Efésios 5
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Efésios 5:18
Spurgeon wrote these timeless words "The grand thing the church wants in this time is God's Holy Spirit." Be filled (4137) (pleroo) (Click word study of pleroo) means literally to be filled to the brim (a net, Mt 13:48, a building, Jn 12:3, Acts 2:2, a city, Acts 5:28), and then figuratively to make complete in every particular, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally, to diffuse throughout, to pervade, to take possession of and so to ultimately to control. Pleroo here in Ephesians 5:18 does not mean to get more of the Spirit since the Spirit indwells us completely when we are born spiritually. The more common figurative meaning of filled in the NT is to be controlled by that which "fills" one's heart and mind. Here in Eph 5:18 Paul is not giving a suggestion but a command (imperative mood) to all saints ("all" of us because the verb is plural so not just a select few are to be filled!) to... stop getting drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be continually, constantly, moment by moment, filled with and controlled by the Spirit. Daniel Snaddon - It is elementary for me to remind you that the Holy Spirit dwells in you. It is one thing for you to have the Holy Spirit. It is another thing for the Holy Spirit to have you. D L Moody - God commands us to be filled with the Spirit, and if we are not filled it is because we are living beneath our privileges. Given that His filling is commanded by God, if you are not being continuously filled with the Spirit, then you are out of the Lord's will (see "the will of the Lord" Ephesians 5:18 - note)! The present tense describes the ideal situation of every saint (the command is plural so not just a select few) as being continually (not just an experience for special occasions) filled - "keep on being filled" or "be being kept filled". Filling is not a one time event! In fact, the present tense aspect of the command indicates that we are not to rely on a past filling nor in expectation of future filling, but can live only in present tense or continual filling. Be filled is a command that includes the idea of conscious continuation. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an option for believers but a mandate. Pleroo in Eph 5:18 is in the passive voice (subject receives the action) which emphasizes that we as believers do not fill ourselves but permit the Spirit to fill us or control us (so called "divine passive", a work of God not man). This is also sometimes called the "permissive passive" which conveys the idea "allow yourselves to be filled". The Puritan John Bunyan alluded to the "passive" aspect of the filling when he said that... Seamen cannot create the wind, but they can hoist their sails to welcome it; neither can we create the breath of the Spirit, but are we to miss it when it comes through failure to keep our sails unfurled? Alan Carr - "filled" means "to be full to the top; lacking nothing; nothing short of complete." If there is room for any other thing in our hearts, then we are not filled with the Spirit. His will should be our will. His thoughts should be our thoughts. His desires should be our desires. The Holy Spirit is to be in absolute domination of our lives...If you were to be arrested this evening on the charge of being "Spirit-filled" (Ed: on the charge of "INTOXICATION"...of operating your "vehicle", your body, UNDER THE INFLUENCE"), would there be enough evidence to convict you? Or, has the Lord shown you some areas that need work in your walk with the Spirit, your worship of the Savior or your witness to the saints? (THE EVIDENCES OF A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE) No Christian can fulfill God’s will for his life apart from being filled with His Spirit. J S Blackburn... Being filled characterizes "the normal Christian life" to be enjoyed and experienced constantly and is not to be reserved for isolated "spiritual" experiences. Just as intake of wine must be repeated in order to exert its effect, so too “filling” with the Spirit requires a continual receptivity in order to exert His effect. Just as we made a choice to receive Christ at the time of salvation, we must also daily and moment by moment choose to surrender our will to the Spirit’s guidance and control.... Now, let me say that we Baptists are a little afraid of the Holy Spirit. We are afraid He'll make us talk funny and do weird stuff. Because of that there has been a tendency among some Baptists to avoid emphasizing the presence and ministry of the Holy Ghost. I just want to go on record this evening and tell you that we need Him and all that He brings with Him. We need Him and His