How do You know when You are
Spirit-filled?
The supreme mission of the Holy
Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ. He glorifies the
Son by unfolding clearly the meaning of His person
and atoning work.
The work of the Spirit is
Christocentric. He will glorify Christ and will
never draw attention to Himself. He always declares
the work of Christ.
The work of the Holy Spirit is
always to glorify Christ. Jesus said that when the
Holy Spirit comes, “He shall glorify Me” (John
16:14). When the Spirit came upon the 120 in the
upper room at Pentecost they immediately began to
proclaim, not the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ is
Lord. And they never ceased doing that.
How do you know when you are
filled with the Spirit? You will be glorifying Jesus
Christ in your everyday life and work. You are
filled and under the control of the Spirit when
Christ is Lord of your life. There is no greater joy
than honoring Him every moment, every hour of the
day.
It is the work of the Holy
Spirit to exalt Jesus Christ in the life of every
born again believer. If your life is not bringing
glory to Christ then you need to ask the hard
questions: Am I a true Christian? Have I been
converted? Is He Lord of my life? When you become a
new creation in Christ Jesus the Holy Spirit
immediately begins to recreate in your life the
image of the glorified Savior. It is impossible to
know Christ as your Savior and not to some extent
reflect His character in your life.
The Holy Spirit communicates
and shares with us the presence and power of the
exalted Christ so that He is demonstrated in us as
the Lord of glory. Jesus said, “He shall glorify Me;
for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to
you” (v. 14). The Holy Spirit is the person who
takes the things of Christ and manifests them to us
and through us to the Father’s glory.
This is evident in the life of
every Christian, not just an elite few special
people. In every true believer the glory of Christ
should be seen because the Holy Spirit glorifies the
Son of God in the weakness of the human flesh. The
Spirit will make Christ apparent and glorious in us.
We are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
The one sole objective in the
work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Christ.
Whenever the Spirit is at work there will be
evidence that Jesus Christ is being glorified. How
do you know you are filled with the Spirit? You will
see evidence in your life of Christ being
reproduced. We see that proof most clearly in the
fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Christ will be
exalted in your attitude, behavior, thinking, and
manner of life. That is because of the ministry of
the Holy Spirit is to exalt Christ in and through
us.
Jesus Christ has been exalted
to the highest place in heaven. God “highly exalted
Him, and gave Him a name above every name” (Phil.
2:9). In the places where you often frequent is
Jesus Christ exalted above every other name? Does
your presence there bring honor and glory to Him
alone? Does what you believe about God and your
religion place the same emphasis the New Testament
does on Jesus Christ? Do you in any way dilute the
glory ascribed to Christ? Do you share His glory
with some other religious leader or teacher?
The Holy Spirit always
glorifies Christ. If I am Spirit-filled my life and
teaching will always seek to glorify the Son of God.
Is Jesus Christ being crowned with many crowns in my
life? Is He glorified in the way I spend my time,
where I go on the Internet, my pursuit of pleasure,
the people with whom I associate, the movies I
watch, the desires of my heart, the things I long
for in my quiet moments, etc.? Are these under the
control of the Spirit? Is Christ being made Lord of
my life? It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring
every area of our lives under His control, and make
it very plain when we are glorifying Jesus Christ.
He also convicts us when it is clear we are not
Christ-centered. He reproves us when we are
tarnishing His glory.
How long does the Holy Spirit
have to convict you of anything sinful before you
repent? Do you immediately confess it to God and
turn from it? Have you gotten into the habit of
asking God to forgive, but not turning from the sin?
That attitude will paralyze you spiritually. The
Holy Spirit will keep coming back to that area of
your life and working until you submit it to the
lordship of Jesus Christ because that is one of the
ways He can get the glory in your life.
Is the image of Jesus Christ
clearly seen in your life? Is what you say and do
glorifying the Son of God? Give the Spirit freedom
in your life to probe deeply and empower you to
change what needs to be changed.
How does the Holy Spirit
glorify Christ? Jesus said, “He shall take of Mine,
and shall disclose it to you” (v. 14). The Holy
Spirit exalts the Son of God as He reveals Him in
all His fullness to men. The Spirit receives the
truth, and fullness of Christ, and imparts it to the
believer. God the Father is glorified in the Son and
the Son is glorified in the Father. When I am
Spirit-filled I am glorifying my Lord and Savior.
God is glorified when I glorify the Son. The words
and deeds of Jesus were the Father’s on words and
deeds. In making the Son known, the Holy Spirit is
at the same time making known the Father who is
revealed in the Son.
Our greatest occupation as
believers is with Jesus Christ and our personal and
increasing knowledge of Him. The more we grow in
that personal relationship with Him the more we are
strengthened and shaped into His likeness. The
greatest of all God’s work is the new creation of
believers in the likeness of Christ.
How do we know when we are
filled with the Spirit? We are under His control
when we are glorifying Christ in our everyday life
and work.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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