by R. L. Morrison

Many scriptures state that God has given the Holy Spirit to obedient believers. The gift of the Spirit was promised in the first sermon by the apostles (Acts 2:38-39). The disciples whom Paul and Barnabus left behind when they were expelled from Antioch of Pisidia were said to "be filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost" (Acts 13:52). Paul asked the twelve he found at Ephesus, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" (Acts 19:2). He asked the Galatians, "Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Gal. 3:2). In writing to those of Thessalonica, Paul referred to "God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 4:8). James tells us: "Do you think the scripture saith in vain, the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?" (James 4:5). These scriptures state that God gives the Spirit to indwell the obedient believer. Our purpose now is to learn how the Spirit dwells in man.

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). Notice this command given by an inspired apostle. It places the responsibility of "being filled with the Spirit" upon those who hear him. There is a strong contrast in the passage. Be NOT filled with wine, RATHER be filled with the Spirit! He tells them not to do something we know they could have done: fill themselves with wine. No one believes that God would fill them with wine. Rather, he tells them to fill themselves with the Spirit. If this is their responsibility, why think that God will do it for them? Paul wrote to the Galatians saying, "One can walk after the flesh, or after the Spirit" (Gal. 6:7-8). Does he not suggest the same here? Who is sowing to the flesh or to the Spirit? The answer is obvious!

If these Christians in Ephesus were "filled with the Spirit" previously, Paul's exhortation would have been superfluous. Some of them were lacking in this fullness. If it was possible for this to be true in Ephesus, is it not also possible for it to be true of Christians now? If such be the case, then this exhortation of Paul is as forceful to us today as it was then.

"If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Rom. 8:9). If God gives the Spirit, and man has no responsibility in receiving it, how could a man be accountable for not being filled with the Spirit? True, the Spirit was promised to obedient believers, but all the passages we have referred to were written to obedient believers.

The words and deeds of a man are the result of a "heart condition." They are also the fruit that he bears in life: works of the flesh, or fruits of the Spirit. Jesus spoke of this: "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things" (Matt. 12:34-35). "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mark 7:20-23). Jesus said these things come from the heart that is filled with evil, producing after its own kind. In Galatians 5:19-21, Paul repeated this list of sinful practices, calling them the works of the flesh. Then in the two following verses, he names the fruits of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. The contrast is great, but both spring from the same source: the heart of man. What one bears depends upon the conditions of his heart.

Paul exhorted the Ephesians to be "filled with the Spirit." How is this to be done? You will remember that he had warned them to be not filled with wine. He uses this figure to illustrate. A man fills himself with wine by drinking it. Now consider Jesus' teaching the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well: "If thou knowest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." And: "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:10,14). Jesus spoke of his teaching which, when received into the heart, results in the fruit of the Spirit in life, and everlasting life in eternity to come. Jesus used the figure of water and drinking to help her (and us) to understand. Paul used the same figure later for the same purpose: "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:13).

Again, one fills himself with wine by drinking it (material realm). In the spiritual realm, one fills his heart with the spirit by "drinking" of the Spirit, or receiving the spiritual things, the word, in his heart. But as man is not forced to drink the wine, he is not forced to partake of the Spirit. Each of those who do so, whether of wine or the Spirit, does it of his own volition, the desire of his own heart.

Man can provide his own wine, but God has provided that which will completely satisfy man's spiritual appetite. The scriptures provide us with all things which pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3); they are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; they will make the man of God perfect or mature (2 Tim. 3:16-17). James refers to the gospel as the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls, as the perfect law of liberty (James 1:21,25). Paul, in Colossians 1:9-11, wrote, "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness."

If members of the church today would "drink deeply" of the water of life, the results would probably be amazing. We study all kinds of other things, gain considerable knowledge of things of the world, such as sports. But too many spend too little time acquiring knowledge of things eternal. Is it because we do not realize that the things of this world pass away? Is it because we do not understand the great value of that which will not pass away (the word of the Lord)? Are our hearts so filled with things of the world we have no place for things spiritual? Remember, the fruit we bear is the result of what is in the heart! We know how to gain the knowledge of the world. We apply ourselves, we study, we listen, and remember. Is there any other way to fill our hearts with the knowledge of God?

Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17). There is no other way to obtain it. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). But the faith that saves requires more than just hearing. It requires obedience. Faith is made perfect in obedience. When one obeys, he receives Christ, and the Spirit. For these to continue to dwell in one, that faith must be active continually. Paul said Christ dwells in your heart by faith (Eph. 3:17). He also wrote, "Be filled with the Spirit" to the same people. James wrote, "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:20).

But the question is asked, "How does the Spirit dwell in one? How does Christ live in me? Is it in person?" Christ is a person. The Holy Spirit is a person, a being. Do they, as such, inhabit the physical body of every child of God? In 2 Corinthians 7:3, Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, "Ye are in our hearts." He also said to the Philippians, "Ye are in our hearts" (Phil. 1:7). Here were many people, in different places, whom, Paul said, were in his heart. They were not there in person, but in affection, in his attitude toward them, his love for them. In the same way, God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit dwell in the heart of the Christian. It is by faith. "Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead; and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2-3). When we learn to bring our own will into obedience to the will of God, by placing the word in our hearts, we will bear the fruits of the Spirit by faith, and if we continue, we shall receive the end of our faith, the incorruptible inheritance that fadeth not away.

Are you filled with the Spirit?