When does the Christian life begin and what takes place at it's beginning?

Hebrews 2:3 "how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard."

Introduction:
When does the Christian life begin and what takes place in that beginning? What ought to occur after it has begun? These two questions merit a two-part series, since Hebrews 2:3 states - "how will we escape if we neglect so great asalvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard." Hence today's post will deal by answering the first question, with tomorrow's post dedicated to answering the second question. 

When does the Christian life begin and what takes place in that beginning? 
First, all Christians have the Holy Spirit indwelling them from the moment of regeneration in saving faith (Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:4-5). The miracle of regeneration begins the Christian life, and is made possible by the Holy Spirit. He is the One who works in the human heart, with the simultaneous outworking being the sinner's willful response of faith and repentance in conversion. Were the Holy Spirit not active in salvation - no one would be saved (John 16:8-12). If no one responded in saving faith and repentance, no one could receive such salvation and have it applied.

Secondly, once the sinner has believed upon Jesus and repented of their sins, the Holy Spirit unites the new Christian to Jesus Christ through what the Bible calls "Spirit-baptism" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 affirms what we have written thus far: "Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord."

At this point, we are talking about logical, rather than chronological order of the events in the beginning of salvation. In regards to time and experience, the scripture bears out that regeneration, faith, repentance, Spirit-baptism, justification and adoption are experienced all at once. 

In the logic of scripture's teaching on salvation, following regeneration, saving faith, repentance and Spirit-baptism - God the Father then pronounces the guilty sinner an innocent saint through His judicial decree of justification. (Galatians 3:16). Justification is where the Father credits to me by faith alone the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 

Furthermore, the father relationally declares the saint of God a son or daughter of His by adoption (Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 5:4-5). All of this occurs instantaneously. All of this occurs at the beginning. The person has journeyed from being a condemned sinner to becoming instantly a converted saint - regenerated, faith believing, repentant, justified, adopted - all thanks to the Spirit's working, the Father's will and the Son's finished work.  

The Christian now has all of the Holy Spirit they're ever going to get. However, the issue that remains from regeneration onwards is: "how much of me does God the Holy Spirit have?" Such issues will be covered in tomorrow's post when we answer the second main question today: What ought to occur after the Christian life has begun? More tomorrow....

Late Pastor Adrian Rogers illustrates the Spirit-filled life

Galatians 5:25 "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

Ephesians 5:18 (HCSB) "And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit."

The Spirit-filled life may be hard for some readers to grasp or to communicate to others who have never heard of it. The verses above demonstrate the centrality of this truth. I wanted to share today an illustration (from memory) I heard the late pastor Dr. Adrian Rogers use in explaining the Spirit's desire and right to fill every Christian. I found it to be so helpful, and I pray you will as well!  

Dr. Adrian Rogers illustrates the Spirit-filled life

"Let us suppose you have a close, long-time friend with whom you have known since the days of childhood. This close friend is one whom you will call upon from time-to-time and this friend is loyal. We could say that this friend checks upon you more than you check upon him. Let us suppose your good friend pays a visit. He knocks at the door, you let him in and you visit with each other. He tells you he is needing a place to stay for the next few days before he travels onto his next destination. 

You tell him "no problem. As a matter of fact, make yourself at home. I have to go into work soon. There is food in the refrigerator, the remote is sitting on the chair. In fact, if you need to use my extra car, so as to save on your gas, go ahead. You can come and go as you please."

So you go off to work, happy that your good friend is there in your house. When you come home later that day, you find the car in the driveway and the dishes washed and put away. At first you smile, but then suddenly you here a noise - like the sound of the rustling of papers. You run into your den, and there is your friend, rifling through your files, old photographs and personal bank statements. He has also been checking out your checkbook and is searching through your computer to see what websites you have been visiting. 

You try to keep your composure and say to your friend in a stern tone: "pardon me, may I help you?" Your friend says: "I looked through those old pictures of you, they sure were funny. I also noticed some of the expenditures in your checkbook, can you afford some of things you are purchasing?" 

