In our last session, we saw that there were two ways to put to death the “works of the flesh”. One was by living the crucified life and the other was by the power of the Holy Spirit. In this session we are going to examine the later idea of the Holy Spirit. Next time we will examine the “crucified life” idea.
Many books, articles, documents and sermons have been written on the work and person of the Holy Spirit. There are many issues around the understanding of the Holy Spirit. One of those issues is the distinction between the “first work of grace” and the “second work of grace”. Church denominations tend to split over this issue. My own denomination has historically emphasized the “second work of grace”. The first work of grace is the work of the Holy Spirit in which a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ and is born again. The second work of grace is the emphasis of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or the infilling of the Holy Spirit for holiness and empowerment.
This leads to another debate – the baptism of the Holy Spirit or the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Are they speaking of the same thing, therefore interchangeable or are they distinct experiences? We will answer this question before tackling the first or second work of grace question. I believe the baptism of the spirit and the infilling of the Spirit are distinct experiences. John 3 makes it clear that the Holy Spirit is the one who causes us to be “born again”. In 1 Corinthians 12:13 indicates that in our salvation we were “baptized into the body by one Spirit”. And then Paul says very clearly that the believers in Ephesus are to “be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). It seems clear that they are two separate and distinct events.
When we examine more closely the verse from Ephesians 5:18 (be filled with the Holy Spirit), it is important to note, that in the Greek the verse tense is continuous. That means it can be translated as: “be filled with the Holy Spirit again, and again, and again and again….”. That means that we could say that there’s a second work of grace, a third, a fourth and so one. In actual fact we could say that the “works of grace” are unlimited. I have decided that instead engaging in the debate of whether there is one or two works of grace, I will simply refer to it as the “ongoing” work of grace.
Now the question you might have is – what is the point and purpose of the infilling of the Holy Spirit? There are two simple answers to that question: one answer is that the infilling of the Holy Spirit releases the necessary spiritual gifts to do the works of the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 12:1-12) and secondly for holiness (the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23). We will examine these in a future blog.
For now, I want to utilize two images to help understand the need for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The one is the image of a power panel in a new house. And the other image is the idea of a newly formed clay vessel. Galatians 5:25 is our guiding principle for these images and illustrations. Galatians 5:25 says – “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (NIV) When we were born again we were made “alive”, therefore we “live by the Spirit” and if we live, then we can walk by the Spirit. There are two principles. Here’s the point I am trying to make with the two images.
With a new house, it is ready to be lived in, but until all the appliances are plugged in AND turned on, we are not fully living in the house. Paul tells us that we have been given the power to please the Lord (Philippians 2:13), that the Lord is able to do things that are beyond our imagination according to the power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20). And Peter tells us that we have been given the power to live a godly life (2 Peter 1:3). In the house the power is accessed by being plugged in (born again) and turning on the switch (the infilling of the Spirit). Every time we need power the switch has to be flipped. Every time the Lord wants to do something in and through us, we need to be filled again. And again, and again and so on.
The second image of the clay pitcher is similar. Before the clay was molded and created into a pitcher, it was a lump of clay. Before we were born again, we were that lump of clay, without form or purpose. When we were born again, we became a new creation, a pitcher and that pitcher has a purpose – to be filled with water to be poured into something else. To be fully useful, the pitcher must be filled again and again.
Now the question is: how do we get filled with the Spirit? How do we get the switch turned on? Two ways, and they work together. First, we begin asking the Father to fill us with the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) and secondly, by submitting to what and how the Holy Spirit wants to manifest His presence in you as He fills you up (1 Corinthians 12:11). Asking and submitting must be done regularly. And when the Holy Spirit fills us, it is an actual experience. And sometimes we must keep submitting and asking in prayer until it happens, until He comes and fills us . Just like the disciples were told before Pentecost to wait until the power came upon them (Luke 24:49).
It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to become a disciple (to be born again) and it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to be a disciple (the infilling). Our part is to simply submit, ask, trust and obey. He will do the rest.
And that is how we put to death the deeds of the flesh.
