual growth and service. For example, the disciples were initially filled with the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:4), but Peter was filled anew when he subsequently addressed the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8). Still later, he and John were again filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31).
While we find no command to be baptized by the Spirit, the Word very definitely does command us to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). The present tense of the verb denotes a continuous filling--a walk in, or by (in dependence upon), the Spirit.
To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit. This control consists of His dealing with our old nature, and developing our new nature. The result of this growth is power in service, and the progressive manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit--the very characteristics of Christ who is our life (Galatians 5:22. 23; Colossians 3:4).
CONDITION FOR FILLING -- For the filling with the Spirit, there is a condition. The condition is to walk in dependence upon the Spirit, rather than in dependence upon the flesh. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
Faith's Response -- What is faith's response to this exhortation? As we learn that the old nature has been condemned at the Cross, we are able to count ourselves as having died unto that old life, and as being new creations in Christ. Our reckoning upon the finished work of the Cross gives the Spirit freedom to progressively hold the old man inoperative, in the place of that death. At the same time we are also able to count ourselves as alive unto God in the risen Lord Jesus, thereby giving the Spirit freedom to develop fruit, the life of the True Vine, in our lives (Romans 6:11; John 15:5).
This dual reckoning is the faith aspect of our walk in the Spirit: (a) He deals with the old life by means of the already accomplished death of the Cross (Romans 6:6); (b) He develops the new life, the divine nature, from the source of our already completed life in Christ (Ephesians 2:10).
FELLOWSHIP FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH -- The very heartbeat and foundation of our spiritual growth is increasingly to know the Lord Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Fellowship with Him fosters the healthy process of growth: death to the old, step by step; life in the new, from glory to glory. "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10).
Inworking -- The inward development of this "not I, but Christ" life is also based on the principle of fellowship with Him. We go to the written Word, our source. We depend on the indwelling Spirit to reveal Christ, the Living Word, and we feed on Him. This vital fellowship is the means of conforming us to His likeness. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18).
Outworking -- The outworking of these principles of growth also flows from our fellowship with the Lord Jesus. The process of development is slow, thorough, and life-long--even eternal--with no room for evasions or short-cuts. The Holy Spirit is ministering the very life of the Lord Jesus within, therefore it could not be otherwise. "For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you [others]" (II Corinthians 4:11, 12).
CHARISMATIC ERRORS REGARDING GROWTH -- The above scriptural principles are absent from the present-day charismatic movement. One does not find there, the willingness to grow at the Spirit's thorough pace, nor to be taken into His process of life out of death. The focus is on a spectacular experience, and it must be received right now! When one experience "totals", another must be worked up. To the altar! On and on it goes, spinning, spinning, but ever failing to produce growth "in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18).
Charismatics are thrilled about a "Jesus" who is not necessarily the risen Lord Jesus Christ at all. These dear people aren't even sure they’re saved! This amounts to "another gospel, which is not another" (Galatians 1:6, 7), not really the Gospel which positions one in the risen Lord Jesus Christ at the Father's right hand, eternally safe and secure.
By contrast, their excitement is centered in a "Jesus" who is other than the sovereign Savior. "But [now] I am fearful lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning [Genesis 3:4], so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For [you seem readily to endure it] if a man comes and preaches another Jesus than the One we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the [Spirit] you [once] received, or a different gospel from the one you [then] received and welcomed" (II Corinthians 11:3, 4, Amp.).
THE LINE -- Many Christians who are choosing to walk in the Spirit and to accept the path of the Cross are mystified at seeing those with little or no interest in the things of the Lord, suddenly fill the scene with their enthusiasm over this new-found experience. They wonder at their claims of such supernatural gifts as the "baptism in the Holy Ghost", tongues, interpretation, prophecy, healing, casting out demons.
Ever remember the line drawn, fellow believer! Do not be tempted to cross over into the downgrade realm of experience-centered error. The positional baptism by the Spirit into our risen Lord Jesus makes Him the source of spiritual maturity and fruitful service. On the eternal foundation of that once-for-all baptism, we learn to walk in the Spirit for the experiential filling with, and manifestation of, the victorious life of our risen Lord. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way" (Psalms 37:7).
http://withchrist.org/MJS/line.htm#ChapterIII
By Miles Standford
VITAL DISTINCTION -- "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:4). The line has been drawn at Pentecost. Nowhere must this line be more fully maintained than between the baptism by the Spirit, and the filling with the Spirit. Failure at this point has compounded the charismatic errors that are devastating so many lives today.
First of all, it is important to note that the disciples were simultaneously baptized by, and filled with, the Spirit at Pentecost. Nevertheless, these are two distinct aspects of the Spirit's work in the believer.
THE BAPTISM BY THE SPIRIT -- The baptism is non-experiential, instantaneous, and concerns our position. The only condition for receiving the baptism is to believe and repent. Each believer is placed by the Spirit into living union with the risen Lord, as a branch in the True Vine. "For by one Spirit were we all baptized into one body." "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27).
Having been baptized into Christ, one can never be out of Him, since this eternal position is the result of Christ's finished work on the Cross and His risen life--not our human merit or condition. Grace!
THE FILLING WITH THE SPIRIT -- On the other hand, the filling with the Holy Spirit has to do with the believer's condition--his walk. It is repeatable, and is the basis of spiritual growth and service. For example, the disciples were initially filled with the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:4), but Peter was filled anew when he subsequently addressed the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:8). Still later, he and John were again filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:31).
While we find no command to be baptized by the Spirit, the Word very definitely does command us to "be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). The present tense of the verb denotes a continuous filling--a walk in, or by (in dependence upon), the Spirit.
To be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit. This control consists of His dealing with our old nature, and developing our new nature. The result of this growth is power in service, and the progressive manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit--the very characteristics of Christ who is our life (Galatians 5:22. 23; Colossians 3:4).
CONDITION FOR FILLING -- For the filling with the Spirit, there is a condition. The condition is to walk in dependence upon the Spirit, rather than in dependence upon the flesh. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
Faith's Response -- What is faith's response to this exhortation? As we learn that the old nature has been condemned at the Cross, we are able to count ourselves as having died unto that old life, and as being new creations in Christ. Our reckoning upon the finished work of the Cross gives the Spirit freedom to progressively hold the old man inoperative, in the place of that death. At the same time we are also able to count ourselves as alive unto God in the risen Lord Jesus, thereby giving the Spirit freedom to develop fruit, the life of the True Vine, in our lives (Romans 6:11; John 15:5).
This dual reckoning is the faith aspect of our walk in the Spirit: (a) He deals with the old life by means of the already accomplished death of the Cross (Romans 6:6); (b) He develops the new life, the divine nature, from the source of our already completed life in Christ (Ephesians 2:10).
FELLOWSHIP FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH -- The very heartbeat and foundation of our spiritual growth is increasingly to know the Lord Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father. Fellowship with Him fosters the healthy process of growth: death to the old, step by step; life in the new, from glory to glory. "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Philippians 3:10).
Inworking -- The inward development of this "not I, but Christ" life is also based on the principle of fellowship with Him. We go to the written Word, our source. We depend on the indwelling Spirit to reveal Christ, the Living Word, and we feed on Him. This vital fellowship is the means of conforming us to His likeness. "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Corinthians 3:18).
Outworking -- The outworking of these principles of growth also flows from our fellowship with the Lord Jesus. The process of development is slow, thorough, and life-long--even eternal--with no room for evasions or short-cuts. The Holy Spirit is ministering the very life of the Lord Jesus within, therefore it could not be otherwise. "For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you [others]" (II Corinthians 4:11, 12).
CHARISMATIC ERRORS REGARDING GROWTH -- The above scriptural principles are absent from the present-day charismatic movement. One does not find there, the willingness to grow at the Spirit's thorough pace, nor to be taken into His process of life out of death. The focus is on a spectacular experience, and it must be received right now! When one experience "totals", another must be worked up. To the altar! On and on it goes, spinning, spinning, but ever failing to produce growth "in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18).
Charismatics are thrilled about a "Jesus" who is not necessarily the risen Lord Jesus Christ at all. These dear people aren't even sure they’re saved! This amounts to "another gospel, which is not another" (Galatians 1:6, 7), not really the Gospel which positions one in the risen Lord Jesus Christ at the Father's right hand, eternally safe and secure.
By contrast, their excitement is centered in a "Jesus" who is other than the sovereign Savior. "But [now] I am fearful lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning [Genesis 3:4], so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For [you seem readily to endure it] if a man comes and preaches another Jesus than the One we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the [Spirit] you [once] received, or a different gospel from the one you [then] received and welcomed" (II Corinthians 11:3, 4, Amp.).
THE LINE -- Many Christians who are choosing to walk in the Spirit and to accept the path of the Cross are mystified at seeing those with little or no interest in the things of the Lord, suddenly fill the scene with their enthusiasm over this new-found experience. They wonder at their claims of such supernatural gifts as the "baptism in the Holy Ghost", tongues, interpretation, prophecy, healing, casting out demons.
Ever remember the line drawn, fellow believer! Do not be tempted to cross over into the downgrade realm of experience-centered error. The positional baptism by the Spirit into our risen Lord Jesus makes Him the source of spiritual maturity and fruitful service. On the eternal foundation of that once-for-all baptism, we learn to walk in the Spirit for the experiential filling with, and manifestation of, the victorious life of our risen Lord. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way" (Psalms 37:7).
http://withchrist.org/MJS/line.htm#ChapterIII