Ephesians 5:18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
We have covered some ground in our discussion of revival and the need for revival in the New Testament churches. We have truly had some fascinating discussions, and I hope they continue. What conclusions have we reached? Let’s sum up quickly.
The need for revival in the Old Testament time was constant in the sense of habitual falling away, repentance, and restoration. This seemingly in large part was because the Holy Spirit was not permanently in either the Israelites or individual believers.
We have concluded that at on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was given once and for all to the church and at some subsequent point all believers began to be indwelt with the Holy Spirit upon their salvation. Seemingly this removed the constant need for revival and restoration.
We also concluded that, for some reason, we still seem to face the need for periodic repentance and restoration; we seem to still need revival. How can this be?
Let me say right up front, this will not be a major theological dissertation, as I am not a theologian. My choice of words may not meet the agreement of everyone, and that is just fine and dandy. I think we will all get the gist of the discussion, though.
Let’s look quickly at some scripture that supports the assertion that we are each indwelt with the Holy Spirit at salvation and permanently:
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 7:37-39 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
But yet a case can be made that, even though the Holy spirit is in us, we are not always filled with Him. Huh?, you say…how can that be so? Well, again I must go to a commenter who has really great words to describe what we are talking about here, Julie over at Light and Life again:
” I think of the Holy Spirit in me as an eternal flame, sometimes it blazes hot and sometimes it barely smolders. When it smolders I get on my knees and refuel it. The fire is always there, but if it I don’t stoke it, I end up just blowing smoke.”
We could stop right there, as the point is finely made, but I like to write so I will keep going for just a bit. The fire is always there…but we have to stoke it. The Holy Spirit is always there, but we have to allow Him to fill us. Basically we have to be so yielded to the Holy Spirit that He can fully possess us, and in that way fill us.
What are the keys to the filling of the Holy Spirit? What stokes the embers? What fans the flames of the Spirit? What causes the flames to die out? Why do we smolder? Stay tuned!
Truth in Palmyra 
July 2, 2015 at 06:34
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
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July 2, 2015 at 06:54
Good morning to you Brother Vincent
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July 2, 2015 at 08:09
Good morning Brother Wally, have a blessed day!
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July 2, 2015 at 07:02
This series is really interesting. I believe that the Holy Spirit is the part of the Trinity that gives us faith – yes, faith is a gift just as much as our salvation. God also gives us a free will in which we can choose to accept faith. The Spirit has always existed as part of the Godhead. When He showed up at Pentecost, it was God’s doing so as to get the message out to a dying world who didn’t accept that His covenant had been fulfilled through Jesus. I’m not a theologian either, Wally, but I wonder if the person of the Holy Spirit isn’t diminished if we only give Him credit for that specific event. Keep the discussion going. I’m finding it “inspiring”
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July 2, 2015 at 07:12
Hi Kathy first let me say a loved the statement about the person of the Holy Spirit. That is very key as some would say He is merely a force and not a being and not God. I have loved this also and it has been the great discussion that has made it so good. Thanks for your contribution.
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July 2, 2015 at 11:42
Well said, Wally. I suspect that a relationship with the Holy Spirit can be a bit like a relationship with people, we can be together, but if there is some tension there or some unresolved issue, the connection will not be as strong.
Not unlike one might say to a spouse, “you seem a bit distant, are we okay?” I’m laughing here, that’s probably more of a girl thing, but that is how we emotionally refuel our relationships, seek a stronger connection, revive them so to speak.
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July 2, 2015 at 11:45
Oh that just hit it perfectly I think IB we still have the relationship it just gets distant. Thank you for that. And it’s not totally a girl thing just mostly lol
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July 4, 2015 at 14:15
Good study on the distinction between indwelling and filled
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July 4, 2015 at 14:24
Thanks for that encouragement Jim; it means a lot. Sometimes I get into these studies and become somewhat nervous, because I never want to mislead or mispeak what God has said to us. So much of what I study still is very new to me, and in some cases is literally brand new to me. But, if we faithfully pray, study and meditate on what we have in God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will keep us straight as long as we listen.
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July 4, 2015 at 14:26
Amen; we must trust in the Spirit’s guidance and in terms of our responsibility we must be as analytical as we can with the Word.
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