1/11 He That...

“He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)

The promise is sure to all of us who truly believe on the Lord. To trust “on” Him is to rely on Him for all our needs, while to trust “in” Him is to believe He is who He claims to be; we must do both. Until we first believe Jesus to be the Son of God, and indeed, God Himself, we cannot believe “on” Him by putting our lives completely and wholly in His hands. Those that believe “in” Christ and have not learned yet to believe “on” Him cannot claim Him entirely as their own—not yet at least. What good is it to recognize His deity, and go on with life without trusting on Him? We have just defined the difference between a “head knowledge” and a “heart knowledge” of our Lord. The Bible is completely true; it is for everyone; it cannot lie or fail in its promise; it is for all of us. The promise is that the Spirit of God will flow out of the true believer, and bring life to others as well as himself. There is another verse though that I would like to emphasize the importance of, which correlates to this verse, and that is Eph. 5:18: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”

Let us rest here a moment and look at this verse: The contrast is obvious between the evils of being drunk with the excess of wine, and the blessedness of overflowing with the Spirit, but there is also a likeness with the contrast; If we can over-indulge in wine, and become influenced by its power, we can also be overwhelmed by the Spirit and influenced by Him. Both can be controlling factors in a man’s life; both can make a man act differently than he normally would. If we choose the excess of anything, let it be the edifying Spirit of God, and not the mockery of wine. The verse is a sort of paradox, contrasting and comparing both at the same time; it says “don’t” and it says “do”, but now let us see the promise and the command of it.

We are commanded in this text, to be “filled with the Spirit”; it is a command to all of God’s children, just as much of a command as the Ten Commandments were to Israel, and indeed still are to us today. It is not a suggestion, but a command from the mouth of God. A short outline will follow, and it is my hope that it will be helpful to the seeking and professing Christian who truly wishes to trust in the all-powerful, living God, and to believe “on “ Him as well as “in” Him:

The power of God:
I should have it:
It is again, a command that I seek it.
I am ineffective in my Christian life without it;
I cannot glorify God without His power to do so.
There is a great need for it in my life.
I must have it:
I must obey God’s will for my life, which is that I “be filled with the Spirit.” This means that I must seek it.
I can have it:
It is something that I can have if I will receive it.
I shall have it:
God will give it to me if I will seek Him for it. He does not encroach upon me otherwise. He does not “force” His power upon us.

So you see, there must be a “willingness” on our part; we must have a definite act of the will to be filled with the power and Spirit of God. As an addenda to the outline, we might add “I will have to it” because it is very much up to us, it is an act of the will. God has already provided the promise; He has given the command, and now the rest is up to us.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Lk. 11:13)