Lesson 5: The Spirit-Filled Life (Part 2)

 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Lesson 5:  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The Spirit-Filled Life  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; (Part 2)  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The Walk by Means of the Spirit  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The Difference Between Indwelling and Filling  ;  ;  ; The Indwelling of the Spirit  ;  ;  ; As shown in the previous lesson, a number of New Testament passages call attention to the fact and nature of  ;  ;  ; the Spiritæ;s indwelling of New Testament believers. Some examples are:  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; John 7:37-39 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; out, saying, ô;If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; believes in Me, as the Scripture said, æ;From his innermost being shall flow rivers of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; living water.æ;ö; 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; glorified.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; belong to Him.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.  ;  ;  ; In the ministry of indwelling, the New Testament describes the Holy Spirit as an anointing, a seal, a pledge, and  ;  ;  ; our Helper or Enabler. Regarding indwelling, Ryrie writes,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The indwelling ministry of the Spirit is the heart of the distinctiveness of the Spiritæ;s  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; work in this Church Age. It is also the center of our Lordæ;s promises to His  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; disciples concerning the ministry of the Spirit after His departure from earth. Too,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the doctrine of the indwelling is foundational to the other ministries the Spirit  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; performs today.55  ;  ;  ; Indwelling is, however, distinct from the filling of the Spirit and the two should not be confused. There are a  ;  ;  ; number of biblical facts which demonstrate this distinction.  ;  ;  ; (1) Indwelling is a distinctive ministry that is true of only believers in Christ. The only condition for indwelling is  ;  ;  ; the obedience of faith in Christ (John 7:37-39) whereas the filling of the Spirit is dependent upon faith in the  ;  ;  ; Spirit for His control.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Ephesians 1:13-14 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; gospel of your salvationù;having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; to the redemption of Godæ;s own possession, to the praise of His glory.  ;  ;  ; (2) Though all believers are indwelt regardless of their spiritual state (even when living in carnality as seen in 1  ;  ;  ; Corinthians 6:19-20), all believers are not filled with the Spirit.  ;  ;  ; (3) This indwelling is [INVALID]d as permanent and a declaration of a believeræ;s security. It is described as  ;  ;  ; ô;foreverö; and ô;unto the day of redemption.ö; Romans 8:9 teaches us that indwelling is a proof of the believeræ;s  ;  ;  ; salvation, ô;à; if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.ö;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; He abides with you, and will be in you.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; sealed for the day of redemption.  ;  ;  ; The indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit is that ministry wherein the Holy Spirit comes to make the new  ;  ;  ; believer His permanent dwelling place, the place of His personal presence as the foundation for all the various  ;  ;  ; ministries He will have within the life of the believer.  ;  ;  ; The Filling of the Spirit  ;  ;  ; While believers are never commanded to be indwelt with the Spirit, they are commanded to be filled with the  ;  ;  ; Spirit. Because our perception of the word ô;fillingö; suggests the intake of something, many have equated the  ;  ;  ; filling of the Spirit with getting the Spirit within, or getting more of the Spirit. They have confused the filling of  ;  ;  ; the Spirit with His indwelling. This is false and leads to erroneous ideas about the filling of the Spirit.  ;  ;  ; After the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, we have a number of references in the New Testament which refer  ;  ;  ; to the filling of the Spirit using such words as ô;fullö; or ô;fillingö; or ô;filled.ö; A sample of these verses are Acts 2:4;  ;  ;  ; 4:8, 31; 6:3-5; 7:55; 9:17; 13:9, 52; and Ephesians 5:18. The questions is, what does the concept of ô;fullö; or  ;  ;  ; ô;filledö; mean?  ;  ;  ; In the Acts passages only two Greek words occur, the noun plerhs, ô;full,ö; and the verb pimplhmi, ô;fill, be  ;  ;  ; filled.ö; The noun form is also used of ô;wisdom, rage, envy, power, grace,ö; etc. As a noun it looks at a state or  ;  ;  ; condition which, however, refers to what takes control and possesses the person so that it becomes the  ;  ;  ; dominating force. When a person is full of rage, they are clearly out of control and the trait which characterizes  ;  ;  ; them is rage. A person who is full of the Spirit as mentioned in Acts 6:3 and 5, is one whose life is animated  ;  ;  ; and controlled by the Spirit.  ;  ;  ; The use of the verb form in Acts as it pertains to the Holy Spirit seems to refer to a special filling that is a  ;  ;  ; sovereign work of God in contrast to the normal filling of the Spirit that is commanded in Ephesians 5:18.  ;  ;  ; Several things support this idea:  ;  ;  ; Pimplhmi always occurs in the aorist tense and generally in the indicative mood (emphasizing an historical event  ;  ;  ; and not a state). Acts 4:8 is an aorist participle and could be translated, ô;And Peter, having been filled by the  ;  ;  ; Holy Spirit, said à;ö; The same idea applies to Paul in Acts 9:17 and 13:9.  ;  ;  ; It is always in the passive voice (pointing to a sovereign work of God). No conditions of filling are mentioned,  ;  ;  ; only that the recipients were filled by the Spirit.  ;  ;  ; The filling was for a specific task and was temporary. This can be seen by comparing Acts 2:4 with 4:8 and  ;  ;  ; 31. Acts 4:8 seems to refer to Peteræ;s normal walk under the control of the Spirit, but in the other two  ;  ;  ; passages, a special filling occurred for a special task.  ;  ;  ; But because of the analogy and comparison used, and because it is the one passage where believers are  ;  ;  ; commanded to be filled with the Spirit, the meaning of ô;filledö; is best seen in Ephesians 5:18, ô;And do not get  ;  ;  ; drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.ö;  ;  ;  ; ô;Filledö; is the verb pleroo, ô;to fill, make full, fill to the full.ö; It is used of things such as sounds and odors (Acts  ;  ;  ; 2:2; John 12:3), and of persons with powers or qualities like joy, righteousness, wisdom (Acts 2:28; 13:52;  ;  ;  ; Phil. 1:11; Col. 1:9). But how do we understand the word ô;filledö; with regard to the Spirit? Is He the content  ;  ;  ; with which one is filled, or the means by which one is filled?  ;  ;  ; Some understand the Spirit as the content with which one is filled like water in a jar, but grammatically this is  ;  ;  ; very unlikely. It is better to understand the Spirit as the means by which one is filled, not the content. Greek is  ;  ;  ; an inflectional language that uses various cases that determine how a word is being used in a clause or  ;  ;  ; sentence. And it is a rule of Greek grammar that a verb may be used with more than one case in order to  ;  ;  ; distinguish certain ideas or to make ideas clear.  ;  ;  ; In the Greek text, ô;with the Spiritö; represents the preposition en plus the noun pneuma in the dative case  ;  ;  ; (pneumati). To interpret this construction to refer to the Spirit as the content with which one is filled is  ;  ;  ; grammatically suspect since normally a verb of filling takes a noun in the genitive case to express the idea of  ;  ;  ; content, not the dative. Such a genitive is called a genitive of content.56 Let me illustrate it this way.  ;  ;  ; With the genitive case, the noun in the genitive refers to the material, the content of filling, as when the house  ;  ;  ; was filled with the fragrance of the perfume when Mary anointed the feet of Jesus (John 12:3).  ;  ;  ; With the dative case, the noun in the dative refers to the agent or instrument that causes the filling, i.e., ô;be filled  ;  ;  ; by means of the Spirit.ö;  ;  ;  ; With the accusative case, the noun in the accusative refers to the thing filled, as when grief fills the heart (John  ;  ;  ; 16:6).  ;  ;  ; In Ephesians 5:18, the contrast with wine shows that the obvious idea in ô;filledö; is that of spiritual control by  ;  ;  ; means of the Spirit who already indwells and is present in believers. The analogy with a drunk person is  ;  ;  ; designed by the apostle to make the issue crystal clear: to be drunk with wine means to be controlled, brought  ;  ;  ; under the influence of wine. Visible behavior characteristics begin to take place as a person comes under the  ;  ;  ; influence of wine.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; In contrast, to be filled with the Spirit is to be controlled by the Spirit so the filled  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; believer does things that are unnatural for him under the control of the Spirit even as  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the drunken individual does things that are unnatural for him under the control of the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; spirits.57  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The comparison is in the matter of control. A drunken person is controlled by the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; liquor which he has consumed. Because of this he thinks in ways normally unnatural  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; to him. Likewise, the man who is Spirit-filled is controlled, and he too acts in ways  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; that are unnatural to him. This is not to imply that these ways are erratic or  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; abnormal, but they are not ways which belong to his old life. Thus being filled with  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the Spirit is simply being controlled by the Spirit.58  ;  ;  ; The issue is not getting the Spirit within, but of allowing the indwelling Spirit to take charge and move into  ;  ;  ; every area of the believeræ;s life.