but how much the Spirit has of us. . . . As we come to understand more and more of Christ's leadership, we surrender and yield more to Him. So, in seeking the fullness of the Spirit, we receive and enjoy His filling and His fullness more and more."
Helping Strategy
1. If a question is asked about the Holy Spirit, try to answer it from material in the "Background."
2. If a question is asked or desire expressed about the fullness of the Holy Spirit, share the following points:
A. God has given Christians His Holy Spirit and He dwells within us.
See Scriptures in the "Background."
B. God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).
C. Before we can receive the fullness of the Spirit, we must deal
honestly with every known sin in our life. This involves repentance and confession to God.
D. We must clearly and completely turn over the control of our life to
the Lord in a definite act of commitment. We must renounce our own way and seek above all else to continuously submit to Christ as Lord, being ruled by Him in every area of life. This obedience demands a daily yielding of ourselves to God so that we may learn the secrets of walking in faith.
When we are yielded to God and His will, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit controls and dominates us. Now we are to act on this truth, and walk or live with full assurance that God has already filled us and that we are under His control.
3. Pray with the inquirer about the application of these truths to his or her life, and pray that he or she may be filled with the Spirit.
Scripture
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:16–17).
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7–11).
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Other suggested Scriptures: John 3:6–8 John 16:13–14 Romans 8:14–16 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 1 Corinthians 12:13 Ephesians 1:13 See also Fruit of and Gifts of Holy Spirit
HOLY SPIRIT, FRUIT OF
Background
The filling of the Holy Spirit (previous chapter) includes two areas: evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit (this chapter), and the gifts of the Spirit (following chapter).
To be filled with the Spirit means that the believer will demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in his or her life. The New Testament pattern for living is set in Matthew 7:16: "You will know them by their fruits." The first evidence of being filled with the Spirit is godly living. God wants mature Christians, who manifest the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22–23: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (NIV).
"The fruit of the Spirit is God's expectation in our lives," says Billy Graham: "Unlike the gifts of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is not divided among believers. Instead, all Christians should be marked by all the fruit of the Spirit. Put in the simplest terms, the Bible tells us we need the Spirit to bring fruit into our lives because we cannot produce godliness apart from the Spirit. In our own selves we are filled with all kinds of selfcentered and self-seeking desires which are opposed to God's will for our lives."
Practically, how do we begin to work this fruit of the Spirit into our lives?
We must consciously surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Romans 12:1–2). Ask yourself, have you ever realized that you belong to God, that your body is the actual residence of the Holy Spirit? Have you ever offered your body (life), to God as Romans 12:1 demands?
Next, we must see ourselves as having died to sin but having become alive to Christ (Romans 6:11). Paul said in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." You are dead to sin in the sense that it no longer has control over you (Romans 6:12–13).
Then, we determine by faith to bring ourselves under the lordship of Christ. This happens progressively as we bring our minds under His control. Our actions respond to the Spirit's control over our thoughts: "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).