Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 56 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Rom 12:2; Joh 16:14.

Title: Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 56 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Rom 12:2; Joh 16:14.

 

Announcements / opening prayer:  

 

 

The filling of the Spirit cannot be characterized as any one experience. Much error has been done to doctrines when believers seek truths in experiences apart from the teaching of the scriptures.

 

An unlimited field lies before us when we are told that we may be changed from glory to glory, 2Co 3:17-18.

 

God promises to transform our minds by means of His word so that we may prove under testing that perfect will of God, Rom 12:2.

 

Walking in God's light, as a child of light, leads to true humility and an outworking of the ministry that God has given to each one individually. Each one is unique and so there cannot be any standard for common experience.

 

Rom 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual [intelligent] service of worship.

 

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove [dokimazo = prove purity through testing] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 

Rom 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think [insanity]; but to think so as to have sound judgment [sober minded], as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

 

God is in service of others. So then, all of God's gifts, all of which are extensions of His very nature, are designed for use in service of others.

 

It's not that God gives one believer more faith than another. It's that believers have different depths of faith based upon spiritual growth and all faith comes from God since revelation and understanding come from Him. The deeper a believer's faith, the more sober or sound minded he will be and he will be minus conceit.

 

Rom 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,

 

Rom 12:5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

 

Rom 12:6 And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith [no longer extant];

 

Rom 12:7 if service [diakonia], in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;

 

Rom 12:8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

 

Beware of the spiritual bully who wants to control your experiences in your own walk with God.

 

 

He has promised that He has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light so that we may proclaim His excellencies.

 

1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies [arete = virtue] of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 

Notice that you don't get a step by step procedure on how to proclaim His excellencies. You are to learn what they are, understand them, and through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you are to proclaim them as you see fit, but of course, in accordance with the truth of God's revelation from His word.

 

Principle: The Spirit does not speak from Himself. His purpose is to reveal and glorify Christ.

 

Joh 16:12 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

 

Joh 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

 

Joh 16:14 "He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you.

 

Joh 16:15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it to you.

 

Filled with the Spirit the apostle Paul spoke of Christ and the Father and entered into a priceless result of Christ being manifested through him.

 

Many false doctrines concerning the filling of the Spirit would become clear if this principle was understood. How does tongues, or ecstatics, or loss of control lead a believer to understand more about Christ and His gifts?

 

On his first missionary journey the Spirit led Paul to the island of Cyprus and there he spoke of the person and works of Christ. He admonished his converts to continue in faith in the Holy Spirit who would lead each of them to understand the deep things of Christ and the Father.

 

The Spirit is the cause while the experience of the glory and reality of Christ is the effect.

 

 Principle: The Spirit produces Christian character. Compressed into nine words, the fruit of the Spirit is a condensed description of the life of Christ that the Spirit is to work out in each believer's life.

 

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

 

Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

 

The Greek word eros is a needs-based and desire-based, egocentric and acquisitive love: in other words, we can love other humans and God with a love of eros in which we love them out of self-interest in order to acquire and possess them.