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Author
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Topic: The flow of the Spirit.
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
Hi, Bloodbought. You said quote:
Be filled with the Spirit is the Holy Spirit's way of saying it.
So what is the scripture teaching when it talks about being filled with the Spirit?
The scripture is saying that the soul should stop its foolishness of trying to govern the body on its own and starting listening to the spirit of man which alone can receive from the Holy Spirit.
However, it is true that the spirit of man has been laying idle and unused for so many centuries that the soul doesn't even really know where to listen to the spirit of man.
So the soul either heard the Word of God or read the Word of God and heard words which spoke directly to the spirit of man:
John 6:63
It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Okay, the words of the Bible are spirit and so only the spirit of man can hear them and thus by the Word of God, we begin to find what the voice of the spirit of man is:
Hebrews 4:12
For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
So yes, the words of the Bible help quicken the spirit of man because the spirit of man is the only organ inside of man which can hear and understand the words which are spirit and life.
Bloodbought, you also said quote:
… the Holy Spirit does not indwell every individual on earth, but only believers who were sinners and have been made the recipients of the Grace of God and converted.
All receive the Holy Spirit at conversion, but not all believers walk in the Spirit and therefore not all believers are filled with the Spirit.
As for your phrase, not all believers walk in the Spirit and therefore not all believers are filled with the Spirit, yes, I agree; if a soul after initially repenting of governing his own body begins to take up control of his own body by not reading the Word of God and by not listening to the Holy Spirit which is now available to him, that person, though he or she initially repented, or maybe even repented a couple of times of self-rule, but in the end they are “not filled with the Spirit” because they are neither reading the words of life nor are they listening to the words of life available in the spirit of man.
You also said quote:
Yes we need to listen to who is already there, but more than that, we need daily cleansing to expel the contamination of the flesh and we need to be willing to let go our grip of doing our own thing and go with the flow of the Spirit and be led by the Spirit.
Exactly, the soul needs to repent of self-rule and allow the spirit of man to rule again with the help of the Holy Spirit, so that, as you said, “John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” Less soul-rule, more spirit of man-rule. Only the spirit of man can communicate with the Holy Spirit of God.
Mark 1:15
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe the good news.
1 Thessalonians 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.
be blessed, Bloodbought
eden
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Bloodbought
Advanced Member
Member # 4365
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Eden:
I don't think it is so much a question of fresh infillings as it is of failure to listen to the Holy Spirit Who is already there and available to counsel and guide.
The Holy Spirit is already there and doesn't get any bigger or smaller. The problem is instead that the believer isn't looking to man's spirit to see "what the Spirit says to the church":
Revelation 3:22
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
It's not a matter of "more infillings" but of "listening more" to Who is already there.
love, eden
Hi Eden,
Be filled with the Spirit is the Holy Spirits way of saying it.
So what is the scripture teaching when it talks about being filled with the Spirit?
I can agree that the Holy Spirit doesn't get any bigger or smaller. The Holy Spirit is big enough to fill the entire universe and cannot be diminished. However, the Holy Spirit does not indwell every individual on earth, but only believers who were sinners and have been made the recipients of the Grace of God and converted.
All receive the Holy Spirit at conversion, but not all believers walk in the Spirit and therefore not all believers are filled with the Spirit.
Yes we need to listen to who is already there, but more than that, we need daily cleansing to expel the contamination of the flesh and we need to be willing to let go our grip of doing our own thing and go with the flow of the Spirit and be led by the Spirit.
The more we decrease the more He will increase. John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Posts: 822 | From: Ireland | Registered: Feb 2005
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Good NewsforAll
Advanced Member
Member # 6156
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Eden:
The Holy Spirit does NOT need to be fed pure thoughts, prayer and the Word. The Holy Spirit IS all those things already. It is the human soul that needs to be fed pure thoughts, prayer and the Word so that the soul will repent from self-governing and will start to listen to the Holy Spirit.
eden
We live in a fallen world and can easily be tempted into taking on the spirit of unforgiveness or anger. Bloodbought quoted scriptures showing how the spirit has to be refreshed.
