Verse of the Day (November 27, 2019)

Verse of the Day (November 27, 2019) #BMSeminary – [word of Christ] This is Scripture, the Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture, the word of revelation he brought into the world. [dwell in you richly]. Although Scripture consistently condemns all drunkenness (Prov. 23:29–35; 31:4–5; Isa. 5:11–12; 28:7–8; cf. 1 Cor. 5:11; 1 Pet. 4:3), the context suggests that Paul is here speaking especially about the drunken orgies commonly associated with many pagan worship ceremonies of that day. They were supposed to induce some ecstatic communion with the deities. Paul refers to such as the “cup of demons” (1 Cor. 10:19–20). True communion with God is not induced by drunkenness, but by the Holy Spirit. Paul is not speaking of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling (Rom. 8:9) or the baptism by Christ with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), because every Christian is indwelt and baptized by the Spirit at the time of salvation. He is rather giving a command for believers to live continually under the influence of the Spirit by letting the word control them (Col. 3:16), pursuing pure lives, confessing all known sin, dying to self, surrendering to God’s will, and depending on his power in all things. Being filled with the Spirit is living in the conscious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, letting his mind, through the word, dominate everything that is thought and done. Being filled with the Spirit is the same as walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16–23). Christ exemplified this way of life (Luke 4:1). “Richly” may be more fully rendered “abundantly or extravagantly rich,” and “dwell” means “to live in” or “to be at home.” Scripture should permeate every aspect of the believer’s life and control every thought, word, and deed (cf. Ps. 119:11; Matt. 13:9; Phil. 2:16; 2 Tim. 2:15). This concept is parallel to being filled with the Spirit in Eph. 5:18 since the results of each are the same. In Eph. 5:18, the power and motivation for all the effects is the filling of the Holy Spirit; here it is the word richly dwelling. Those two realities are really one. The Holy Spirit fills the life controlled by his word. This emphasizes that the filling of the Spirit is not some ecstatic or emotional experience, but a steady controlling of the life by obedience to the truth of God’s word. (MacArthur Study Bible)