Isn’t it amazing that God, through the awesome work of the Holy Spirit, utilizes the same “Response” procedure leading up to the Spirit-Filled Experience, as he did in leading up to the Born-Again Experience?
DIVINE INITIATIVE – God reaches out in love.
AWARENESS OF NEED – God shows us that we need help.
AWARENESS OF CHOICE – We are given the privilege and opportunity to choose a “More Excellent Way.”
YOUR RESPONSE – You can Reject, or you can Acknowledge, Confess, Commit, Believe and Accept this wonderful gift.
Let’s now take a look at what happens when you become Spirit-Filled or Sanctified.
Part 2: The Spirit-Filled Experience Delivers Divine Results
HEART PURITY – cleansing from the corruption of “original sin”.
HEART PERFECTION – restoration of God’s moral nature.
INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – fullness of control and uncontested indwelling.
EMPOWERING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT – strength to maintain purity and Divine energy for service.
HEART PURITY
To purify, or to cleanse is to make free from adulterating matter, impurities, pollution, or corruption. The Greek word, katharidzo, means “to cleanse or purify,” and is the word that Peter used in referring to what happened on the Day of Pentecost. The words, cleanse and purify describe the purging of the moral nature from the corruption of original sin or depravity:
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. (Acts 15: 8-9 NIV)
It is clear and consistent teaching, throughout the entirety of the Scriptures, that the Spirit-Filled experience is considered a mandate and not simply an option for the believer:
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. (James 4:8 KJV)
And the very God of peace sanctify (cleanse) you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, soul and body be preserve blameless until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. (I Thess. 5:23-24 KJV)
The Spirit-Filled life makes it possible to be free from sin, not in sin. It is a miraculous and beautiful experience to be cleansed from all original sin:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us form all sin. (I John 1:7 KJV)
Study, once again, the diagram depicting the two-fold aspect of the sin problem, and the two-fold aspect of the cure:
It is the shed blood of Jesus Christ that effectuates your pardon from the acts of sin. It is also Christ’s blood shed on the cross that cleanses you from all indwelling sin.
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify (cleanse) the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. (Heb. 13:12 KJV)
Who will free me from my slavery to this deadly lower nature? Thank God: It has been done by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom. 7:24 TLB)
For the double necessity. . . there has been provided the double cure!
· HEART PERFECTION
Heart perfection is the restoration of God’s moral nature in your perfected affections (love) and perfected motives (intent).
Look, again, at the previously presented diagram, regarding the function of the heart and the heart’s characteristics:
The heart is the function that deals with moral issues. It is the perfectible area that deals with motive and intent. It is the moral function of the mind, emotions, and will, that has the capacity to choose righteousness or evil. When God’s moral nature is restored in you, it makes it possible for you to deal from a position of pure motives, intentions, and affections.
As we discussed before, perfect motive does not necessarily mean perfect judgement. Perfect intent does not necessarily eliminate the possibility of mistake. However, with God’s moral nature restored in you, as a new basis of your love and intent, you no longer need to be manipulated and dominated by hate, greed, carnal pride, perversions, or jealousies. You now, have the joy of being able to live out the spiritual qualities and elements of excellence that God had in mind for you all along.
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Thess. 5:23 KJV)
NOTICE: The scripture did not say that you would be kept “faultless” – but rather, it uses the word “blameless.” There is a great difference between faultless and blameless!
As long as the characteristics of the soul and body functions are amoral, imperfectible, and mortal, there will be occasion for mistake and error. But where the controlling fascinations and desired ends toward which you strive are pure and wholesome, coming from restored motives to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and soul, and mind, and your neighbor as thyself, (Matt. 22:37), there may be subjective fault, but not objective judgement or blame, (more about this subject later).
In the cleansed and Spirit-filled life it is not your selfish will, but God’s Will that will be the controlling motive of every situation. The Spirit-filled Christian must follow the example of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane as He prayed, “Not my will, but thine, be done,” (Luke 22:42).
