“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.” Isaiah 44:2
Dear Ones:
There are several illustrations in the Bible that the Lord uses to speak to us of fullness. For example, in Psalm 104:16, we read: “The trees of the Lord are full of sap.” In Psalm 81:10, the Lord says: “Open your mouth wide, and I will FILL it,” and in Psalm 107:9, He declares: “…He satisfies the longing soul, and FILLS the hungry soul with goodness.” Why does He speak of fullness here? And what does Paul mean when he speaks of the fullness of the Spirit?
The first thing we notice is that this “fullness” speaks of capacity, the filling of a certain capacity. Paul wrote to the Corinthian believers declaring to them that, “…our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.” (2 Cor. 6:11) Correspondingly, he would ask the Corinthians to “…be enlarged.” (v. 13) Of what does he speak? He speaks of one’s capacity to receive, in order to give. One may be filled, though having a small capacity. But if that capacity is enlarged, the fullness is greater.
The second thing that we need to see concerning fullness, and the fullness of the Spirit, is the issue of “control.” We have already seen how the Lord Jesus said of the Centurion with the suffering, dying servant, that he had not seen so great faith in Israel. Why? Because this man was a man under authority, or the control of another. After Samson sinned, and paid dearly for it, Scripture tells us that his hair began to grow again, this hair which symbolized his devotion, consecration, and submission to God. When his attitude of heart returned to that place of submission to God, or being under His control, the power returned. A greater victory was achieved by his death, than by his life. When Joshua the high priest stood before God with soiled garments, with Satan accusing him, the Lord would remove his filthy clothes, to replace them with clean ones. In doing so, he was symbolizing what had occurred spiritually. Joshua had been forgiven, and cleansed from ALL his sin. It was then that the Lord spoke to him of “control,” or submission to authority. He said, “If you will walk in My ways, and if you will keep my charge, THEN you will judge My house.” (Zechariah 3:7) If Joshua would submit to the authority of God, to do HIS will, then power and fullness of blessing would be given him from God.
Jesus once declared to his disciples: “If any man will do His will, he shall KNOW of the teaching, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. (John 7:17) Why did He say this? The evidence of trust and faith in God is ultimately the submission of our wills to God. It is to the one who submits to His will, who “puts the government of his life upon the shoulders” of Christ, that power, strength, and knowledge of God, is given.
God is willing and desirous to GIVE “floods,” great blessing by the Spirit, to all believers. But He will do this only according to their capacity to receive, and also to the one who chooses to be under the Lord’s control, His authority. Why? The power and blessing of God, in whatever shape or form it may be, will only be given under the direction, and leading of the Spirit of God, not according to our good ideas or plans. Where there is the control, there is the directed fullness of blessing. We have only to look at our perfect example in the Lord Jesus.
Dear Father, rule in our hearts this day. Take our wills, and make them Your own. Fill us with Thy Spirit, that we may have life and Thy goodness to give to others for Your pleasure, and their true blessing. We thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad