THE HOLY SPIRIT AND CHRIST'S INDWELLING

"That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)

Devotion 15 of 16

FILLED WITH THE FULNESS OF GOD

Now we come to the grand objective for the ministration of the Holy Spirit. It should not surprise us that it is exceedingly large. The Holy Spirit of God is not engaged in minuscule and inconsequential activities. Knowing the love of Christ is in order "that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." What a staggering consideration! This is a "FILLING," not a mere addition to other possessed qualities. It is not a blessing of which a mere portion is to be possessed "ALL the fulness." This prayer is not for the expansion of human capabilities, but for the reception of "the FULNESS of God."

In this blessing, there is no room for any vestige of Adam, nature, or earth. The objective is to divest the believer of everything that is contaminated, and fill him with the Divine nature--"the fulness of GOD."

The word "fulness" refers to the filling itself. "Measure" refers to the capacity of the strengthened heart. "God" refers to the Substance with which we are filled. The objective, then, is for God Himself to pervade the entire person, to fill up what had formerly been dominated by sin, and to do so to a greater degree. Although there are varying capacities found in believers, the Substance that fills them is the same.

An Illustration

A profound illustration of this truth is found in an incident involving the mighty prophet Elisha. On one occasion, "a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets" came to Elisha with a serious difficulty. Her husband, a servant who feared God, had died, leaving a significant debt behind. "The creditor," the woman reported, "is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen," thereby ensuring the debt owed to him would be paid. What could be done for this poor woman?

The prophet asked what was available to her: "What do you have in the house?" Alas, the poor widow was in bad straits. She replied, "Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." By faith, seeing the potential of the situation, Elisha said, "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full."

You remember the occasion, I am sure. The woman did as the prophet commanded. When she had filled the house with vessels, she shut the door, and began pouring from her single jar of oil. She filled every vessel with oil from the jar--vessels of differing sizes. When the last vessel was filled, the oil stopped increasing, yet her original jar of oil remained as it was in the beginning.

Thus it is with the blessing of our text. In salvation, the Lord is filling the house with vessels. They are all of varying sizes and capacities, but they are brought into his house. The jar of oil is like "the fulness of God." When the conditions described earlier in our text are met, each believer is filled up with that fulness, according to their ordained capacity. All believers are filled with the same fulness, and yet that fulness has not been diminished one whit. It is no wonder John wrote, "And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace" (John 1:16).

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You through Jesus for providing a salvation that prepares us for Your own blessed presence.

-- Tomorrow: CONCLUSION --
Friday: New Series, THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE