48 < the keys to spiritual growth Dagon on his face before the ark. They set him back up, but the next day he was prostrate again, with his head and hands broken off. Only his stone trunk was intact. And God was not through.
"Now the hand of the Lord was heavy on the Ashdodites, and He ravaged them and smote them with tumors" (5:6). God was smiting them for their mistreatment of the ark.
Their response was most interesting. They cried out to heaven (v. 12). Chapter 6 relates that they decided to return the ark and to appease God by making a trespass offering. Apparently a plague of mice had struck the Philistines at the same time. So, following their pagan custom, they made a votive offering, which included likenesses of the diseased parts. They made golden images of the tumors and mice in order to "give glory to the God of Israel" (v. 5).
That act gave glory to God because it constituted a confession of sin. It was an acknowledgment that the evil that had befallen them resulted from their offending God. Once they came and made their offerings and confession, they exonerated God and exalted His holy response to their evil. They said in effect, "God, You had a right to act as You did, because of what we did." That gave God glory.
When chastisement or discipline from God comes into your life, react by saying, "God, I deserve every bit of it! I know that because
You are holy, You had to do what You did." That gives God glory.
First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrigh teousness." We will discuss confession of sin in more detail in chapter 6, but let me point out that the Greek word for "confess" is homologeo, meaning "to say the same thing." To confess means to agree with God that sin is all our fault and to repent. That act glori fies God. We don't have to beg God for forgiveness. He is faithful and just to forgive as soon as we agree with Him.
Trust God Romans 4:20 says that Abraham was "strong in faith, giving glory to God." God is glorified when we trust Him. Unbelief doubts
God and implies that He is not to be trusted. That detracts from His glory.
The Master Plan < 49 Sometimes I think that the greatest problem in letting the world know about God's glory is that the message has to go through us!
We like to quote the verse, "My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus" (Philippians
4:19). But then some crisis comes into our lives, and we collapse.
Sometimes everyone at the job and at home knows it. Then people say, "Some kind of God you have! You don't even trust Him your self." God is glorified when we believe in Him, when we rest in His full assurance. That gives Him glory.
Daniel's three friends are a classic example of those who trusted God in the face of a severe trial. When about to be thrown into the fiery furnace, they didn't say, "We have a practical problem. What verse applies here?" They simply made a flat announcement: "Our
God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blaz ing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king" (Daniel
3:17). Then they said, "But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (v. 18, emphasis added).
If they had panicked, fallen to the ground, and groveled in the dirt before the golden image, that would not have glorified God. But because they trusted Him with their lives, He was glorified before an entire nation!
God is always glorified when we trust Him. Do you think God keeps His word? Of course He does. But do you live as if He keeps
His word? That's a more difficult question to answer yes to. That's why the world often isn't too sure what kind of God we have. Let's glorify God by trusting Him. Not to trust Him is the same as calling
Him a liar (1 John 5:10).
Bear Fruit God is glorified when we bear abundant fruit. In John 15:8 Jesus told the disciples, "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit." Why? Because then the world can see the results of a Spirit-filled life.
The Bible echoes this thought repeatedly: ". . . having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ,
50 < the keys to spiritual growth to the glory and praise of God" (Philippians 1:11). God planted the seed, and He expects fruit. His character is at stake in the eyes of men who will take note of fruitfulness in the life of the Christian.
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). That is what we are here for—to put
God on display to the world.
Colossians 1:10 takes us a step further: "so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work." Good works are fruit. When we live a life of good works, the world will see and glorify our Father in heaven.
Give Praise to God Psalm 50:23 says, "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving hon ors Me." Praise honors God. One way to offer praise is to recite
God's wonderful works. New Christians will sometimes ask me if there is any reason to study the Old Testament. I always give an emphatic yes. God wrote it, and anything that God wrote, I want to read. When I was courting my wife, she used to write me little notes. I loved them and read them over again and again. When you love someone, you are interested in what that special person has to say. The same is true of the Old Testament. I love God; therefore I want to read what He wrote.
One reason we should study the Old Testament is to know what God has done in history so we can recite it to others. We can say,
"God did this and this and this—how wonderful are His works!"
The record of the past is a continual reminder that He has never proved unfaithful in history. What did the disciples speak of on the day of Pentecost, in languages they had never learned? "The mighty deeds of God" (Acts 2:11). Because the Jews traditionally exalted
God for His wondrous works, this outburst of praise caught their attention.
Another way to praise God is to give Him credit for everything.
Remember how Joab fought against Rabbah and won the victory?
When he got possession of the enemy's crown, he sent for David The Master Plan < 51 so he could present the crown to him (2 Samuel 12:26-31). I've often thought that is a good illustration of how the Christian acts toward the Master—or should. You win a victory in your life, but you don't wear the crown. You give it to the Lord, who has won the victory for you.
Endure Suffering The Bible is full of examples of those who suffered for the cause of God. Jeremiah was imprisoned, and according to tradition Isaiah was sawn in two. Stephen was stoned to death. Church history records that all the apostles (except John), including Paul, met with violent deaths. But like those mentioned in Revelation 12:11, "they did not love their life even when faced with death."
Our Lord told Peter that he would die by crucifixion in order to glorify God (John 21:18, 19). Peter himself underscored that concept when he wrote, "If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you
. . . but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God" (1 Peter 4:14, 16). When you suffer for Christ's sake, when you stand in front of the world and speak the truth and take the abuse, when you confront the system with the claims of Jesus Christ in boldness and courage, you glorify God. What a tremendous thing it is to be called to suffer for His sake!
Be Content Discontent characterizes the age in which we live. We may be discontent about ourselves and about our circumstances. But who made us? God. And He promises to supply all our needs. When we are content, we acknowledge God's sovereignty in our lives, and that gives Him glory. If we are discontent, it's the same as question ing God's wisdom. That doesn't glorify Him.