presence and His power in a desperate way. We shouldn't fear the Spirit of God, but we should welcome Him and create an atmosphere where He feels at home, an atmosphere where He can work unhindered in this church. (Studies In Ephesians) Note that being filled with the Holy Spirit doesn't mean we have more of the Spirit, but that the Spirit has more of us! More of my heart. More of my will surrendered to His will. It doesn't happen all at once any more than we get drunk all at once. Being filled with the Spirit happens as we continually choose to live under His holy influence. "Be filled with the Spirit"...does it denote a moment when He "arrives". It is a constantly repeated or habitual experience. By the contrast with being drunk with wine, there seems to be a reference to our intake in spiritual things (see Table below on what we should be ingesting!). If our intake is in the things of the Spirit, that is, the things of Christ, then behaviour will be dictated by the Spirit and not by wine. John Piper aptly observes as we seek to be filled with the Spirit "we will get addicted to the Spirit. Instead of having chemical dependencies, we will develop a wonderful Spirit dependency." The Bible Knowledge Commentary explains that in being filled... a believer, rather than controlling himself, is controlled by the Holy Spirit (Ed: As signified by Paul's use of the passive voice - action upon the the subject from outside source). It may be more accurate to say that the Holy Spirit is the “Agent” of the filling (cf. Gal 5:16-note) and Christ is the Content of the filling (Col 3:15-note). Thus in this relationship, as a believer is yielded to the Lord and controlled by Him, he increasingly manifests the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22, 23-note). The Spirit’s indwelling (John 7:37, 38, 39; 14:17; Ro 5:5-note; Ro 8:9-note; 1Co 2:12; 6:19, 19, 20; 1Jn 3:24; 4:13), sealing (2Co 1:22; Ep 1:13-note; Ep 4:30-note), and baptism (1Co 12:13; Gal 3:27) occur at the time of regeneration and thus are not commanded. However, believers are commanded to be filled constantly with the Holy Spirit. Each Christian has all the Spirit, but the command here is that the Spirit have all of him. The wise walk (Ed: See context = Eph 5:15-note) then, is one that is characterized by the Holy Spirit’s control. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., et al: The Bible Knowledge Commentary. 1985. Victor) L M Grant... Eph 5:18 puts in sharp contrast the intoxication with things physically pleasurable and the pure, precious joy of being filled with the Holy Spirit. There are many things with which one may become intoxicated -- the love of money, prominence, self-importance (even in a religious way), sports, excitement, etc. These things will tend to take away the sobriety of ruling our own spirits (Pr 25:28). But one who is filled with the Holy Spirit has his own spirit in subjection (1Cor.14:32). Every true believer is always indwelt by the Spirit, but to be filled with the Spirit is to allow Him full place in every department of our lives. Let no one ever dare to claim this to be true of him, but rather let it be true. In the measure in which Christ is really our Object, such will be the measure of the filling of the Spirit at any time. While it is clear that one may be filled with the Spirit in speaking for the Lord (Acts 13:9, 10, 11), yet it also may be true in the singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual song (Eph 5:19). The word indicates a sacred song accompanied by a stringed instrument. Hymns are songs of praise addressed to God, and the word is evidently used for many of the psalms also, though not all psalms are hymns and hymns are not necessarily psalms. Spiritual songs embraces a wider field than praise, for it includes songs of spiritual experience and celebration of scriptural events and of meditation on various truths of scripture. Singing is audible, but making melody in your heart is more vital. This is surely an encouragement to those who have difficulty in carrying a tune! Accompanying this musical melody is a spontaneous giving of thanks, in addressing God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph 5:20). "Always for all things" reminds us that there is no time at which one is not free to address God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This constantly thankful spirit will have both a preserving and fruitful effect, and it will simplify for us the character of submission one to another in the fear of God (Eph 5:21). Thus we will recognize God as being in control rather than the will of man dominating. (Comments On The Epistle to The Ephesians) Alan Carr... If you and I are going to experience the fullness of the Christian life, then we must learn how to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It isn’t enough just to be saved. That will get you to Heaven, but unless you are filled with the Spirit, you will have a rough road here below...Christianity is far more than a bunch of “don’ts”, there are a whole lot of “do’s” to keep you busy too. In fact, if you will spend your time doing the do’s, you won’t have time to do the don’ts. REASONS FOR BEING FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT (A) Obedience to God -Eph. 5:18 is a command, not a suggestion...The Christian who is not Spirit filled is in rebellion to God!...Baptist tendency to spend more time on Eph 5:18a than 18b...I have had more trouble out of Baptists who were not Spirit-filled than out of drunks and lost people! How would we react if a drunk came to lead the service? Yet, we think nothing of doing the Lord’s work in an unfilled condition! Spirit filling is not the privilege of s few, it the command for all. It is not the abnormal Christian experience, it is the normal Christian experience! (B) Obligation To God - Not only do we owe God our obedience in this matter of Spirit-filling, we also have an obligation to Him. We are obligated to God in every area of our lives. We must strive to be everything we can be for His glory and to do this, we must be Spirit-filled! Notice several areas where it is especially important. (1) Your Worship life - Eph. 5:19-20 - To experience true worship, we must be sensitive to, and controlled by the Spirit of God - John 4:24. (2) Your Wedded Life - Ep 5:22-25 - The wife is to submit to her husband as unto the Lord - “Feminism is dead wrong!”... Neither husband or wife can fulfill their duties to the other until they are living under the influence of the Spirit. Until they are, the home is out of balance! Children need the filling also (Eph. 6:1, 2, 3, 4) To live above with saints we love, Oh, won't that be glory! But, to live below with saints we know, Now, that's another story! (3) Your Work Life - Ep 6:5, 6, 7, 8, 9 We are to do our job as if we were working directly for the Lord. You ought to serve your boss as if He were Christ Himself! Our daily work ought to be carried out with the same enthusiasm that we have when we go the church. Every Christian ought to let his light shine brightly on the job. (Ill. Lazy, slow, critical, dishonest versus honest, careful, punctual, trustworthy, hardworking.) There is a great need for Spirit-filled workers on the job. See Daniel's example of excellence and integrity - Daniel 6 Commentary) (4) Your War Life - Eph. 6:10-17 - We are locked in mortal combat with a powerful spiritual foe, the devil. The only hope we have of succeeding in life is to war in the Spirit. Ill. He is after your home, your family, your marriage, your faith, your health, your happiness, anything he can touch and destroy. Your only hope is to be Spirit-filled! (5) Your Witness Life - Eph. 6:18-19 - To be a good witness demands that we be Spirit-filled. Otherwise, our words will have a hollow ring to them and they will have no power to touch the heart. (see the necessity of this in Acts 1:8) (Sermon on Ephesians 5:18) Believers are to be available, sensitive, submissive and obedient to the Spirit’s urgings in their daily lives. He can be resisted (cf Acts 7:51), quenched (1Th 5:19 [note] - we can "throw water the fire" by disobedience, etc), or grieved (Eph 4:30-note), where the context suggest He is grieved by unwholesome words - Ep 4:29-note). We cannot fill ourselves, but must allow the Spirit to have freedom, continual influence and constant control of our mind, our emotions and our will...in short He is to control our entire being. This "holistic" picture parallels Paul's exhortation in Ro 12:1 (see note) where he calls on all believers to present yourselves as living sacrifices, as a "sacrificial offering" which represents a loving, willing, voluntary yielding or surrendering, not the presentation of just a portion of our being, but of our entire persona (a holistic presentation, wholly His, wholly holy, "Holy, Holy, Holy")! As we daily present ourselves to God the Holy Spirit, He will influence and empower our moments and our days...and we will go to rest at night knowing we have experienced a "Spirit filled" day, a day in the center of His will! And such a life becomes a supernatural adventure (cp Jn 10:10b)! What are you waiting for? DO YOU HAVE FILLABILITY? Ray Pritchard adds this thought on making ourselves available to the Spirit Who is ready and willing to fill us as any moment "Let me give you a new term you've never heard before. The term is "fillability." It's what happens when you go to a