Filled with the Spirit

Do you realize that we are called to conquer and, as such, are designated “workers together with [God]”* (2 Corinthians 6:1)? Shall we receive the grace of God in vain (2 Corinthians 6:1)? Shall He who laid down His life for us never see us fully yielded to the surging power of His presence? Shall the torrents of life that dwell in the Eternal merely lap the shores of our existence, leaving us high and dry, while there is an ocean within our reach?

“That ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.”* (Ephesians 3:19) What can these words mean if not that the tidal wave of Calvary is destined to flood our banks and sweep us now into a new and eternal sphere of life and fellowship with God? If we allow Him to do this, no call to arms will escape us; and though the battle be taken to the very gates of hell, we shall emerge unscathed, “more than conquerors through him that loved us.”* (Romans 8:37)

What shall be the response? Is there no battle? Is the devil slumbering in the dust of ancient tombs? Are there no bruised and battered souls to restore? Is no one submerged beneath the waters of mental stress, or struggling in a grave of moral torment? Does not dread often assail the sick and fear haunt the footsteps of the frail? Shall accusation and depression stalk through the church unchallenged, and the nervous system of the sensitive and the strong be wrecked by a foe who is laden with lust and draws death as “with a cart rope”* (Isaiah 5:18)? Is no voice to be raised against this infernal procession? Is there no Aaron to rush in with the censer and stay the awful plague? Does not the Most High desire to turn and “whet his sword”* (Psalm 7:12)? But who will be God-armored and clasp the unsheathed blade of His invincible breath (John 1:1)?