Spirit-Filled Life
Are you living a Spirit-filled life? Many today are misinformed about how the Spirit makes His presence known in the church. Many view the ministry of the Spirit through an Old Covenant lens rather than a New Covenant lens. Do you know the difference?
Recently, I heard a well-known pastor / christian artist speaking on how God uses the church to bring us into His presence. Passionately he explained to the congregates: “God shows up where two or three are gathered in His name. Praise offers heaven an invitation that it can’t refuse. When you come together into an atmosphere like this and you glorify God, He moves into the room. And when He moves into the room, He moves on purpose. He comes to change lives.” -Tauren Wells
Did this pastor give the congregation a New Covenant or an Old Covenant view of how the Spirit makes His presence evident in the church? Perhaps unwittingly, this well-intentioned pastor presented an Old Covenant understanding of the presence of God. Under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit, who makes Christ’s presence known, doesn’t change lives by filling a room, but by filling the lives of surrendered believers. The New Covenant command is not for believers to seek the Spirit to fill a room. The New Covenant command is for believers to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
The Apostle Paul explained in Ephesians 5:18-21, that in addition to surrendering to the witness/control of the Spirit, and speaking/singing to one another of the wonders of Christ, living a Spirit filled life involves submitting to the wisdom of the saints. (Click here for the full sermon). Concerning the characteristics of the Spirit-filled life, Paul continues in verse 21: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
In essence, the Spirit-filled life, according to Ephesians 5:1-3, is a life that shows forth the compelling love of Jesus. Because of the love of Jesus, He submitted Himself to the will of His Father and He became flesh to serve man by ultimately dying on the cross on our behalf.
Likewise, Spirit-filled believers submit to God by submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ and in service to His cause. Spirit-filled Christians don’t think they know it all. They have an accurate assessment of themselves in view of the mercies of God in Christ (Romans 12:1-3). They understand that a commitment to Christ is a commitment to other believers so that together we might spread the glory of Christ in the world. To live a Spirit-filled life, as Daniel Henderson explains, “There must be a willingness in the Christian fellowship to serve any, to learn from any, to be corrected by any, regardless of age, sex, class, or any other division.”
Recently, I heard a pastor share a helpful illustration about the importance of mutual submission and cooperation among believers. As he was delivering his sermon, he opened up a package containing 6 guitar strings. He went on to explain that on their own, guitar strings cannot serve the purpose they were made for. They must be connected to a guitar. A guitar has a head stock, where a guitarist tunes his guitar and a body where the sound hole is located. To serve the purpose they were designed to operate in, guitar strings must be attached not only to the head stock, but also to the body.
Many believers want to be attached to Christ, but they don’t want to be connected to the body of Christ, which is the church, especially if that means getting stretched. But like guitar strings must be attached to both the head stock and the body, believers also must be willing, out of love and reverence for Christ, to be attached and connected.
There are different sounds guitar strings make when they are stretched. When they are stretched and in tune, they make beautiful music in the hands of a guitarist. Moreover, in order to make harmonious music, the strings must be stretched until there is tension. Without tension, the strings will not fulfill the purpose for which they were designed. The reason a guitar string can make a sound is because it’s held in tension.
“You know what we experience when we are connected to the head which is Christ and to the body which is the church? Tension!” Many Christians do not want connection and attachment because they don’t want tension. But, as the preacher said, “until there is tension, you cannot discover God’s intention for you.” -Tauren Wells
What if we were comfortable being connected wherever God would have us be connected? What if we weren’t fighting about who gets to play which note? What if we put aside our preferences, our desires to be served, and our stubborn pride, and instead submit to one another and serve one another out of reverence for Christ? What if we were patient with one another and forgiving? What if we didn’t give up on one another when relationships get difficult and stayed committed to one another for the sake of Christ and His cause?
If we cut and run when things get tense, when our faith gets tested, the difference only Christ can make in our lives will not be seen and known. But “if you’re willing to put your life in tension, you will realize a beautiful melody can come from your life” and the life of those you’re attached to. Held in tension together by the love of the Spirit, we can show forth the praise of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
Beloved, if you’ve trusted Christ as Savior and Lord, He lives in you in the person and power of the Holy Spirit. And His life will be manifested in us and through us as we live a Spirit-filled life. We don’t need the Spirit to fall on us from the outside in, but to fill us from the inside out.
We live the Spirit-filled life not by seeking an inflow of the Spirit, but by experiencing a continual outflow of the Spirit as we fully surrender to His indwelling presence and live in mutual service and submission in the body of Christ.