Paul testified, "I have learned to be content in whatever circum stances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance
I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need" (Philippians 4:11, 12).
52 < the keys to spiritual growth This is the same man who cataloged his suffering in 2 Corinthians 11—his beatings, his imprisonments, his stonings, his shipwrecks, his perils, his weariness and pain, his hunger and thirst, his cold and nakedness.
How do you think Paul could give God glory in all that? He understood God's working in his life, and he was confident that God would use all things—poverty as well as abundance, comfort as well as pain—for Paul's good and God's glory (Romans 8:28). He said,
"I will not boast, except in regard to my weaknesses" (2 Corinthians 12:5). He didn't say, "I'll give God glory in spite of my pain." He said, "I will give God glory because of it." Now that's a contented man. But his perspective should be the attitude of every Christian.
Let me emphasize once again: Discontent is a sin because it robs God of glory. A Christian who is discontented for any reason— home, job, financial status, location, husband or wife or kids—is a terrible testimony about the goodness of our God. What kind of God do we have? Is He really sovereign? Can He really be trusted?
Can we be content in whatever circumstances He places us? David said, "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance. . . . The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places" (Psalm 16:5, 6). David was saying, "Since the Lord is the portion of my inheritance, since it is the Lord whom I have received, the boundaries He gives me in life are pleasant." He went on to say, "Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. I will bless the Lord" (vv. 6, 7).
Glorifying God means that we praise Him with a full heart in absolute contentment, knowing that our lot is God's plan for us now. Accepting it with contentment gives Him glory.
Pray According to God's Will Jesus said, "Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). What a promise!
If I were not a Christian, and someone told me that verse, that might be enough to convince me to become a believer—just to know there is a God available to supply everything I ask for.
But there is one qualification: "whatever you ask in My name."
Praying in Jesus' name does not mean sticking a cursory "in Jesus'
The Master Plan < 53 name, amen" onto the end of our prayers to get what we want. Our Lord wasn't giving His disciples some kind of holy abracadabra.
Jesus' name signifies all that He is and all that He would want.
Praying in His name means praying in accordance with His char acter and His will. As I get to know Christ better and understand
His will, I ask what I do because I feel it is what Jesus would want.
That's what praying in Jesus' name means. It is not possible to invoke Jesus' name for anything that is contrary to His character.
Jesus promised that if we ask in His name, He will do what we ask, "so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." Why does God, who already knows our hearts, want us to pray? So He can glorify Himself in the answer. Have you ever heard someone stand up in a testimony meeting and say, "Such and such a thing was taking place, and we prayed about it, and God answered our prayer"? And everyone says, "Praise the Lord!" That's the point.
When you pray, and God displays His power, He gets the glory.
"Father, there's a sick person here. Heal him, that Your glory may be known." That's how to pray. Not merely, "Heal that person because we don't want to lose him."
God delights to reveal His glory in answered prayer. That is why He commands us to pray—so He can show us His greatness and we can give Him the praise He's worthy to receive. People who never pray miss one of the most effective ways to glorify God.
Proclaim God's Word God gave us His Word because He wants to communicate with us.
When we take His Word and communicate it to others, we share with them the mind of God. Consequently He is glorified because
He is able to speak. Thus when we declare God's Word, we are glorifying Him.
Paul wrote, "Brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you"
(2 Thessalonians 3:1). How was the Word glorified through those believers? Because they heard it and believed. They trusted Christ and were born again—and God got the glory.
If I enter the pulpit only to give my opinions, God would not 54 < the keys to spiritual growth get the glory. People might go out saying, "Isn't John MacArthur clever?" Well, let me tell you, I know from personal acquaintance that he isn't! He has to spend hours each day just trying to fig ure out what God is saying, let alone add any of his own clever thoughts. But if the Word is proclaimed, people leave saying, "Isn't
God wonderful!" When they hear God speaking in His Word and respond, that brings glory to Him.
Paul preached on a certain Sabbath at Antioch, and Scripture tells us, "When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord" (Acts 13:48). They heard Paul preach the Word, and they glorified God.
Presenting the Word clearly and accurately always gives Him glory. Every time a Sunday school teacher teaches a class of kids, every time a Bible study leader opens the Word in someone's liv ing room, every time a father sits down with his family and starts talking about the Word of God, God is glorified. We honor Him by making His Word known and understood.
Lead Others to Christ God also gets glory when people are redeemed. He is glorified when Satan's prison is broken open and men and women are turned loose from the power of the evil one. God wants a great number of people giving Him glory. So the more people who get converted, the more thanksgiving is going on; and the more thanksgiving is going on, the more there are in the choir singing "Hallelujah!" That's the idea. (See 2 Corinthians 4:15.) God's glory shines from many angles in the salvation of souls.
For one thing, when someone is transformed by the power of Christ, that individual gives Him glory. For another thing, when someone passes from death unto life, the rest of us who already know the Lord give Him glory. When a woman comes along and says, "Say, I must tell you, my husband for whom we've been in prayer came to know Christ this week!" we say, "Praise the Lord!"
We give glory to God. So not only has another individual been added to the choir of the "Hallelujah Chorus," but many other believers praise God as well.
The Master Plan < 55 God is going to display His people in heaven to the angels as a token of His wisdom forever (Ephesians 3:10). We're going to be
God's trophies in heaven. All through eternity God will point to us as proof of His manifold wisdom. And the angels are going to say,
"Yes! Anyone who could bring that bunch to such heights—yes, Lord, that's great wisdom!"
Listen to Ephesians 1:12: "that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory." Why does God give us an inheritance? For "the praise of His glory." Why does He give us the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantor of our inheritance until the redemption is finally carried out? "To the praise of His glory" (vv. 12, 14). You are saved from your sins in order to give
God glory. That, as we have seen repeatedly, is the purpose of our existence. That is the reason we are Christians. And if we really want to give Him glory, we will have a passion to bring others to Jesus Christ.