1 Peter 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
What does sanctification mean? Definition - Sanctification: A Christian term which refers to the process by which the Holy Spirit helps a born-again Christian to grow spiritually, become more Christ-like, and abandon sinful behaviors.
This is a daily dieing to flesh. The soul stands and still is saved by grace, but we have to be careful not to let it be infilled with bad character through the body and spirit.
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The Pharisees tell us what not to do. Jesus tells us what to do.
Romans 10:15 As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Posts: 400 | Registered: Oct 2006
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
GoodNewsforALL said quote:
The Holy Spirit daily has to be fed pure thoughts, prayer and the Word in order to stay within the centre of God's will. Otherwise the flesh will take over and the soul becomes contaminated and will result in poor character.
The Holy Spirit does NOT need to be fed pure thoughts, prayer and the Word. The Holy Spirit IS all those things already. It is the human soul that needs to be fed pure thoughts, prayer and the Word so that the soul will repent from self-governing and will start to listen to the Holy Spirit.
eden
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Good NewsforAll
Advanced Member
Member # 6156
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Eden:
I don't think it is so much a question of fresh infillings as it is of failure to listen to the Holy Spirit Who is already there and available to counsel and guide.
The Holy Spirit is already there and doesn't get any bigger or smaller. The problem is instead that the believer isn't looking to man's spirit to see "what the Spirit says to the church":
It's not a matter of "more infillings" but of "listening more" to Who is already there.
love, eden
The Holy Spirit daily has to be fed pure thoughts, prayer and the Word in order to stay within the centre of God's will. Otherwise the flesh will take over and the soul becomes contaminated and will result in poor character.
--------------------
The Pharisees tell us what not to do. Jesus tells us what to do.
Romans 10:15 As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Posts: 400 | Registered: Oct 2006
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Eden
unregistered
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posted
Hi, Bloodbought. You said quote:
Some think that once the believer is saved, the Holy Spirit indwells them and no further filling of the Spirit is required. While it is true that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer at conversion, there are gifts of the Spirit that require fresh fillings of the Spirit to do the work of God.
I don't think it is so much a question of fresh infillings as it is of failure to listen to the Holy Spirit Who is already there and available to counsel and guide.
The Holy Spirit is already there and doesn't get any bigger or smaller. The problem is instead that the believer isn't looking to man's spirit to see "what the Spirit says to the church":
Revelation 3:22
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
It's not a matter of "more infillings" but of "listening more" to Who is already there.
love, eden
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Bloodbought
Advanced Member
Member # 4365
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posted
Some think that once the believer is saved, the Holy Spirit indwells them and no further filling of the Spirit is required. While it is true that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer at conversion, there are gifts of the Spirit that require fresh fillings of the Spirit to do the work of God.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
In Hebrews 12 it is called running the race that is set before us,
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
We are encouraged to ask our heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit, which He will gladly supply, to enable us in using gifts that we desire,
Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit,
Eph 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Water in scripture is symbolic of the Word,
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The Word, when accompanied by the Spirit, produces everlasting life,
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Again some say that if we require continual filling of the Spirit, we are leaky Christians.
That is true and unless we have an outlet we are powerless to produce good works and our faith is dead.
I think a good example of this is the Jordan River where John Baptized. It flows into the sea of Galilee.
This is a picture of the Word and the Spirit flowing into the believer, but it doesn’t remain there because the Sea of Galilee has an outlet and as it’s water is flowing out it is continually being refreshed with fresh supply, which sustains life and makes it a popular fishing lake and one which our Lord enjoyed being around.
The outlet of the Sea of Galilee flows all the way down to the Dead Sea. Unlike the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea has an inlet but no outlet and becomes a salt sea and therefore incapable of sustaining life.
It is the same in the Spiritual. Like the Sea of Galilee, unless those who profess faith in Christ allow the Spirit filled Word to flow out to others to produce life and are filled with a fresh supply of the Spirit, their faith is dead just as the Dead Sea with it’s inlet but no outlet has no life.
James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
The word’s (lost his savour Mat 5:13 is the same in the Greek as (became fools Rom 1:12.
Any thoughts?
Posts: 822 | From: Ireland | Registered: Feb 2005
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