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The Holy Spirit and
the Effect of His Indwelling and
Infilling Ministries on the Christian Life
August 1997
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In general the person and work of the Holy Spirit has been grossly misunderstood. On the one hand there are those who focus entirely on the Holy Spirit to the neglect of the other members of the trinity. On the other hand there are those who pretend, if not openly at least in practice, as if He doesn�t even exist. Both of these extremes are wrong and must be avoided. This situation has probably come about due to the great emphasis on the person and work of Christ in the last few centuries, especially in the work of Karl Barth, to the neglect of the study of the Holy Spirit. Pink (1970, p. 43) goes so far as to say that the Spirit has been robbed of His glory because Christians have failed to understand His work. This has resulted in a great deal of ignorance and confusion, even among scholars (cf. Sanders 1970, p. 140-141 & Hagin 1974, p. 29), in regard to the Spirit�s indwelling and infilling, which are in fact two distinct ministries.
The purpose of this essay is to examine the attributes of the Holy Spirit and analyse His role in the Christian life, with special emphasis on His indwelling and infilling ministries. The major Biblical passages that refer to indwelling and infilling are discussed in order to determine what these ministries are, when they occur and how they affect our lives.
There is a great tendency among Christians to think of the Holy Spirit as an "it" or as some kind of mystical power emanating from God. However, the Spirit is clearly presented as a person in John 16:13-14 and Ephesians 1:14. In these verses the personal pronouns "he" and "who" refer to the Spirit. In the great commission (Matthew 28:18-20) disciples are commanded to baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which would be meaningless if the Spirit is not a person.
Also, the Spirit is presented as performing many personal activities such as searching (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), making statements (1 Timothy 4:1), teaching (Luke 12:12), helping (Romans 8:26), testifying (Romans 8:16), being lied to (Acts 5:3), being tested (Acts 5:9) and being grieved (Ephesians 4:30).
It should be noted that impersonal language such as "I will pour out my Spirit" (Acts 2:18) is not a denial of personality but simply figurative (Pink 1970, p. 10).
Although there is no explicit statement in scripture concerning the Spirit�s divinity there are many passages that show this clearly.
In Acts 5:3-4, the Spirit is equated with God, in that lying to Spirit is lying to God. Prophets spoke from God by means of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Statements which the Old Testament records as being spoken by the Lord, are attributed to the Spirit when quoted in the New Testament (eg. Isaiah 6:1-13 and Acts 28:25-27; Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 10:15-17). Also, since the Christian�s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and the temple is God�s dwelling place and God�s Spirit lives in us, therefore the Spirit is God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16).
The unique attributes of God are also attributed to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is eternal (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7), omniscient (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), omnipotent (Luke 1:35, Micah 2:8, Isaiah 40:28) and holy (Romans 1:4).
The ministries of the Spirit are not as numerous as many commentators suggest. Pink (1970, p. 49-143) and Thiessen (1979, p. 255-256) suggest a whole range of ministries including regenerating, quickening, indwelling, baptising, sealing, enlightening, convicting, comforting, drawing, assisting, interceding, filling, guiding, empowering and teaching. Willmington (1984, p. 645-667) finds even more. However, when defining these so called ministries two things become apparent: many of them overlap and many of them are not ministries as such but are the results or effects of the four basic ministries discussed below.
John 16:8-11 states: "When he [the Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." (NIV).
The word translated "convict" (Gk. ejlevgcw) can mean "to bring to light or expose", "to convince or convict" or "to correct or punish" (BAGD 1979). The idea of correction or punishment does not fit the context and can be ruled out. Harris (1997) suggests that it should be taken to mean convict in a legal sense, although he admits this doesn�t fit the context of vv. 10-11 very well. Kennedy (1995) is more probably correct in suggesting the meaning: "to expose to information and press this information home to the inner man resulting in comprehension and response." It should also be noted that "world" in this context, refers to the unbelieving world. Therefore the Spirit will expose the unbelieving world�s sinfulness for what it is because people do not believe in Christ. The Spirit will bring to light the righteousness of Christ and His acceptance by the Father because He will be going to the Father and will no longer be on this earth. The Spirit will show the unbelieving world that it is under God�s judgement because it has sided with the prince of this world who is already under God�s judgement (Kennedy 1995).
