John 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
The Holy Spirit is the most misunderstood member of the Trinity. Many believe the Holy Spirit does not indwell you at the time of salvation, but the Bible makes it clear in John 3:5 that the Spirit dwells within us the moment we are saved. God comes to live within us by His Spirit. In fact, in John 6:44 Jesus tells us we can’t come to Christ unless the Spirit has already been at work in our hearts, convicting us of sin, and convincing us of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we yield to that conviction by the power of the Holy Spirit, we experience a spiritual rebirth.
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.”
John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
In other words, God has already given you the Holy Spirit, who now lives in you, and in every believer in Christ. But that doesn’t mean He is in control of your life! In Ephesians 5:18 we are told to be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
This is not talking about a second work of grace. There is no such thing. To be filled with the Spirit means to be controlled by Him. Here lies the problem with many believers. There has been no full surrender. Many want to do things, their way, instead of yielding to the leadership of the Spirit. They compartmentalize their lives into categories, work, play, family, each compartment gets a separate part of them. God gets Sunday morning, maybe Sunday and Wednesday night, and sometimes even a daily devotion. If the Holy Spirit lives within you he should be in control. I believe the process of allowing Him to control us lies in not following the pattern of I Thessalonians 5:16-22. Look at the process in these verses.
I Thessalonians 5:16 “Rejoice evermore.”
I Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”
I Thessalonians on 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
I Thessalonians 5:19 “Quench not the Spirit.”
I Thessalonians 5:20 “Despise not prophesyings.”
I Thessalonians 5:21 “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
I Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from all appearance of evil.”
Each one of these commands builds upon one another. They cannot stand independently.
When we re-joice, which is to continue to have an attitude of joy, this makes it easier to maintain an uninterrupted spirit of prayer. This should lead to an attitude of gratitude, with this kind of thinking we are being led by the Spirit and we want to yield to Him. The next verse has to do with devaluing the preaching of the word. Some in the church were putting more value on the working of miracles etc., rather than the expository preaching of the word. When the first four verses are being followed you will appreciate the preaching of the word. Then, when we are doing all these things we will be able to know what is good, and we will want to hold fast to it. At this point you are so in tune with the Spirit, you know immediately what is not pleasing to God, and you want no part of it.
This pattern will not only lead you to a happier spiritual life but you will also be controlled and content. Because the flesh is sinful, we tend to fight against anything that wants to control us. But, like a child who realizes that his parents know best, we too can learn to yield to the control of the Spirit. We are not to run our own lives or seek to do everything in our own strength. Instead, we need to submit ourselves every day to the Spirit’s control.
Unless we are controlled by the Spirit of God, we will never walk in humility, love, unity, light, and wisdom. The Spirit of God, in the soul of man, is the only way anyone can live a righteous life. To walk without the Spirit is to walk without wisdom.
Ephesians 5:15-17 “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
