Being Filled...The Fullness Of Christ

The roles of Jesus Christ can be expressed in a fourfold way--Savior, Healer, Sanctifier, and Coming King. When we speak of Jesus being the Savior, most Christians have a good grasp of what that means; and most--if not all--evangelical churches would agree that it is an absolute necessity to have the experience of Christ as Savior in one’s life. In the same regards, most Christians have a good grasp on the understanding of Jesus the Healer and Jesus the Coming King. However, when we speak of Jesus being the Sanctifier, confusion and disagreement often set in among the Christian community.

For years, I was always under the impression that sanctification (“to be made clean” or “to be separate”) was essentially intertwined with salvation--one in the same. When we receive the Holy Spirit of Christ, the indwelling nature of the Holy Spirit helps us to clear out the “mud” in our life in our new walk towards righteousness. My past understanding was not totally incorrect, in regards to the general scope of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit once we receive Christ. However, the underlining error in my understanding lied in the full understanding of what it is meant to be truly sanctified through the Holy Spirit. The relationship between salvation and sanctification is apparent--you cannot have one without the other--but there lies a distinct difference between them within a Christian’s life.

In the Gospel of John, it is recorded that when John the Baptist saw Jesus walking down the road, he shouted--“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). In John’s statement, he is clearly proclaiming Jesus as the Savior; moreover, in just a few verses later, John shouts a second statement--“…this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.” (John 1:33). In John’s second statement, he is also proclaiming Jesus as the Sanctifier. Now, there are some Christians that would disagree with these two points; however, it seems clear to me that John the Baptist had a pure understanding that there was not one gift, but two great gifts, Jesus was bringing to His people--salvation and sanctification.

When we come to know Jesus as our Savior, we experience the deliverance from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death and separation from God. However, when we come to know Him as our Sanctifier, we experience the deliverance from the power of our inherited sinful nature. In other words, salvation in Jesus Christ--the indwelling of the Holy Spirit--releases us from the guilt of our past, brings freedom from eternal death, and then, brings life everlasting; but sanctification--the filling of the Holy Spirit--brings us freedom to live in the power of Christ’s Spirit and equips us to resist the temptation of sin that will come in our Christian walk in the here and now.

At the point of Salvation, Christ lives in us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. At the point of sanctification, Christ starts to live through us because we are now filled with the Holy Spirit. The distinction lies in understanding the crucial difference between “indwelling” (salvation in Jesus Christ) and being “filled” (sanctification through Jesus Christ) by the Holy Spirit.

*Side note: when I say “filled,” I am not implying anything about speaking in tongues or that it is proof of being “filled by the Holy Spirit”--perhaps the case for some, but not for all. My experience was at first crying because of my weakness, but then, the tears turn to pure joy of the strength of Christ--nothing miraculous, just a sense of pure humbleness.*

In all of this so far, a question perhaps comes to mind, “Is there two types of Christians?” Indeed there are--Christians who are Spirit-filled (completely control by Christ’s Spirit) and Christian who are not Spirit-filled (still controlled by the human spirit). Paul makes the distinction in I Corinthians 3:1-3, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. (2) I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, (3) for you are still fleshly.”

Paul is clearly pointing out in this passage two types of Christians--“spiritual men” (Spirit-Filled Christians) and “men of flesh” (not Spirit-filled Christians). The Holy Spirit of Christ is equally indwelling both types of Christian (the “seal” of salvation in Christ); however, the “spiritual men” have went the step further to surround their human spirit completely to the control of Christ’s Spirit, whereas, the “men of flesh” still live under the control of their human spirit of fleshly desires; and until they complete surround is made, they will always be mere “infants in Christ” unable to eat “solid food” to gain their full potential as Christians.

Please, do not get me wrong, I am not implying that Christians who are not filled with Christ’s Spirit are still living wicked--the intentions are good and pure, but the control of the human spirit is still “pulling the string” which often causes confusion and uncertainty in the Christian walk. Paul, in Romans chapters 7 and 8, brings into play the battle that goes on inside us when we accept Christ as our Savior--the Holy Spirit and our human spirit are at war. Paul states that the only way to overcome the battle properly is to totally surrender our human spirit to the Holy Spirit--it won’t always be “roses” but if the Holy Spirit is in complete control the battle inside is better “managed,” so to speak.

Dear Christian brothers and sisters, are you in a state where the “joy of the Lord” is lacking right now in your life, do you feel that your service to the Lord is suffering because of it; is there bondage, sin, or something else in your life that is always present and it seems you cannot shake it loose? You are not alone; there are many Christians who feel the very same way--I know, I have been there.

Just this past Saturday night, during the altar call at my church, the Holy Spirit of Christ convicted my heart for me to give my all. For the last four years, my soul has been burning for more of Christ, my desire to study God’s word, pray, help others, and serve Him was strong; however, at the beginning of this year much conflict, distress, and the lack of desire and passion manifested itself in my life as the months went by.

It was not until two weeks ago, after a conversation with a dear friend and brother in Christ, the reading of I Corinthians 3, and through the conviction of the Holy Spirit when I realized that all my desires in the past were all partly due to my own drive and not completely from the Lord; I do believe though, that God in all it was also setting the table for something greater for me. I truly was one of the, as Paul wrote, “infants in Christ” living off the simplicity of spiritual “milk,” but now, through all the various conflicts of this year, God helped me to see that spiritual “solid food” is needed in my life; and the only way I am going to be “ready to receive it” is to completely let go of the “fleshly” controlled me (my human spirit), and seek the complete fullness of Christ’s Spirit.

Great is He--the Lord Most High--for since last Saturday night, my (His) desire and passion just shifted into a new and wonderful gear of a more fulfilling walk with Jesus--Praise God!!!

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:30, “do not grieve the Spirit” which is the foundational piece in all of this--if there is something in your life that is grieving the Spirit, the only way to live by the Spirit is to get rid of it. So, I encourage you--if there is a sense of weakness in your Christian life, give all of you--not “it”--to the Lord; and He will in turn, give all of Him to you and all the “its” in your life causing your weakness will shed away. In addition, if you haven’t yet accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, but you want to experience the fullness of Christ’s Spirit--you must believe and accept Him first (read John 3 and Romans 10).

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

When we start to “hunger and thirst for righteousness” the full embodiment of Christ’s Spirit will render us a new and glorious fullness in our Christian walk with Jesus our Savior, Healer, Sanctifier, and Coming King.