Note that this is the basis of the gospel: Man is sinful. Christ is righteous. Humanity stands condemned because they have not believed Christ but followed the prince of this world. For a person to come to Christ they must experience this conviction of the Spirit.
1 Corinthian 12:13 states: "For we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." "Baptised" in this context does not refer to the Christian baptism ceremony. Rather it is used figuratively to indicate that the Spirit causes a Christian to be completely transplanted into the body of Christ which is the universal Church (Brown 1986, p. 147). Nowhere in scripture is Spiritual baptism directly related to power or service. Rather it describes our new relationship with Christ, which involves partaking all of Christ�s life, righteousness and glory. This ministry of the Spirit is part of God�s great salvation work and occurs at the point of conversion (Chafer 1967, p. 38). The use of the aorist indicative form of "baptise" and the immediate context indicate that this is also not repetitive experience for Christians.
This ministry is discussed in detail in section 3.
This ministry is discussed in detail in section 4.
There are many passages throughout the New Testament teaching that the Holy Spirit is in us or living in us. Jesus promised His disciples this would happen (John 14:17) and Paul (Romans 8:11, Galations 4:6) and John (1 John 3:24) often reaffirm it. But what does this actually mean?
In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist prophesied that after him would come someone who will baptise "with the Holy Spirit and with fire". This prophecy was later fulfilled in Acts 2:2-4 when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the form of fiery tongues.
This was the first time the Spirit came upon people and stayed with them. In the Old Testament the Spirit only came upon people for a specific purpose but left them again when that purpose was fulfilled (Ice 1996). However, Rapp (1997) argues that this is not the case and cites Joseph, Joshua, David and Daniel to prove that the Spirit also indwelt Old Testament believers. But the Bible does not teach that the Spirit permanently indwelt these men or that indwelling was a normal occurrence. In the case of Joseph (Genesis 41:8), the statement of indwelling is actually ascribed by Pharaoh, probably because Joseph was able to interpret his dream. This is not proof of permanent indwelling. Similarly for Daniel (Daniel 4:8, 5:11-14), indwelling (by gods) is ascribed by the King and Queen of Babylon because he also interpreted dreams. In Numbers 27, Joshua was being commissioned to take over from Moses as leader of the Israelites, so although verse 18 clearly states that the Spirit dwells in him, there is no mention of permanence or normality. In the case of David (1 Samuel 16:12-13), there is a hint of permanence, but in Psalm 51:11 David pleads: "Do not � take your Holy Spirit from me." There is also no indication of normality. Therefore, this kind of Spiritual indwelling was not common and was not the norm for the Old Testament believer (Walvoord 1958, p. 72).
In the New Testament, Jesus promised His disciples that when He ascended into heaven He would send the Spirit (John 7:39, John 16:7) to be with them and in them forever (John 14:16-17). But in John 20:22, Jesus breaths on His disciples and says to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." The question must be asked what actually happened when Jesus did this? Harris (1997) suggests that this action symbolises the new creation which Jesus inaugurated by the Spirit (cf. Genesis 2:7) and which is a recurring theme in John�s gospel (cf. John 1:1-5, 19-51), as well as being a partial fulfilment of Ezekiel 37:14. Harris goes on to say that Jesus breathed onto the disciples the breath of eternal life in the form of the Holy Spirit who was to indwell them and flow out from them (John 7:38-39). At this point the disciples received the life of the Spirit but it was not until Pentecost that they received the power of the Spirit.
The gift of the Spirit was considered by the early church to be the fundamental fact of a Christian�s new state. The indwelling Spirit is one of the outstanding characteristics of this age and is one of the vital contrasts between law and grace (Chafer 1967, p. 32).
There are no conditions for the indwelling of the Spirit, since it is clear from 1 Corinthians 3:16, that all Christians, whether they are obedient to the word of God or not, have the indwelling Spirit (Ryrie 1974, p. 77).
In John 14:23 Jesus states, with respect to Himself and the Spirit, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (NIV). Does this mean the Spirit of God dwells in our physical bodies? How is this possible?
The Bible is not clear on this but all the evidence suggests that the Spirit possesses our inner being (Ephesians 3:16), establishing an intimate bond (Pink 1978, p. 93), and imparting to us spiritual understanding and divine influence. Although we can not see or sense the indwelling Spirit, we can see the effects He has on our lives and our actions (John 3:8). However, the Spirit can only have an affect on us and control our lives if we allow Him.