You interrupt: "Excuse me! What gave you the right to rifle through my belongings, I...". Your friend interjects: "Well you did tell me to make myself at home, didn't you?" My goodness, those old pictures of you sure are something. I noticed some of the websites you have been looking at. You sure are odd in your preferences."

What would you do dear friend? What would you say to such a friend? Would you tell them to leave the den, perhaps leave the house? Would you break off communication with such a friend? Perhaps with anyone else, the above scenario would elicit an immediate telling of your friend to leave. However, what about the Holy Spirit? Did you know He is our helper, our comforter, our very best Friend sent by Jesus to every Christian and God, the Third Person of the Trinity (John 15:26-27; 2 Corinthians 3:16-17). 

Furthermore, He takes up residence inside every Christian at salvation - hence making every Christian a temple of His possession (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20). God in the Person of the Holy Spirit not only resides in you, but also desires to rule in you. He has every right to access every area of our lives. We oftentimes give the Holy Spirit access to poritions of our lives, and yet the proverbial "den" is off-limits. I'm here to tell you dear friend, unless you let the Holy Spirit have unlimited access to your thought-life, your decisions, your private affairs, habits, finances, relationships and heart, you will never know what it means to have the joy of the Spirit-filled life." 

What Spirit-filled people are enabled to do

Ephesians 5:15-19 "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,19 speaking to one another in psalms andhymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord"

Introduction:

Today's post aims to unpack the key verse we find in the New Testament with regards to the Spirit-filled life - Ephesians 5:18. Whenever one reads Paul's letters, He will oftentimes express himself in such a way that presents parallel thoughts one right after the other. What we may read as a series of different commands can actually be different ways of expressing the same command. Whenever it comes to explaining to new believers what it means to be Spirit-filled, Ephesians 5:18 is the ground-zero of discussion. As we shall see below, the surrounding verses aid us greatly in unpacking this tremendous truth.

What we want to know is this: what Spirit-filled people are enabled to do?

1. Spirit-filled Christians are careful in their conduct. 

Ephesians 5:15 "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise."

2. Spirit-filled Christians maximize the use of their time.

Ephesians 5:16 "making the most of your time, because the days are evil."

3. Spirit-filled people are able to understand God's revealed will (in His word).

Ephesians 5:17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

4. Spirit-filled people are under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit

5. Spirit-filled people will have a lifestyle of worship.

Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another in psalms andhymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord"

The Spirit-filled life is M.O.R.E about Jesus

1 Corinthians 11:23 "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

Introduction:

The Lord's table urges the church of the living God to be more about Jesus Christ. In the last several posts we have labored to show how the Spirit-filled life is connected and portrayed by the Lord's supper - being that such a life is necessary to live out all that is communicated in that covenant meal. The historical Christ is commemorated by the elements of bread and fruit of the vine and the prophetic Christ is looked forward by the same. When it comes to the present reality of Jesus Christ in the life of the Christian, the Holy Spirit's work in uniting us to Him in and amplifying our experience of Him in His filling ministry are all included in the significance of the meal. 

Paul's letter to the Corinthian church was written to a group of believers who across the board were more worldly than godly and more carnally minded than spiritual. The reinforcing of the Lord's table in 1 Corinthians 11 reminds the reader that it is for all true Christians. Even if a Christian has been carnally minded, He is bid to come and surrender Himself to His Lord at the table and ask the Spirit of God to renew him to a fresh love for Jesus and His people. Today's post is designed to close out this series of posts on the relationship between the Spirit-filled life and the Lord's table. Like the Lord's table, the Spirit-filled life is about the Holy Spirit getting more of you and me so that we can desire more of Jesus Christ. Below we will use the acrostic M.O.R.E in unfolding what is entailed in being filled with the Holy Spirit, as well as seeing the table of the Lord as the ideal setting for such.

