"Opposed themselves and blasphemed." Acts xviii. 6.
"Rose up against Paul, and brought him before the judgment seat." Acts xviii. 12.
"Speaking evil of the way." Acts xix. 9.
"Filled with wrath." Acts xix. 28.
"No small stir concerning the way." Acts xix. 23.
"A plot was laid against him by the Jews." Acts xx. 3.
"So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles." Acts xxi. 11.
"And laid hands on him." (Paul was never free after this.) Acts xxi. 27.
"As they were seeking to kill him." Acts xxi. 31.
"Beating Paul … bound with two chains … into the castle." Acts xxi. 32, 33, 34.
"It is not fit that he should live." Acts, xxii. 22.
"Bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul." Acts xxiii. 12.
"They delivered Paul … to a centurion." Acts xxvii. 1.
"From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear branded on my body the marks of Jesus." Gal. vi. 17.
All this makes lively reading in this peaceful, easy-going day of ours; and yet the world has not changed in its attitude or feeling towards God and the things of God. But a most palpable change has taken place somewhere. The change, alas! is in us, in the people of God; a change that is not for the better. We have lost that which brought these men into direct collision with the world, and with its ways, even the Fullness of the Spirit. Only let a man in our day seek and obtain the blessing that made these men mighty for God, and he will soon find that the world has not changed, and that the "Pharisees" have not changed either; the Fullness of the Holy Ghost makes a man the uncompromising friend of God, and that certainly involves the enmity of the world. "Therefore the world hateth you" (John xv. 19). It behooves those who are seeking the "Fullness of the Spirit" to remember these facts, and to count the cost, for the persecution may come from the most unlikely, unlooked-for quarters. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. "In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John xvi. 33).
The question is often asked—How am I to know when I am filled with theHoly Ghost?
1. You may know it from the testimony of the written Word.
"All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for,believe that ye have receivedthem, and ye shall have them" (Mark xi. 24). From this you know, that if you have, up to your light, fulfilled the conditions necessary to the filling of the Holy Ghost, on praying and asking for the Fullness, it is your privilege to believe that you have received what you have asked for; nay, it is your bounden duty, in compliance with Christ's express command, so to believe. If God gives, and you really receive, you may then give thanks, and that proves that you possess, for you cannot truly give thanks for what you do not possess! It will be noted that this answer is precisely similar to the answer that would be given to the question—How am I to know that I am saved? By simple faith on the testimony of the Word. As multitudes have accepted salvation without any emotion, without any feeling whatever, so many a one has accepted by faith the "Fullness of the Holy Ghost," without any wave of emotion or feeling bearing witness to the fact of the filling. But this is not to say that there is never any feeling, that the emotions are never stirred; not so, for the feelings will come in due course, in God's own time.
2. Witness of the Spirit.
Again, one may know that the Fullness has come by the witness of the infilling Spirit. Just as in multitudes of cases the blessed Spirit bears witness with the Blood when it is applied at the moment of conversion, so many a one knows in his inner consciousness the moment when the Fullness of the Spirit was bestowed; they felt the Incoming and can date their Baptism, as others have felt the regenerating change and can date their conversion.
It should also be repeated here, that as many are ignorant of the date of their conversion, though well assured of the fact, so many may be ignorant of the date of their Baptism with the Holy Ghost, though well assured that they have entered on the blessed life. If we are assured of the fact, that we have received the Fullness of the Spirit, we need not worry as to dates.
3. Signs Following.
Yet again, one may know whether the Fullness has come to his heart and life by the signs following, by what "The Men" of the North of Scotland would call "the marks." Christ's words used in another connection may surely be applied in this, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matt. vii. 20). "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. v. 22, 23). The fullness of the fruit will surely be found where the Fullness of the Spirit is. Quantity and quality will both be there. As this has already been touched upon when considering the effects of the blessing, no more need be added here. But this, however, must be clearly borne in mind, that, while the Fullness of the Spirit is agift, the fruit of the Spirit is agrowth. Fruit grows, and the fruitwillgrow, if only we see to it that the conditions are present which are favorable to growth. That man does not manifest much wisdom who expects full growth without attending to the conditions of growth.
The question has been raised—Is it right for one tosaythat he is "filled with the Holy Ghost"? May this not savor of egotism? John said of Jesus—"Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world; … the same is He that baptizeth with the Holy Spirit" (John i. 29, 33). Christ's twofold office here is to "take away sin," and "to baptize with the Holy Spirit." Each one who knows Christ as the "Sin-bearer" should have an experimental acquaintance with Him as the "Baptizer" too. Indeed, this alone isfull salvation. To have sin taken away is but half salvation; to be "baptized with the Holy Spirit" as well, is to possess full salvation. Now, if Christ has taken away a man's sin, may that man not know it? Certainly. And if he knows it, may he not bear witness to the fact? Nay, does Christ not expect him to confess?—to tell what great things the Lord hath done for him? No right-thinking person would regard it as wrong for a saved man to confess his Saviour, or would regard his confession as egotism. By parity of reasoning, if Christ has baptized a pardoned man with the Holy Ghost, may that man not know it? Surely! and if he knows it, may he not bear witness to the fact? May he not tell what still greater things the Lord hath done for him? Would this be wrong? Mustthisnecessarily be egotism? At the same time, while it is perfectly scriptural for a Spirit-filled man to testify, for Christ's glory, as to the Infilling of the Holy Spirit when questioned upon it—for we must be careful not to libel the grace of God that is in us, and not to grieve the Holy Spirit by ignoring Him or His work within us—one cannot be too careful lest he be found casting his "pearls before the swine" (Matt. vii. 6), and as a rule it will be better in this matter to let the life speak rather than the tongue. Indeed it will not often be necessary for the Spirit-filled man to be questioned on the subject at all; his speech will betray him, his manner of life, his fruitful service.