THE INFILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The gift of the infilling is only possible in the absence of original sin. The Holy Spirit is more than an influence in your life. He is more than just a blessing. He is the Third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit feels, thinks, encourages, and guides you into all truth. He assists you in prayer, and intercedes with the Father on your behalf. He inspires, instructs, and warns you. And as Comforter, He is always present to uphold you when you hurt, cheer you when you are sad, and speak peace to your heart when you so desperately need a friend.
The Holy Spirit can be resisted, or rejected, and grieved by your negative actions or reactions to His directions. The infilling of your heart by the person of the Holy Spirit is God’s greatest Gift to you. It is hard to imagine why someone would want to live out their life here on earth without the perfected relationship that can be established in the Spirit-filled life experience between the Holy Spirit and that individual person.
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? (Luke 11:13 NIV)
If ye love me, keep my commandments.And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. (John 14:26 KJV)
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26 KJV)
When I surrender everything I have, and everything I am, to the Lordship of Christ, and am cleansed by the Holy Spirit, then He is in the heart in the fullness of control. He is no longer just a resident . . . but now, He is the President!
THE EMPOWERING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The gift of the Holy Spirit gives the strength to maintain purity and to do God’s Will. This power is the by-product of purity. It is power to pray: it is power to persevere through tough times. It is power to testify to others about your experiences. It is power to meet the inner spiritual confrontations and to come through victoriously. It is the quickening energy for service. It is all brought about as a result of the power and presence of the Holy Spirit:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses I Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends on the earth. (Acts 1:8 NIV)
The spiritual power is the result of both: (1) an absence of moral conflict through the cleansed heart, and (2) the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, which is the true Power-Source. The Holy Spirit is now at the control-center of the Spirit-filled heart. He empowers it, motivates it, directs it, anoints it, and blesses it.
There is a purpose to the impowering of the Holy Spirit. It is to empower the recipient for righteous living and Christian witnessing. It is not for selfish or personal advancement or honor. It is for the glory of God and His Kingdom:
And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. (Luke 24:49 KJV)
THE WITNESS THAT ACCOMPANIES THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE
Historically, there have been many people who have confessed their sins to Jesus and accepted Him into their hearts by faith, who never knew the term “Born-Again” to describe the experience. None-the-less, they were saved.
Likewise, many believers have confessed their need, believed and accepted the work of the Holy Spirit to cleanse, infill and empower who never knew to call it the “Spirit-Filled” experience. None-the-less, they can tell you exactly when and where it took place and the set of circumstances surrounding the experience.
Those terms usually exist as convenient descriptors to fulfill theological nomenclatures. Accompanying the experiences, however, there comes a certain confidence or gentle assurance that the work has been done. Sometimes this witness may be immediate, or in some cases, delayed. Sometimes it is as calm as a breeze, -- sometimes, as intense as a storm. A lot of it seems to depend upon the set of circumstances surrounding the experience, and also, upon the disposition of the receiver.
The terms are certainly not as important as the fact that the Holy Spirit is extremely faithful to His dedicated believers to lead them along the paths of spiritual maturity for their own best welfare. It is amazing that the reinforcing and reassuring witness of the Holy Spirit does come to the recipient. How and when that intriguing affirmation comes is solely at the discretion of the Holy Spirit of God:
Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. (I John 3:24 NIV)
We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. (I John 4:13 NIV)
One of the most compelling ways the Holy Spirit witnesses to the heart and mind of the believer is through the subtle, but revolutionary changes that begin to take place in the personal attitudes and behaviors of the Spirit-filled individual. The recipient actually gets to observe the convincing changes in themselves as the “Fruit of the Spirit” begins to work out through their own lives on a day-to-day basis:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22,23 NIV)
There is no way to consistently counterfeit the genuine fruit of the Spirit. You know that where once there was selfishness, jealousy, a demand to get your own way at any cost, the head games you played to manipulate others for your benefit, etc., you are now almost surprised at yourself when you begin to respond to the same situations with behavioral acts of love, kindness and self-control.
Where once you would have reacted violently if a certain thing would have happened, you now are beginning to sense a calm peace you never knew before that works to temper your reactions. You are gaining a confidence that assures you that if God really is in control of everything, then His Holy Spirit is in control of you and your circumstances.