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Reduced to its simplest terms, to be filled with the Spirit means that, through  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; voluntary surrender and in response to appropriating faith, the human personality is  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; filled, mastered, controlled by the Holy Spirit. The very word filled supports that  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; meaning. The idea is not that of something being poured into a passive empty  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; receptacle. ô;That which take possession of the mind is said to fill it,ö; says Thayer,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the great lexicographer. That usage of the word is found in Luke 5:26 (KJV): ô;They  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; were filled with fear,ö; and in John 16:6: ô;Because I have said these things to you,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; sorrow has filled your heart.ö; Their fear and sorrow possessed them to the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; exclusion of other emotions; they mastered and controlled them.59  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The Nature and Purpose of the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Filling of the Spirit  ;  ;  ; What exactly is the nature and purpose of the filling of the Spirit? Is it enablement for service, or is its design  ;  ;  ; the sanctification of the believer? In Acts the filling of the Spirit is clearly seen as Godæ;s enablement for service  ;  ;  ; and for witness and proclamation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. also Acts 9:17; 11:24; 13:9, 52).  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Acts 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; even to the remotest part of the earth.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ô;Rulers and elders of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the people, à;ö;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; word of God with boldness.  ;  ;  ; In the book of Ephesians, the filling of the Spirit produces worship, submission, and changed relationships in  ;  ;  ; the home and on the job (cf. Ephesians 5:18-6:9).  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; As in other similar situations the question arises, why make a choice? There is an  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; evident connection between the character of the witness and the impact of the  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; witness; furthermore, the call to be filled with the Spirit comes in a context of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; concern for the lost and the impact of believers on the world. There is a call for  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; moral purity in Eph. 5:1-14 and a call for careful commitment in Eph. 5:15-16  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; followed by the command to be filled with the Spirit, which results in the worship,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; submission, and relationships mentioned above.60  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; It is evident that these results from the filling of the Spirit in Ephesians 5 occur in a  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; setting of witness and testimony on the part of the church. As a result, the most  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; effective way to resolve the issue is to answer that the filling of the Spirit is both an  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; enduement of power for sanctification and service, and that there is a direct  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; relationship between service and sanctification, since character confirms witness  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; (note particularly the relationship between unity and witness in John 13:34-35 and  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; John 17:21-23).61 (Emphasis mine.)  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; The Walk by Means of the Spirit  ;  ;  ; Is there any difference between the command to be filled with the Spirit and the command to walk by means of  ;  ;  ; the Spirit? Though they would seem to be basically synonymous, there does seem to be a difference in focus  ;  ;  ; or emphasis.  ;  ;  ; Walking by the Spirit Described  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the flesh.  ;  ;  ; Galatians 5:16 commands Christians to walk by the Spirit. It is an imperative of the daily lifeù;not an option.  ;  ;  ; The verb ô;walkö; is in a tense (continuous present) that stresses a continuous, moment-by-moment  ;  ;  ; responsibility and need. In essence, all believers are responsible to walk by the Spirit. Failure to do so  ;  ;  ; constitutes a sin of negative volition to Godæ;s grace, an act of failing to walk by faith in Godæ;s resources. Just  ;  ;  ; as a person who walks with the aid of a cane, leans on and depends on the cane so to walk by the Spirit is to  ;  ;  ; be faith-dependent on the Spirit for each step of oneæ;s daily life. The promised result that comes from walking  ;  ;  ; by the Spirit is simply that the believer begins to experience behavioral changes: growing deliverance from the  ;  ;  ; control of the flesh or from the reign of sin, but also the positive production of the fruit of the Spirit.  ;  ;  ; Galatians 5:16 stresses that the alternative to walking by the Spirit is the control of the flesh. Unless the believer  ;  ;  ; walks by the Spirit, he will fulfill the desires of the flesh. In essence, then, the believer is either controlled by the  ;  ;  ; Spirit or controlled by the flesh. That which he depends on as his resource for daily living determines who or  ;  ;  ; what controls his life and the direction his life will take.  ;  ;  ; Walking by the Spirit Defined  ;  ;  ; Walking by the Spirit is a Spirit-dependent walk which means a conscious determination to trust or rely only  ;  ;  ; on the resources of the indwelling Spirit for strength to obey God and overcome the desires of the flesh. It is  ;  ;  ; negative, a turning away from, and positive, a turning to, i.e., the believer chooses to turn away from self and  ;  ;  ; turn to the Holy Spirit for ability to live the Christian life. This is accomplished through faith (cf. Gal. 5:5). But  ;  ;  ; vital to an attitude of moment-by-moment dependence is the study of the Word, prayer, worship, fellowship  ;  ;  ; with others, and keeping short accounts with God through bonafide, honest to God confession that seeks to  ;  ;  ; maintain a right relationship with God. The results will be the fruit of the Spirit rather than the works of the  ;  ;  ; flesh.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Galatians 5:18-26 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; one another.  ;  ;  ; Distinction Between the Filling of the Spirit  ;  ;  ; and Walking by the Spirit  ;  ;  ; The filling of the Spirit initiates the Spiritæ;s control through submission, whereas walking by the Spirit maintains  ;  ;  ; the Spiritæ;s control through step-by-step dependence. In filling we submit or yield to the Spiritù;in walking we  ;  ;  ; depend on the Spirit. As we saw, to walk by means of anything is to depend on that element in order to walk.  ;  ;  ; In that sense, walking by the Spirit means depending on the Spirit for daily living. However, in the Greek text,  ;  ;  ; both commands are present imperatives of continuous action; both are the products of faith and obviously  ;  ;  ; occur simultaneously. The main difference is in the meaning of the verbs and in their voice.  ;  ;  ; ô;Filledö; is the passive voice while ô;walkö; is active. The idea of ô;filledö; meaning ô;controlö; and the passive voice  ;  ;  ; suggest the concept of submission or being yielded. We are volitionally to continue to release control of our  ;  ;  ; lives to the Spirit. He is allowed to take control and make Christ at home in the believeræ;s life (Eph. 3:16-17).  ;  ;  ; In the filling of the Spirit, we give up the right to run our lives; we submit to Him. The filling of the Spirit is very  ;  ;  ; much parallel with Romans 6:12-13.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Ephesians 3:16-17 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; love,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Romans 6:12-13 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  ;  ;  ; The active voice plus the basic meaning of the word ô;walkö; places stress on actively choosing to take each  ;  ;  ; step by faith in the Spirit as the means of walking. The goal is to maintain the Spiritæ;s control along with an  ;  ;  ; attitude of submission or yieldedness. In reality, the two commands are just two ways of saying the same thing,  ;  ;  ; but with a different focus.  ;  ;  ; Why We Must Be Filled With and  ;  ;  ; Walk by the Spirit  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; It is commanded in the Word  ;  ;  ; God would not give us these commands if they were not necessities. The fact God has commanded it, settles  ;  ;  ; it. This is not a matter for debate nor an option that can be ignored without serious consequences.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; with the Spirit,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the flesh.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; There can be no production without it  ;  ;  ; Since the flesh (our human resources) profits nothing and gives no capacity for real spiritual life, we desperately  ;  ;  ; need Godæ;s resourcesù;the filling of the Holy Spirit. The great necessity of the filling (control) of the Spirit is  ;  ;  ; evident by the many ministries He alone can accomplish in our lives. As the Lord reminds us, ô;It is the Spirit  ;  ;  ; who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are lifeö; (John 6:63).  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Romans 7:15-18 For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; do the very thing I do not wish to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that it is  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which indwells me. 18  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; present in me, but the doing of the good is not.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Romans 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; condemned sin in the flesh,  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; We cannot please God without it  ;  ;  ; The opposite of the filling of the Spirit is to be fleshly minded. To be fleshly minded is to have a  ;  ;  ; flesh-dominated life, one that is concerned with self-centered pursuits, with the earthly, and with the temporal  ;  ;  ; at the expense of the spiritual, the heavenly, and the eternal. We are in the world, we can use the world and  ;  ;  ; enjoy the blessings God gives, but this is not to be our focus or that which controls us. Take time to read and  ;  ;  ; think on Matthew 6:19-33; and 1 Timothy 6:6-19 as well as the passage below.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; Romans 8:5-8 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; 8 and those who are in the flesh  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; cannot please God.  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ; There is no spiritual growth without it  ;  ;  ; A casual reading of John 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:3; Galatians 3:1-3; Ephesians 3:16-19 show how  ;  ;  ; involved the Holy Spir