The Spirit-filled life involves the following components:

1. Meditating on Jesus in the Word. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

As Paul relays to his readers the basis for his giving to them the Lord's table, he writes: "For I received from the Lord". When Jesus Christ delivered these instructions and recollections of the night in which He instituted this ordinance, He was doing so in a post-resurrected, post-ascended state. The words that Jesus spoke to Paul are nearly identical to those we find in Luke 22:19-21. The Holy Spirit's work enabled Paul to interract with the ascended, exalted Jesus. Jesus met Paul on the basis of the Word, which in turn prompted Paul under Divine inspiration to include instructions on the Lord's table.

Meditating on scripture is a must for anyone desiring to be Spirit-filled or Spirit-controlled. When we look at the instances of filling of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, some sort of mediation or time spent in the Word was included. Paul purposefully wants his readers to reflect back on Jesus and to think about what He is doing currently in their lives as they approach the table. Meditating on the scripture positions us to be ready to receive the supper and to be Spirit-filled. Colossians 3:16, which tells us to "let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly" is worded similarly to Ephesians 5:18 - which tells Christians to be "filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Obedience to the Lord. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

As we continue to focus briefly on 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, we find that by being a set of commands from the Lord Jesus, obedience is expected. Jesus plainly said that the way to show love to Him is to obey His commands (John 14:21). Obedience to the Lord is another pre-condition to the filling of the Spirit. Acts 5:32 states - "And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” When we as believers partake of the Lord's supper, we are doing so in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Obedience and a right heart are so central to how we approach and partake of the meal. In Baptist churches (and most fellowships), believer's baptism is a pre-requisite, along with saving faith, in the partaking of the table, since a willing obedient heart is a receptive heart to the authority of Jesus Christ. Spirit-filled living must have obedience, just as an electric circuit needs wiring. Meditating on the scripture and obedience are both activities that require the Spirit's power to make them genuine expressions of love to Jesus. Just like the Lord's supper, the Spirit-filled life is more about Jesus in meditating on the scripture, obeying the Lord and thirdly.....

Rejecting the self-life. 1 Corinthians 11:27-34. 

1 Corinthians 11:29 states - "For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly." Many people wonder what this stern command means. It could include the idea of how we approach the table - say in a flippant manner, or in terms of how we approach Jesus and His accomplished work. The main idea seems to be in regards to how we regard fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Whenever you read the earlier context of 1 Corinthians 11:17-22, the Corinthians were essentially placing themselves above one another and back-biting one another. Such activity will never lead to the Spirit-filled life, but only a self-led life. A few verses will prove this point.

Galatians 5:13-16 "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do notturn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." Or consider Ephesians 5:18-19 "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord." Self is the twin enemy of the Christian life - the other being our Adversary, the devil. The self-life rears its ugly head whenever the cross is put forth. The Lord's table places the cross front and center. At the Lord's table, we are called to die to self, consider others more important than ourselves and serve one another in love. To not die to self is to constrict the flow of the Spirit's power and to limit one's experience of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. We must meditate on scripture, obey and reject self. However there is one more component necessary for the the Spirit-filled life that the Lord's table gives us opprotunity to receive....

Empowerment of the Spirit. 

Whenever we come to participate in the Lord's supper, the entire church body is present and waiting to receive the bread and fruit of the vine. Nothing resides in those signs. The signs of the bread and fruit of the vine point to the reality of He who resides in us by the Holy Spirit - namely the Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever we partake of that covenant meal, the presence and power of Jesus Christ is made more clear in us and through our collective presence. We wait on each other and wait for the meal to be served. Waiting is such a vital part of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Perhaps a better word is positioning.