Some writers have suggested that the purpose of the Spirit�s indwelling is to control the Christian (eg. Willmington 1984, p. 657) but these writers seem to be confusing indwelling and infilling. However, a more careful look at the scriptures shows a fourfold purpose: (1) to be a counsellor and teacher, (2) to be an intercessor, (3) to be a seal of ownership, marking us as God�s children, and (4) to be a deposit for the Christian, guaranteeing what is to come.
In John 14:25-27, Jesus comforts His disciples by saying "All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Jesus promised to send the indwelling Spirit to be their counsellor, who would teach them all things and remind them of what He had already told them. Harris (1997) suggests that "all things" refers not to exhaustive truth but that the Spirit will reveal the full significance of what Jesus did and said. The word translated as counsellor (Gk. paravklhto") would be better translated as "helper" in this context (Louw & Nida 1989, p. 142). Although "counsellor" in the legal sense is possible it doesn�t fit the context. The traditional translation of "comforter" is highly misleading and there is no lexical support for such a rendering.
Jesus reinforces these words again in John 16:12-15. There was much more for Him to say to the disciples but they just couldn�t bear it at that time, so the job was handed on to the Spirit who "will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come" (v. 13). The result is that the glory of Christ is revealed and since everything that belongs to the Father is Christ�s then the glory of the Father is also revealed.
As well as teaching, the Spirit enables the Christian to understand the gifts of God (1Cor 2:12) and to know God better (Ephesians 1:17). He renews and illuminates the mind so that Christians may understand the will of God (cf. Romans 12:1-2).
The Spirit also instructs Christians in what to say in times of persecution (Luke 12:11).
Romans 8:26-27 teaches that the Spirit acts as our intercessor in regard to prayer. In circumstances when the Christian is at a loss when trying to express themself to God, the Spirit steps in. As a member of the trinity with His dwelling place in each Christian, the Spirit is able to directly bridge the communication chasm between man and God. This enables man to express himself to God in a completely honest and open way without fear of being misunderstood or misrepresented.
In the ancient world a seal was used as a sign of identity and authority. The Apostle Paul uses this to illustrate how the indwelling Spirit acts as a seal of ownership, identifying us as God�s children. In 2 Corinthians 1:21c-22, Paul makes this perfectly clear: "He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." (NIV). In Ephesians 1:13 he again states that we have been marked in Christ with a seal - the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 4:30 he goes on to state that the seal is "for the day of redemption" and in Romans 8:16 he says the Spirit testifies that "we are God�s children." Therefore, if a person does not have the indwelling Spirit they are not a Christian (Pink 1978, p. 91).
In His earthly ministry, Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom of God was a present reality, but also a future event. Fee (1994, p. 803) points out that the resurrection of Christ and the gift of the promised Spirit completely altered the early church�s perspective about Jesus and their relationship to Him. The Jews had a completely futuristic eschatology in that they were waiting for the coming Messiah, but the early church recognised that the future had already been set in motion, which resulted in them having a thoroughly eschatological perspective of all of life.
Fee (1994, p. 801) states: "For Paul, through the resurrection of Christ and the subsequent gift of the Spirit, God himself had set the future inexorably in motion, so that everything in the �present� is determined by the appearance of the �future�. This is the starting point for Paul and the early church".
It is in this eschatological framework that 2 Corinthians 1:21, 5:5, Ephesians 1:14 and Romans 8:13-30 need to be understood. A "deposit" (or "down payment") is the first instalment of a total amount due, so it establishes the contractual obligation and guarantees its fulfilment. In these passages, Paul uses "deposit", "firstfruits" and "seal" as metaphors to emphasise the Spirit as the present evidence of future realities or as an assurance of final glory, or both (Fee 1994, p. 806).
Romans 8:13-30 reflects this tension between our present existence and the guarantee of a certain future. What we have at present are firstfruits (v. 23) and the first sheaf is God�s pledge to us of the final harvest. We are presently children of God who are joint heirs with Christ but we are also in a present existence of weakness and suffering (v. 17). We have already received our adoption but we still wait for our final adoption, which is the redemption of our bodies (v. 23). (Fee 1994, p. 807).
The Spirit is also the guarantor of our resurrection. However, He is not the One who raises us. Fee (1994, p. 808) points out that this idea has come about due to poor exegesis of a small number of texts like Romans 8:11: "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." (NIV). Fee understands this verse as saying that if the Spirit of the very God who raised Christ dwells in us then that says something significant about our future because the presence of the Spirit in our lives guarantees the "future life" of our physical bodies as well, even though they are destined for death. This interpretation comes from accepting a textual variant for the phrase "dia tou' ejnoikou'nto" aujtou' pneuvmato"" ("through His Spirit who lives�"). The variant has the accusative case form, to ejnoikou'n, and is supported by uncials B D F G Y and miniscules 6 33 424 459 1175 1241 1739 and 1881 (see variant list in UBS4 GNT). The accusative case changes the semantics of the preposition dia making it causal, and therefore should be translated as "because of" (see Fee 1994, p. 543 n. 205). This means that we can be certain that our bodies will be given life precisely because of the indwelling Spirit (Fee 1994, p. 809).
The language of indwelling and the illustration of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19) indicates the Spirit is personally present on planet Earth. The temple is God�s dwelling place and the Spirit is how God now dwells in His temple, which is the individual Christian and the global church (Fee 1994, p. 843).
Because of the indwelling Spirit, the glory of God is unveiled (cf. the Most Holy place of the temple/tabernacle which was covered by a veil keeping people away from God�s presence) and it is now possible for the Christian to be permanently in communion with God.
Not only does the Christian have access to God, but also access to His power (Ephesians 3:16-21). However, Fee (1994, p. 823) notes that there is a strong tendency to view Christians as slugging it out in the trenches alone with little experience of the Spirit as God�s empowering presence. The Apostle Paul never views life in the Spirit as a constant struggle between flesh and the Spirit in which the flesh usually has the upper hand nor does he believe that those who live by the Spirit are never tempted by the old life in the flesh or that they never give in to temptation (Fee 1994, p. 817). However, it is clear from scripture that the early church had experiences of the dynamic presence of the Spirit (Fee 1994, p. 824-825). Paul himself indicates his ministry is a direct result of the Spirit�s empowering (Romans 15:18-19).
This is not unexpected, since Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive power when the Spirit came (Acts 1:8). For Paul, "power" refers to the visible manifestations of the Spirit�s presence (1 Corinthians 2:4-5, Galations 3:5, Romans 15:19), but this does not always have to imply miraculous manifestations. The power of the Spirit may be displayed in the way renewed people behave toward one another (Fee 1994, p. 824-825). Miraculous signs in the church as signs of God�s power and presence are possible but not essential. Fee (1994, p. 824) points out that many Christians are asking: "How is it possible for there to be miracles, but no miracles in one�s behalf?" In other words, "physician; heal yourself!" This is asked by those who never consider that God�s greater glory rests on the manifestation of His grace and power through the weakness of the human vessel - precisely so that there will never be any confusion as to the source! Power comes from the Spirit not man.
In Ephesians 3:16-21, Paul prays that the Ephesians will be strengthened in their inner being with power through the Spirit, so that they "�may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, �" Paul goes on to praise God who "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, �" There is no doubt that Paul considered power and the indwelling Spirit as directly linked.
Fee (1994, p. 843), suggests that Paul sees the role of the Spirit in terms of Ezekiel 36:26-27 and 37:14. God�s gives people a "new heart" made possible because He will also give them a new Spirit (v. 26), which is the Holy Spirit. Because of the Spirit�s empowering presence we are able to follow God�s decrees (v. 27). The presence of the Spirit is the presence of God Himself who gives us life (Ezekiel 37:14).
All this results in a spiritual unity with God, greater spiritual understanding (1 Corinthians 2:11-16), power to do His will (Sanders 1970, p. 140) and zeal to serve Him (Romans 12:11).
Note that the result of the Spirit�s indwelling ministry is dependent upon the Spirit�s infilling ministry. Only those who are infilled will experience the Spirit as God�s empowering presence. This is the subject of the following section.
Many passages in the New Testament also describe various people as being "filled with the Holy Spirit" or "full of the Holy Spirit". But what does this mean? In Ephesians 5:18 we are commanded to "be filled with the Spirit" although this is the only place in scripture we are commanded to do so. Even so, the following questions must be asked: How does a Christian "be filled with the Spirit"? Under what conditions can a Christian be filled? What does it mean to "be filled with the Spirit"?
