FLOURISH IN THE SPIRIT

“…but be FILLED with the Spirit” – Ephesians 5:18b

God’s Will is our all-round flourishing! The zenith of this is to FLOURISH in the SPIRIT: “but be FILLED with the Spirit” (Eph.5:18b). Multitudes of people in the church are disillusioned and weighed down with efforts to live lives that produce little more than their experience prior to coming to Christ. This is traceable in part to inadequate understanding of spiritual life – life in alignment with the Holy Spirit. Living in submission to the Holy Spirit does not discount the need for self-discipline; no one in his or her right mind would undercut the need for such. Indeed, the "fruit of the Spirit" includes “self-control” (Gal.5:23). However, Self-control in the Christian life is not something we can produce in ourselves, it comes  through the guidance, leading, and nurturing by the Holy Spirit.

There are many sincerely committed Christians who unfortunately fall into the trap of the Galatians – “...having begun by the Spirit" they end up trying to be perfected through the flesh (Gal.3:3). This is legalism in its most common and subtle form – living life through self-effort and with some kind of external push. Sadly, some Christians live their lives at such carnal levels. Only grace – inwardly generated – life motivated by the Holy Spirit will cause us to flourish, to experience life with genuine quality, and to find relief from “binding” self-efforts to walk with Christ.

To flourish in the Spirit is to experience authentic, biblical spirituality – a flourishing relationship and fruitful walk with the Holy Spirit. Just as Christianity is relationship with Jesus Christ, so spirituality is relationship with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer: “...if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Rom.8:9). The Lord Jesus Christ said: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever” (Jh.14:16). The explicit purpose of His indwelling is to lead and direct us. We are epistles in the world “known and read of all men” (2Cor.3:2). It is important that as the Holy Spirit is in us, we learn to live in a way that enhances His leading and direction of us so we can fulfil our divinely-ordained purposes in the world. Relationship with the Holy Spirit and being led by Him are indeed key purposes for our being Christians: “for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Rom.8:14).

In addition to Romans 8:14, two other New Testament passages best illustrate biblical spirituality. Ephesians 5:18 commands: “be filled with the Spirit” – this indicates the need for continual filling. The filling of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience that we never need give attention to again. The action of the verb translated “filled” suggests being continually filled. From this derives the notion, lifestyle, and “practice of spirituality”, which we need to understand and incorporate into our style of Christian living in this world. Obviously one who is "filled with the Spirit" will also be led by the Spirit. Then, Galatians 5:16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh." Each of these Biblical references speaks of practising spirituality: your life being so adjusted to the inner presence of the Holy Spirit, and His leading, that His filling and energizing you becomes a standard condition of your life. It is learning to live in ways that will enable His control to be constant.

To flourish in the Spirit is to be filled with the Spirit, walk in, and be led of Him. It is to learn to live in concert with the desires of the Holy Spirit for your life. To flourish in the Spirit is to bear the Fruit of the Spirit and manifest His Gifts, and Calling, without stress! The immediate, visible proofs of flourishing in the Spirit are: “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph.5:19-20).