“To be filled with the Spirit is to have the Spirit
fulfilling in us all that God intended Him to do when He placed Him there. To
be filled is not the problem of getting more of the Spirit; it is rather the
problem of the Spirit getting more of us. We shall never have More of the
Spirit than the anointing which every true Christian has received. On the other
hand, the Spirit may have all of the believer and thus be able to manifest in
him the life and character of Christ. A spiritual person, then, is one who
experiences the divine purpose and plan in his daily life through the power of
the indwelling Spirit. The character of that life will be the out-lived Christ.
The cause of that life will be the unhindered indwelling Spirit (Eph. 3:16-21;
2 Cor. 3:18).” L. S. Chafer, He That is
Spiritual.
In the New Testament, these things are clear about how this
new adjusted life is supposed to look. Throughout the New Testament, these
things are also important to understand since they lead to a life of true
spiritual definition and walk. However, many never take the time to “at length,”
learn from the source to better understand the walk which has been so clearly
been shared with us through God’s Word.
Throughout my life as a Christian, I have been asked about my
stance on drinking alcohol as a Christian. I have explained as such: In the New
Testament there are three different times where the effect of strong drink are
mentioned against the Spirit filled life (Luke 1:15, Acts 2:12-21, and Eph.
5:18). If we are to lead a Spirit led life and controlled by the Spirit, we don’t
need a competing force to complicate or make the journey of Christian walk any
harder. Let’s face it, the walk of a true
Christian is not for wimps. In tough times alcohol is used as an escape mechanism
for those who are going through a stressful time. If you have consumed alcohol
before you know alcohol lowers inhibitions and causes us many times to become
someone we are not. The result is opposite to the controlled life through the
Spirit of God. In fact, over time, the more one gives themselves to alcohol
they end up turning to it in the future for comfort rather than God Himself.
The result of this is a life which suffers an impossible heavenly walk and service,
because the control is from the greater party called alcohol. This dependence on
alcohol becomes the controlling factor of life rather than the complete dependence
on God. Would you purchase alcohol with Jesus or your pastor standing there?
Most wouldn’t.
Will it change our salvation? No, Jesus paid that debt by
His sacrifice and nothing you or I can do undoes that security. Does it
complicate our sanctification? Absolutely. Let’s face it; we need God’s
presence in our life every second of every day as a Christian. And we don’t
need any more distractions than we already have. Consider this as well. The Bible
calls us ambassadors of Christ. An ambassador represents the One who called him.
If we walk around saying we have the freedom to do this and to do that, I would
say “sure you do,” but does it represent
the One who sent you well (John 4:34)? Does our testimony show others we depend
upon the world’s solutions to help us and do we really think that people identify Christians with the “party scene?”
I know we have the power to do all things through Christ our Lord (Phil 4:13).
Don’t let anything stop you this year from allowing the full and complete
control of the Spirit of God in your life this year. Make this year one which
is fully controlled by the Spirit of God!
For more info, read a good article at: http://www.gty.org/resources/print/study-guide-chapter/1667
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