Ice (1996) and Thiessen (1979, p. 255-256) suggest there are two types of filling of the Holy Spirit: Special filling and Normal (or General) filling:
There are many references in the Old Testament that refer to individuals being filled or full of the Spirit or to having the Spirit come upon them (Exodus 31:3-5, Numbers 11:17, Deuteronomy 34:9, 1 Samuel 16:13). The context of these passages shows that the filling referred to was not normal, usually temporary and was brought about by God, in order that the individual may be empowered to perform a particular task.
There are also similar examples of such filling in the New Testament, in Luke and Acts (eg. Luke 1:41, Luke 1:67, Acts 2:4, Acts 4:8, Acts 9:17). The phrase used to describe this filling is "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Gk. ejplhvsqh pneuvmato" aJgivou). This phrase emphasises the event of filling rather than a state of fullness since all the occurrences of pivmplhmi are aorist or future indicating an event. It should also be noted that the Greek verb pivmplhmi, meaning "to fill completely", is always used to describe this filling. The filling is also instantaneous often resulting in immediate prophetic utterances. There seems to be no conditions to be met for the filling because the passive voice of the verb indicates the individual was acted upon by the Spirit without regard to the individual�s will. This kind of filling is a divine act of God and no-one is ever commanded to seek it. The fact that Peter and Paul were filled on several occasions (Peter: Acts 2:4, 4:31; Paul: Acts 9:17, 13:9) implies that the filling was also temporary, only lasting until the particular task was completed (Ice 1996).
In Ephesians 5:18, Christian�s are command to be filled with the Spirit in the sense of the Spirit�s Normal filling (Ice 1996). This ministry has been greatly misunderstood because of poor exegesis of this verse and because normal filling is not distinguished from special filling (eg. Washburn 1983). Yet spiritual filling is the basic requirement for Christian growth and maturity (Ryrie 1972, p. 82).
In Ephesians 5:18, Paul commands: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit." (NIV). This command uses the verb plhrovw, meaning �to cause something to become full�. The adjectival form plhvrh", meaning �full� is used by Luke to describe certain people as "full of the [Holy] Spirit" (see Luke 4:1, Acts 6:3, Acts 7:55, Acts 11:24). The use of the imperative mood and the present tense for plhrovw strongly suggest it should be taken as an iterative present (see Wallace 1996, p. 520). This means the emphasis is on the condition or state of fullness and the adjectival form, plhvrh", indicates that this state of fullness has been achieved. Note that this word is different from pivmplhmi which is used to describe special filling and which only occurs in the aorist and future tenses.
There has been great debate over the referent of "spirit" in this verse. Washburn (1983) recognises the problem with translating ejn pneuvmati as "with the Spirit" and therefore suggests it can�t refer to the Holy Spirit and should be translated "be fulfilled in the realm of your spirit". But this ignores the possibility of the common dative of means category and the fact that possession is only implied if the noun (in this case pneuvmati) is modified by possessive pronoun or article (see Wallace 1996, p. 215). Wallace (1996, p. 375) confirms that taking ejn pneuvmati as the content of filling is grammatically suspect, and suggests that means is a more likely choice in consideration of the parallel with oi[nw/. Also, Rapp (1996) points out that Paul uses ejn pneuvmati elsewhere in Ephesians to indicate means (Ephesians 2:22, 3:5). Therefore the translation should be "�be filled by the Spirit."
This raises the question of content: what is the Christian to be filled with? Ephesians 5:18 does not explicitly state the content so it must have been already understood. In Ephesians 3:16-19, Paul prays that the Ephesians would be strengthened with power through His Spirit in their inner being so that they "may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God". Therefore it seems highly likely that the content of filling is the fullness of God (see also Fee 1994, p. 722 and Wallace 1996, p. 375).
There has also been great debate over the meaning of the contrast in this verse. Ryrie (1972, p. 82) suggests the concept of control. Both drunk people and spiritual people are controlled - drunk people by alcohol and spiritual people by the Spirit. However, Washburn (1983) points out the folly of this interpretation: a control that allows the Christian to lose the Spirit�s control (and be filled/controlled again) can hardly be called control! Neither are Spirit-filled Christians in some kind of drunken stupor, especially in light of the fact that self-control is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23). Stott (1975, p. 55-56) correctly points out it is not a comparison of two intoxicated states; drunkenness and spiritual fullness. Rather, it is about comparing two states of "being under the influence."
