Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up. (Proverbs 12:25 NLT)
Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement to lift the heavy burden ("worry") a person is carrying. When you get up each morning set out to "cheer...up" at least one person before you turn in that night. You'll be amazed at how much better it makes your day go too.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Consider This...
He said, "Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars." (Daniel 2:20, 21 NLT)
Just so you know...the ultimate authority in choosing world leaders is the God of Heaven. We need to pray that God will give us the leadership we need, not what we deserve. After talking with God about it then go cast your vote, leaving the outcome to the One that "controls the course of world events."
Just so you know...the ultimate authority in choosing world leaders is the God of Heaven. We need to pray that God will give us the leadership we need, not what we deserve. After talking with God about it then go cast your vote, leaving the outcome to the One that "controls the course of world events."
Monday, October 29, 2012
Consider This...
All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:17 NLT)
When life is churning all around you and the winds of adversity are blowing against you there's nothing that calms you like knowing, "He...is God." The One who is the "Eternal King" settles our anxiety and calms our fears because He "alone" is the anchor for our souls.
When life is churning all around you and the winds of adversity are blowing against you there's nothing that calms you like knowing, "He...is God." The One who is the "Eternal King" settles our anxiety and calms our fears because He "alone" is the anchor for our souls.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
On Fire: Life in the Spirit (Comforter)
John 14:16-17
A number of years ago, a 42-foot sailboat was caught in stormy seas off the east coast of the US. Waves rose higher and higher until a giant wave flipped the boat upside down. The heavy keel righted the craft, but the damage to the vessel was significant.
A Coast Guard cutter quickly responded to the sailboat’s SOS. But when the ship located the damaged boat, the rescue was extremely difficult because of the violent seas. The cutter drew as close as possible to the smaller craft while taking the brunt of the waves and remained alongside the imperiled boat to lead her into port.
The action of the Coast Guard cutter that day is an illustration of one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to us today.
The word “Helper” (John 14:16) literally means "one called alongside to help."
There are only five times (and only by John) this Greek word is used, four of which are translated as “Helper” in reference to the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:25; 16:7) and once it is translated as “advocate” in reference to Jesus (1 John 2:1)
The word is extremely difficult to translate because there is no single English word that matches exactly the range of meaning of the Greek word.
The active form of the word, though not found in the New Testament, is found in the Septuagint in Job 16:2 in the plural, and means "comforters," in the saying of Job regarding the "miserable comforters" who came to him in his distress.
“Among Jewish writers (Talmud & Targums) the word ‘Paraclete’ came to have a number of meanings. A good deed was called a paraclete or advocate, and a transgression was an accuser. Repentance and good works were called paracletes: ‘The works of benevolence and mercy done by the people of Israel in this world become agents of peace and intercessors (paracletes) between them and their Father in heaven.’ The sin offering is a paraclete; the paraclete created by each good deed is called an angel (Jewish Encyclopedia, IX, 514-15, article ‘Paraclete’).” --NETBible Notes (saved in Evernote)
There is a wide range of meaning that can be ascribed to this designation of the Holy Spirit and the context helps to settle on the best translation in a given text. Some of the breadth of meaning: to call one to aid us; to exhort or entreat; to pray or implore, as an advocate does; to comfort and console by suggesting reasons or arguments for consolation.
Why the ambiguity in this word? Perhaps to emphasize that the Holy Spirit helps us in many different ways and shouldn’t be limited to only one way.
Another way to grasp the idea of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is with an illustration. Most dads can remember helping their children learn to ride a bike. It probably started with training wheels and your steady hand on the handlebars. Then came the day that you took the training wheels off and you ran alongside the bike with one hand under the seat all the while giving instructions like: “Just relax. Keep your wheel straight. Steady! I’ve got you! You’re doing great!” Often, at the end of some of those short journeys there’d be a crash that led to you picking up your child, embracing him to assure him everything would be ok, and then encouraging him to try again.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit comes alongside us, encourages us, holds us up, picks us up, dusts us off when we fall, and gets us going again. The Holy Spirit’s eternal patience and encouragement help us keep going and growing. He is pulling for us...not against us!
Talk about the context of John 14:16-17.
The translation of this word as “Comforter” (KJV) possibly fits the specific context of John 14:16 where Jesus has just told His disciples that He was leaving them. His promise to them was that they would not be “orphans” (14:18). He will come to them through the person of the Holy Spirit. This was encouraging and comforting to their hearts.
No doubt Jesus also had in reference the comfort the Holy Spirit would bring in all the disciples’ future sorrows and trials, not just their sorrow at His ascension back to the Father.
Our English word “comfort” comes from two Latin words meaning “with strength.” “Comfort” is usually thought of as soothing someone, consoling him or her. But, it also (more properly) means to strengthen someone to face life bravely and keep on going.
When you think of the work of the Holy Spirit as “Helper/Comforter,” He...
1. ...soothes us in times of grief.
2. ...gives us strength in times of affliction.
3. ...encourages us to keep going and not give up.
4. ...imparts peace about what lies ahead.
5. ...inspires us with with hope and vision.
6. ...relieves our worries and anguish.
7. ...bolsters our resilience.
After Paul came to Christ and his life was dramatically changed it says, “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31)
In Paul’s prayer requests for the Ephesians he asked, “...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man...” (Ephesians 3:16)
In other words, the Holy Spirit consoles us in our sorrow, makes us strong in the face of opposition, and encourages us to press forward.
Dr. Lehman Strauss tells the story of his good friend J. Sidlow Baxter. When Dr. Baxter’s wife died he was living in California and Dr. Strauss was in Florida. In an effort to express his sympathy to him and offer any assistance that might be needed, Dr. Strauss telephoned him. He said that when his friend answered the phone it was obvious that he was in deep sorrow. However, Dr. Strauss said that he would never forget what his friend told him, “Lehman, I am very lonely, but I am not alone. I am being comforted.” Dr. Strauss understood that Dr. Baxter had walked daily in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, so in his sorrow he experienced the Spirit’s comfort.