full-service gas station and say, "Fill 'er up." The person pumping the gas knows that the statement "Fill 'er up" means two things: 1) I'm empty and 2) I want to be filled with gas. That's fillability. It's need plus desire. And when your need to be filled with the Spirit becomes your great desire, you will be filled. Over and over again. Instantly. Every time. (Ibid) FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT RICHLY INDWELT BY THE WORD Colossians and Ephesians are parallel epistles in a number of respects and Ephesians 5:18-6:9 presents a very interesting parallel with Colossians 3:16-4:1 as summarized in the following table (NAS77). First, take a few minutes to pray (Ps 119:18-note, Eph 1:17, 18, 19-note) and read through both sections of Scripture, especially observing the similarities (Ps 119:130-note). Then go through the following chart to see if you agree with the parallel comparisons. Ask yourself, what parallel truths is God teaching us in these two great sections of Scripture? Which of my interpersonal relationships do these passages address? How can we apply these truths to our personal life, our marriage, our family, our workplace, etc? What might transpire in each of those points of application? Then read the explanatory notes that follow. Ephesians 5:18-6:9 Colossians 3:16-4:1 Be filled (present imperative) Let...dwell within you richly (present imperative) THE SPIRIT THE WORD OF CHRIST Speaking to ONE ANOTHER Eph 5:19-note Teaching & Admonishing ONE ANOTHER Col 3:16-note In PSALMS and HYMNS and SPIRITUAL SONGS Eph 5:19 With PSALMS and HYMNS and SPIRITUAL SONGS SINGING and making melody with YOUR HEART to the Lord Eph 5:19 SINGING with thankfulness in YOUR HEARTS to God Always GIVING THANKS for ALL things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father Eph 5:20-note Do ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, GIVING THANKS through Him to God the Father Col 3:17-note WIVES BE SUBJECT to your own husbands Eph 5:22-24-note WIVES BE SUBJECT to your husbands Col 3:18-note HUSBANDS LOVE your wives Eph 5:25-33-note HUSBANDS LOVE your wives Col 3:19-note CHILDREN OBEY your parents in the Lord Eph 6:1-3-note CHILDREN BE OBEDIENT to your parents Col 3:20-note FATHERS DO NOT PROVOKE your children to anger BRING THEM UP in discipline & instruction of the Lord Eph 6:4-note FATHERS DO NOT EXASPERATE your children Col 3:21-note SLAVES BE OBEDIENT to those who are your masters according to the flesh Eph 6:5-8-note SLAVES in all things OBEY those who are your masters on earth Col 3:22-25-note MASTERS DO the same thing to them (slaves) Give up threatening knowing that both their Master & yours is in heaven & there is no partiality with Him Eph 6:9-note MASTERS GRANT to your slaves justice and fairness knowing that you too have a Master in heaven! Col 4:1-note Note that every verb in bold red font signifies imperative mood (commands, not good suggestions) and all are in the present tense (continuous action, habitual practice, as one's "lifestyle", speaks of our general "direction," not perfection!). Now stop for a moment and ask yourself - can I keep even ONE of these commands in my own strength? If you think you can, just try it the next time your spouse "verbally insults/assaults" your intelligence! None of us can keep these commands in our strength and to try to do so is to fall into the trap of self reliance and legalism. Here is the key that unlocks the door to supernatural living... THE HUMAN SPIRIT FAILS UNLESS THE HOLY SPIRIT FILLS Too often we read Paul's long list of commands and forget to examine the context, which is critical for accurate interpretation and in this case crucial for real-life practical application! The context in this case clearly gives us the answer regarding how we can carry out the commands. These "holy" actions can only be energized or enabled by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in each saint. If we are filled with or controlled by Him, yielded to Him, depending on Him, casting off any semblance of self-reliance, then, and only then, can we successfully keep these commands. And as we do so, we are in effect also fulfilling Paul's (present imperative) command to walk by the Spirit which effectively prevents us from carrying out the desires of the flesh (cp Gal 5:16-note). Notice that Spirit filling SHOULD RADICALLY AFFECT ALL of our relationships - wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves (think "employee" today), masters (think "employer" today)! Every vital social interaction is to be impacted by the Holy Spirit! So let me ask you a rhetorical (for effect primarily) question -- "How important is obedience to Paul's command that we be continually filled with/controlled by the Holy Spirit? And can you even obey his command without the help of the Helper Who fills you (and enables you. We need Him to enable us. To say we need His help implies we just need a little "push" which is not the case. We need His life lived out wholly in and through us.)