Gifts of Grace: Filled Beyond Measure

Evangelical and charismatic theology emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Our interaction with God’s Spirit is variously described as being filled with the Spirit, being indwelt by the Spirit, and having the fruit of the Spirit. We tend to throw these descriptions around indiscriminately and they actually have very specific meanings. The point, rather, is this:

What is the point of the Holy Spirit in you?

When do you know the Holy Spirit is in you? Does the Holy Spirit come and go? Is the Holy Spirit only at work in Christians? (Wouldn’t non-Christians see that as being a little exclusivist?) Can you turn the Holy Spirit off and on?

So what is the point of the Holy Spirit in you?

Ephesians 3

Commentary

“For this reason …” is a tipoff to check the context. Go back to v1 and what do you read? “For this reason …” again! Near the end of chapter two, Paul proclaims that Jewish and non-Jewish Christians are to be united in Christ. In chapter 3 Paul has said, “for this reason” he is happy to be part of the divine insurgency working to bring Jews and Gentiles together in Christ. Being a prisoner, now Paul prays for the sake of those he serves. v16-19 is Paul’s intercessory prayer, and v20-21 is a closing doxology.

Paul’s intercession has three main points: strength (v16), comprehension (v18, literally “power to grasp”), and certitude (v19, literally “power to know”). Through these will come the fullness of God.

Strength. Paul’s request is that the Ephesians might be strengthened. Elsewhere Paul repeatedly speaks of the outer person wasting away even as the inner person is strengthened (2 Cor. 4:16-18). What is the desire of your inner person? It is really all that superficial stuff and the daily dramas?

Consider the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:18-24). Without roots, the gospel is received with joy, but believer withers when trouble comes. Likewise here, joy in the Spirit is not enough, not the point. John Calvin says in his commentary on this verse, “It is a mistake to imagine that the Spirit can be obtained without obtaining Christ; and it is equally foolish and absurd to dream that we can receive Christ without the Spirit.” The presence of Christ gives us roots to endure the trials.

Comprehension. Paul claims that the only way that we can truly grasp the love of Christ is through the Spirit. In our human pettiness, we misunderstand God’s love for us, but the Spirit allows us to understand the spiritual truths of the love of Christ. What are the limits of the love of Christ? If you say there are none, then why do you act as it there are?

When we understand how Christ loves us, the circumstances of our petty trials change, and they lose their power to frighten us.

Certitude. Beyond knowledge there is belief that changes how we act. Consider when you have been in love. Love changed how you acted—but you couldn’t prove that you loved or were loved. When the love of Christ touches us, our place in the world changes, and we are healed. Where do you fear & what will change when the fear is gone?

Points to Ponder

If the fullness of God is power to do and not a feeling, where are you been waiting for a feeling instead of doing?