Avoid Sexual Sin In 1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul says, "Flee immorality." He gives three reasons why a Christian's liberty was never meant to allow sexual sin. Sexual sin harms, enslaves, and perverts (vv. 12-20).
When a Christian sins sexually, God is dishonored, because our bodies are for the Lord, one with Christ, and sanctuaries of the Holy Spirit. Sexual sin joins the Lord to a prostitute, Paul exclaims. God is thus dishonored, and the Temple desecrated. So it is unthinkable to use Christ's body for sexual sin.
A friend of mine said that he once saw a unique shrine in a Catholic church. It had a sign over it saying, THIS SHRINE IS OUT
OF ORDER. DO NOT WORSHIP HERE. A similar sign would have to be hung on an immoral Christian.
Paul closes the section by saying, "Glorify God in your body"
(v. 20). We are to run from the trap of illicit sex, just as Joseph ran from the arms of Potiphar's wife when she tried to seduce him
(Genesis 39). God will be glorified through our purity as clean sanctuaries.
56 < the keys to spiritual growth Seek Unity If I were to pinpoint one single tragedy that has marred the testi mony of the church in the world, it would be the division, conflict, discord, dissension, and disunity among us. No wonder the world has no clear understanding of the validity of Christianity when some of the biggest battles going on in the world are between Christians. The Bible says we are to love one another, so the world may know we belong to Jesus Christ. Scripture commands us, for example, not even to take a fellow Christian to court before a nonChristian. Why? So that the world might see unity of mind and purpose in the church.
Let me amplify this. Romans 15:5 says, "Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus." Our exam ple is always Christ. How did He treat others? He treated everyone the same. God expects that of us: "so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(v. 6). Paul admonished the Corinthians, "Now I exhort you, breth ren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Corinthians 1:10).
There is certainly room for different views on minor matters.
We may disagree on educational issues, on economic matters, or on politics. We may have different perspectives on peripheral doctrinal questions. But we must never let our disagreements breach the fel lowship and unity we have as members of the body of Christ.
On the other hand, we must never compromise essential gospel truth for the sake of external unity. We cannot stand with those who call themselves Christians but deny the essential truths of Christ's deity, salvation by grace through faith, and the inspiration and authority of Scripture. Believers who compromise on those issues in a misguided attempt to make a show of unity actually confuse unbelievers about the basic truths of Scripture. God is not glorified in that kind of compromise. We who know the Lord must stand firmly together to protect these crucial truths. We glorify God
The Master Plan < 57 only when with one mind and one mouth we declare the message of Christ clearly and accurately to an unsaved world.
People will take notice of Christians' unity. God is not "a God of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33). When an unbeliever sees con fusion, he assumes God must not be at work there. So God wants unity. Instead of shutting fellow believers out of our little group because they don't do all the things we do, we receive them because
Christ has received them. We do this "to the glory of God" (Romans 15:7). God is glorified when there is unity among the brethren.
HOW TO ENJOY GOD We've seen several ways to glorify God. That is only the first part of the catechism's statement: "The chief end of man is to glorify
God." Now let's turn briefly to the last part of that famous state ment: ". . . and to enjoy Him forever." When we live to glorify God,
He responds by giving us overwhelming joy. I sometimes think that if I were any happier and had more joy, I would not be able to stand it. Life becomes thrilling in response to glorifying God.
"Well," you say, "I have a tough life. I just don't have any joy."
May I suggest an answer? Start glorifying God. Like the prophet Habakkuk, your circumstances may not change, but you will. He declared, "I will rejoice in the God of my salvation" (Habakkuk
3:18). It took him an entire chapter to recite everything he knew about God, but then he came out rejoicing. That is the pattern. Live to the glory of God, and joy will come.
Joy does not necessarily always make sorrow, discouragement, pain, and failure go away, but Christians can experience supernatu ral joy even in the midst of those things. In fact, sin is ultimately the only thing that can steal Christians' joy. When our joy begins to fade, it is a sure sign of encroaching sin or unbelief. What can we do in times like that? Get down on our knees and confess the sin in our lives. We need to pray with David, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation" (Psalm 51:12). Then we yield to the Holy
Spirit, and joy returns.
When you see a brother without joy, you know he is failing 58 < the keys to spiritual growth in the Christian life. God never expects believers to be downcast, depressed, or discouraged. He wants us to be joyous even in the midst of great trouble. Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full" (John 15:11). Paul, Peter, James, and the other apostles all found full joy even in the midst of great persecution and distress.
That joy is the birthright of every believer, and those who do not seize it are missing a very important—and very practical—truth.
Did you realize that being filled with the Spirit and having joy is virtually the same thing? One of the fruits of the Spirit is "joy"
(Galatians 5:22, 23). Joy is the inevitable by-product of living a Spirit-controlled life. Acts 13:52 tells us that "the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." The two go together. "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans
14:17). The Spirit-filled life brings its own built-in joy.
ENJOYING GOD FOREVER The catechism says that we will enjoy God forever. We can know God and enjoy Him now. We can have joy in God now and in the future. Listen to the marvelous words of Psalm 73:25, 26: "Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." The psalmist was excited about enjoying God both now and for all eternity. Our joy in heaven will be the same joy we experience here, but heaven will be the full expression of that joy, totally unencumbered by sin.
Jesus desires that His joy remain in us (John 15:11). His joy that we know in part now is what we will know perfectly in heaven.
Perhaps the greatest promise in all the Bible is 1 Thessalonians 4:17: "We shall always be with the Lord." Now that's joy!
"The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!" That's a very old key to spiritual growth, but one that unlocks a crucial door.
