07 Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

Copyright © 2018 Michael A. Brown

‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people…’ (Acts 2:17)

‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses…’ (Acts 1:8)

‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them’ (Acts 2:4)

The Holy Spirit: God’s life-giving and empowering dynamic

      JESUS promised his disciples that, after his resurrection, ascension and exaltation, he would send them another Comforter – a Person like himself – to take his place, the Holy Spirit.  He intimated to them that the purpose and outcome of his redeeming work was that the Holy Spirit would come and live within believers forever as an abiding companion (John 14:16-17).

The apostle Peter affirmed that the coming of this inner presence of the Holy Spirit is the Father’s promise to everyone without exception who repents and receives Jesus into their lives: ‘Repent… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call’ (Acts 2:38-39).  We are redeemed and born-again with the specific purpose that we will then be filled, empowered and indwelt by this divine Person.  So the inward, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit is the seal of God’s new covenant with all believers (Eph. 1:13).

The Church: God’s charismatic community

This means that it is – and always has been – God’s purpose that his Church should be a community of people characterized by the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit.  God has promised to pour out his Spirit on all people (Acts 2:17-18), and it was the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the early disciples that gave birth to this new, charismatic community of believers (see Acts 2).

Several motifs are used of the Holy Spirit in Scripture, including fire; a gentle dove; fresh, flowing water, and a moving breeze of air.  It is the presence and power of this divine Person, the Holy Spirit, in such ways as these that makes all the difference in church life.  Instead of meetings being formal and lifeless, there is a life-giving presence which uplifts and sets free.  It is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which revives and brings refreshing to the life of the community of God’s people (Isa. 32:15-18).  The presence and power of the Holy Spirit inspires faith and empowers spiritual life.  So church is not meant to be a lifeless, dry, cold, religious and irrelevant place, but rather a place filled and animated by the pervasive and overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit in and amongst believers (cf. Isa. 44:3).  Hence, ministry in the church is intended by God to be the ministry of the life-giving Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:3,6,8), rather than mere religious formality.

The apostle Paul illustrated this by using the motif of a temple.  The body of the individual believer is a temple in which the Holy Spirit dwells, and believers together are the corporate temple of the living God (1 Cor. 6:19, 2 Cor. 6:16).  We are being built together into a holy temple, ‘a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit’ (Eph. 2:21-22).  Just as the manifest presence and glory of God dwelt in the tabernacle and then in the temple in the Old Testament (e.g. Ex. 40:34-35; 2 Chr. 5:11-14, 7:1-2), the believer and the corporate Church in the New Testament are purposed to be the very dwelling place and habitation of God on earth.

God’s covenant promise is to live with us and walk among us (2 Cor. 6:16) so, as the people of God, we can know and tangibly experience his manifest presence, power and glory in our midst (cf. Hab. 2:14).  When the Holy Spirit’s place is recognized and his ministry honoured in the life of a believer and in the community of God’s people, there is true freedom and believers are transformed into the likeness of Christ with ever-increasing glory (2 Cor. 3:17-18).

Marks of a Spirit-filled life and ministry

The New Testament narrative and epistles give us many examples and marks of what it means to live a Spirit-filled life and to be Spirit-empowered in ministry.

a.      In Romans 8:2, Paul describes the Holy Spirit as ‘the Spirit of life.’  This description sums up not only the nature of the Holy Spirit as a divine life-giver, but also indicates the intention of God to permeate and influence our entire beings with his divine life through his Spirit.  To have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is to have the dynamic, divine life of God working within us.  A Spirit-filled believer is indwelt by God.  The description is suggestive of the re-creative power of the life of God within us.  So the purpose of the working of the Holy Spirit within us is to bring about the effects of his life-giving, divine presence and power within us, in our spirit, soul and body (Rom. 8:6,10-11).  We become the hosts and objects of the active power of his divine life within us, including in our physical bodies.

b.      So, firstly, our spirit is regenerated and we are made spiritually alive by the inward working of the Holy Spirit’s power (Rom. 8:10, Eph. 2:4, Titus 3:5).  He gives us a new heart and a new spirit, and fills us with his own love for God and for his word, drawing us to it with an inward desire to read it, follow it and obey it (Ezek. 36:26-27).  A person who is truly filled with the Holy Spirit will also inevitably therefore become filled with love for God and for his word (Eph. 5:18-20, Col. 3:16-17).

