Experiencing the Holy Spirit # 35

In Search of the Full Manifestation


I bow my knees unto the Father" __


1. That he would grant you to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man;
2. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;
3. That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge;
4. That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19.


Every blessing God gives is like a seed with the power of an indissoluble life hidden in it. Do not imagine that to be filled with the Spirit is a condition of perfectness which leaves nothing more to be desired. In no sense can this be true. After the Lord Jesus was filled with the Spirit at His baptism, He had to go forth to be still further perfected by temptations and the learning of obedience.


When the disciples were filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, this equipment with power from on high was given to them that they might have victory over sin in their own lives.


The Spirit is the Spirit of truth, and He must guide us into it. He will lead us into the eternal purpose of God, into the knowledge of Christ, into true holiness and into full fellowship with God. The fullness of the Spirit is simply the full preparation for living and working as a child of God.


When we consider the matter from this point of view, we see at a glance how entirely indispensable it is for every child of God to aim at obtaining this blessing. We also understand why it is that Paul offers this prayer on behalf of all believers without distinction. He did not regard it as a spiritual distinction of special luxury which was intended only for those who were prominent or favored among the children of God. No, it was for all without distinction who at their conversion had by faith received the Holy Spirit, that he prayed.


His request was that by the special work of the Spirit, God would bring them to their true destiny - to be filled with all the fullness of God. Paul's prayer is regarded as one of the most glorious representations of what the life of a Christian ought t be. Let us endeavor to learn what the full revelation and manifestation of this blessing of the Spirit may become.


Strengthened With Power


That these Christians had received the Spirit when they believed in Christ is clear from a previous statement of the  epistle. But he sees that they do not yet know or have all that the Spirit can do for them. He realizes there is a danger that, by their ignorance, they may make no further progress.


Hence he bows his knees and prays without ceasing in their behalf that the Father would strengthen them with might by His Spirit in the inner man. This powerful strengthening with the Spirit is equivalent to being filled with the Spirit, and it is indeed another aspect of this same blessing. It is the indispensable condition of a healthful, growing, and fruitful life.


~Andrew Murray~


(continued with # 36)