Another way the Holy Spirit helps us is in praying for us...Romans 8:26-27.
Too many Christians live like they are “bi-tarians” rather than Trinitarians. They act as if God is way up there somewhere, aloof from their daily lives. They think of Christ as being way out there...somewhere between them and the Father. And, the Holy Spirit is some kind of vague and impersonal force that they cannot know or experience personally. But, the contrary is really true because He is praying for us, lives in us, and is always with us to help us...if we’ll only allow Him.
In the late 1940's Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in major league baseball. Sadly, he was routinely booed at the various ballparks where he played. On one occasion he was being jeered by his own hometown fans. The popular Pee Wee Reese walked over to Robinson in the field and put his arm around him and silenced the crowd. At that moment Pee Wee Reese was acting as a paraclete and that’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. He comes to our aid in our time of need to stand with us and strengthen us.
Thank God He’s promised never to leave us...never to leave us alone. People need to know that the Holy Spirit is in them, with them and there to help them as only He can do.
Someone has accurately said, “Bethlehem means “God with us”; Calvary means “God for us”; But Pentecost means “God in us.”
Action Steps:
I have a Facebook account, a Twitter account, a Google + account, I text, and send email messages on almost a daily basis. Truth is...I’m grateful for all of these forms of communication. However, I’m afraid that too often what happens in our world today is that we sit in the safety and security of our comfortable houses sending “messages” as an escape to keep from actually having to get involved in other people's lives. It’s easier to be a “virtual presence” than it is to be a “visible presence.” The truth is that nothing will ever replace you being there when someone is in need of strength or encouragement.
That’s the message of today’s study on “Life in the Spirit.” God didn’t just send us a letter wishing us His best. He sent us the living witness of His Spirit to be with us and in us in order that He might help us.
A number of years ago, a 42-foot sailboat was caught in stormy seas off the east coast of the US. Waves rose higher and higher until a giant wave flipped the boat upside down. The heavy keel righted the craft, but the damage to the vessel was significant.
A Coast Guard cutter quickly responded to the sailboat’s SOS. But when the ship located the damaged boat, the rescue was extremely difficult because of the violent seas. The cutter drew as close as possible to the smaller craft while taking the brunt of the waves and remained alongside the imperiled boat to lead her into port.
The action of the Coast Guard cutter that day is an illustration of one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to us today.
The word “Helper” (John 14:16) literally means "one called alongside to help."
There are only five times (and only by John) this Greek word is used, four of which are translated as “Helper” in reference to the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 15:25; 16:7) and once it is translated as “advocate” in reference to Jesus (1 John 2:1)
The word is extremely difficult to translate because there is no single English word that matches exactly the range of meaning of the Greek word.
- The KJV use of “Comforter” probably originates from Wycliffe’s translation. Today, though, it suggests something like a quilt or a sympathetic mourner at a funeral and the Holy Spirit does much more than that.
One author writes about the way the KJV translates the word: “The translation (“Comforter”) entirely misses the mark, and is responsible for untold mischief in both doctrine and experience; and yet it has prevailed from the days of the Fathers... It misrepresents the Mission of the Spirit, has led believers to think less of obligation than of comfort, and has associated Christianity with soothing consolations rather than with conflict. The need is not comfort, but power. The call is not to pampered softness, but to the hardship of service and the strain of battle. The Holy Spirit is not given to be a nursing mother to fretful children, but the captain of a mighty host full of nerve and fire." (Johnstone G. Patrick, The Promise of the Paraclete, Bibliotheca Sacra, October 1970, p.333 [quoting Samuel Chadwick, Humanity and God, pp. 185-86.] --saved in Google Docs)
- “Counselor” is adequate in contexts like “marriage counselor” or “camp counselor,” but the Holy Spirit does much more than just hand out advice or give adult supervision to kids.
- “Advocate” is the the word chosen by some translations but it actually has more forensic overtones than the Greek word indicates.
- “Helper” is probably the best overall rendering as long as you don’t allow the word to suggest a subordinate rank for the Holy Spirit.
The active form of the word, though not found in the New Testament, is found in the Septuagint in Job 16:2 in the plural, and means "comforters," in the saying of Job regarding the "miserable comforters" who came to him in his distress.
“Among Jewish writers (Talmud & Targums) the word ‘Paraclete’ came to have a number of meanings. A good deed was called a paraclete or advocate, and a transgression was an accuser. Repentance and good works were called paracletes: ‘The works of benevolence and mercy done by the people of Israel in this world become agents of peace and intercessors (paracletes) between them and their Father in heaven.’ The sin offering is a paraclete; the paraclete created by each good deed is called an angel (Jewish Encyclopedia, IX, 514-15, article ‘Paraclete’).” --NETBible Notes (saved in Evernote)
There is a wide range of meaning that can be ascribed to this designation of the Holy Spirit and the context helps to settle on the best translation in a given text. Some of the breadth of meaning: to call one to aid us; to exhort or entreat; to pray or implore, as an advocate does; to comfort and console by suggesting reasons or arguments for consolation.
Why the ambiguity in this word? Perhaps to emphasize that the Holy Spirit helps us in many different ways and shouldn’t be limited to only one way.
Another way to grasp the idea of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is with an illustration. Most dads can remember helping their children learn to ride a bike. It probably started with training wheels and your steady hand on the handlebars. Then came the day that you took the training wheels off and you ran alongside the bike with one hand under the seat all the while giving instructions like: “Just relax. Keep your wheel straight. Steady! I’ve got you! You’re doing great!” Often, at the end of some of those short journeys there’d be a crash that led to you picking up your child, embracing him to assure him everything would be ok, and then encouraging him to try again.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit comes alongside us, encourages us, holds us up, picks us up, dusts us off when we fall, and gets us going again. The Holy Spirit’s eternal patience and encouragement help us keep going and growing. He is pulling for us...not against us!
Talk about the context of John 14:16-17.