As we are then filled with the Holy Spirit, a significant effect of his presence in our lives is that he gives us a deep, lasting, inward assurance and confidence that God has accepted us and made us his children: ‘For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.’  He makes us inwardly aware and self-conscious that we are loved by God, that we are his children and that we are co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:15-17, cf. Eph. 1:13-14).  Indeed, it is the filling with the Holy Spirit which is the glorification of a believer (Rom. 8:30), crowning him/her as a royal son and heir of God. 

c.       Secondly, the effect of the working of the Spirit of life in us is that our life and character are progressively transformed from within, morally and spiritually, as Christ is formed within us (Gal. 4:19, Col. 1:27).  In place of the sin, bondage, shame and issues that characterized our life before, now there is a growth of the grace and fruit of the Spirit’s life within us: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ (Gal. 5:22-23).  The enslaving power of sin loses its grip and our inner life becomes free and pure.  We are animated within by the life and power of God, and with the joy of our spiritual blessing and freedom (Acts 8:8, 13:52).

Furthermore, as we learn to live and walk in the Spirit, rather than in the sinful carnality of our old nature, our mindset and thinking are renewed and transformed under the influence and control of this divine Spirit of life within us, and so become in accordance with the mind of Christ (Rom. 8:6, 12:2; 1 Cor. 2:16).  Our thinking becomes in line with the word of God and its principles, and becomes characterized by life and peace, rather than by stress, anxiety and worry, for example (Rom. 8:6, cf. Phil. 4:6-8).

This transforming of life and character is powerfully effected from within us and this then influences our outward behaviour and relationships in wonderful ways.  The presence of the Holy Spirit within us sets our hearts on fire with love for God and it reveals the life of Christ in and through us.  So we begin to see other people through God’s eyes, and our hearts beat with a desire to show the love, care and compassion of God to them.  For example, Luke said that great grace and willing generosity from the heart characterized the community life of the early believers as they freely gave of their possessions to help one another (Acts 4:33-35).

d.      Thirdly, as we learn to relate to the Spirit of life living with and within us, we can prayerfully entrust the needs of our physical body to him and experience his life-giving effects (healing and health) in our body (Rom. 8:11), as we stand on the promises of the word of God to us (Prov. 4:22, 2 Cor. 1:20).  Our mortal bodies can receive life (and therefore healing) through the indwelling Holy Spirit: ‘he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you’ (Rom. 8:11).  This life-giving presence and power of the Holy Spirit is the secret, essential dynamic of physical healing.  The subject of healing is discussed in more depth in chapter 12.

e.       The Greek word parakletos, translated in John chs.14-16 as Comforter (AV) or Counsellor (NIV), means ‘someone who is called alongside to strengthen or help.’  It was used in a court of justice to refer to a legal assistant, a defence lawyer or an advocate.  Furthermore, the English word ‘comforter’ derives from two Latin words meaning ‘with strength.’

These meanings help us to understand that, further to the points above, the role of the Spirit of life within us is to strengthen, console and comfort our hearts with the very grace, peace, strength and power of God, in order that we can be lifted up and know these within us in our times of need and can then overcome sin, temptation and our human weaknesses and failings.  So it is therefore imperative that we recognize and honour the presence of the Holy Spirit who indwells us as a divine Person, with the specific purpose that we learn to live out of our inward relationship with him as our daily companion, appropriating his grace and strength within ourselves in such ways as these.

f.        The Holy Spirit also subjectively mediates the revelation of the things of God to us within our hearts.  Without him, we cannot understand the things of God; they appear foolishness to us (1 Cor. 2:14).  As we live a Spirit-filled life we therefore develop a deepening understanding of the teachings and spiritual principles of the word of God.  Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would remind us of the things that he (Jesus) had taught, that he would lead us into all truth and that he would show us things to come (see John 14:26, 16:13).  The Holy Spirit reveals to us a spiritual understanding of the things which ‘God has prepared for them that love him’ in order that ‘we may understand what God has freely given us’ (1 Cor. 2:9-10,12).  This work of revelation within us by the Holy Spirit is confirmed also by the apostle John (see 1 John 2:20, 3:24, 4:13).