< OBEDIENCE Unlocking the Servants' Quarters Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr., otherwise known as the Great Impostor, was a high-school dropout. A book and movie chronicled the story of his life and the many occupations he pursued. Without any credentials or qualifications, he served at various times as a university executive, a psychology professor, a Trappist monk, assistant warden of a Texas prison, and a Canadian navy surgeon in Korea. In his role as surgeon, Demara did tonsillectomies, ampu tated limbs, and even removed a bullet from a man's chest. Yet the only medical knowledge he had was what he gleaned from books onboard his ship! For a while, this man was a teacher in my high school. In fact, many felt he was the best teacher there!
How did Ferdinand Demara find employment in so many unlikely roles? He would falsify evidence, forge identity papers, and brazenly feign, simulate, or fake his way through whatever functions were necessary to confirm his claim to be something he
I think of Demara often as a symbol of the way many professing Christians live. Did you realize that the church is loaded with impos tors? Scripture repeatedly makes this clear. Paul warned Timothy,
"Evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13). When Paul left Ephesus, he told the elders of the church there, "I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts
20:29). Jesus gave His disciples a similar warning: "Beware of the 60 < the keys to spiritual growth false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15). Our Lord's parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) is a reminder that Satan specializes in planting phony believers among the true.
We dare not forget those warnings. Too many people in today's church are eager to embrace and include everyone who claims to be a Christian. Not wanting to be divisive, they fear challenging any one's profession of faith. As a consequence, many churches today are filled with people who claim Jesus as Savior but whose behavior denies that He is Lord. The apostles recorded numerous warnings for the early church about evil influences that were creeping into the church through bogus Christians and false teachers. We must be equally circumspect, on guard against the same diabolical influ ences in the contemporary church.
That brings up an interesting and vital question: How can you tell genuine Christians from the impostors? There are a number of criteria, but among the most important is the matter of obedience.
A person may profess faith in Christ, yet live a life of disobedience to the One he professes as Lord. Something is terribly wrong there.
Our Savior asked the sobering question, "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46).
People have a right to be suspicious of one who says he believes in Jesus but fails to live up to that claim. James declared that genu ine faith must result in a life of good works (James 2:14-26). If you really believe in God and in His Son, there should be evidence of it in the way you live, in the things you say, and in the things you do.
There is an inseparable relationship between obedience and faith— like two sides of a coin. It is impossible to detach one from the other, though many today are trying very hard to devise a doctrine of "faith" that is disjointed from obedience.1
NOAH: A LIFE OF OBEDIENT FAITH We might turn to a number of people in the Bible to illustrate a faith that obeys, but I can think of no greater example than Noah.
Noah took one further step than the two most important earlier Obedience < 61 examples of faith, Abel and Enoch. Abel illustrates godly worship.
Enoch embodies a godly walk. Noah depicts godly work. In fact, Noah worshiped, walked, and worked. You have to worship God if you are going to walk with Him, and you have to walk with Him before you can work for Him. That is God's pattern.
Noah's faith and obedience went far beyond human reason.
What he did does not even make sense to the average mind. Unless a man knows God personally and has some kind of supernatural spiri tual insight, he would be a blathering idiot to do what Noah did.
That's precisely why Noah's faith is so remarkable. He hadn't seen anything tangible or visible to establish his trust in God, but God's Word was enough for him. His life of faith and obedience may be summed up in two traits. First, he responded to God's
Word. Second, he rebuked the world.
NOAH RESPONDED TO GOD'S WORD Hebrews 11:7 tells us, "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household." He believed God—so much so that he built an ark. Now it might appear on the surface that Noah was somewhat foolhardy. It certainly appeared that way to his neighbors. They had never seen a drop of rain. How they must have laughed at his construction project! Why did he do what he did? Because God said to him, "Noah, judgment is coming. I'm going to destroy the world by water. You'd better build a boat." So Noah dropped everything and spent more than a hundred years obeying God's command.
I don't know about you, but after seventy or eighty years I'd begin to wonder. After all, Noah lived in Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, miles from any ocean. But faith responds to God's Word. It doesn't question—it just obeys.
Noah was a human being, just as we are. He had a lot of things to do to occupy his time. For him to give up such an immense span of his life to construct a huge boat took a serious commitment. He listened to God, and then he spent his life obeying what God said.
Isn't that amazing? It would have been one thing for him to run out 62 < the keys to spiritual growth and secure the lumber, but it was something else to see him a hun dred years later still smearing bitumen on the structure. Some of us believe God, and we run out and make a start, but that's that. We never get much past that point. Noah continued in his obedience.
Jesus said perseverance is the mark of His true disciples (John 8:31).
Noah was absolutely convinced of the authority that lay behind the command to him. One warning was enough for him.
Someone might argue that Noah obeyed God out of fear of the consequences. But such is not the case. Hebrews 11:7 tells us that his motivation was "reverence" for God, not abject fear. Noah obeyed because he revered God's Word. The implication is that Noah acted with pious care. He treated the message of God with great reverence and prepared the ark for saving not only himself, but also his wife, his three sons (Shem, Ham, and Japheth), and their wives—and representatives from the entire animal kingdom!
What amazing faith this man exhibited!
Go back to Genesis 6 and see some of the fascinating things that took place. God told Noah, "Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood; you shall make the ark with rooms, and shall cover it inside and out with pitch" (v. 14). That was a challenge to faith and obedi ence on an unprecedented scale. What would you do if God told you to build a 20,000-ton ship in the middle of the wilderness? Think about it. One of the greatest acts of obedience in the history of the world took place when Noah rolled up his sleeves and chopped down that first tree.
I can't resist a digression from our subject. The Hebrew word translated "pitch" is exactly the same word translated "atone ment." It can be either. Leviticus 17:11 might read this way: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement [to be pitch] for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement [serves as pitch]."
In the ark of safety, the pitch kept the waters of judgment out.
And the pitch in the life of believers is the blood of Christ, which secures us from any judgment. The pitch in the ark was what kept the water out, and the blood of Christ seals the believer from the flood of God's judgment.
Obedience < 63 The Size of the Ark Genesis 6:15 gives us the dimensions of the ark: "This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits." God gave Noah a verbal blueprint. As you may know, there is quite a bit of varia tion in how much an ancient cubit measured, since it took as its standard the distance between a man's elbow and middle finger. In general terms, the dimensions of the ark would be about 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high—about the height of a four-story building. Since the ark had three decks, its total area was approximately 95,000 square feet. That would be more than twenty standard-sized basketball courts. Its size places it well within the category of large, steel, oceangoing vessels of our modern world. As far as we can tell, it was similar to a covered raft—shaped like a coffin—rather square and flatbottomed.
An instructor once gave a lecture to admirals at the U.S. Naval Academy. "For centuries," this man said, "men built ships in various proportions. But since British naval machinists found the formula for the battleship Dreadnought, all naval construction fol lows the proportions of Dreadnought, since they have been found to be scientifically perfect." Then he added, "The proportions of Dreadnought are exactly the same as the ark."
The Weather Forecast: Rain "Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish" (Genesis 6:17). That must have been difficult for Noah to understand. He had no concept of rain since it had never rained before (see Genesis 2:5).
Instead, a mist from the earth continually watered the ground.
Many creation scientists believe the earth was surrounded by a vapor canopy. That would help explain the long life spans of those who lived before the Flood. Harmful rays of the sun did not penetrate this canopy; so the process of deterioration was greatly slowed down. When the canopy collapsed during the Flood
64 < the keys to spiritual growth (Genesis 7:11), the protection was removed, and man's life span immediately began decreasing.
More Than a Century of Fruitless Preaching When God first told Noah the Flood was coming, it was still a long way off—120 years, in fact (Genesis 6:3). Noah could easily have rationalized and taken his task casually. If he were a procrastinator, the ark might never have been built. Moreover, during those long years Noah preached. He preached earnestly and unrelentingly, although no one believed him. As a preacher myself, I know that must have been hard to take. Yet Noah kept right on giving out the message.
Perhaps as the years wore on, Noah began to question. He may have begun to think, I wonder if there's something wrong with me.
I've gone over this sermon many, many times, and no one buys it. You can well imagine what this man of obedience must have endured as he pounded and preached.
People passing by would point to him, touch their heads, and say, "There's that crazy Noah."
Perhaps he would think, Even if the Flood does come, how is this monster going to float—especially with all the different animals in it? It has no anchor, no mast, no steering, no rudder, no sail— not much of anything except floor space. But through it all, Noah believed God and obeyed Him.
God Establishes His Covenant In Genesis 6:18 God made this promise to Noah: "But I will estab lish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife, and your sons' wives with you." That promise, like all God's promises, had its foundation in God's grace
(Genesis 6:8). Grace is strictly God's to give to whom He will.
Noah was a sinner, like all men. In fact, he fell into gross sin after the Flood (Genesis 9:21). God extended grace to Noah simply because He desired to do so. It pleased the Lord to be gracious to Noah—to spare him and to make a covenant with him.
Genesis 6:19-21 records God's further instructions to Noah:
Obedience < 65 "And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of the birds after their kind, and of the animals after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself some of all food which is edible, and gather it to yourself; and it shall be for food for you and for them."
God was in essence saying, "After you've built this boat, I want you to get the animals into it and provide for their care."
Imagine, if you can, the day this was all fulfilled. Noah just sat at the gangplank, waiting for all those animals to come in from everywhere. He didn't have to go out and round them up; they just came. There is no way to explain that fact other than that God was herding them into this big boat.
It's been calculated from a spatial standpoint that the ark could easily have handled 7,000 species of animals. That's quite a number!
It doesn't necessarily mean two of every animal in the world, since one basic species can generate a wide range of varieties. All horses, for instance, whether Shetland ponies, racing horses, draft animals, or whatever, are descended from one common ancestor. Two cows could well have represented the whole bovine family. So it is very likely that the species were limited. It is within reason to assume there was plenty of room for every species on board. It has been estimated that there is a total of about 2,500 animal species—the average size being that of a cat, which would require less than two square feet of living space. So from a logistical standpoint it was no problem to get the animals into the ark. But that still left the matter of the feeding and care of this great number of animals. Who would feed them?
How would the sanitation problem be cared for? You can see the enormous problems of preparing to spend a year on that boat.
Total Obedience Noah was a man of obedience; so he began to build. "Thus Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did"
66 < the keys to spiritual growth (Genesis 6:22). What faith! Total obedience! How unlike most of us. God might want us to take responsibility for some ministry or to reach some person He brings into our lives, or He asks us to trust
Him in a trial we're going through. How often we fail to obey God in such situations, let alone build an ark! We say we believe, but our faith is infinitesimal in relation to that of Noah. And some of us run out of patience very quickly. We think it's a major victory when we obey for a week. Noah obeyed for 120 years!
What were the grounds for his obedience? Nothing more than God's Word. He believed that God meant what He said about judgment and what He said about His promise. So Noah built the ark exactly as he was supposed to. He obeyed God to the letter. He
didn't pick and choose his points of obedience. Some people want to believe God about His promises, but not about judgment; but we must believe both equally. Charles Spurgeon said:
He who does not believe that God will punish sin, will not believe that God will pardon it through the atoning blood. . . .
I charge you who profess to be the Lord's not to be unbelieving with regard to the terrible threatenings of God to the ungodly.
Believe the threat, even though it should chill your blood; believe, though nature shrinks from the overwhelming doom; for, if you do not believe, the act of disbelieving God about one point will drive you to disbelieve him upon the other parts of revealed truth.2
So Noah believed God. He believed not only the promise of safety in the ark, but also in the imminent destruction of the world.
He believed both. He believed God totally.
NOAH REBUKED THE WORLD Noah believed God's Word and responded to it in obedient faith.
That obedience on his part rebuked the world. Hebrews 11:7 tells us, "By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world."
