08/30/2024 – Seek the Fulness of God
Acts 19: And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. 7 And all the men were about twelve.
Fifty days after the resurrection of Christ, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples of Christ. The 120 who were filled with the Holy Spirit on that day were not the only ones, but only the beginning. The greatest transformation of the disciples of Christ took place when they were filled with the Spirit of God. They were empowered to fulfill God’s purpose effectively, and to overcome every opposition, including their own natural fear of bodily harm and loss. We only reach our full potential when we are filled with the Spirit of God!
God’s goal is to fill His church with the Holy Spirit. At the first Pentecost, each of the 120 disciples in the house were all filled with the Spirit of God. To be filled is to have every portion of your being saturated with the presence of God: your mind, your soul, your spirit. That fullness is what empowered them for ministry. There was no portion of their thinking, of their emotions, where the presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit was not leading.
Twelve disciples in Ephesus had never heard about the Holy Spirit. They had only been baptized in the baptism of John. Partial knowledge of what God has revealed fully is one of the most dangerous conditions for any person. The danger is in the false sense that one can develop from partial knowledge and partial participation of the full work of God. When God offers you a full plate, you cannot pick and choose a portion and leave the rest. Seek the fulness of God and the filling of His Spirit.