22 - HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT
September 25, 1960
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
Ephesians 5: 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
First of all, we told you why you need to be filled with the Spirit—because you are a soulish individual with the spirit completely corrupted, so God gives you a new nature that makes you in touch with Him. Then, secondly, we told you that the filling of the Spirit is different under the body of Christ, the Church, then it is during the earthly kingdom. There He will come and utterly possess and control the individual and cause the person to do God’s will. But in the Body of Christ, this present age, He comes to take up His abode in the body, and He is a helper. During the Kingdom, it is called the pouring out of the Spirit, now it is just that we receive the Holy Spirit to dwell in our bodies.
It is also called the baptism of the Holy Spirit when Jesus Christ would baptize men into the Holy Spirit, that is not for our day and age. Right now, according to Galatians 3: 26, 27 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
1/ We are baptized into Christ, and Ephesians 4: 5 says there is One Lord, one faith, one baptism. There is not the baptism into the Holy Spirit today, but the baptism into Christ.
2/ Now we must face the question, what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Every child of God, everyone who is saved, possesses the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit here wants to do something for him. It is not something that can be worked up or prayed down. It is something that the Holy Spirit wants to do for you.
3/ The first step to take in understanding being filled with the Spirit, one must turn to Colossians 3: 16 There we read, Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Notice, the effect here of the Word of Christ dwelling richly in your souls. Then turn back to Ephesians and read these words again. Do you not observe that there are exactly the same results in Colossians when the Word of Christ dwells in you richly as you get in Ephesians when you are filled with the Spirit. What does this mean. There is an old rule in mathematics that things equal to the same thing are equal to each other. To be filled with the Word is equal in result to being filled with the Holy Spirit…it should be clear, and this is most important, that the Word-filled Christian is the Spirit-filled Christian.
4/ But then you can go beyond that and get proof of that from this portion of Scripture. Ephesians 5: 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; To be filled with the Spirit. Fill is a passive verb and it is followed by the dative case, and the dative case means action, and it indicates the one who is to do the filling. If it were a passive verb, followed by the genitive case, it would then show possession, and it would indicate with what the vessel is being filled. In other words, the Holy Spirit. So, it is not a matter that we are filled with the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit does the action. He does the filling. He is the agent, whereby we are filled. With what does He fill us? He fills us with the Word of God. So being filled with the Spirit is not some mystical, emotional, hysterical experience, but it is a matter that we study the Word, and the Holy Spirit takes the Word and He fills us with the Word. We can’t understand the Word apart from the Holy Spirit and when we study it and if we try to understand it, and we do it under the direction of the Holy Spirit, He fills us with the Word.
5/ I Corinthians 2: 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. He that is spiritual. Now to be spiritual you must be filled with the Holy Spirit….I am sure you will recognize that. Judgeth all things, or discerneth all things. In other words, is understood. The Spiritual man judgeth, discerneth, understandeth all things. How does he do that? The context of this whole I Corinthians 2 is about the Word of God. He is spiritual because he understands the Word of God under the prompting and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
6/ Notice, I Corinthians 2: 9 It is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him. He is not talking about things right here on earth. What does God expect of me, what does God want me to do? How do I know about God? It is not natural for me to know that, because the 10th verse tells me that God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit. How has He done that? Through the Word. So to be spiritual, or to be filled with the Spirit, means that the Holy Spirit takes the Word and fills us.
7/ Let us notice the difference between being spiritual land being carnal, being Spirit-filled and not being Spirit-filled. That was the trouble with the church at Corinth.
I Corinthians 3: 1, 2 He said, I cannot speak unto you as spiritual, but as unto carnal. You are just as babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk and not with meat, because you are not able to bear it, even at this present time. You can never be filled with the Spirit until you are filled with the Word. This is a perfectly logical conclusion to come to. Notice II Timothy 3: 16, 17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.This comes by the Word, and of course the Word means nothing unless it is spiritually taught to us.
