What does the fullness of the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit look like? This should be a concern for all who claim to be Christians. This passage also has a very strong message to those who are not Christians.
Our society has separated character and integrity from the ability to do a job. Our culture used to know better. Where are our virtues? In God's sight, ministry and service in the house of the Lord is integrally linked to character.
When looking at 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, the requirements for elders and deacons, only one is related intellectual ability. The rest are character issues. Yet ordination services often appear to focus mainly on theological issues.
It may be that you are like those in 7:51, religious, but stiff-necked, spiritually dead. Do not do what those men did. Today is the day of salvation. The gospel is freely offered to you. The Lord is still a God of Mercy. Lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Michael Haykin is the Principal of Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College where he also teaches Church History, Historical Theology and Spirituality.
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“ Christian character. ” Excellent explanation of being filled with the Spirit in terms of Christian character. Very useful to remind us that to serve Christ we need more than just intellectual knowledge.
Dr. Michael Anthony George Haykin is currently Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Haykin was born in 1953 of Irish and Kurdish parents and raised in England. He emigrated with his family...