The translation of this word as “Comforter” (KJV) possibly fits the specific context of John 14:16 where Jesus has just told His disciples that He was leaving them. His promise to them was that they would not be “orphans” (14:18). He will come to them through the person of the Holy Spirit. This was encouraging and comforting to their hearts.
No doubt Jesus also had in reference the comfort the Holy Spirit would bring in all the disciples’ future sorrows and trials, not just their sorrow at His ascension back to the Father.
Our English word “comfort” comes from two Latin words meaning “with strength.” “Comfort” is usually thought of as soothing someone, consoling him or her. But, it also (more properly) means to strengthen someone to face life bravely and keep on going.
When you think of the work of the Holy Spirit as “Helper/Comforter,” He...
1. ...soothes us in times of grief.
2. ...gives us strength in times of affliction.
3. ...encourages us to keep going and not give up.
4. ...imparts peace about what lies ahead.
5. ...inspires us with with hope and vision.
6. ...relieves our worries and anguish.
7. ...bolsters our resilience.
After Paul came to Christ and his life was dramatically changed it says, “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31)
In Paul’s prayer requests for the Ephesians he asked, “...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man...” (Ephesians 3:16)
In other words, the Holy Spirit consoles us in our sorrow, makes us strong in the face of opposition, and encourages us to press forward.
Dr. Lehman Strauss tells the story of his good friend J. Sidlow Baxter. When Dr. Baxter’s wife died he was living in California and Dr. Strauss was in Florida. In an effort to express his sympathy to him and offer any assistance that might be needed, Dr. Strauss telephoned him. He said that when his friend answered the phone it was obvious that he was in deep sorrow. However, Dr. Strauss said that he would never forget what his friend told him, “Lehman, I am very lonely, but I am not alone. I am being comforted.” Dr. Strauss understood that Dr. Baxter had walked daily in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, so in his sorrow he experienced the Spirit’s comfort.
Another way the Holy Spirit helps us is in praying for us...Romans 8:26-27.
Too many Christians live like they are “bi-tarians” rather than Trinitarians. They act as if God is way up there somewhere, aloof from their daily lives. They think of Christ as being way out there...somewhere between them and the Father. And, the Holy Spirit is some kind of vague and impersonal force that they cannot know or experience personally. But, the contrary is really true because He is praying for us, lives in us, and is always with us to help us...if we’ll only allow Him.
In the late 1940's Jackie Robinson broke the racial barrier in major league baseball. Sadly, he was routinely booed at the various ballparks where he played. On one occasion he was being jeered by his own hometown fans. The popular Pee Wee Reese walked over to Robinson in the field and put his arm around him and silenced the crowd. At that moment Pee Wee Reese was acting as a paraclete and that’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. He comes to our aid in our time of need to stand with us and strengthen us.
Thank God He’s promised never to leave us...never to leave us alone. People need to know that the Holy Spirit is in them, with them and there to help them as only He can do.
Someone has accurately said, “Bethlehem means “God with us”; Calvary means “God for us”; But Pentecost means “God in us.”
Action Steps:
- Be aware that He’s already in your life and wants to help you. At this place in my life I am very conscious of my own weaknesses and inadequacies, but I’m also very aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence in me and His abundant provision to help me. How about you?
- Learn to walk under the control of the Holy Spirit consistently.
- Listen to the Holy Spirit speaking to you through God’s Word.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to help you in every circumstance of life.
I have a Facebook account, a Twitter account, a Google + account, I text, and send email messages on almost a daily basis. Truth is...I’m grateful for all of these forms of communication. However, I’m afraid that too often what happens in our world today is that we sit in the safety and security of our comfortable houses sending “messages” as an escape to keep from actually having to get involved in other people's lives. It’s easier to be a “virtual presence” than it is to be a “visible presence.” The truth is that nothing will ever replace you being there when someone is in need of strength or encouragement.
That’s the message of today’s study on “Life in the Spirit.” God didn’t just send us a letter wishing us His best. He sent us the living witness of His Spirit to be with us and in us in order that He might help us.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Consider This...
This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. (1 Timothy 1:15 NLT)
This verse is a little bit like saying, "If God can save me...He can save anyone." Actually, there is no one that is beyond the reach of His love or redeeming grace. Some people mistakenly believe that they're so good they don't need God's salvation. Others mistakenly believe that they're so bad that God's salvation could never reach them. Both perspectives are wrong! God gives eternal life to anyone that believes on Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior.
This verse is a little bit like saying, "If God can save me...He can save anyone." Actually, there is no one that is beyond the reach of His love or redeeming grace. Some people mistakenly believe that they're so good they don't need God's salvation. Others mistakenly believe that they're so bad that God's salvation could never reach them. Both perspectives are wrong! God gives eternal life to anyone that believes on Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Consider This...
An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. (Proverbs 5:22 NLT)
People in sin often talk about “their right to do as they please," not realizing that their “rights” are actually leading them into bondage. Like a bug caught in a spider’s web, the longer a person stays in sin and the deeper a person goes in sin, the more entrapped he/she becomes in the enemy's web. Sinful habits that are not quickly broken ultimately bind a person until he/she is totally enslaved by sin.
People in sin often talk about “their right to do as they please," not realizing that their “rights” are actually leading them into bondage. Like a bug caught in a spider’s web, the longer a person stays in sin and the deeper a person goes in sin, the more entrapped he/she becomes in the enemy's web. Sinful habits that are not quickly broken ultimately bind a person until he/she is totally enslaved by sin.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Consider This...
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NLT)
Twice Paul indicates that believers need God's divine enablement to live out their Christian lives. Christianity isn’t about a greater determination to do what is right, but rather it's about trusting God to live His life through us. Our greatest need is to live surrendered lives monopolized/controlled by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We have to yield ourselves to Him moment by moment and day by day!
Twice Paul indicates that believers need God's divine enablement to live out their Christian lives. Christianity isn’t about a greater determination to do what is right, but rather it's about trusting God to live His life through us. Our greatest need is to live surrendered lives monopolized/controlled by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We have to yield ourselves to Him moment by moment and day by day!
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Praying for this election!
If you wonder how to pray during the closing days leading to the election, here is a non-partisan list of Scriptures you can pray with confidence knowing that God will hear you and do what is right in His eyes and will for us. Read the scripture and make it part of your time of prayer.
Scriptures To Pray For Our National Election
- II Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, will heal their land.
- Acts 17:30 - Pray for repentance for yourself and for our nation
- Psalm 32:6-7 - Pray that Christians will be motivated to pray faithfully for this election and that the Lord would deliver us from the wrong leaders.
- Proverbs 16:13 - Pray that our nation will listen to the truth and not be led astray.
- Psalm 125 - Pray that those who trust in the Lord will not be shaken.
- Psalm 86:14-17 - Pray that the Lord would defeat those who have no regard for Him in this election.
- II Kings 13:16 - Pray that the Lord would put His hands on the man of His choice for president (and his team) and guide them in this election.
- Daniel 2:20-22 - the Bible tells us that God sets up kings and God deposes kings. God is in control.
- Luke 12:54-57 – Pray that our nation will be discerning and do what is right.
- Psalm 16:7-8 - Pray that the Lord would give wise counsel and guidance to His choice for president in this campaign.
- Proverbs 1:5-6 - Pray that the one elected will listen with discernment, add to his knowledge, and receive wise counsel in this campaign.
- John 16:33 - Pray that the man of God's choice would be given wisdom and ability from the Lord to overcome any obstacle or difficulty during this campaign.
- Philippians 4:13 - Pray that the Lord's choice for President will have special strength and unusual ability from God.
- Psalm 18:32-36 - Pray that the Lord would arm the man of His choice with strength; would guide him in his presidency; and would sustain him...
- Hebrews 11:32-34 – Pray that the one of God's choice will persevere and maintain his courage throughout this election.
- 2 Corinthians 12:9 – Pray that the Lord would empower and enable his choice in any area of weakness.
- Habakkuk 1:5 and 3:2 - Pray that the Lord would do something that would utterly amaze us and give victory to His choice as our president.
Consider This...
So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as his assistant. (1 Kings 19:21 NLT)
When God calls you into vocational service you should burn any bridges behind you that might lure you to go back on His call. Elisha the prophet set His course to follow God's purpose for his life and left no question as to his commitment to that plan. What God asks of His servants is absolute abandonment to His divine will...no turning back!
When God calls you into vocational service you should burn any bridges behind you that might lure you to go back on His call. Elisha the prophet set His course to follow God's purpose for his life and left no question as to his commitment to that plan. What God asks of His servants is absolute abandonment to His divine will...no turning back!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Consider This...
Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. (1 Thessalonians 5:14 NLT)
Paul gives a list of advice as he closes the book of 1 Thessalonians, but it's his instruction concerning the "weak" and vulnerable that needs special emphasis today. The ones he is likely referencing are those who have no social or economic power and are thus exploited by others for their own benefit. God's church has an obligation to lift up and care for those whom society puts down and walks over.
Paul gives a list of advice as he closes the book of 1 Thessalonians, but it's his instruction concerning the "weak" and vulnerable that needs special emphasis today. The ones he is likely referencing are those who have no social or economic power and are thus exploited by others for their own benefit. God's church has an obligation to lift up and care for those whom society puts down and walks over.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
On Fire: Life in the Spirit (Filling)
Ephesians 5:15-21
The story is told of a famous oil field called Yates Pool.
During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was constantly in danger of losing the ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government assistance.
Day after day, he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills and was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well and he signed a lease contract.
At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.
The incredible things is that Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights to the land, as well. Yet, he’d been living on government relief. A multi-millionaire living in poverty. And why was that? He didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it all.
That’s a pretty good analogy for what it means to be “filled with the Spirit.” Too often today Christians live in spiritual poverty even though they have an inner resource of incredible power available to them. The problem is that many Christians either don’t know the resource exists and/or they never tap into that resource to receive divine enablement.
So, let’s talk about how we can stop living powerless, defeated lives and start living by the power of the Spirit.
Action Steps:
The story is told of a famous oil field called Yates Pool.
During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn’t able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was constantly in danger of losing the ranch. With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government assistance.
Day after day, he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills and was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills. Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well and he signed a lease contract.
At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large. In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.
The incredible things is that Mr. Yates owned it all. The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights to the land, as well. Yet, he’d been living on government relief. A multi-millionaire living in poverty. And why was that? He didn’t know the oil was there even though he owned it all.
That’s a pretty good analogy for what it means to be “filled with the Spirit.” Too often today Christians live in spiritual poverty even though they have an inner resource of incredible power available to them. The problem is that many Christians either don’t know the resource exists and/or they never tap into that resource to receive divine enablement.
So, let’s talk about how we can stop living powerless, defeated lives and start living by the power of the Spirit.
- Consider what we mean by the filling of the Spirit.
A. The filling of the Spirit is not…
i. The baptism of the Spirit.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to our being placed into union with Christ and other believers within the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:13)
ii. The indwelling of the Spirit.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit refers to His residence in every believer’s life. (Romans 8:9; 1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13-14)
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (Romans 8:9)
iii. The sealing of the Spirit.
The sealing of the Holy Spirit has to do with identifying believers as His own and giving them security that they belong to Him. (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22)
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)
B. The filling of the Spirit is…
i. A command.
The verb “be filled” is an imperative meaning that this is not a choice we make, but a command we obey. Why a command? Because only with His help can we live out our faith.
There is a funny incident in one of the old Andy Griffith shows where Barney wants to sing a solo in the choir at a special competition. After numerous efforts were made to change his mind without hurting his feelings, Andy decided to have Barney sing into the microphone softer and softer until it was barely a whisper coming from him. His explanation to Barney was that the amplification system would compensate for the softness. Behind the curtain and out of sight Andy had positioned another man with a beautiful voice to sing into the live microphone, making Barney think that the amplification system had magnificently enhanced his voice. Of course, when Barney heard the deep baritone voice he thought was his own being amplified, he became increasingly more animated and expressive.
