The Silent Sovereign: Filled with the Spirit

by David Chadwick

We are called to walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). But we are also called to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

Ephesians 5:18–21 goes on to say that as we are filled with the Spirit, we are to “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

When John the Baptist walked the earth, he preached that there would be someone (Jesus) who would come after him who would baptize with fire. In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist said to his followers, “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

When Jesus came, his baptism provided both purity and power. He was able to offer the world both cleansing of sins and a burning passion because of the Holy Spirit. Baptism suggests total immersion. Every part of your body, soul, and spirit now covered and submitted to your Creator when you decide to follow Jesus.

Being baptized means you are now consumed, overwhelmed, and under the authority of the Holy Spirit who now lives in you. You are to be fully surrendered. Not one area of your life should be outside of the control of God.

Many scholars refer to the baptism of the Holy Spirit as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at the time of salvation. But the filling of the Holy Spirit should happen continually and repetitively over the course of one’s life. In fact, the verb in the Greek in the command to be filled with the Holy Spirit suggests a continual, regular, and daily infilling of God’s great power in you.

A Christian life, full of the Spirit, will bring increased joy, unity, thankfulness, and honor to the body of Christ. And the Holy Spirit should now control your life in obedience to your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Silent Sovereign: Walking by the Spirit

by David Chadwick

This week, I want us to take a look at the Holy Spirit, also known as the Silent Sovereign.

Do any of you enjoy going on a long walk? Walking is a gift from God. Whether you walk to get from one location to another, to pray, to exercise, or to enjoy God’s beauty or creation, walking is something that everyone does in the natural realm.

But did you know that walking is also a significant part of a Spirit-led and Spirit-filled life? Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Those of us who abide in Jesus have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, to now live inside of us.

The Holy Spirit speaks to us constantly and tells us how we need to walk. He guides us in the will of the Father. Jesus said in John 10:27 that his sheep listen to his voice, know him, and follow him. Listening should produce a life of obedience, something we can only do as we walk by the Spirit.

Let me share a key with you in understanding how to walk by the Spirit. The Greek verb stoichomeo is a military term. It suggests soldiers walking in unity to the commands from their sovereign leader. They walk in military formation, obeying every command from their general, and taking each step in unity with the soldier next to them.

The same should be true for those of us who are in the army of Christ. Walking in the Spirit means we must perfectly obey the voice inside of us. We must align our desires with the desires of our commander in chief. We must yield our will to his will.

Walking in the Spirit also suggests that we must walk in unison or unity with other soldiers in the body of Christ so that we can remain unified against our common enemy.

This call to a life in the Holy Spirit has both personal and corporate implications. It’s a call both to personal obedience and to corporate unity. We must pursue both for the glory of God!

Kindness Under Fire: The Real War on Women

by Marilynn Chadwick

I wonder why we keep buying the same old lies. If someone else treated a woman as badly as she sometimes treats herself—overwork, eating disorders, addiction, lack of rest—they’d be convicted of abuse. The real war on women may require that we take an honest look in the mirror. And stand up to the devil who planted those lies in the first place.

If we truly want to understand what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman of valor, if we want to lead with kindness—perhaps we should begin by learning how to be kind to ourselves.

It’s been said that a woman never knows how much work she can do until she sees how much has to be done. This may be true. But it would appear that many women today lack the internal boundaries to see how much work is too much until it’s too late.

I wonder if the problem runs deeper than just exhaustion. Deeper than image, or people pleasing, or the desire to measure up, or to be thin, or beautiful, or rich, or fill in the blank.

Because at their very core, I believe women are wrestling with a spiritual problem. This takes us back to the most important task we have on earth—learning to abide in Christ (John 15:7).

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that it was her “fear of the Lord” that was central to the character of our Proverbs 31 woman. Her deep faith in the Lord energized her life (Proverbs 31:30). That’s why our foundation must be built on the solid rock of our relationship with Jesus Christ.

Wherever Jesus is preached, the status of women goes up. It was Jesus who brought true freedom in a culture that regarded women as inferior. He entrusted the message of his resurrection to a woman, appearing first to Mary Magdalene “from whom he had driven out seven demons” (Mark 16:9).

Years ago, I got to see firsthand how Jesus transformed the lives of women in a remote village in Ethiopia. Our missionary friends had shared the gospel with this group of people a decade earlier. When the villagers accepted Jesus, our friends immediately noticed two things: Men stopped beating their wives. And women planted flowers outside their huts. They also became more tender mothers to their children. Things like better education, hygiene, and health care soon followed.

It’s vital that women learn to balance our nurturer and warrior roles. When we do that, the people around us flourish. If the warrior side, or the “fight,” is taken out of a woman, those in her care are left vulnerable. But equally damaging results occur when a woman’s nurturer side is stifled.

God longs to meet the deepest needs of our heart. His grace is sufficient—if only we’ll regularly spend time in his Presence. Sometimes victory comes when you learn to rest in Christ. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28,29 ESV).

Our Kindness Under Fire series is adapted from Woman of Valor by Marilynn Chadwick. Click here for more inspiration or to order a copy of Woman of Valor.