? Meditate on that thought today! And then, as Ray Pritchard puts it do what you do when you go to full service gas station (yes you younger folks, there once was such a fabled entity!)...Cry out " Fill me up! " expressing your deep desire for and desperate dependence on the Spirit's enabling power to carry out God's commands which are not burdensome (1Jn 5:3)! As an aside, it is interesting that we see so many Christian marriages and families in various states of disturbance, dissonance (lack of agreement) and/or even imminent dissolution. Paul was written us a "prescription", so to speak, for the "balm" (a soothing restorative agent) that can bring healing to families and marriages in dire (dismal, dreadful) straits! But like any medicine, the doctor can prescribe the best remedy, but the pill still has to be swallowed in order to effect a cure. What would happen to marriages and families that made an intentional effort (initiated by and energized by the Spirit of Grace-Heb 10:29b) to study and meditate on Paul's prescription in these passages and related cross references? In Psalm 107 the Spirit says that when the disobedient and distressed children of Israel "cried out to the LORD in their trouble, He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." (Psalm 107:19, 20). Beloved, His Name is Jehovah Rapha (Jehovah Rophe) The LORD our Healer and He is the same yesterday, today and forever and His Word is able to bring hope and healing to the hopeless and broken hearted! Related Posts: A POWERFUL PAIRING: FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT & FILLED WITH THE WORD PRECEPTAUSTIN BLOG Notice that the "variable" in these parallel passages is God's Holy Spirit in Ephesians and God's Holy Word in Colossians. The effects of being filled with the Spirit and the commands to be carried out by Spirit filled saints are virtually identical to those seen in saints who are in a sense "filled" with the Word of God! And so how can we discern if a person is filled with the Spirit as described in Ephesians? He or she is joyful and thankful. How can we tell if a believer is filled with the Word of God as described in Colossians? He or she is joyful and thankful! So clearly, one of the keys to the Spirit filled life, is to marinate our mind with the Word of life (Php 2:16-note, 1Jn 1:1), the Word of truth by which we are set apart (Jn 17:17) and walk (in the Spirit's enabling power) in obedience to the Truth we have learned. The result will be a growing understanding and experiencing of the eminently practical Spirit filled life. So let me ask you - How's your "appetite?" Are you eating His Word daily? (Observe how important Jesus thinks this is in Mt 4:4) Notice that the question is not are you reading your daily devotional, but are you spending time with Jesus, Who is the Word (Jn 1:1) letting His living and active Word dwell in your richly? (Cp Heb 4:12,13, 1Pe 1:23, 24, 25-note, 1Pe 2:2-note)? If not, then you need to decrease your "dietary intake" of devotionals, Christian books, etc, and replace them with intake of solid meat (Heb 5:14) and the pure (unadulterated, no additives) milk of the Word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation (1Pe 2:2-note, 2Pe 3:18-note). A Word-filled Christian is a Spirit-filled Christian, a believer who is so controlled by the Word of God that it dominates his or her entire life. Their life demonstrates that they are filled with the Holy Spirit. Warren Wiersbe alludes to the filling of the Spirit in reminding us of a vital truth if we are live and minister as more than conquerors - "Jesus performed His ministry on earth in the power of the Spirit (Lk 4:1 = "full of the Holy Spirit", Lk 4:14 = "in the power of the Holy Spirit", Acts 10:38 = "God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power") and this (Ed: I would say "He" referring to the Person of the Spirit) is the only resource we have for Christian living (Ed: and ministry) today. As you read the Book of Acts, you see the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church, for there are some fifty-nine references to the Spirit in the book, or one fourth of the total references found in the New Testament. Someone has said, “If God took the Holy Spirit out of this world, most of what we Christians are doing would go right on—and nobody would know the difference!” Sad, but true. The power of the Spirit is given to us “according