The question trembles from many a lip—If I get the blessing, may I lose it? Most certainly. But, glory be to God! He has made ample provision for failure. There is no reason why weshouldfail; God has made ample provisionagainstfailure; we must not expect to fail;butin case we do fail, provision has been made. The most prolific cause of loss is disobedience—disobedience either to one of God's written commands, or to the inward promptings of His Holy Spirit. "The Holy Ghost whom God hath given to them that obey Him" (Acts v. 32). This all-glorious gift is not only obtained but retained in connection with obedience. It is absolutely necessary to maintain the attitude of complete self-surrender, for the slightest act of disobedience—that is, the asserting of our own will in opposition to His will—may cost us the loss of the blessing, such as, neglecting to speak to a man about the great salvation, or, refusing to give a tract to some one when weknewGod wanted us to do so. We must learn to be obedient to the promptings of the Spirit. "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" (Ps. xxv. 15) must be our constant attitude.
If we possess the blessing, and desire to retain it, there is another matter of the last importance that must be attended to, viz., letting "the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Col. iii. 16). The Spirit-filled man will be a Word-filled man. A neglected Bible is responsible for much of the lost blessing from which many of God's children are suffering to-day. If we would retain the blessing in its fullness and freshness, we must feeddailyand feedmuchupon Christ as He is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. It is the function of the indwelling Spirit to take of the things of Christ, and to show them unto us (John xvi. 14). He does not speak from Himself or of Himself, but of Jesus; and so He will be continually drawing us to the Word, that He may have the opportunity of drawing our attention to fresh beauties in Immanuel. There is much so-called reading of the Bible that is not "searching the Scriptures" (John v. 39), not "delighting in the law of the Lord," not "meditating in it day and night" (Ps. i. 2), not "letting the Word of Christdwell in you richly." You cannot live a Spirit-filled life, and be content with a shallow, meager acquaintance with the Divine Word. The Spirit-filled man gives God's Book its own proud place, the premier place, in all his reading. It is instructive to compare the effects of being filled with the Spirit and of being filled with the Word. "Be filled with the Spirit; speakingone to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singingand making melodywith your heart to the Lord" (Eph. v. 18). "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishingone another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singingwith gracein your hearts unto God" (Col. iii. 16).
Have we then, unhappily, through disobedience or neglect, lost the blessing which once we possessed? Is there one saying, "Oh that I were as in the months of old!"? (Job xxix. 2.) It may be "all joy" with you again, for if you have lost the blessing, just go back and search for it, and you will find it where you lost it! Just there and nowhere else. Have you found the spot where your obedience failed? Yield and obey just there, pick up your obedience where you dropped it, and there you may obtain the blessing, again as you obtained it at the first; butjust there and nowhere else. An illustration of this is found in 2 Kings vi. The Divinity Students of those days were going down to build a new Divinity Hall on the banks of the Jordan, and they asked Elisha, the man of God, to go with them. The story tells us that as one of the students "was felling a beam, the axe-head fell into the water; and he cried and said, Alas, my master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. And he said, Take it up to thee. So he put out his hand and took it," and having re-fixed the axe-head on the handle, he went on again with his felling (verses 5-7). Where was it that the student got his lost axe-head? Where he lost it! in the very spot where it fell into the Jordan's waters—it was justtherethat he found it. So if you lose the blessing, the only spot on earth where you need look for it, if you wish to take it up to thee again, isthe very spot where you lost it. Let us all learn by root of heart what the student didnotdo. After the axe-head flew from the handle, he did not continue at work chopping with an axe-handle. No; but as soon as he lost his axe-head, hestopped till he got it on again. Oh that many a Christian worker would read, mark, learn; and inwardly digest! Then some Sabbaths there might be many a pulpit without a preacher, and many a Sabbath School class without a teacher, and many a sphere of Christian labor without its worker. Why? where are they? Away looking for their axe-heads! Away to the banks of that river of disobedience, in whose sluggish waters they lost them! Alas! that there should be so many to-day with an axe-handle, trying in this way to fell beams for the house of our God! working with the blessing lost! Hard labor this, and very little to show for it—except earnestness! "And isn't it a fine thing to be in earnest?" Yes, but it is a finer to have a little of that uncommon thing—homely common sense, at the back of the earnestness, and the man who is hewing with an axe-handle doesn't impress one as being overburdened that way! If we have enjoyed and have lost the Fullness of the Spirit, let us confess, betake us to the open fountain and obey, and He will put away our sin; and then, let us start afresh, let us come to Him again for the Fullness, as at the first, and we will find that "He abideth faithful: for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. ii. 13). For the sake of the Sacred Heart, for His Name's glory, for the sake of souls, and for our own sake, we must not, we will not try to live and labor without being "FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT."
Transcriber's note: Obvious printer errors have been corrected without comment.