8/ Now, all of this is logical. How does Paul do this? Paul says we do this? The Holy Spirit that has been given to us as an agent takes the Word of God and teaches us through our minds—Not some emotional experience, not some fanatical outburst. All of this is logical. Right in conjunction with this is a portion of Scripture that has come to mean so much to me it is in Romans 8: 18 where Paul says…For I reckon…that word, reckon, means estimate. It means a mathematical calculation, it means a studied conclusion, it means a shrewd observation. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Paul says, I have used my mind. The Holy Spirit has revealed something to me, and He has revealed it to me so that I have come to a real studied conclusion that the things that I am suffering right now can’t be compared with the things that will be revealed in us. And, so it is. What we have, is logical.
9/ II Corinthians 10: 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; Here we have to bring into captivity, every thought, so that the Word of Christ may dwell in our hearts richly, so to be filled with the Spirit, means that we study the Word of God, allow the Holy Spirit to teach it to us, and then through our minds we let our minds be billed with the Word. This same thing is brought out to us in Colossians 3: 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Set your affection, your minds on things above. How do you do that? Only through the Word of God. In other words, up your mind to heavenly things through the Word of God. Bring into captivity every thought, and then you will know what it means to be Spirit-filled.
10/ Then notice the clinching argument to it all. II Timothy 3: 16, 17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Here where He says, all scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and you’ll notice it is talking about inspiration. That the man of God may be perfect, complete, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
11/ Now being filled with the Spirit will produce certain results, and we have here in Ephesians what will happen when we are Spirit-filled or filled with the Word by the Spirit. Let us now study the results of being filled with the Spirit Ephesians 5: 19, 20 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord: 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; This should be translated, speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, rather than speaking to yourselves. Thus, we are to communicate one with another in spiritual songs. Oh, what a great part singing should have in the believer’s life—In the life of the body of Christ the assembly here on earth. I am always careful of someone who doesn’t care to sing. He doesn’t love to burst forth in song. Perhaps he doesn’t have any ability as a singer, but he loves to sing.
12/ James 5: 13 Is any among you afflicted? Let him ray. Is any merry? Let him sing psalms. Is any merry? Let him sing songs. I am sure that is clear that a great part of the early church in worship consisted of singing. In like manner, the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples sang a hymn at the last supper. Matthew 26: 30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Do you realize that Christian music is the only music that is predominantly in the major key? Which depicts joy, freedom, life, happiness instead of sorrow, gloom, hopelessness. Listen to most of the songs of the day, the silly rock ‘n’ roll and how it is filled with a mournful note. I am told that in England they had to ban a song because the teenagers were rollicking in it, and thriving in tit. It was a song that glorified a youngster that died a violent death in a flaming automobile accident. Our singing should bill our hearts and it should be filled with the Word again.
13/ Notice that it is both singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. We cannot all make melody on a musical instrument. Some of us would never be able to produce a melody if it depended upon a musical instrument. But every believer’s heart is like a harp, and the Spirit of God breathes over the harp strings and real melody goes up to the ear of God. Then notice, we’re to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. What is the difference? A hymn is usually addressed to God. Something like, “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” or “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” or “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty” or “I Am Thine O, Lord, Have Thy way O, Lord, Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.” Then we come to a psalm, a psalm is just a psalm set to music. Then spiritual songs—songs of praise. Example, a song of testimony, what the Lord has done for you—"Love lifted me….when nothing else could help, love lifted me.” Or, “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.” And then, “Alas, and did my Saviour bleed, and did my Sovereign die.” Or, it could be a song of admonition, ”Trust and obey for there is no other way.” So, our hearts should not be filled with the songs of the world, but the songs of God. One who is filled with the Word by the Holy Spirit will be one who will sing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ.
14/ Then, a Spirit-filled believer, will be a thankful believer. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you say, there are some things I cannot give thanks for. There are some things so hard…too difficult to bear. There are some things that just tear my heart and soul apart. Have you ever undergone a serious physical operation and as a result of that operation you were delivered from something that was wearing you out? When you are undergoing the operation it is pretty hard to give thanks to God, but when it is all over and the surgeon’s knife has been a means of release from a physical illness, you can give thanks for the very suffering that you had to endure because of the blessed after-results.
AMEN
Ref: 09/25/1960 / 22 - HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT / 4/29/2020
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