Obedience < 67 Just how did Noah proclaim his message of condemnation to the world? By building an ark. That was his sermon. Every time a passerby saw him or heard him chop down a tree or looked up at him walking along with a plank on his back, that person heard or saw a sermon. And it was saying, "Judgment is coming. Judgment is coming. Judgment is coming." Yet not one person believed, even though Noah stayed at his task 120 long years.
Not even the carpenters assisting Noah accepted his message.
Noah must have hired many men to help him and his sons because they alone could never have carried the massive timbers they used in the construction of the ark. But although these workers helped him build it, they were not saved by the ark. They took their weekly wages, then perished in the Flood. Likewise today people assist in building the church by their labor and by their talent. They work for self-satisfaction, the praise of men, or whatever. Jesus said of such people, "They have their reward in full" (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).
Their reward is an earthly one only. They are lost and will perish because they are not secure in Christ.
Was God being too severe with these laborers who worked with Noah on the ark? No. Genesis 6:5 tells us what kind of people they were: "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." Each one was vile on the inside, and God saw it all. "For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7).
But God's heart was also involved. "The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart"
(Genesis 6:6). Does that mean God changed His mind? Was He taken by surprise? Was He indicating that He had made a mistake in creating man? No. This is an anthropomorphism—a statement about God in human terminology. Scripture is conveying to us a sense of God's grief and sorrow at the state of the human race.
From a human standpoint, it appears as if God had a change of heart, regretting that He had made man. But 1 Samuel 15:29 tells
68 < the keys to spiritual growth us, "The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."
God's Judgment God hadn't changed His mind or anything like that—it was man kind that had changed. All of humanity had grown so corrupt that God decided to erase the race. "The Lord said, 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them'" (Genesis 6:7).
That was a radical solution to the problem. But the problem was worse than you might imagine. Much of the race had become a demonic aberration. When the Bible says that the sons of God cohabited with the daughters of men (Genesis 6:2), I believe the ref erence applies to fallen angels. Demons having sexual relations with women had evidently produced a grotesque race (the Nephilim,
Genesis 6:4) that was partly demonic. So God decided to wipe out the entire race—except for Noah and his family—in a worldwide, catastrophic judgment.
Was God too severe? Was this the end of His mercy? No; the fact that God's patience will end, the fact that He will ultimately judge—this is the only hope for a sin-cursed world. If God hadn't acted to destroy, men would have had to live in a world of eternal sin and violence. And that would be unthinkable. We ought to be thankful that sin gets judged. God is holy and just, and He must set things right. But judgment comes only after God's great patience.
That God should judge a sinful world is neither unfair nor too severe. In fact, the remarkable thing about God's actions here is His mercy in preserving the race at all. If God had simply wiped out everyone, including Noah and his family, that would have been the end of sinful humanity on the earth. God could have restored earth to the perfect world He created. But because He is a God of mercy,
He desires to redeem fallen mankind. So He preserved the race in the midst of this terrible judgment.
Obedience < 69 Humanity's Rejection Every person has enough knowledge of God so that he is without excuse (Romans 1:19, 20). From the time of Adam and Eve, God had promised a Redeemer (Genesis 3:15). From that time on, the expiatory sacrificial system was in effect. Mankind knew how to come to God. Adam lived 930 years and perhaps spent most of that time telling his offspring the truth about what sin had done to him and to the world. The preaching of Enoch served as a warning (Jude
14, 15), as did the ministry of Noah. But there came a time when the Spirit of God no longer tried to make the case. The people knew the truth, but they had stubbornly rejected it. Noah's life of obedience stood out in bold relief as an open rebuke to the men of his time.
Is that very different from our own day? Our Lord said, "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah"
(Matthew 24:37). Noah preached, and people laughed, just as peo ple now snicker at the proclamation of the Gospel. But in Noah's day a remnant found grace, and today, too, people are being saved by the grace of God—saved not from a judgment of water, but from a judgment of eternal fire. God needs more men and women like
Noah—those who will obey God no matter how bizarre or difficult His commands may seem.
THE MOTIVATION FOR OBEDIENCE As great an example as Noah was, however, we can't leave this subject of obedience without updating it by a New Testament con cept. This will round out our understanding of obedience as a key to growth. Remember that we began this chapter by suggesting that one way to tell whether or not a person was a genuine Christian or a counterfeit Christian was the measure of that person's obedience.
But what is the motivating force of obedience? What kind of obedi ence is it? Let's see if we can find out from the book of 1 John.
"By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments" (1 John 2:3). The word "keep" in that verse carries the idea of watchful, observant obedience. It is not speaking of an obedience in response to force or pressure. We do not say,
70 < the keys to spiritual growth "Well, I have to obey because if I don't, I'll get whacked by the divine hammer." No, it isn't like that at all. It's an obedience that responds out of pure love for one's Master.
Alford's Greek Testament defines the Greek word translated "keep" as "to watch or guard or to keep, as some precious thing."
The true Christian demonstrates that he knows God by the great desire of his heart to guard obedience. The habitual, moment-bymoment safeguarding of the Word of God in a spirit of obedience is the sign of a mature Christian. When people claim to be Christians, yet live any way they want, in complete disregard for God's com mandments, they undermine their own testimony and put their claim of knowing Christ in doubt.
The word that John uses here for "commandments" is also sig nificant. In the book of 1 John, the apostle uses the word entole at least fourteen times, referring to the precepts of Christ. But in his
Gospel, when John speaks of the Law of Moses, he uses a differ ent word—nomos. In his first epistle John wants to emphasize the precepts of Christ rather than the Law of Moses. If we have a spirit of obedience toward the safeguarding of the precepts of Christ, a consuming desire that they be honored, and a determination to obey them, that constitutes continuing experiential proof that we have come to the knowledge of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
When a person becomes a Christian, he openly acknowledges that Jesus is his Lord. And if he sincerely enthrones Christ, he will gladly submit to His authority. Obedience is a foregone conclusion.
