But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Romans 8:9
The Spirit Indwelling
Some Christians believe that receiving the Holy Spirit is “a second work of grace”. But our verse for today says that we are not Christians if we do not have the Spirit of God indwelling. We have this same thought in Ephesians 1:13 where the “sealing of the Holy Spirit” occurs upon belief. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body”. From these verses and others, we see that all believers have the Spirit of God indwelling. While He indwells all believers, some members of the body of Christ are not filled with the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit is a moment-by-moment experience. We are filled with the Spirit when, in repentance, we confess our sins. This is necessary to keep in fellowship with God. Filling is not like filling a glass of water; it means that the Lord is in control of your life.
Ephesians 5:18 says to be filled with the Spirit. The context reveals that we cannot be filled with the Spirit if we do not have our relationships right with others. The idea of being filled is the continual filling: “keep being filled” is the literal translation. Filling requires keeping “short accounts” with God and our fellow man. We cannot hold grudges or have animosity for those we know, and claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
While every true believer has the Spirit of God indwelling, not every believer keeps short accounts with God, and because of this, they are not filled with Christ’s Spirit. When this happens, a Christian is not in the will of God, and will be showing that by his or her actions.
Keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit.
(Ephesians 4:30)
Aug. 3, 2009