The truth is that the only way we can successfully live the Christian life is if we allow God to live His life through us. If we minimize ourselves and maximize Him in our lives then He will enable us by the power of the Holy Spirit to do what we cannot do alone. That’s why God commands us to be filled with the Spirit...only with His help can we successfully live out our faith.
ii. For every Christian.
This verb is plural meaning that the truth is for every Christian and not just select ones (i.e., pastors, deacons, Life Group leaders, husbands, wives, sons, daughters, etc.).
iii. A repeatable event.
- The verb is in the present tense meaning that this filling of the Holy Spirit can happen many times in a believer’s life.
- Unlike the indwelling of the Spirit, the sealing of the Spirit, and the baptism of the Spirit, the filling of the Spirit happens multiple times throughout our journey with God.
- Why? It is necessary because we can “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” in our lives (Ephesians 4:30).
- This necessary because we can “quench the Spirit” in our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
- You can never lose the Spirit of God from your life (Ephesians 4:30), but you can resist or rebel against the Holy Spirit’s control of your lives...and thus “grieve” or “quench” Him.
- This is not a once for all time occurrence, but a repeatable life experience of yieldedness to God.
iv. Something God does in and through us.
- This verb is in the passive voice meaning that God is acting upon us in a way that totally changes us.
- The illustration of being “not...drunk with wine” explains how we are to understand “be filled with the Spirit.”
- As an intoxicated man is controlled by the alcohol in his system, so a believer is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit in Him.
- This is about God acting upon us...so we have to get out of His way!
- This is not about your strength, your ability and your power. This is about God’s strength, God’s ability, and God’s power in and through you.
(W.A. Criswell) “As we grow in grace, maybe at first it was all of self and none of Thee. Then, it was some of self and some of Thee. Then it was less of self and more of Thee. But now, God grant it, it is none of self and all of Thee.”
- Consider why we should be filled with the Spirit.
The result is…
A. Joyful worship
...speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord... (Ephesians 5:19)
B. Harmonious fellowship
...speaking to one another ...not speaking against one another.
...submitting to one another in the fear of God. (Ephesians 5:21)
C. Godly homes (Ephesians 5:22-6:4)
D. Christ-like character
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
E. Empowered service
i. It transformed the disciples’ preaching/teaching.
And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31; cf. 2:4; 4:8,31;6:3, 5; 7:55; 9:17;11:24; 13:9)
ii. It was a prerequisite for serving as a deacon (Phillip).
Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business... (Acts 6:3)
iii. It enabled Steven to be faithful till his death.
But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God...And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (Acts 7:55-59)
F. Inner holiness
Speaking to a large audience, a preacher held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" The preacher replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions the preacher picked up a pitcher of water and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
G. Spiritual victory
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil...Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1-13)
- Consider how we can be “filled with the Spirit.”
A. Desire (to be filled)
A missionary told a seminary class how that during his first term on the field he was assigned a car that wouldn’t start without a push. After pondering this problem, he said that he devised a plan. He went to the school near his house, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. And, he said that he used this ingenious procedure for two years.
When ill health forced him to leave the field a new missionary came to take his place. The departing missionary proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started while the new missionary began looking under the hood. Before he could even finish the explanation, the new missionary interrupted, "Why...I believe the only trouble is this loose cable." The new missionary gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, turned the key, and to the departing missionary’s astonishment, the engine roared to life. For two years needless trouble had become routine. But, the power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept the missionary from putting that power to work.
Until we desire a firm connection with God through surrender to Him, his life and power will be hindered from flowing through us.
B. Devotion (yieldedness)
i. No verse in the Scripture says we have to pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit.
ii. It doesn’t say you can’t pray for the Holy Spirit’s filling, but that must be coupled with a yieldedness to God.
iii. The parallel passage to Ephesians 5:18 says we must be filled with the Word of God.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (Colossians 3:16)
iv. This is significant because it means that as the Word of God dwells in us we yield in obedience to it.
v. Ultimately, the ONLY requirement to be “filled with the Holy Spirit” IS yieldedness to God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)
And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:13)
D. L. Moody was to have a campaign in England. An elderly pastor protested, "Why do we need this 'Mr. Moody'? He's uneducated, inexperienced, etc. Who does he think he is anyway? Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?" A younger, wiser pastor rose and responded, "No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on Mr. Moody."
That’s what it means (a monopoly on you) to be “filled with the Spirit.” It’s not how much of the Holy Spirit you have, but how much of you the Holy Spirit has.
Action Steps:
- Get alone with God and let Him empty your heart of those things that hinder His control.
- Stop trying harder and start trusting more that God will do His work/will through you.
- Yield yourself daily to the Holy Spirit’s dominance, letting your life be more of Him and less of you.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Consider This...
For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT)
There are several things in this verse worthy of consideration, but focus carefully on the purpose statement in the middle of the verse. We live to please One and any confusion on that point makes you a "person with divided loyalty" and " as unsettled as a wave of the sea..." (James 1:6)
There are several things in this verse worthy of consideration, but focus carefully on the purpose statement in the middle of the verse. We live to please One and any confusion on that point makes you a "person with divided loyalty" and " as unsettled as a wave of the sea..." (James 1:6)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Consider This...
I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to do it with paper and ink. For I hope to visit you soon and talk with you face to face. Then our joy will be complete. (2 John 1:12 NLT)
I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face. (3 John 1:13, 14 NLT)
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, blogs, etc., etc., can all be wonderful tools of communication, but they will never replace the value of sharing life “face to face.” John understood that “paper [pen] and ink” (first century technology) were necessary to communicate at times, but he further indicated that only being with his readers could make his “joy...complete." We are becoming an increasingly isolated society projecting a “virtual image” of ourselves rather than building meaningful and authentic relationships in community. It’s time we placed some limits on our computer time, stopped texting for awhile, turned off the video games, and started sharing “real life” with our family and friends.
