Be "filled" with the Spirit

Eph 5:18 - And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit....

There is a definite distinction between being “sealed” by the Holy Spirit and being “filled” with the Spirit.

At the point of initial salvation, when we repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we are instantly transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of his beloved Son. It’s a wholesale radical transformation of what what were, children of darkness, to now being children of the light. At that point, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as a “seal” of our inheritance. 

But now, beyond being “sealed”, the Apostle Paul specifically exhorts us to be “filled” with the Spirit. Why?

The “sealing” happens once, but the “filling” is something that we ourselves are required to continually tend to and maintain. At any particular point in time you are maintaining a “level” of the Holy Spirits filling that influences everything about you, your demeanor, how you walk, how you respond to things and ultimately your usefulness in the kingdom of God. Those who are “filled” with the Spirit are the ones who are effective for the purposes of God. Steven, the first martyr, was specifically recognized as one “full” of the Holy Spirit, and therefore carried a distinction above that of his other brethren. When Peter addressed the elders and scribes in Acts 4, it was specially noted that he was “filled” with the Holy Spirit. There are numerous other examples in scripture.

It has nothing to do with the “office” you hold, but everything to do with the level of the Holy Spirit’s filling that you personally maintain. A pastor/preacher/missionary is no better equipped to effectively serve God than any other person simply by virtue of their office, it all hinges on how “full” of the Holy Spirit a person is at any given time. Anyone can minster, but in order to minister effectively requires a sufficient filling of the Holy Spirit.

The responsibility is upon US the be filled with the Spirit, as a Christian, we alone determine the level of the Holy Spirit’s filling that is present at any given time within us, this is why the scripture implores us to “grieve not” the Holy Spirit in Eph 4:30. It is Gods desire that his people would continually be “filled” with the Spirit. The Greek word for “filled” literally means to “make replete” to “cram” to “level up”.

How do we obtain and maintain this “filling”? By actively and consistently "sowing" to the things of the Spirit, and steadfastly resisting anything that would grieve the Holy Spirit.

Gal 6:7-8 - Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Since it is possible to be "depleted" of the Spirit's filling, we must consistently pursue it as a matter of daily habit, primarily through earnest prayer and worship. Seek, and ye shall find, knock and the door shall shall be opened to you.....

The very next verse, right after the Apostle implores us to be filled with the Spirit also gives us something of a clue: Eph 5:19 - Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.

This may seem somewhat strange to us, what kind of person, really, regularly “speaks to themselves” in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs?  Who, as a matter of daily practice, is of such a joyful demeanor that they “make melody in their heart to the Lord”? This is a picture of a person with a fervent, earnest prayer/devotional life that is driven by deep commitment to the Lord. A person who maintains a close and regular communion with Him that drives them to fellowship with Him every day in a deep and abiding relationship. A heart that delights in His word and precepts, desires to do his will and walks in it. A person that produces the fruit of righteousness in their daily walk.

How vital is it that we maintain this filling?  The parable of the 10 virgins gives us a stark picture. All 10 virgins were “waiting for the bridegroom”, much like any Christian today who will say they are eagerly awaiting Christ’s return. But five were wise, and five were foolish. Oil is a picture of the Holy Spirit, five of the virgins had enough oil to carry them through the door, and five did not. The door was shut to the five who did not maintain the “level” of oil needed to carry them through and they were rejected.

Let’s take heed this parable and be like the five wise virgins. Let’s seek to daily be “filled” with the Spirit.

Welcome to The Word as Logos!

Welcome to the first post of this blog! First, an explanation the name of the blog: "The Word as Logos"

Logos is a Greek word that simply means "something said" as a result of a subject of discourse or reasoning. When you see the term "Word of God" in scripture, it is a combination of "something said" and "of God". So, the term "Word of God" essentially means any declaration that originates from and is inspired of God.

As Christians, we have been conditioned to automatically think "Word of God" is always and only referring to "Scripture" or "The Bible", it is not. When Scripture refers to itself it uses the Greek word: Graphē which is defined: Graphē: a document, that is, holy Writ (or its contents or a statement in it): - scripture.

Scripture is "holy" writ, so it is a document that contains the writings "from God". 2 Tim 3:16 states that "all scripture is inspired of God". Therefore Scripture is a Holy document, inspired of God.

So why the distinction? Why is important to understand the difference between Scripture (Graphē) and the Word (Logos) of God?  Well, because scripture itself makes the distinction and for a very important reason.

Scripture, by it's very definition, required men to be "inspired of God" or "moved by the Holy Ghost", so today, a person must in the same way be "moved by the Holy Ghost" to effectively declare the Word (logos) of God. A "right word spoken in due season" as it states in Prov 15. It goes far beyond just reciting a bunch of Bible verses and somehow thinking that that constitutes the declaration of "The Word of God", it does not. In order to be qualified as "The Word of God" it must be declared under the unction, and at the direction of the Holy Spirit.

I fear this truth has been almost completely lost in the Church today. Instead of pastors and preachers laboring and seeking God diligently, earnestly, in their prayer closets to get their messages fresh from God to declare to Gods people, they instead give themselves to bookish, academic study to craft the message. It may be "sound", it may be "biblical", but it is not necessarily "Inspired of God" given under the unction of the Holy Spirit, and therefore it is not  the Word of God. It is not "easy" to understand and declare the "logos", and it doesn't come through the human faculty of the mind or academic study, the preacher must give himself to long seasons of earnest prayer in his prayer closet, there is no other way to obtain the necessary "inspiration from God" and truly understand the mind of God. Only then will he truly deliver God's Word to God's people and at the right time for the word declared. Only then will the preached word be "living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword penetrating to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow...". Only then will the word of God "not return void".

E.M. Bounds excellent work, Power through Prayer, puts it very eloquently:

The real sermon is made in the closet. The man -- God's man -- is made in the closet. His life and his profoundest convictions were born in his secret communion with God. The burdened and tearful agony of his spirit, his weightiest and sweetest messages were got when alone with God. Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher; prayer makes the pastor. The pulpit of this day is weak in praying. The pride of learning is against the dependent humility of prayer. Prayer is with the pulpit too often only official -- a performance for the routine of service. Prayer is not to the modern pulpit the mighty force it was in Paul's life or Paul's ministry. Every preacher who does not make prayer a mighty factor in his own life and ministry is weak as a factor in God's work and is powerless to project God's cause in this world.

This blog will be a collection of messages born out of my own times of earnest daily prayer "in the closet". It is my hope that they will truly be the "Logos", the ancient truths of God, "fresh" from Heaven!