That God desires that we grow in such revelation and understanding of the things of God, is evident from Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian believers.  He kept asking that God might give to them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in order that they might know God better (Eph. 1:17).  He also prayed for them that ‘the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe’ (Eph. 1:18-19).

g.      The Holy Spirit inspires faith in our hearts.  Luke describes Barnabas as being ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith’ (Acts 11:24).  Being open to the Holy Spirit allows him to plant the word of God into our minds and hearts as we prayerfully read and meditate on it in his presence, and he can then inspire faith within us from this word.  Faith is aroused and strengthened within us through the living word of God as the Holy Spirit himself ministers its truth and life to us from within (Rom. 10:17).

This is a dynamic spiritual process involving prayer, the word of God and the Holy Spirit.  As we spend time regularly in the presence of God and quietly meditate on his word, the Holy Spirit brings comfort and strength to our hearts and peace to our minds, displacing any worry and anxiety which we may have.  This then allows faith to arise and allows the life-changing effects of the word of God to take place within us.  As the truth of the living word of God sinks deeply into our minds and hearts, it renews our thinking (cf. Rom. 12:2), it brings revelation to our spirit (cf. Eph. 1:17) and it inspires faith (Rom. 10:17), helping us to overcome doubt and unbelief (Rom. 4:20-21, cf. Mark 11:22-23).

h.      Jesus emphasized that one of the main reasons why believers need to live a Spirit-filled life is so that they can be spiritually empowered for life and ministry: ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you’ (Acts 1:8; cf. Luke 24:49).  God’s purpose for the Christian life is for it to be a life of ministry; to separate life from ministry is a wrong dichotomy. 

The purpose of the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is specifically to bring about effectiveness in Christian life, witness and ministry. Without it, we remain powerless and largely ineffective in God’s work.  Through this empowerment, the Church can then continue the work that Jesus started (Acts 1:1-2).  The aims of Christian ministry are to be accomplished not just by preaching words, but also with ‘demonstration of the Spirit’s power’ (1 Cor. 2:4), just as Jesus himself and the apostle Paul both ministered ‘in the power of the Spirit’ (Luke 4:14,18-19; Rom. 15:18-19; Col. 1:29).  The manifestation of the kingdom of God is intrinsically connected to the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit.  Through surrendered and empowered believers, the Holy Spirit will seek to demonstrate the power and authority of the kingdom of God to overcome the dominion of darkness in people’s lives through effective and life-changing ministry.

      It was this spiritual anointing and overflowing power that enabled the early apostles to boldly preach the message of the cross, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus.  Through them, the Holy Spirit forcefully advanced in offensive spiritual warfare against the dominion of darkness, breaking down the spiritual bondage and blindness in people’s lives.  He convicted the world of its sin of unbelief; he convinced people’s hearts of the truth of the gospel; and he revealed to them the truth that Satan now stands condemned and that he has been disarmed (John 15:26, 16:7-11, Col. 2:15).  So he ‘bound the strong man’ (Matt. 12:25-29, Luke 11:21-22), set captives free (Isa. 61:1) and destroyed the works of Satan in people’s lives.  Through his anointed servants, he brought the message of the grace, love, life and power of the kingdom of God to people (Isa. 61:1-3), restoring them and overcoming the effects of Satan’s ‘stealing, killing and destroying’ in their lives (John 10:10).

Being filled with the Holy Spirit enlivens and empowers our praying, making our prayers powerful and effective (Jas. 5:16-18).  Our spirits are filled with overflowing praise (Eph. 5:18-20) and the Holy Spirit intercedes through us with heart groanings of travail for others (Rom. 8:26-27).  Prayer meetings among the early believers were powerful times: they would pray both during the day (Acts 3:1) and during the night (Acts 12:12, 16:25).  When they prayed, God answered them powerfully: the walls shook and they were filled with boldness (Acts 4:31); he sent an angel at night to free Peter from prison (Acts 12:5-17); he sent an earthquake to open the prison doors in Philippi (Acts 16:25-26); they laid hands on the sick and these were healed, and even the dead were raised (Acts 9:40, 28:8-9), and so on.

Empowered in this way and with their hearts aflame with love for God, these early believers went everywhere preaching the word of God with great effect (Acts 8:4, 19:10).  Their hearts and lives were overflowing with passion for the things of God.  They brought healing, wholeness and freedom from oppression to those who received their message and repented, and as a result they ‘turned the world upside down’ (Acts 17:6).  One of the ways in which the presence and power of the Holy Spirit was transmitted to those in need was through the laying on of hands.  Through this, believers were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:15-17, 19:6), sick people were healed (Mark 16:17-18, Luke 4:40, Acts 28:8) and charismatic gifts were given by the Holy Spirit to believers (2 Tim. 1:6).

i.        So boldness to preach the word of God is also a mark of believers who are empowered by the Holy Spirit: ‘they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly’ (Acts 4:31).  Before the early disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, they locked themselves behind closed doors out of fear of being persecuted (John 20:19).  However, ‘God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline’ (2 Tim. 1:7).  The infilling of the Holy Spirit takes the fear of other people away from us and makes our preaching bold, passionate and effective.  When Peter preached after he had been filled with the Holy Spirit, those who heard him were ‘cut to the heart’ and many were converted (Acts 2:37,41).

j.        The free flow of inspired, passionate, joyful praise is another of the evident marks of a Spirit-filled life: ‘For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God’ (Acts 10:46, 13:52; Luke 1:64).  Jesus said that streams of living water would flow out from within us (John 7:37-39), and free, open praise in meetings is one way in which this manifests itself: ‘Be filled with the Spirit.  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.  Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord…’ (Eph. 5:18-19).

A sensitive and inspiring atmosphere of worship and praise can be cultivated with the help of instrumental music, in both private and public settings (Ps. 150).  This attracts a very close sense of the presence of the Holy Spirit, which can deeply strengthen, fill and edify us (cf. 2 Chr. 5:12-14).  God loves to inhabit a place where his people worship him freely in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24, Eph. 2:21-22).  This can then lead on into manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit and the power of God, as the overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit ministers to and through us.  It is interesting that on one occasion Elisha was given a prophetic word in the context of worshipful music being played (2 Ki. 3:15-16).

k.      One of the first marks of a Spirit-filled life in the early church was that of speaking in tongues: ‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them’ (Acts 2:4).  This was not only intended as a witness to unbelievers of the works of God (Acts 2:8-11, 1 Cor. 14:22), but was also a God-given means by which believers could edify and strengthen themselves spiritually in their inner being: ‘He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself…’ (1 Cor. 14:4).  Such edification plays an important part in the growth of the spiritual life of believers and is to be encouraged.  Believers can also pray, sing and praise in tongues (1 Cor. 14:14-16).

l.        On the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed that the filling with the Holy Spirit would result in a whole variety of different charismatic manifestations in believers’ lives.  These included God speaking to believers through dreams and visions, and believers prophesying (Acts 2:17).  The life of the early church was also characterized by powerful healing miracles and by the release of people from demonic oppression (cf. Mark 16:15-20).

Furthermore, Paul encourages believers to eagerly desire other charismatic gifts such as word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:7-11 and see 1 Cor. 12:31, 14:1).

m.    As we learn to live obedient and clean lives close to God and are consistently filled with the Holy Spirit, we become sensitive to the inner voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit within our own spirit: ‘The Spirit told Philip…’ (Acts 8:29 and cf. 10:19).  The believers in all seven churches in Revelation chs.2-3 were exhorted to ‘hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Rev. 2:7 etc.).

Learning to discern and to develop sensitivity to the inward ‘still, small voice’ of the Holy Spirit as he speaks to us personally through the Scriptures (or as we prepare ourselves for the public ministry of the word of God), or as he gives us inward promptings, guides us or operates his charismatic gifts (through us or through others), is a key developmental lesson in our growth.

We need to cultivate an intimate, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit by spending quality time communing with him in his presence through prayer, rather than simply consuming ourselves by being too busy in ministry activities.  All men and women who have been significantly used by God have had to learn this lesson at some stage of their growth.  Such a relationship with the Holy Spirit was the secret of the power and success of both Jesus and the early apostles.  Learning to live sensitively and consistently with the Holy Spirit, and so then being able to minister the word of God with authority in public gatherings, and to also minister out of the flow and various charismatic operations of his presence in and through us, is a major key to growth, expansion and success in ministry.

One of the most beautiful pictures of a Spirit-filled life and ministry is that given to us in Isaiah 32:2, ‘Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.’  As a believer learns to live consistently, sensitively and obediently with the Holy Spirit, then God’s life-giving presence overflows from and ministers through this person in such ways as these to those in need around him/her.  The ministries of such Spirit-filled people are a refuge and shelter into which believers can come and find the life-giving streams of God’s presence and power ministering freely to them.  Such ministries become sought after, frequented and followed by believers (cf. Isa. 62:12), because they experience the blessing and life-giving power of God through them.

n.      The Holy Spirit is the One who births his dynamic vision within believers for the work of God’s kingdom.  When Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to overcome Satan and thereafter led into his own ministry (Luke 3:21 – 4:14).  Similarly, the early apostles were moved into mission as they obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit within them (see Acts 8:26-29, 10:19-21, 13:1-4, 16:6-10).  Believers who learn to hear and follow the Holy Spirit in obedience find themselves being caught up actively in his vision for ministry and mission in the present powerful working of God, as he uses them to spread the dominion of God’s kingdom in this world, bringing into being new works of God.

It is to fulfil this overarching purpose of God that the Holy Spirit was sent: to raise up a worldwide community of people who have been freed from the dominion of darkness and are inwardly conscious that Jesus has been exalted to the highest place and that he is Lord over all; who are inwardly conscious that they are the anointed royal sons and daughters of God (1 John 2:20) who are growing into the maturity of ‘the whole measure of the fullness of Christ’ (Eph. 4:13), and who are empowered and led by the Spirit of God to bring about the manifestation, growth and spread of the dominion of the kingdom of God in this present world.

Ask, seek, knock

God yearns that we be filled and overflowing with the Holy Spirit and that we be open to allow him to move in our lives.  He knows far better than we do that experiencing the infilling of the Holy Spirit with all the marks and signs that then accompany this, is so critically important for us in order to live effective lives as believers in witness and ministry, fulfilling the purposes of God for us in this world.  Jesus underlined this desire on God’s part that we be filled when he said ‘how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?’ (Luke 11:13).

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is normally an experience distinct from simply becoming a Christian.  Although we are born again through the working of the Holy Spirit within us (John 3:5-8), yet the empowering of our lives is normally an experience distinct from this.  The filling with the Holy Spirit is a free gift which God wants to give to all of his children (Acts 2:38-39).  Pentecostal and charismatic believers often call the initial experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit after conversion, the ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 1:5).

Furthermore, rather than looking on the filling with the Holy Spirit as a one-off experience, we need to understand that it is God’s desire and intention for us to live a life which is consistently filled and empowered with the Holy Spirit, to learn to live and walk ‘in the Spirit’ (Gal. 5:16,25) and thereby experience the kind of spiritually-empowered Christian life which is described above.  Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:18 (spoken in the context of open, expressed worship, vv.19-20) literally mean to ‘keep on being filled’ with the Spirit.  The apostles, after they had been initially filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, themselves experienced new infillings and influxes of the Spirit’s presence and power as they needed this in different situations (e.g. Acts 4:8,31; 13:9).  So the initial infilling with the Holy Spirit should be viewed as God’s introduction into a new experience of spiritual life in which knowing and being filled with the Holy Spirit’s presence and power become the norm for our daily lives and ministry.