I have much more to say to you, but I don’t want to write it with pen and ink. For I hope to see you soon, and then we will talk face to face. (3 John 1:13, 14 NLT)
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, blogs, etc., etc., can all be wonderful tools of communication, but they will never replace the value of sharing life “face to face.” John understood that “paper [pen] and ink” (first century technology) were necessary to communicate at times, but he further indicated that only being with his readers could make his “joy...complete." We are becoming an increasingly isolated society projecting a “virtual image” of ourselves rather than building meaningful and authentic relationships in community. It’s time we placed some limits on our computer time, stopped texting for awhile, turned off the video games, and started sharing “real life” with our family and friends.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Consider This...
I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. (Psalm 120:1 NLT)
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Consider This...
But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. (1 Kings 12:8 NLT)
Wisdom isn't the sole domain of the aged, nor foolishness the sole domain of youth. But, one of the facts demonstrated repeatedly in Scripture is that the aged are to be honored and their insights heard. If you dismiss the advice of the old guard just because the new guard says they have a better idea you might want to refresh your memory about how this story turns out.
Wisdom isn't the sole domain of the aged, nor foolishness the sole domain of youth. But, one of the facts demonstrated repeatedly in Scripture is that the aged are to be honored and their insights heard. If you dismiss the advice of the old guard just because the new guard says they have a better idea you might want to refresh your memory about how this story turns out.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Consider This...
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. (James 1:27 NLT)
This isn't an exhaustive list defining "pure and genuine religion," but it is a pretty good place to start. Have you noticed that just about everybody agrees with the value of the first part of the verse, though the last part doesn't get nearly as much attention?
This isn't an exhaustive list defining "pure and genuine religion," but it is a pretty good place to start. Have you noticed that just about everybody agrees with the value of the first part of the verse, though the last part doesn't get nearly as much attention?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
On Fire: Life in the Spirit (Sealing)
Ephesians 1:13-14
Robert Duvall wanted to make a movie in 1983 called The Apostle (Newsweek 4/13/98). He said that he wanted to make The Apostle because he felt that the motion picture industry had mostly ignored the work of the Holy Spirit in American religion. According to Duvall, "Filmmakers hardly ever depict spirituality with such a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit, and when they do, it tends to be patronizing--full of charlatans and snake handlers." Duvall said he wanted to do something different with The Apostle; he wanted to realistically portray a preacher who was fully human yet also captivated by the Holy Spirit. According to Duvall, "What I really wanted to do was to try to understand what these preachers go through and what they believe, and to portray it in an accurate way. So when I first approached various studios about this movie...they wouldn’t go near it [because it didn’t attack] the religious right." So Duvall put off The Apostle for nearly 15 years and ultimately financed the movie with his own money. That led to an enormously popular movie that earned him an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of preacher Sonny Dewey.
Duvall said that he was raised in a Christian home, taught to believe in Jesus Christ, but that he never knew much about the Holy Spirit until he made The Apostle. While he was doing research for the movie he says that he tried to not pass judgment, to just try to understand how the Holy Spirit moves, and that during his research for the movie, as he sat in a church in Harlem, the Holy Spirit touched his life in a way he’ll never forget.
It was reported that Robert Duvall’s movie The Apostle made the Holy Spirit mainstream to the American public. In fact, after The Apostle came out, Newsweek devoted an entire article to the resurgence of the Holy Spirit in American churches.
The problem is that there is a tremendous amount of confusion and controversy about the work of the Holy Spirit today. A generation ago A. W. Tozer wrote that when the average Christian thinks about the Holy Spirit "he is likely to imagine a nebulous substance like a wisp of invisible smoke which is said to be present in churches and to hover over good people when they die" (A Treasury of A. W. Tozer, p. 41).
I think he’s right and that’s the reason we are taking a few weeks to consider what it means to be “On Fire” with “Life in the Spirit.”
Before we look at the specific truth about the Holy Spirit we are considering, first look briefly at the treasure trove of spiritual blessings that should be appreciated by every believer in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-14 is a compact statement of the riches all believers enjoy: election - 4; predestination - 5,11; adoption - 5; grace - 6,7; redemption - 7; forgiveness - 7; knowledge - 9; sealing - 13; inheritance - 11,14; glorification - 14.
When we read all of these things that God has done for us how can we not be the most thankful people on earth? To think that God would love us enough to do all of this on our behalf to make us His children and give us what we really do not deserve is impossible to fully comprehend. We SHOULD be the most excited people on the planet.
Excited...like one family whose story I recently read. Anthony Cornist was a graduating senior that was used to hearing the cheering crowds as the second leading tackler on his football team. But, when Anthony walked across the stage at his high school graduation, his family’s cheers got an unexpected response.
Apparently, in addition to his family cheering for him there were "teachers, other students and other family members...cheering for him also," said his mother.
The excitement proved too much for the administration and instead of giving him his diploma, Anthony got a letter from the principal stating, "I will be holding your diploma in the main office due to the excessive cheering your guests displayed during the roll call."
Anthony couldn’t believe what he was reading. He said, "I did nothing wrong except walk across the stage." Whether his family and friends were out of line for cheering as he received his diploma I suppose could be debated, but Christians ought to get excited about the things God has done in their lives and God is pleased when they do.
Among these incredible spiritual blessings God listed in this passage is a specific work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. It’s just one aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit, but it’s an important doctrinal aspect that gives followers of Jesus a sense of security in their relationship with God.
Before looking at this one specific work and what it means for us...consider the four main works of the Holy Spirit in our salvation:
There is...
1. the regeneration of the Holy Spirit...refers to Him making us spiritually alive (“born again”) in Christ...a “new creation.” (Ephesians 2:1; John 3:3-8; 6:63; Titus 3:5)
2. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit...refers to Him taking up residence in every believer. (Romans 8:9; 1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13-14)
3. the baptism of the Holy Spirit...refers to Him placing us into union with Christ and other believers within the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
4. the sealing of the Holy Spirit...refers to His identifying believers as His own and giving them security that they belong to Him. (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22)
All four of these works happen simultaneously (not sequentially), but it’s the last one that I want us to dig into a little bit deeper.
