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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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“EMPOWERED BY THE SPIRIT TO BE HIS WITNESSES” (2013 GBC THEME REVIEW) (The Church’s
Indwelling - 3) (Acts 1:8)
(2/3/13) Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE CHURCH’S EMPOWERMENT A. It is Divine Empowerment B. It is Salvation Empowerment C. It is Evangelistic Empowerment D. It is Sanctifying Empowerment II. THE CHURCH’S INDWELLING A. The Promise of Indwelling B. The Fulfillment of Indwelling C. The Result of Indwelling 1. Evangelism a) Since the Spirit is empowering the church
to be witnesses (Ac 1:8), one of the main purposes for empowerment is
evangelism and preaching the gospel to the lost. b) A definite correlation is seen between the
Spirit and evangelism by the fact that the “Spirit” is used 50 times in the
book of Acts, and “preaching” is used some 21 times (Ac 1:8; Ac 8:39-40;
10:42-44 cp. Mt 28:18-20). 2. Filling of the Holy Spirit a) Another ministry of the Holy Spirit to the
church is the ministry of filling. Some see Acts 2:1-4 as a proof that being
filled with the Spirit is the ability to speak in tongues, but Ac 2:4 is the
only reference connecting filling and tongues. Also Paul clearly teaches that
not all believers would have the spiritual gift of tongues (or other gifts -
1Co 12:28-29). Ac 2:4 shows the coming, indwelling, filling, and gifting of
the Holy Spirit. b) On the other hand, every believer is
commanded to be filled with the Spirit (present passive imperative of
plêro,ō. Lit. “You all must keep on being
filled with the Spirit” - Eph 5:18). c) The filling of the Holy Spirit is not the
idea that believers need more of the Spirit (we have all of the Spirit 1Co
12:13; Ep 1:3). Rather, it is the concept that believers need to give more of
themselves to the Spirit and yield to His influence and control (Ac 6:3, 5;
7:55; 9:17; 11:24; 13:9). d) In Ep
5:18, Paul gave two commands, one negative and one positive. First they were
not to “become drunk with wine” or “stop becoming drunk with wine.” (1) Paul
explains why this is sin and what the result is. He states that such behavior
is equivalent to “dissipation.” (2) The Greek word is asōtía and
means “the act of one who has abandoned himself to reckless immoral behavior”
(Friberg). e) From this
negative command, Paul springboards to a positive command. Instead of being
drunk, the believer is to be filled with the Spirit (18b). (1) This also
is a present command in the Greek and could literally be translated, “you all
must keep on being filled with the Spirit.” (2) This is the only ministry of the Holy Spirit
whereby the believer is commanded to participate. (3) What exactly is filling? In the context of
Eph 5:18, filling is being under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The
believer is not to be under the influence of alcohol because a person
responds out of control. If a believer is filled with the Spirit, he responds
under the control and influence of the Spirit. When the believer is under the
control of the Spirit, he exhibits the fruit of the Spirit, which includes
“self-control” (Ga 5:22-23 - egkrateia - mastery over one’s self). f) Eph
5:19-21 gives us the results of the filling of the Spirit. (1) Saturated
with Scripture: One of the results is that a believer is saturated with
Scripture and thoughts about Scripture (Eph 5:19a). A Spirit-filled believer
allows the Scripture to dwell in him richly (Col 3:16). The believer under
the Holy Spirit’s control is under the control of the Scriptures. Since the
Spirit authored the Scriptures, it is His chief mode of controlling the
believer (cp. Ep 18-21 with Col 3:16ff). (2) Speaking the Word of God: When a
believer is filled with the Spirit and saturated with Scripture, it overflows
in wisdom, teaching, and the encouragement of Scripture (Ac 4:8; 6:10). This
would also include speaking the word of God with boldness in evangelism (Ac
4:31; 1Th 2:2). (3) Joy of the Holy Spirit: Another
result is the spiritual joy of the Holy Spirit (Ac 13:52; Ne 8:10; 1Th 1:6)
which is expressed by the melody and joy in the heart inwardly and outwardly
(Eph 5:19). Note that the singing is spiritual in nature and revolves around
Scripture. (4) Giving Thanks: A believer filled
with Holy Spirit exhibits a thankful attitude toward God in all things (1Th
5:18) and for all things (Eph 5:20), knowing that God is in control and that
God works all things together for good, even trials and tribulations. (5) Attitude of Submission: Eph 5:21
continues to describe the behavior of a believer filled with the Holy Spirit
by the word “subject” (hupotássō - arrange under, submission).
A Spirit-filled believer obviously submits himself to the Lordship of Christ,
but also to other believers in a desire to serve them and see them grow
spiritually. This is the same subjection that a Spirit-filled wife is to have
toward her husband (Eph 5:22-24). A Spirit-filled husband is to submit to
Christ and love his wife and his children (Eph 5:25-33; 6:4). Spirit-filled
children are to have subjection toward their parents (Eph 6:1). Spirit-filled
employees and citizens are also to have subjection toward their authorities
(Ep 6:5-8; Ro 13:1-7). |
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