Grace and Truth
Bible Ministries

The Church Age believer's spiritual life requires the filling of the Spirit and Bible Doctrine

We are presently examining just what is the precedence for the spiritual life of the church age believer and we are making the case that the precedence was established by TLJC in his unglorified humanity during his life on this earth at the beginning of the hypostatic union.

We saw that Precedence is defined as: (1) an earlier occurrence of something similar; (2) something done or said that may serve as an example or rule to authorize or justify a subsequent act of the same or an analogous kind (3) a verdict that had no precedent (4) the convention established by such a precedent or by long practice or (5) a person or thing that serves as a model.

When we finished last time we were discussing the fact that without the filling of the Holy Spirit, the believer would not have contentment, a personal sense of destiny, or occupation with Christ, and therefore, no tranquility in life in time on this planet while in the devil's world but not of it.

Under the law of volitional responsibility, the grieving and quenching of the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of self-induced misery.

Because of this there are eight principles of unhappiness that result from failure to be filled with the Spirit.

If you are not content with what you have now, you will never be content with what you will have in the future.

Contentment is based on the filling of the Holy Spirit and inculcation of Bible doctrine. Bible Doctrine and the filling of the Holy Spirit are the "sine qua non" of Contentment.

Contentment is based on capacity for life that comes from Bible doctrine and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Contentment is not based on one's environment or any system of overt human prosperity, wealth, or success.

If the believer persists in discontentment it becomes malcontentment. Even if every wish, dream, and desire of the soul was provided for the believer, without the filling of the Spirit and Bible doctrine, it would not be enough for the believer to have contentment.

The only true happiness in life comes from capacity for life. Capacity for life and happiness depends on the filling of the Holy Spirit and cognition of Bible doctrine because "The fruit (or production) of the Spirit is joy (happiness). Gal 5:22;

God provides capacity for life and happiness at each stage of the believer's spiritual advance and growth through the filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine in the believer's soul.

Progress in the protocol plan of God means that the filling of the Holy Spirit balances the capacity for what the believer has with the enjoyment of what they have.

By the age of accountability, God gives every human being free volition that provides everyone with options for life.

Everyone has the option to believe in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation or spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. John 3:18, 36.

Every believer has the option of making Bible doctrine their highest priority in life or to live life in ignorance of doctrine. John 8:31-32;

Ignorance is the number one problem of for believers. Hosea 4:6;

Every believer has the option to get under the ministry of a pastor who teaches Bible doctrine and learn the spiritual skills including he filling of the Spirit, cognition of doctrine, execution of the protocol plan of God, or live a life of confusion and failure to glorify God because they have not learned necessary spiritual skills.

Believers in their new identity from second birth are not designed to live without doctrine. Bible Doctrine is the nourishment that is required for spiritual growth. Jer 15:16;

Every believer has the option to learn and use the problem solving devices of the protocol plan of God or live a life of misery and unhappiness a life without capacity for life without them.

Every believer has the option of dieing well under dying grace with the PSD's or to die the sin that leads to death under dying discipline without them.

Just as TLJC was permanently indwelt by the spirit so is the Church age believer, TLJC was always filled with the Spirit but believers are only filled with the spirit intermittently because of their fallen state.


Because of this, the distinction between the indwelling and the filling of the Holy Spirit must be understood.

The indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit are not the same, and are basically unrelated.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit functions inside the human body and is permanent. The filling of the Spirit functions inside the human spirit and is temporary.

The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is to provide a temple in our bodies for the indwelling of Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory.

Paul teaches that the indwelling of the Spirit is related to the believer's body in 1Cor 3:16; 1Cor 6:19-20 and 2Cor 6:16.

The fact that TLJC indwells our bodies as the Shekinah Glory, is a guarantee of blessing. He could not indwell our bodies where the OSN resides unless God the Holy Spirit provided a temple for Him so the Holy Spirit has built a temple in the believer's body at the point of their new birth for the residence of God the Son.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is Godward, permanent, and not affected by the experiential status of the believer weather it is carnality or spirituality.

The Holy Spirit always indwells the believer so the difference between being carnal and spiritual is the filling of the Spirit, not the indwelling of the Spirit.

When the words anointing or unction are used to describe the work of the Spirit it is a reference to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, not the filling or baptism of the Spirit.

The baptism and indwelling of the Holy Spirit breaks the old sin nature's rule over the believer positionally, Col 2:9-14; the filling of the Holy Spirit breaks the old sin nature's rule over the believer experientially. Gal 5:17-18.;

The filling of the Holy Spirit is related to the believer functioning in God's power system and the control of the believer's soul by God the Holy Spirit.

When the believer's soul is controlled by the Holy Spirit, the believer is described as being spiritual or filled with the Spirit.

When the believer is residing inside God's power system, that believer is filled with the Spirit.

The Filling of the Spirit relates to the believer's soul and the availability of God's power for life and circumstances.

The purpose for the filling of the Holy Spirit is to provide enabling power for the execution of the protocol plan of God through consistent cognition of Bible doctrine.

Just as the enabling power of the Holy Spirit is necessary for common and efficacious grace in salvation, so the enabling power of the Holy Spirit is necessary for the cognition of doctrine and execution of the protocol plan of God.

We cannot do anything in God's plan apart from the filling of the Spirit. This is why the believer is to obey the command found in Col 3:6; "as you received TLJC so walk in him"

The filling of the Spirit is manward and temporary, depending on whether the believer is in or out of fellowship, and whether the Holy Spirit or the OSN controls the believer's soul.

Post salvation sinning removes the believer from God's power system where they are no longer filled with the Spirit.

The acknowledgement of known sin per 1John 1:9 is the recovery procedure whereby the believer reenters recovers the filling of the Spirit and reenters God's power system.

The filling of the Holy Spirit is the enabling power of God, which combines with Bible doctrine as God's provision for the execution of God's plan, will, and purpose for every believer.

Since God is perfect, His plan is perfect; but His plan demands perfect power for its execution. God provides that perfect power through the filling of the Holy Spirit and metabolized Bible Doctrine.

There are two basic experiential concepts whereby the protocol plan of God is executed.

The absolute concept or the filling of the Spirit and the relative concept which is spiritual momentum, spiritual growth from perception, metabolization, and application of doctrine.

When believers do not use acknowledgement of sin to recover from the state of carnality they resort to developing a system of pseudo spirituality and attempt to compensate by trying to use human power to be spiritual.

The filling of the Spirit however, is not the work of man; it is the work of God. It is the only means whereby believers can utilize the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit to execute the protocol plan of God

Some synonyms for the filling of the Spirit that are used in the Bible are:

Using Paul's vocabulary, Gal 5:16, "Walk by means of the Spirit." Eph 5:18, "Be filled with the Spirit."

Using John's vocabulary, 1John 1:7, "walking in the light."

Using Peter's vocabulary, 2Pet 1:4, "partakers of the divine nature."

Confidence regarding the filling of the Spirit only comes from the knowledge of and belief in the appropriate doctrine, 1 John 2:20-21; 1John 3:20-21.

 

© Copyright 2007, Michael Lemmon Bible Ministries. World Rights Reserved.  This document was created on 8/9/2009