to the riches of His glory” (Eph. 3:16-note). Christ returned to glory and sent the Spirit from heaven to indwell and empower His people. It is not necessary for us to “work something up.” The power has to be sent down. How marvelous that God does not give the Spirit’s power to us “out of His riches” but “according to”—which is a far greater thing. If I am a billionaire and I give you ten dollars, I have given you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given to you according to my riches. The first is a portion; the second is a proportion. This power is available for “the inner man.” This means the spiritual part of man where God dwells and works. The inner man of the lost sinner is dead (Eph. 2:1), but it becomes alive when Christ is invited in. The inner man can see (Ps. 119:18), hear (Matt. 13:9), taste (Ps. 34:8), and feel (Acts 17:27); and he must be “exercised” (1 Tim. 4:7–8). He also must be cleansed (Ps. 51:7) and fed (Matt. 4:4). The outer man is perishing, but the inner man can be renewed spiritually in spite of outward physical decay (2Cor. 4:16-18). It is this inner power that makes him succeed. What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit empower the inner man? It means that our spiritual faculties are controlled by God, and we are exercising them and growing in the Word (Heb. 5:12–14). It is only when we yield to the Spirit and let Him control the inner man that we succeed in living to the glory of God. This means feeding the inner man the Word of God, praying and worshiping, keeping clean, and exercising the senses by loving obedience. " (Bible Exposition Commentary - Comments on Ephesians 3:16). (Bolding and italics added) Alexander Maclaren related the Spirit to the Word declaring that "He who has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the Scriptures in his hands has all he needs." Vance Havner summarizes How to be Filled with the Spirit from John 7:37-39... Thirsting. Coming. Drinking. Believing. Overflowing. (From Pepper 'n Salt) Wayne
Efésios 5:18
Spurgeon - If you are filled with the Spirit of God, and wish to retain His gracious presence, speak about him. Note this, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is riot; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking.” That is a curious word to follow so soon. The Holy Ghost is not a dumb Spirit; he sets us speaking. “Speaking to yourselves”; it is a poor audience; but still it is a choice audience if you speak to your brethren. “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” Beloved, when the Spirit of God fills you, you will not only speak, but sing. Let the holy power have free course: do not quench the Spirit. If you feel like singing all the while, sing all the while, and let others know that there is a joy in the possession of the Spirit of God which the world does not understand, but which you are feeling, and to which you wish to bear witness. Oh, that the Spirit of God would come upon this entire church, and fill you all to overflowing! May the members of other churches that are here to-night take home fire with them, and set their churches on flame! The Lord bless you, for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen. (Read the entire sermon Filling with the Spirit and Drunkenness with Wine) ><> ><> ><> Filled With The Spirit - Bible scholar C. I. Scofield once visited a psychiatric hospital in Staunton, Virginia. The superintendent, who was giving him a tour, pointed out a powerfully built young man who seemed to be the picture of health. Scofield asked, “Wouldn’t that man be very difficult to manage if he became violent?” “Yes,” said the superintendent, “but he never exerts his power. His delusion is that he has no strength! He is always asking for medicine and complaining of weakness.” Scofield later commented, “How many in the church are like that! Divinely gifted with the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, they lack the faith, knowledge, and consecration to use it. People are always praying for power. There is power enough. What they need is the willingness to be used in any humble position, and the faith to exercise the strength God has given.” There are many splendid goals we could reach if we would cease our timid excuse-making and just let the Holy Spirit fill and control our lives. Because of our relationship to Christ and the indwelling Spirit, we have all the strength we need to do His will (2Cor 3:5-note). — by Henry G. Bosch Lord, fill us with Thy Spirit’s might That we may live as in Thy sight; On all Thy children lay Thy hand That they may live as Thou hast planned. —Lloyd The human spirit fails unless the Holy Spirit fills. ><> ><> ><> F. B. Meyer has the