Lesson 76 October 26, 2003

(3) In Eph. 3:16-19 Paul prays that we may be able to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ with the result that we may "be filled up to (plhrow eij) all the fulness (plhrwma) of God" (NASV), i.e., that we may attain to His full character, or Godlikeness.

(4) In Eph. 4:10 the Lord Jesus is said to have "descended" (become incarnate) for the express purpose "that He might fill all things".

(5) In 4:13 the goal of giving gifted men to the Church to equip the saints is that we all might attain to the maturity exemplified by "the fullness of Christ".

(6) With the development of the theme of "filling" as seen in Ephesians, it is therefore far more consistent to take the thought of filling in 5:18 to be the same as that of the other references in the epistle, especially in view of the fact that Paul uses a different Greek expression here than Luke does in his Gospel or Acts to speak of the "filling of the Spirit."

(7) The meaning then of Ephesians 5:18 is that Christ Himself is the unexpressed content of the filling, which is produced by the expressed agency of the Holy Spirit. [pass. voice]

The advantages of this understanding of Eph. 5:18 are obvious:

It puts the focus of the believer's life where it should be--on the Person of Christ.

The best way to glorify the Lord Jesus in this dispensation is for people to be made like Him,

i.e., "to fill them with Christ" (cf. Col. 2:9,10; Gal. 4:19). also John 1:16

Lets examine 2 verses that shed much light on our relationship with the Holy Spirit and His impact on our life! Gal 5:16-17

But I say, walk by the Spirit,

Focus of the phrase is the normal Christian life, being empowered by the Holy Spirit

Then Paul next makes a most profound statement!

"and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."

- evpiqumi,a = indicates a strong desire, craving, a lust; word itself does not indicate whether the desire/craving or lust is good or bad; context is to determine;

- What Paul is saying here is that if your pattern of life, that you live out daily is done so by the means of the Holy Spirit, if He is fully influencing our lives then we will by no means be performing any of these sins, the progeny, the deeds of the flesh.

** When as a believer we choose to sin, we have chosen to 'restrain' the HS.

a. The result is the anthropopathism of 'grief'; 4:30

ie. God the Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with the other members of the Trinity and none of them have ever been unhappy, much less grieved.

b. 'Grief' is the result of broken fellowship;

'restrain' describes the result of the volition shutting down the ministry of the HS,

c. Grieving the Holy Spirit therefore simply indicates that the our ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit is broken, severed, cut off, shut down and the result is distortion of our perception and conclusions that flow out of the sin nature's rule which now dominates the life.

Observations On Galatians 5:16

1. "Walking by the Spirit" describes what is to be the normative pattern of life for the believer in the Church age.

2. This verse documents the fact, the reality, that spirituality [walking by the Spirit] and carnality [lusts of the flesh produced] are mutually exclusive; therefore are absolutes! [no degrees as in maturity]

3. Need to remember that those enslaved by the sin nature, when it rules, cannot please God. Rom 8:8 [mutual exclusivity in context]

4. Paul by his use of the imperative, command to walk by the Spirit, and saying "you," he indicates that the responsibility to ensure that this occurs is directed towards the believer.

5. It is only believers with a frame of reference of truth/doctrine that possess the capacity, the spiritual muscle to habitually conquer the lusts of the sin nature in their life.

6. Implications of walking by the Spirit.

a. It means to be obedient to the truth that the Spirit has revealed.

- He is the Spirit of truth, who will guide us into all truth, John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13

b. More to the point it means to allow God's Word to permeate our lives so that the Holy Spirit is able to lead and guide us.

c. Therefore it is the Holy Spirit who aids us in understanding of Scripture, illuminating and appropriating its truth so that we can apply it as it is appropriate.

d. Must remember that the Holy Spirit never contradicts the written word of God; it is not only wrong but dangerous to follow any "internal leading" (emotion) if it is not tested against what the Scripture teaching.

e. The bottom line we must understand is that we cannot in any way live the Christian life apart from the active ministry of the Holy Spirit.