If a person says to Jesus, "You are Lord!" that settles the question.
Thus those who continue to keep His commandments are the ones who really know God and are assured of it.
TWO KINDS OF OBEDIENCE But what if we try to be obedient and fail? Are we condemned? I have struggled with this problem so long, I think I can help you understand it. We must distinguish between legal obedience and gracious obedience. Legal obedience is the result of fleshly effort.
Legal obedience demands an absolute, perfect obedience without Obedience < 71 a single failure. If you violate God's Law even once, the penalty is death. That is the pain and failure of legal obedience.
But there is such a thing as gracious obedience. The terminology gives a clue about how the two kinds of obedience differ. Gracious obedience is a loving and sincere spirit of obedience motivated by God's grace to us. Though often defective, that obedience is nev ertheless accepted by God, for its blemishes are blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ.
See the difference? With fleshly, human effort, obedience must be perfect to be of any value. With divine grace, God looks at the heart, not at the works. I'm glad, aren't you? If God were mea suring me on legal obedience, I would spend eternity in hell. But God looks at me and says in effect, "MacArthur, with all your defects, you have a heart that desires to be obedient to Me. You have a spirit that wills to submit to My Lordship, even though you frequently fail."
That is the point of the cross of Christ. Jesus died, bearing the full penalty for our sins and failings, so that His blood can cover whatever is defective in our day-to-day obedience. It is far better to be under gracious obedience than under legal obedience.
Lest anyone get the wrong idea, let me illustrate. Did the dis ciples always obey God? Of course they didn't. Take Peter, for example, or James or John. All failed the Lord and made mistakes, being sinful men. Yet of them all Jesus could say to the Father,
"They have kept Your word" (John 17:6). Had they? Consistently?
They would have blushed at the very suggestion. Was Jesus measur ing them by an absolute Mosaic legal obedience, or was He measur ing their obedient spirits? You know the answer. Their propensity, their desire, their determination to submit to Jesus Christ—that's what Jesus measured, and He covered their defects with His shed blood.
God's standard of holiness is still absolute perfection, but He has graciously made provision for our inevitable failures. If we do something wrong or fail, He doesn't say we are finished and no longer Christians. God is looking at the constant flow of a heart that has in it the spirit of obedience. The true Christian has a desire
72 < the keys to spiritual growth to submit to Jesus Christ, even though he cannot always make that desire come to pass. But God reads and accepts it.
Such obedience is based not on law but on love, not on fear but on friendship. Several verses in John point this out. As Jesus was telling of His imminent return to heaven, He did not say, "Now keep My commandments or else." Rather He said, "He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me" (John
14:21). So we obey not because we fear but because we love.
Non-Christians, of course, know nothing of this gracious obe dience. Instead of submitting themselves to the lordship of Christ, they go about trying to crank out righteousness of their own and by that act are damning themselves under legal obedience. "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him" (Titus
1:16). They may make a profession of knowing God, but unlike Noah, their works don't back them up. At the Great White Throne judgment, many people are going to say, "Lord, Lord, have we not done wonderful works in Your name?" But Jesus will answer,
"Depart from Me, I never knew you" (see Matthew 7:21-23).
There is no true knowledge of Christ that does not result in a spirit of gracious obedience.
THE PATTERN OF OBEDIENCE We have, then, the principle that it is possible to identify a Christian because of his obedience. Now let's go on to the pattern of obedi ence. By pattern I mean something you can trace. First John 2:6 tells us, "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." The word "abides" is equivalent in John's writings to expressions like "knowing Him," "walking in the light," "being in fellowship." All those terms indicate salvation.
The point is that if you declare you are a Christian, you ought to show a pattern of walking in the same manner as He walked.
You might say, "Oh, it was bad enough that we had to keep His commandments. Now we have to walk like Him. I can't do it!" Well, the verse does not say that every aspect of our walk will be exactly like Him, but that we will walk in the same man
Obedience < 73 ner. Christ is our pattern. We are to move toward the likeness of Christ. We ought to live as He lived. Obedience moves us toward
Take a couple of specifics. Philippians 2:8 tells us about Jesus:
"Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
Jesus was in the form of God, but He did not insist on hanging on to that glory and privilege. Instead, he was willing to lay it aside temporarily and humble Himself. That is the greatest illustration of humility ever. And that is our pattern to follow.
Note that this passage also speaks of Christ's obedience. Our Lord was obedient in everything. He paid His taxes. He obeyed the Mosaic Law to the very letter. He obeyed the ceremonial law. He obeyed the special divine stipulations of His messiahship. John's
Gospel makes this point very clear. Jesus said, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38). His entire attitude was marked by a spirit of obedience. Again, "[The Father] has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him" (John 8:29). And in John
14:31: "I do exactly as the Father commanded Me." Again, obedi ence. Christ set the pattern. His loving obedience, then, becomes the very thing that we are to trace our lives after.
This chapter began with a reference to a man known as the Great Impostor. One day many years ago Ferdinand Waldo Demara, Jr., came into my dad's study and began to talk about Christianity. My preacher-father handed him a multivolume systematic theology— just as a starter. Demara devoured it in very short order. Ultimately he became a Christian—not a fake one but a genuine believer.
Whether or not you realize it, people are looking at your life all the time. They are hearing the sermon your life proclaims. "Thus
Noah did; according to all that God had commanded him, so he did" (Genesis 6:22). Will the same be said of you? You grow to be like Christ while you obey.
< THE FILLING OF THE SPIRIT Unlocking the Power Plant Many years ago oil was discovered on Native American land in Oklahoma. The local tribe became instantly wealthy. A horde of unscrupulous businessmen descended on them, hawking everything from worthless trinkets to expensive luxury items, wanting to take advantage of the people before they fully understood the value of their money.