A Christian may be described as full of the Spirit if they consistently allow themselves to be influenced by the Holy Spirit as opposed to being influenced by the attitudes and beliefs of others. Fee (1994, p. 721) states that this verse describes "a person � whose life is so totally given over to the Spirit that the life and deeds of the Spirit are as obvious � as the effects of too much wine �"
Being filled with the Spirit is a result of being fully consecrated to the will and work of God in human life (Moule 1977, p. 214). Willmington (1984, p. 657-658) aptly states: "A Christian that is filled with the Spirit does not have more of the Spirit but rather the Spirit has more of that Christian."
Ice (1996) notes that no conditions for infilling are stated in scripture per se. However, considering what it means to "be filled", it is necessary for the Christian to suppress their own worldly desires, to refuse to be influenced by the attitudes and beliefs of the unbelieving world and to allow themselves to be dominated by the influence of the Spirit. As soon as a Christian stops being influenced by the Spirit they can no longer be regarded as full of the Spirit. Therefore it is clear that not every Christian is filled with the Spirit (contra Willmington (1984, p. 658) who states that it comes about instantaneously at conversion).
The scriptures do not present infilling as a kind of special spiritual endowment. As Ice (1996) points out, a person does not become full of the Spirit so they can receive a greater spiritual motivation. Rather a person is spiritually motivated and then is described as being "full of the Spirit".
Spiritual Infilling is command, not an option (Moule 1977, p. 216) and should be a normal characteristic of every dedicated Christian (Stott 1975, p. 48).
Ephesians 5:19-21 states the result of the Spirit�s infilling. Wallace (1996, p. 639) notes that the category of the participles in vv. 19-21 is debatable but suggests that result fits the grammar well and makes good sense in this context. Therefore, the contrasting parallelism in Ephesians 5:18 does not stop at the influence of the Spirit and the influence of alcohol but extends to the results of these two influences. Drunkenness leads to debauchery but being filled by the Spirit leads to (among other things) singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to each other, singing and making music to the Lord and giving thanks to God the Father for everything. Stott (1975, p. 59-60) notes that being filled with the Spirit should result in giving thanks and praise to God and submitting to one another in unity and fellowship. Spiritual fullness is shown by our relationship with God and our fellow man.
Being filled with the Spirit is not primarily about unusual, enrapturing experiences but is the reality of the Spirit�s working in the basic relationships and responsibilities of everyday living (Gaffin 1980). It means marriages that work, victory over sin, peace in the home, and Godly living. As Stott (1975, p. 54-55) correctly points out, the chief evidence for being filled with the Spirit is moral not miraculous and relates to the fruit of the Spirit not the gifts of the Spirit.
As the Christian continually walks with the Spirit�s help, the Spirit produces fruit in that Christian�s life (Galations 5:22-23; which is not meant to be an exhaustive list). The Spirit is essentially reproducing the life of Christ in the Christian. This notion is confirmed by the title "Spirit of Christ" in Romans 8:9-11, and the fact that many of the words used to describe the fruit are also used to describe Christ elsewhere (Fee 1994, p. 882).
In Romans 8:4-9, Paul exhorts his readers not to be influenced by the sinful nature but to live according to the Spirit. Also, in Galations 5:16-24 he instructs them to live by the Spirit, so that they will avoid the acts of the sinful nature and bear the fruit of the Spirit.
Note also that the fruit of the Spirit are not obtained by trying hard. The term "fruit" used to describe them indicates that they are the natural result of the Spirit�s infilling (Morris 1978, p. 49). Note also, that fruit does not grow overnight - it takes time to grow.
God the Holy Spirit is personally present on planet Earth, indwelling every Christian. He has placed the Christian into the Church and acts as a counsellor, teacher and intercessor. He is a seal that marks the Christian as belonging to God and he is a deposit that guarantees the Christian�s future. The indwelling Spirit makes it possible for every Christian to access God�s power through His distinct infilling ministry. However, it is up to each Christian to surrender their own will and allow themselves to be constantly influenced by the Spirit so that He may produce His fruit in them.
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