Those manifestations of the Spirit living inside of you, working out His characteristics and traits through you is perhaps the greatest witness you will ever experience of the Spirit-filled life. No one can take that witness away from you, because it has happened to you and you know the difference it has made in your own personal life.
Beware of seeking for some grand celestial experience where there is thunder, lightning, earthquakes and the singing of angel choirs. Be sensitive, rather, to the evidence of the Holy Spirit as He lives out His life of purity, restoration, and power through you, to the Glory of the Father.
EXAMINE OUR “CONTINUATION DIAGRAM” ONCE AGAIN
Your spiritual experience will not cease after the Born-Again and Spirit-filled events. There will be a continued growth and maturation in God’s grace. In fact, you will notice a more intense love for His Word than you had previously known. There will also be a new sensitivity for the revealed insights, for application of the truth found in the Word, to your personal life.
Do not be surprised at the new and increased love and concern you have for other people. With the Holy Spirit now living out the life of Christ through you, your love will not only increase for those in the community of believers, but also for people around you who do not know Christ as Savior and Lord, but desperately need the experience.
The Holy Spirit wants to not only change the condition of your heart, but He also wants that change to be worked out in your everyday existence, as it affects every aspect of your life.
The Spirit-Filled life will tend to have a “leveling out” or “balancing” effect on your psychical functions. The Spirit’s influence will be observed as the extreme “highs” and “lows of your psyche tend to find more balance.
In fact, the influence and effect of the Holy Spirit in some cases will even be felt in the physical area of your life. With the lack of inner moral conflict comes strength and beauty of life.
CONFRONTATION AND TEMPTATION . . . BUT NO CONFLICT
In the continuation of the Spirit-filled life, there will always be the existence of confrontation; i.e., the facing of alternatives. Moral growth and maturation come by choice and experience. Those confrontations will be accompanied by varying degrees of temptation. Temptation is an endeavor to persuade you to select one of the alternatives. (Later, there will be an entire section devoted to the subject of “temptation”.)
In earlier sessions we have discussed the privilege, and the absolute necessity, of exercising your power to choose. Temptation will always include the element of confrontation, because you will, at that time, be brought into a position of once again needing to exercise that awesome power to choose. You must make a choice. Remember, without choice there cannot be spiritual growth and maturation. There cannot be true worship of God without choice.
In the Spirit-filled life, there will always be confrontation and temptation – but without conflict. Conflict is a problem which stems from the carnal, sinful nature.
Sometimes the question is raised as to the difference between the temptations of those who are Spirit-filled and those who are not. The difference lies in the fact that in the life of the believer who is still battling the original sin nature, temptation stirs up that old natural corruption of the heart with its bias and bent toward sin. In the Spirit-filled life, however, the Tempter finds no responsive ally within the heart.
That does not mean that the Spirit-filled Christian cannot choose to yield to temptation and commit a sinful act. But, freedom from the indwelling original sin serves to strengthen you in the hour of temptation. You can see now, why the Spirit-filled life is an indispensable requisite to the life of constant victory and triumph over sin.
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12 KJV)
Check out the previous diagram, once more, of the CONTINUATION PROCESS. As you can see, there will be confrontations and temptations in the Spirit-filled life. But, since the carnal, sinful self no longer resides in the heart, there will be no need for conflict.
Song writer, Bill Gaither, penned a powerful song entitled; “It is Finished.” It graphically portrays the conflict within the person whose heart is not totally yielded to the Lordship of the Holy Spirit. He does not, however, leave the condition as an unsolved problem, but announces that victory is possible for the asking, and Jesus can be not only Savior but also Lord!
IT IS FINISHED
Yet in my heart a battle was raging
Not all pris’ners of war had come home.
They were battlefields of my own making,
I didn’t know that the war had been won.
Then I heard that the King of the ages
Had fought all the battles for me.
And vict’ry was mine for the asking,
And now, praise His name, I am free!
It is finished, the battle is over,
It is finished, there’ll be no more war,
It is finished, the end of the conflict,
It is finished, and Jesus is Lord.
He is Lord, He is Lord, He is Lord.
William J. Gaither
(Used by permission of the Publisher)1
Next Week: Prospects of the Born-Again and Spirit-Filled Experience