What does it mean when the Scripture says that we’ve been “...sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (1:13)? To consider this truth we need to break down these two verses:
Notice...
Now, a further look at the indwelling/sealing work of the Holy Spirit will help us to understand its significance:
The imagery of the “seal” is from the ancient custom in which personal possessions (i.e., animals, household goods) were marked or stamped to show ownership (similar to the way we brand things today). It was a means of confirming/authenticating that an item was genuine. A seal on a letter or document showed that it was legally valid. People belonging to religious cults were often sealed with marks that bore the image of their god(s). The seal could be placed on things you only wanted opened by the intended recipient and would indicate to the recipient if someone had tampered with the document. In all of these ancient pictures you see the significance that Paul is communicating when he declares that when we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit that He also sealed us.
The Holy Spirit sealing us is the:
There is an imperfect illustration of the importance of the sealing of the Holy Spirit in our lives that I’ve experienced from travelling abroad. If I travel outside the US I have to carry with me at all times my passport. In it is my picture, personal information, passport number, stamps where I have entered different countries or passed through immigration, and other extraneous information. When I’m travelling in another country I keep my passport with me at all times because it’s the proof that that I’m an American citizen, I am authorized to travel abroad, and I have been approved to be in the host country. (Obviously, a passport can be revoked or lost...unlike the Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing us.)
In a similar way, the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives identifies us, certifies us, authenticates us, and assures us that we are God’s children and that we are just visiting in this foreign country awaiting the day Christ will come for us and take us home to all the riches He has prepared for us.
Do you see the importance of understanding that by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we are also sealed until the day of our redemption? And, the only way to have the indwelling/sealing of the Holy Spirit is to trust Christ as your personal Savior!
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (Romans 8:9)
This isn’t a matter of how you feel, but a matter of a scriptural promise God makes to all who trust His Son. And, if you don’t appreciate the significance of the indwelling/sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, you’ll never be able to fully enjoy “life in the Spirit.” He’s there and you need to recognize that He’s there!! Once you’ve done that...really good things can start to happen!
Robert Duvall wanted to make a movie in 1983 called The Apostle (Newsweek 4/13/98). He said that he wanted to make The Apostle because he felt that the motion picture industry had mostly ignored the work of the Holy Spirit in American religion. According to Duvall, "Filmmakers hardly ever depict spirituality with such a strong emphasis on the Holy Spirit, and when they do, it tends to be patronizing--full of charlatans and snake handlers." Duvall said he wanted to do something different with The Apostle; he wanted to realistically portray a preacher who was fully human yet also captivated by the Holy Spirit. According to Duvall, "What I really wanted to do was to try to understand what these preachers go through and what they believe, and to portray it in an accurate way. So when I first approached various studios about this movie...they wouldn’t go near it [because it didn’t attack] the religious right." So Duvall put off The Apostle for nearly 15 years and ultimately financed the movie with his own money. That led to an enormously popular movie that earned him an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of preacher Sonny Dewey.
Duvall said that he was raised in a Christian home, taught to believe in Jesus Christ, but that he never knew much about the Holy Spirit until he made The Apostle. While he was doing research for the movie he says that he tried to not pass judgment, to just try to understand how the Holy Spirit moves, and that during his research for the movie, as he sat in a church in Harlem, the Holy Spirit touched his life in a way he’ll never forget.
It was reported that Robert Duvall’s movie The Apostle made the Holy Spirit mainstream to the American public. In fact, after The Apostle came out, Newsweek devoted an entire article to the resurgence of the Holy Spirit in American churches.
The problem is that there is a tremendous amount of confusion and controversy about the work of the Holy Spirit today. A generation ago A. W. Tozer wrote that when the average Christian thinks about the Holy Spirit "he is likely to imagine a nebulous substance like a wisp of invisible smoke which is said to be present in churches and to hover over good people when they die" (A Treasury of A. W. Tozer, p. 41).
I think he’s right and that’s the reason we are taking a few weeks to consider what it means to be “On Fire” with “Life in the Spirit.”
Before we look at the specific truth about the Holy Spirit we are considering, first look briefly at the treasure trove of spiritual blessings that should be appreciated by every believer in Christ. Ephesians 1:3-14 is a compact statement of the riches all believers enjoy: election - 4; predestination - 5,11; adoption - 5; grace - 6,7; redemption - 7; forgiveness - 7; knowledge - 9; sealing - 13; inheritance - 11,14; glorification - 14.
When we read all of these things that God has done for us how can we not be the most thankful people on earth? To think that God would love us enough to do all of this on our behalf to make us His children and give us what we really do not deserve is impossible to fully comprehend. We SHOULD be the most excited people on the planet.
Excited...like one family whose story I recently read. Anthony Cornist was a graduating senior that was used to hearing the cheering crowds as the second leading tackler on his football team. But, when Anthony walked across the stage at his high school graduation, his family’s cheers got an unexpected response.
Apparently, in addition to his family cheering for him there were "teachers, other students and other family members...cheering for him also," said his mother.
The excitement proved too much for the administration and instead of giving him his diploma, Anthony got a letter from the principal stating, "I will be holding your diploma in the main office due to the excessive cheering your guests displayed during the roll call."
Anthony couldn’t believe what he was reading. He said, "I did nothing wrong except walk across the stage." Whether his family and friends were out of line for cheering as he received his diploma I suppose could be debated, but Christians ought to get excited about the things God has done in their lives and God is pleased when they do.
Among these incredible spiritual blessings God listed in this passage is a specific work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. It’s just one aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit, but it’s an important doctrinal aspect that gives followers of Jesus a sense of security in their relationship with God.
Before looking at this one specific work and what it means for us...consider the four main works of the Holy Spirit in our salvation:
There is...
