Daily Bread – August 30, 2023 (The Fourth Day – Genesis 1:14-19) Ephesians 5:18 – And be not intoxicated with wine as one unsaved, but be continually filled with the Spirit. Continually Filled With The Spirit The Bible does not teach us to walk in our own will and desire. Instead, we are counseled to be totally surrendered to the will and mind of the Spirit. Truly God has given us gifts, but only the Holy Spirit knows how to operate them. When Jesus described being filled with the Spirit, He did so in terms of an allegory. He used thirst as the allegory to describe how rivers of living water would flow out of the believer. When the believer drinks of the water (which is the gift of God – John 4:10), the rivers flow out of them. The rivers Jesus referred to could not be revealed until He was glorified (John 7:37-39; Acts 2:33). These rivers, then in effect, were observed as tongues – for this was the sign of Pentecost. The allegory of thirst expresses to us a constant and ongoing need. Should we believe that being filled with the Spirit is a one-time event initiating the believer into Christianity, then the allegory Jesus used does not make sense. Salvation certainly is the one time event resulting in a person becoming a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the allegory Jesus used was being born – truly a one-time event (John 3:3-6). However, drinking is something we do regularly for the needs of our physical body. In keeping with the allegory then, we must also drink regularly in the Spirit for the need of our spiritual life – and when we drink, a river will begin to flow. Thus, Paul commands those at Ephesus, who were already baptized in the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit as a continual and ongoing event. Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 8/30/2023