following devotional comments on "Filled"... IT IS said of Abraham that he died in a good old age, an old man, and full. It is a beautiful conception; as though all his nature had reached its complete satisfaction, and he could desire and receive nothing more. The Psalmist, too, sings of fulfilled desire; and Mary tells how God filled her hungry soul with good things. Can we speak with equal certainty of being "filled"? CHRIST IS THE SOURCE OF FULNESS TO HIS CHURCH AND TO INDIVIDUAL SOULS. (Ephesians 1:23-note) We have sought to be filled with earthly goods and human love. Away upon the mountains we have essayed to hew out for ourselves cisterns, to be fed by rushing brooks and falling showers, and be always brimming; but we have been greatly disappointed. In each case a flaw or crack has made our work abortive, and we have seen the water sinking inch after inch till only drops have remained to quench the fever-flush or our souls. Not more successful have been the attempts of those who have sought rest in systems of theology, in rites and ceremonies, or in the rush of unceasing engagements. In none of these can the nature of man find its completion or fruition. All the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him, that of that fulness we might all receive, and grace on grace; like repeated waves that follow one another up to the furthest reaches of the tide. In Him we have been made full in the purpose and intention of God (Col 2:9-note); and in Him we may be made full by the daily reception of his grace, through the operation of the Holy Spirit. It is as if God stored the whole fulness of his nature in Jesus, that it might be readily accessible by us. The river of God, which is full of water, flows over the low threshold of his humanity, that it may be within the reach of the weakest and smallest in his kingdom. We might be afraid of the Great Spirit; but what little child, what timid woman, ever shrank from the gentle Lamb of God? There is not one, who is in Jesus by a living faith, that may not reckon on being filled by Him. As the life-blood flows from the cistern-heart into each member and part of the body, so do the tides of life and love that emanate from the heart of Jesus pulse against the doors of all believing hearts. He fills all. And He fills all in all. The heart, with its keen power of enjoyment or sorrow. The mind, with its marvellous ability of tracking the footsteps of the Creator. The sense of humour and the sense of reverence. The hours of recreation and the hours of meditation. The days of work and the days of worship. All in all. He cannot do otherwise, without robbing or impoverishing Himself. For, as each part of the plant is needed to fill up the measure of its ideal, and as each member is required to fulfil the complete conception of a man; so each one of the members of Christ's mystical body, that Church, is essential to the manifestation of his fulness. He needs thee and me, or there will be some portion of his fulness which will never be able to manifest itself. But as sure as we present ourselves to Him, there will be an infilling of our nature with Himself, as the chill morning air, at dawn, becomes suddenly radiant with sunbeams. CHRIST'S FULNESS IS MEASURELESS. (Ephesians 3:19) There is no limit to the infinite nature of our Lord. The fulness of Deity is resident in Him. Only God the Father knows Him, and no other being, saint or seraph, beside. An angel with drooping wing might be imagined as reaching the furthest limit of space and be holding the last of the stars; but it is impossible to conceive of any limit whatsoever to the love, or power, or patience of Jesus. The ocean is shoreless. The height unsearchable. The depth bottomless. Such is Jesus that there is no common standard by which to compare Him with the greatest and noblest and eldest created spirit in the universe of God. You might compare such a one with the aphid on a leaf, for they are alike finite; but you cannot compare the finite and the infinite. All that fulness is for us. We are settlers on the continent of Christ's infinite nature, and we are at liberty to go on putting back the walls of our enclosure, so as to take in an ever-growing share of our inheritance. But we need never fear that we shall touch its furthest limit. When we have spent a million years exploring and appropriating, we shall know as little of its real contents as the Pilgrim Fathers knew of the America which has reared itself on the foundations they laid. Though our capacities to receive out of Christ's fulness were increased a thousandfold, all their need would be as regularly and constantly met as at this present hour; because the nature of God awaits to feed them, and