May we be willing for our faith to be stretched in submission to Christ and one another so that together we realize the melody and harmony that only Jesus can produce in our lives to the glory of His name.
In your service,
Pastor Marco
Recently, I heard a well-known pastor / christian artist speaking on how God uses the church to bring us into His presence. Passionately he explained to the congregates: “God shows up where two or three are gathered in His name. Praise offers heaven an invitation that it can’t refuse. When you come together into an atmosphere like this and you glorify God, He moves into the room. And when He moves into the room, He moves on purpose. He comes to change lives.” -Tauren Wells
Did this pastor give the congregation a New Covenant or an Old Covenant view of how the Spirit makes His presence evident in the church? Perhaps unwittingly, this well-intentioned pastor presented an Old Covenant understanding of the presence of God. Under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit, who makes Christ’s presence known, doesn’t change lives by filling a room, but by filling the lives of surrendered believers. The New Covenant command is not for believers to seek the Spirit to fill a room. The New Covenant command is for believers to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
The Apostle Paul explained in Ephesians 5:18-21, that in addition to surrendering to the witness/control of the Spirit, and speaking/singing to one another of the wonders of Christ, living a Spirit filled life involves submitting to the wisdom of the saints. (Click here for the full sermon). Concerning the characteristics of the Spirit-filled life, Paul continues in verse 21: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
In essence, the Spirit-filled life, according to Ephesians 5:1-3, is a life that shows forth the compelling love of Jesus. Because of the love of Jesus, He submitted Himself to the will of His Father and He became flesh to serve man by ultimately dying on the cross on our behalf.
Likewise, Spirit-filled believers submit to God by submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ and in service to His cause. Spirit-filled Christians don’t think they know it all. They have an accurate assessment of themselves in view of the mercies of God in Christ (Romans 12:1-3). They understand that a commitment to Christ is a commitment to other believers so that together we might spread the glory of Christ in the world. To live a Spirit-filled life, as Daniel Henderson explains, “There must be a willingness in the Christian fellowship to serve any, to learn from any, to be corrected by any, regardless of age, sex, class, or any other division.”
Recently, I heard a pastor share a helpful illustration about the importance of mutual submission and cooperation among believers. As he was delivering his sermon, he opened up a package containing 6 guitar strings. He went on to explain that on their own, guitar strings cannot serve the purpose they were made for. They must be connected to a guitar. A guitar has a head stock, where a guitarist tunes his guitar and a body where the sound hole is located. To serve the purpose they were designed to operate in, guitar strings must be attached not only to the head stock, but also to the body.
Many believers want to be attached to Christ, but they don’t want to be connected to the body of Christ, which is the church, especially if that means getting stretched. But like guitar strings must be attached to both the head stock and the body, believers also must be willing, out of love and reverence for Christ, to be attached and connected.
There are different sounds guitar strings make when they are stretched. When they are stretched and in tune, they make beautiful music in the hands of a guitarist. Moreover, in order to make harmonious music, the strings must be stretched until there is tension. Without tension, the strings will not fulfill the purpose for which they were designed. The reason a guitar string can make a sound is because it’s held in tension.
“You know what we experience when we are connected to the head which is Christ and to the body which is the church? Tension!” Many Christians do not want connection and attachment because they don’t want tension. But, as the preacher said, “until there is tension, you cannot discover God’s intention for you.” -Tauren Wells
What if we were comfortable being connected wherever God would have us be connected? What if we weren’t fighting about who gets to play which note? What if we put aside our preferences, our desires to be served, and our stubborn pride, and instead submit to one another and serve one another out of reverence for Christ? What if we were patient with one another and forgiving? What if we didn’t give up on one another when relationships get difficult and stayed committed to one another for the sake of Christ and His cause?
If we cut and run when things get tense, when our faith gets tested, the difference only Christ can make in our lives will not be seen and known. But “if you’re willing to put your life in tension, you will realize a beautiful melody can come from your life” and the life of those you’re attached to. Held in tension together by the love of the Spirit, we can show forth the praise of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
Beloved, if you’ve trusted Christ as Savior and Lord, He lives in you in the person and power of the Holy Spirit. And His life will be manifested in us and through us as we live a Spirit-filled life. We don’t need the Spirit to fall on us from the outside in, but to fill us from the inside out.
We live the Spirit-filled life not by seeking an inflow of the Spirit, but by experiencing a continual outflow of the Spirit as we fully surrender to His indwelling presence and live in mutual service and submission in the body of Christ.
May we be willing for our faith to be stretched in submission to Christ and one another so that together we realize the melody and harmony that only Jesus can produce in our lives to the glory of His name.
In your service,
Pastor Marco