SMC
August 16, 2026
  • I Thank God
  • King Of Kings
  • Great Are You Lord
  • Sheep Dog
    Collie sat at the feet of the shepherd first

    Salvation

    The Christian’s position in the mind of God is that of a person who died with Christ and is positionally sanctified.
    2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
    For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
    Romans 6:6 ESV
    We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
    Ken’s illustration of the shocked dog
    The Christian’s position in the mind of God is that of a person who died with Christ and is positionally sanctified.

    The Presence of the Holy Spirit

    At the moment of conversion, every Christian is indwelt by the Spirit of God and is declared righteous.
    (Relational/Positional Sanctification)
    Border Collie
    Ephesians 1:13 ESV
    In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
    The sealing corresponds to the indwelling.
    1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
    Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
    Romans 8:9 ESV
    You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
    Acts 2:38 ESV
    And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

    The Power of the Holy Spirit

    A resolute decision to make Christ Lord of every area of one’s life resulting in being filled with the Holy Spirit.
    (Progressive/Lifestyle Sanctification)
    Enthusiasm for the task
    And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
    Ephesians 5:18 ESV
    And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
    A drunk is under the influence of alcohol. A person filled by the Spirit is under the Spirit’s influence.
    Imperative — A command. Not an expression of reality but possibility and volition.
    Those sealed (indwelled) are charged to be filled.
    Present tense: action in process or a state of being with no assessment of the action’s completion.
    A constant readiness to live for God.
    Passive mood: indicates that while it is a command, something we are responsible to fulfill, it is something that we allow God to do for us. That is not only a matter of ability (we cannot fill ourselves; only God can do that) but a matter of right (we belong to God, and he has the right to fill us). The filling and control of the Holy Spirit to be God’s sovereign right in our lives.
    It is God’s work in the life of believers who consciously trust him to provide what they need in order to carry out what he wants them to do.
    A person is filled with the Spirit when self is removed, and the Spirit empowers believers to do the Father’s will.
    Plural: Since the Greek verb “filled” is plural, Paul is emphasizing that the church must collectively operate as a Spirit-controlled environment.
    The Spirit-filled life is a life lived under the control of the Holy Spirit using the Bible as one’s guide.
    You Still Have the Old Nature
    Will I never be tempted to sin?
    This does not mean that a Spirit-filled Christian will never yield to temptation and sin.
    The fullness of the Spirit does not make obedience to God an automatic thing nor the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit something easy to exhibit on all occasions.
    Repentance Allows Cleansing and Forgiveness
    What if I sin?
    If one should sin, confession should be made immediately and personal forgiveness accepted by faith (1 John 1:9-2:2).
    Lordship of Jesus
    What is being filled?
    Living according to His controlling leadership
    While this experiential dimension of sanctification begins at conversion, substantial progress in holiness occurs when a believer willfully makes a complete commitment to the Lord’s control (Rom. 6:12,13; 12:1).
    Romans 6:13 ESV
    Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
    A resolute decision subsequent to salvation to make Christ Lord of every area of one’s life.
    This decision usually follows a period of education and spiritual growth until one comes to realize that there is more to the Christian life than what has been experienced to that point in time.
    Willing Participant
    How do I become filled with the Holy Spirit?
    Philippians 2:13 ESV
    for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
    Sanctification is a work of the Spirit (Gal 3:3). Sanctification is not about doing the right things or obedience in and of itself. Sanctification is giving your will over to God and then righteousness flows from that. Hence, your sanctification does not depend on perfection, but is a heart issue. If you are struggling with lust, anger, compassion, witnessing, etc. you are doing better than the one who has no conviction or is doing these things out of obligation. C. S.Lewis
    Romans 12:2 ESV
    Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
    We are to continue being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit
    The intent is that the longer we live this progressively holy life, the more our lives will become conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, God’s Son (Rom. 8:29).
    No Waiting Period
    When is a believer filled with the Holy Spirit?
    The will of God for His people is that they should be filled at once; that God does not give a man the Spirit to-day, and then make him, as a necessity, wait for perhaps a number of years before he is filled with the Spirit
    Summary
    Every Christian is indwelt by the Spirit of God, but not all are controlled by Him.
    The Holy Spirit enters and indwells the life of an individual at his/her conversion, and sainthood begins positionally (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19,20). The Spirit takes over control in many Christians’ lives in a decisive moment of sanctification when that Christian permits the Spirit total control. From then on, the indwelt and controlled Christian is expected to continue walking according to the Spirit’s leading via God’s Word, the Bible (John 17:17). This filling or controlling is something that is intended to continue in the sanctified Christian’s life (Eph. 5:18; 2 Cor. 7:1).
    Implementation
    Obedience of the collie

    Baptism

    Acts 2:38 ESV
    And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
    Baptism carries the idea of identification.
    In 1 Corinthians 10:2 we read that the Israelites were “baptized into Moses”— they became united with him as they followed his leadership and dependence on him.
    Baptism probably developed out of the washings required in the O.T. for ritual purity.
    Biblical law required washings after contact with a substance that caused impurity (Num 19:10–13; Lev 17:15).
    Seriousness shown through an example of the Law
    James 4:11 ESV
    Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
    James 2:8 ESV
    If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
    James 4:11 (ESV) Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

    Holiness

    Collie did the work
    Ephesians 4:22–24 ESV
    to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
    What is the new self?
    Romans 13:14 ESV
    But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
    What does this looks like?
    Col 3:12-19
    Simpler list
    Galatians 5:22–23 ESV
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
    Those who had exhibited in their lives the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
    The fruit of the Spirit does not come automatically to people still involved with sin dwelling in their members (Rom. 7:14-25).
    Ephesians’ explanation
    Ephesians 5:19–21 ESV
    addressing 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.
    The continual filling of the Holy Spirit will result in four experiential manifestations: (1) the upbuilding of one another with songs of praise; (2) uplifting anthems and music; (3) thankful speech in every circumstance; and (4) mutual submission.

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21ESV

      • Ephesians 1:13ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 6:19ESV

      • Ephesians 5:18ESV

      • Ephesians 5:18ESV

      • Ephesians 5:18ESV

      • Ephesians 5:18ESV

      • Ephesians 5:18ESV

      • Philippians 2:13ESV

      • James 4:11ESV

      • James 2:8ESV

      • James 4:11ESV

      • Romans 13:14ESV

      • Colossians 3:12-13ESV

      • Colossians 3:14-15ESV

      • Colossians 3:16-17ESV

      • Galatians 5:22–23ESV

  • Faithful Still
SMC
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