FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

Another result of this baptism with the Spirit is the fullness of the Spirit. It is significant to note that after Pentecost the term "baptism with the Spirit" is seldom used, the new term is "filled with the Spirit." It is a climax in experience where we are entirely emptied of self, and filled with the Spirit. But this is not a mechanical fullness where we are assured of being always filled. We are brought into a deeper and more precious relationship with God until now our lives are entirely His and His Spirit fills us. To break that relationship is to disturb the fullness of the Spirit. To be unyielded in anything relative to the will of God will disturb that relationship. To be disobedient in any of the guidance or leadership of the Spirit affects that relationship. We keep this relationship by keeping a yielded heart to the will of God, by minding the things of the Spirit, by faithfully obeying His leadership and guidance, and by fully depending upon Him as our source of power and life. Dr. Daniel Steele says, "Turning to our Greek Testament we note that the command, 'Be filled with the Spirit' is in the present tense, denoting not a mechanical fullness once for all, but a vital fullness, a constant appropriation and a perpetual reception, a ceaseless drinking and a ceaseless thirst. Hence the paradox of Charles Wesley:

Insatiate to this spring I fly;
I drink, and yet am ever dry.

This clearly states the basis of our relationship and how this relationship may be sustained.

It is surprising to note how many Christians there are who are hungry for this baptism with the Holy Spirit. They have permitted prejudice or an unwillingness to be fully yielded to the Lord to rob them of this precious fullness. Others talk about it, are glad to support a program which emphasizes this experience but they do not obtain the baptism with the Spirit as a personal experience. We need to learn that the baptism with the Spirit is more than a theoretical statement, or a mere profession. It is an inward dynamic, a living divine presence. It is not merely a doctrine, it is an element of life.

If you, dear reader, have not entered into this glorious experience of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you should do so at once. God is surely not pleased to share His temple with anything that is unholy. There is no other source from which you may have deliverance from "the flesh" which now deprives you of being the victorious Spirit-filled child of God you desire to be. You cannot hope to gain the victory over this inner foe, or to expel it from your heart without making a full consecration or abandonment of yourself to God that He may baptize you with the Holy Spirit and thus purify your heart. You must bring this matter to an issue. The Spirit and the flesh cannot permanently abide in the same heart. You will either yield yourself fully to God for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, which gives deliverance from "the flesh," or eventually your life will drift to the low level of "walking after the flesh." What is there, my dear friend, that keeps you from this needful experience in your life? Whatever it is, turn from it. Yield your life completely to God. Take the way of death to the carnal self. Obediently follow Christ and earnestly and definitely seek this baptism with the Holy Spirit which will transform you from a weak and hesitant Christian into a fearless and powerful child of God.

"Have you ever felt the power,
Of the Pentecostal fire
Burning up all carnal nature,
Cleansing out all base desire,
Going through and through your spirit,
Cleansing all its stain away?
He is waiting now to give it,
It is for us all today."