One of the tribesmen purchased a Rolls-Royce. He drove it around for a week or so, but when it ran out of gasoline he assumed it was broken or that he had worn it out. Not wanting to lose face, he announced he was weary of it anyway and didn't want it anymore. One of his friends claimed the discarded automobile, removed the engine to reduce the car's weight, then hitched a team of horses to it. The horse-drawn Rolls Royce was his means of transportation for years.
Many people try to live the Christian life the same way.
Misunderstanding the Holy Spirit's power, they seek other means to energize their spiritual lives. They try to generate power from within themselves or enlist the aid of some kind of support group or look for other sources of energy—everything but the one power source God intended: His indwelling Spirit.
As Christians, we know we are to be different from the world.
We are instructed to love one another, to obey the Lord, to pray for 76 < the keys to spiritual growth our needs, to live holy lives, to walk in the light, and to be wise. But we simply cannot do those things in our own strength and energy.
We must be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit. He is the only fuel, the only energizing resource, that God has provided for practical Christian living. To try to function without the Holy
Spirit is like owning an oil well and not understanding that what it produces is necessary to make your car run.
A CONTRAST Ephesians 5 is the key New Testament passage on being filled with the Holy Spirit. Verse 18 says, "Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."
All people like to be happy—to be exhilarated with joy, to feel good, and to be on top of everything. There is nothing wrong with that. The Bible says there is a time to laugh. Scripture talks about shouting for joy and good tidings of great joy. It refers to joy unspeakable and full of glory. God wants joyous, excited, happy, and uplifted people. The problem lies in how our happiness is gener ated. Some people seek artificially induced bliss. You might expect in our modern world (where so much is artificial) that someone would get the idea of brewing joy and placing it in a bottle. And that is exactly what has been done! Today we have millions of Americans frantically seeking artificial joy at the bottom of a bottle.
Drunkenness, of course, occurs in all countries and cultures.
The whole world faces a major epidemic of alcoholism. I once visited the jungles of Ecuador and had to avoid hitting drunk
Indians on the road. Go to remote parts of Africa, and you will see that even the most primitive tribes have something intoxicating to drink. In Russia, alcoholism has developed into a national crisis.
All over the world, people unable to find real happiness look for it in a drunken stupor. But all they find is a cheap, false, damning, artificial substitute for real joy.
In first-century times water was usually impure; so people mixed their drinking water with a little wine, which killed the dan gerous amoebas. The resulting beverage was hardly intoxicating.
The Filling of the Spirit < 77 The alcohol content was so low, one would have to drink gallons of the stuff to get drunk. Undiluted, unmixed wine, however—called
"strong drink" in Scripture—was imbibed by people who wanted to get high. Naturally, a Christian who drank wine as a daily part of his life would easily feel tempted toward drunkenness. The Bible repeatedly calls drunkenness a sin and warns against it. For example, Paul excluded those who were given too much wine from being elders or deacons in the church (1 Timothy 3:3, 8). Proverbs is filled with prohibitions against drunkenness.
What about wine in today's society? Should Christians drink at all? Some believers say, "Well, I don't get drunk. I only drink a little. Isn't that okay?" This actually is beyond the scope of our topic, but let me give what I have called "The Christian's wine list"—five key questions that can help us determine whether we as Christians should drink alcoholic beverages.
• Will it be habit-forming? Paul said, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything" (1 Corinthians 6:12).
• Will it lead to dissipation? Scripture calls drunkenness dis sipation or excess (Ephesians 5:18).
• Will it offend a weaker brother? If another believer follows my example and falls into sin, then I have been the occasion for his stumbling (Romans 14:21).
• Will it harm my Christian testimony? Someone may look at me and think less of my Christian testimony because of what I do (Romans 14:16).
• Am I certain that it is right? If not, I'd be partaking of a doubtful thing, and that would be sin (Romans 14:23).
If Christians are not to be drunk with wine, then where are they to get true joy and happiness? The answer is clear: "Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). Our thrills, our exhilaration, and our happiness are to result from being filled with the Spirit, not from being filled with wine.
The language in that verse may seem a little shocking. It sounds as if Paul is saying we should be drunk with the Holy Spirit. That is
78 < the keys to spiritual growth extraordinary imagery, but the Bible repeats it in several places. In Luke 1:15, for example, in the prophecy regarding the birth of John the Baptist, we learn that he "will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother's womb."
In other words, John would get his joy and motivating power—his fuel—not out of a bottle but through the filling of the Spirit of God.
How about Acts 2, which records the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples at Pentecost? When the disciples went out and began to proclaim God's message, the unbelievers standing around said that these Christians were full of new wine (v. 13). They were suggesting that for anyone to be so happy, so jubilant, and so extro verted, they must be drunk. But Peter set them straight and insisted that instead of wine, it was the Holy Spirit at work (vv. 15-18).
Here's the idea: Being filled with the Holy Spirit results in behav ior marked by joy, boldness, and a lack of inhibition. Similarly a meek, mild person can become just the opposite when he gets drunk. His personality may appear to change under the influence of alcohol. He becomes uninhibited. He doesn't seem to care what people think about him. He abandons himself to the effects of drink. Paul speaks of precisely the same kind of influence in those whom God fills with the Holy Spirit. They become completely abandoned to His control. The same kind of exhilaration and joy that so many people seek artificially in wine fills them.
Nevertheless, Paul is actually making a contrast, not a com parison, between wine and the Holy Spirit. Wine controls a person completely but works evil in the person's heart and life. The Holy
Spirit also controls completely, but He empowers the person unto true righteousness. The Holy Spirit's controlling influence provides divine fuel for a different, free, uninhibited life lived for God's glory. It is the exact opposite of a life controlled by drunkenness.
THE COMMAND Ephesians 5:18 also gives us a command: "Be filled with the Spirit." What does it mean to be Spirit-filled? First, let me point out something basic and exciting. Every Christian possesses the Holy