we may count on being filled up to the measure of the fulness of God. That measure will always be beyond us. We may therefore rest in perfect satisfaction that we cannot exhaust it; and yet we may ever strive in our poor measure to attain more nearly towards it. The Mediterranean is ever losing volume by evaporation; and yet is always full, because it can draw by the Straits of Gibraltar on the Atlantic. And its tidelessness may well become the emblem of the peace and restfulness of that soul which has learnt the secret of taking into itself the blessedness of Jesus. THIS POWER TO FILL WAS WON BY CHRIST IN HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. (Ephesians 4:10-note) He did not ascend till He had first descended. Always death before resurrection; stooping before rising; the garden and the cross before the Ascension Mount. But as surely as these come first, the others follow. He who condescended to the fashion of a man, and thence to death, even the death of the cross, must ascend by the very laws of that spiritual world which He obeyed. He could not be holden by death. "Wherefore God highly exalted Him." "Thou art worthy, for Thou wast slain." And being by the right hand of God exalted, He received of the Father the promised plentitude of the Spirit. It had been his before, as the second Person in the Holy Trinity; but it became his now as the Representative and High Priest of his people. It was entrusted to Him as their Trustee and Surety. As we receive the fulness of forgiveness from his death, so we may receive the fulness of the Spirit from his life. There is no soul so low in its need, but He can touch it, because He has descended into the depths of Hades; and now from the zenith throne of his ascended glory He can reach the furthest and remotest points of spiritual need: as the sun can cover a wider area when it sits regnant in the sky at noon, than when pillowing its chin upon the western wave. OUR GROWTH IN THE BODY IS TO BE WORTHY OF THE HEAD. (Ephesians 4:13-note) In a caricature you will sometimes see a large head on a very diminutive and dwarfed body; but there will be no disparity between the Head and the Body when the Divine workmanship is complete. We are diminutive and dwarfed just now; but as we abide in Him we shall grow and expand until each member of the mystical Body shall fill out to its complete proportion, and the ideal man shall stand forth before the gaze of the universe, in the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. But this can only be when each joint shall supply to the whole its appropriate nutriment, and when we all give ourselves unweariedly to perfect one another in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. THIS FULNESS MUST BE RECEIVED. (Ephesians 5:18) The fulness is in Jesus' but we must take it. It is not enough even to pray; we must reverently and humbly appropriate its stores. "Give me this water," must be the cry of each, "that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw." There are three methods indicated here by which the filling process may be hastened: 1. Give yourself to holy song; if not with the lip, then in the heart, and with the music of a loving, trustful spirit, and the rhythm of a life attuned to the will of God. 2. Give thanks always for all things. Some of God's best gifts come in the roughest cases. When you see your Father's handwriting in the direction, kneel down and thank Him for the contents before you unpack them. All must be good that comes from Him. 3. Give submission and subjection to one another, except in matters that touch conscience and the demands of God. But, above all, learn the secret of an appropriating faith, that goes to God with its need, and dip its empty pitcher down into the fulness of Jesus, and takes up at any moment of the day the supply of its thirst; not trying to feel any joy or exhilaration or emotion, but daring to believe where it cannot discern, and to act on its sure reckoning that it does receive that which it asks of God. Too often God's ships came laden to our wharves, but we are not there to discharge them. Too often his couriers bring love letters, but we are asleep and they pass our doors. Too often his showers pass over the hills, but we do not catch their blessed fulness to fertilize and enrich our fields. ><>><>><> Who is in control of your life? Either the Holy Spirit or something else. Something else is a poor substitute! A. J. Gordon said that "Before Pentecost the disciples found it hard to do easy things; after Pentecost they found it easy to do hard things." Why should the children of a King Go mourning all their days? Great Comforter, descend, and bring Some tokens of Thy grace. --Isaac Watts