1. the regeneration of the Holy Spirit...refers to Him making us spiritually alive (“born again”) in Christ...a “new creation.” (Ephesians 2:1; John 3:3-8; 6:63; Titus 3:5)
2. the indwelling of the Holy Spirit...refers to Him taking up residence in every believer. (Romans 8:9; 1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13-14)
3. the baptism of the Holy Spirit...refers to Him placing us into union with Christ and other believers within the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)
4. the sealing of the Holy Spirit...refers to His identifying believers as His own and giving them security that they belong to Him. (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22)
All four of these works happen simultaneously (not sequentially), but it’s the last one that I want us to dig into a little bit deeper.
What does it mean when the Scripture says that we’ve been “...sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (1:13)? To consider this truth we need to break down these two verses:
Notice...
- The Process
Paul lays out how salvation comes to any person: 1. We hear “the word of truth, the gospel...” 2. We believe on Jesus Christ. 3. We are instantaneously and simultaneously indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
- The Pledge
This refers to the indwelling/sealing work of the Holy Spirit. We can call this work a pledge (as it is in several translations), as long as we qualify what we mean. A pledge can be something that is returned when the full payment is made (Genesis 38:17-20). The idea here, though, (ἀρραβών/”guarantee”) is that God has given us a portion of the whole payment that will ultimately be made.
The “guarantee” (or earnest) is literally the “payment of part of a purchase price in advance, first installment, deposit, down payment, pledge (s. Taubenschlag, Law2, 408ff), which secures a legal claim to the article in question, or makes a contract valid...” This “payment...obligates the contracting party to make further payments.” (Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed.) (134). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.)
Eldon Woodcock writes, “Since [God’s] integrity and faithfulness are beyond question, this [“guarantee”] was of course unnecessary as a device to discourage God from changing His mind or not taking His obligation seriously. God graciously led Paul to use imagery that would assure believers of the reality of His guarantee.” (Eldon Woodcock, "The Seal of the Holy Spirit," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:618 [April-June 1998]:p.153)
This idea (pledge/down payment) also includes the thought of “quality” because the person receiving the down payment or pledge looked forward to receiving the full payment with goods of equal quality. In other words, the Holy Spirit is a pledge assuring us that God will fulfill His promise to deliver the remainder of our inheritance in full, which is equally amazing.
When God sent the Holy Spirit to indwell/seal us it was just the beginning of the process that He will ultimately bring to completion. (cf. Philippians 1:6) Until then, we enjoy a little bit of Heaven in our lives right now through His presence in us with the guarantee of much more to come in eternity with Him.
- The Possession
1.) Our possession...an inheritance
Literally: “to dispense, distribute...land received by allotment, hence an inheritance.”
In this context it refers to the believer’s eternal inheritance. The earnest or “guarantee” is only part of our entire inheritance, all of which we will receive in eternity.
Dr. Harold Hoehner says, “We have a little bit of heaven in us, namely, the Holy Spirit’s presence, and a guarantee of a lot more to come in the future.” (Hoehner, Harold, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary, p. 243)
2.) Christ’s possession...His children
In this context God’s “purchased possession” is His children who are eagerly awaiting His return to fully realize the redemption of their bodies (i.e., the resurrection. cf. Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 5:5) The “pledge” guarantees that all of God’s children (His “purchased possession”) will be with Him in eternity and be raised from the dead.
- The Praise
Twice (1:12,14) it is stated that we are saved both now and in the future for “the praise of His glory.” You can always distinguish good and bad theology by who is magnified: God or man!
Now, a further look at the indwelling/sealing work of the Holy Spirit will help us to understand its significance:
The imagery of the “seal” is from the ancient custom in which personal possessions (i.e., animals, household goods) were marked or stamped to show ownership (similar to the way we brand things today). It was a means of confirming/authenticating that an item was genuine. A seal on a letter or document showed that it was legally valid. People belonging to religious cults were often sealed with marks that bore the image of their god(s). The seal could be placed on things you only wanted opened by the intended recipient and would indicate to the recipient if someone had tampered with the document. In all of these ancient pictures you see the significance that Paul is communicating when he declares that when we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit that He also sealed us.
The Holy Spirit sealing us is the:
- ...evidence of a completed transaction.
Even today legal transactions are stamped with an official seal showing the transaction is complete.
- ...promise of eternal security. (Matthew 27:66; Ephesians 4:30)
- ...certificate of spiritual genuineness. (John 3:33; cf. Romans 8:9)
- ...identification of Christ’s ownership. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 1:22; Revelation 7:2; 9:4)
- ...authentication of God’s approval. (John 6:27; cf. Genesis 41:42-44; 1 Kings 21:8; Esther 3:10, 8:8, 10)
There is an imperfect illustration of the importance of the sealing of the Holy Spirit in our lives that I’ve experienced from travelling abroad. If I travel outside the US I have to carry with me at all times my passport. In it is my picture, personal information, passport number, stamps where I have entered different countries or passed through immigration, and other extraneous information. When I’m travelling in another country I keep my passport with me at all times because it’s the proof that that I’m an American citizen, I am authorized to travel abroad, and I have been approved to be in the host country. (Obviously, a passport can be revoked or lost...unlike the Holy Spirit indwelling and sealing us.)
In a similar way, the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives identifies us, certifies us, authenticates us, and assures us that we are God’s children and that we are just visiting in this foreign country awaiting the day Christ will come for us and take us home to all the riches He has prepared for us.
Do you see the importance of understanding that by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we are also sealed until the day of our redemption? And, the only way to have the indwelling/sealing of the Holy Spirit is to trust Christ as your personal Savior!
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. (Romans 8:9)
This isn’t a matter of how you feel, but a matter of a scriptural promise God makes to all who trust His Son. And, if you don’t appreciate the significance of the indwelling/sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit, you’ll never be able to fully enjoy “life in the Spirit.” He’s there and you need to recognize that He’s there!! Once you’ve done that...really good things can start to happen!
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