Various phrases are used in the book of Acts to describe when the Holy Spirit initially fills a person.  It talks of the Holy Spirit ‘coming upon’ people (Acts 8:16, 10:44, 19:6), being ‘poured out’ on people (Acts 2:17, 10:45) and it describes the Holy Spirit ‘falling’ powerfully on people (Acts 10:44, 11:15 AV).  Sometimes this infilling might happen to believers spontaneously (e.g. Acts 10:44-45), or it might happen when church leaders lay their hands on them and pray for this to happen (e.g. Acts 8:15-17, 19:6).

So we need to ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit, and we need to learn how to be open to the Holy Spirit, so that we can live a life consistently filled and overflowing with his presence and see empowerment in ministry.  Jesus’ promise to us is clear:

‘Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?... If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?’ (Luke 11:9-13).

If you are spiritually hungry and know that you need more of the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in your life, then seek (and keep seeking) God for this.  He has promised to pour water on him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground (Isa. 44:3).  As you seek God with all your heart, you will surely find him and he will answer your cry (Jer. 29:13).  So seek him, and may you be filled to overflowing!

Now offer your body as a living sacrifice

If we are to experience a consistently Spirit-filled life, we need to be open to the Holy Spirit and should seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit in accordance with the biblical pattern outlined above.  Being filled with the Holy Spirit and then also learning to live in accordance with the Spirit (Rom. 8:5-6,9-11,14; Gal. 5:16,25) helps us to overcome spiritual powerlessness and the carnality of living in the flesh.

In order to experience God’s best for our lives, we need to surrender ourselves to God and to learn to walk closely and obediently with the Holy Spirit through life.  As believers we are the temple of the Holy Spirit and so, for this divine Person to consistently fill his temple and be free to use us powerfully in God’s purposes, then we must consecrate ourselves and offer our body as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 6:13,19; cf. Rom. 6:13,19).  Our bodies are redeemed and they belong to God (1 Cor. 6:15,20 AV).  As we grow and learn to live surrendered lives close to God, we can then increasingly walk in his good, pleasing and perfect will for our lives (Rom. 12:1-2) and discover in experience the blessing, joy and power of a Spirit-filled life.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit

There is only one thing that can grieve this divine Person who has come to live and abide in our hearts, and that is sin (whether in thought, word, attitude or behaviour / action, cf. Eph. 4:29-31).  Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and it takes away from us the sense of the closeness of his presence.  It is a barrier that separates us from God (Isa. 9:2) and robs us of inward peace in our heart and conscience (Isa. 57:21).  Unless and until it is confessed, it prevents God from answering our payers (Ps. 66:18) and frustrates his purpose for our lives.

The Holy Spirit comes to live within us with the intention of cleaning our hearts and freeing us from the power of sin, not to live constantly and daily with our unconfessed sins.  Why would he live with our sin when Jesus died to cleanse us and set us free from it?  He is holy, and to live and walk with him we must have clean hands and a pure heart (Ps. 15, 24:3-4).  For as long as we do not confess our sin, he will convict us of it (Ps. 32:1-5, John 16:8) and we will not have peace within.  In our conscience, we will know that we have done wrong before God and that we need to address the particular issue and deal with it.

So, if we are to ‘walk in the Spirit’ consistently, rather than according to our sinful nature, then we must honour the Holy Spirit’s presence within our hearts.  In order to maintain a close and intimate walk with God in our daily lives, and to maintain the freshness of his presence with us, we need to develop the habit of confessing daily – or even immediately! – any and all sins of which we are consciously aware.  We should keep short accounts with God regarding personal sin.  Rather than attempting to justify ourselves before God, or trying to shift any blame onto other people, we should recognise sin (and its effects) in our lives for what it is.  We should humble ourselves and confess it, seeking cleansing and forgiveness (1 John 1:9).  When we confess our sin and repent from it, not only do we receive God’s forgiveness immediately, but the barrier that (temporarily) separated us from God is removed and the sense of the closeness of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us is restored together with the inward freedom, peace and joy which this brings.