"Are You Spirit-filled?" Part Two (Ephesians 5:18)

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to live with God's Word permeating every area of your life. The parallel passage of Ephesians 5:18 is Colossians 3:16. Both texts are followed by joyful singing, thanksgiving to God, and instructions about husbands, wives, children, and parents. But in Colossians 3:16, rather than saying, "be filled with the Spirit," Paul says, "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you." There's an old rule in mathematics that "things equal to the same thing are equal to one another." In other words, if to be filled with the Word is equal in result to being filled with the Spirit, then it should be clear that the Word-filled Christ follower is the Spirit-filled Christ follower! The Spirit-filled Christ follower is a lover of the Word of God, no doubt about it! As the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, and as we walk in obedience to that Word, the Holy Spirit fills, dominates, influences, and controls us to the glory of the Lord Jesus. Praise God forevermore! There's nothing more satisfying than being used by God to bring Him glory! To be a Spirit-filled Christ follower, you must be growing in your understanding and application of the Word of God! You can't have one without the other. You can't be Spirit-filled without practicing the Word of God! Please hear my heart on this matter! Far too many Christ followers are not experiencing God's enabling power! For these Christ followers it's simply a matter of doing the best they can to conform to certain expected standards. In our attempt to rationalize, we seek to find comfort in saying things like, "Nobody is perfect, everyone has their weaknesses," or "I'm doing the best I can, and I'm certain God understands!" Certainly, no person is perfect, and of course God understands. But, here's my question. Suppose we are doing our best. Is this what God expects from us? Is our best what God wants? In faithfulness to the Scriptures, I must say that our best is not what God is looking for! Because the Holy Spirit indwells the Christ follower, God is looking for faith and trust in His best! God's best is the Spirit-filled life! God wants the Holy Spirit to influence and control us to the degree where we're experiencing the power of Christ and the ability to do our best in the might which He provides! Apostle Paul said it best with these words, "For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me" (Colossians 1:29). Your move. Be encouraged! Be Spirit-filled!

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