Acts 1:8 has Jesus telling His disciples - "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” When God's people gather together to celebrate the Lord's table, it ought to be, next to the exposition of scripture, the center of spirituality in the Christian life. We in the Evangelical church world have down-played the place of the Lord's supper too much. In our efforts to stress it's symbolic nature, we have went too far and have opted to making such an observance optional and then gradually non-observed. Inasmuch as the Lord's Table is a symbolic meal containing signs pointing to Jesus, it is not just a bare symbol only. 

Unless the church corporately has regular opportunity to meditate on Jesus Christ in the scriptures, obey and die to self at the table, no power of the Spirit can be expected to flow. When we take the Lord's table and the celebration thereof more seriously, a renewed passion for the cross and the Gospel will result. Holiness and Godly living will be held at a much higher premium. How we treat one another will be viewed much more importantly - resulting in a proper atmosphere for the Spirit of God to truly move. 

Closing thoughts

Today's post closes out what has been a series of posts tying together two major Bible truths - the Lord's table and the Spirit-filled life. The Spirit-filled life and the Lord's table have as their common goal in partaking of and enjoying more of Jesus. We used the acronym m.o.r.e to express in outline form through 1 Corinthians 11:23-33 how the Lord's supper calls us to a deeper walk with Jesus. In this acronym, we saw the need to meditate on Jesus in the scripture, obey, reject the self-life and empowerment from the Spirit to do the first three. The Lord's supper calls Christians in the local church to do such things, and the Spirit-filled life is the only life that can heed such a call.

The Spirit-filled life is at the heart and core of such a call, being that the Holy Spirit is the One who ministers Jesus to the believer in the partaking of Him in daily life and more specifically in their enjoyment of Jesus' presence with fellow Christians in partaking of the symbols of bread and fruit of the vine. We concluded today's post by noting how the Lord's supper is needed as a necessary ingredient in the spiritual renewal of God's people.

I will close with a quote from The Spiritual Awakening Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, Dr. Gregory Frizell, who writes the following in his book: "The Lord's Supper - A Covenant of love and surrender", pages 3-4: "It is my firm conviction that Lord's Suppers can (and should) be a powerful experience of repentance, restored unity, renewed joy and love for Jesus. Such renewal is the very essence of revival!" 

How the Spirit-filled life is necessary to fulfill 3 expectations set forth in the Lord's supper

1 Corinthians 11:23-25   "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying,“This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Introduction:
We saw from yesterday's post why the Lord's Table not only portrays in picture form the cross and coming of Jesus, but also the call to the Spirit-filled life - whereby the Christian enjoys and partakes of the Ascended Jesus on a regular basis. Today's post takes this idea further by noting what the Lord's table calls Christians to do in their fellowship with one another and with the Lord. It will be demonstrated that there are certain expectations that require the Christian to be Spirit-filled if they are to carry them out consistently and with sincerity.

1. Expectation #1 communicated by the Lord's table - put others ahead of yourself (i.e die to self). 
When we talk about the expectations of the Lord's table - of what do we speak? Paul's concern here in 1 Corinthians 11 had to do with Christians putting themselves above other Christians. The promotion of self and the by-passing of the cross as the tool of conformity to Jesus Christ were sorely missing. The situation at Corinth rendered the activity of the Lord's table as nothing more than an empty ritual full of carnality and self-ish ambition. Paul needed to yank the Corinthians back to the reality of what the Lord's table was all about. 

Think about what is called for whenever we approach the Lord's Table. In 1 Corinthians 11:20-22 and 11:33 we see the need for Christians to put each other ahead of themselves. In short - to put someone else's interests ahead of my own - I need to deny self and thus die-to-self. Nothing but the Spirit-filled life will see this as the only option. 

It is one thing to go through the ritual of the Lord's Table and not let-on how we are in our hearts. It is quite another to partake together in the reality of the fact that I truly value my fellow saved-church members as more important than myself. The Spirit-filled life calls for self-denial on a daily basis. Whenever you read any of the key passages on the Spirit-filled life (Romans 8:1-11; Galatians 5:1-25; Ephesians 5:8-6:4; Colossians 3:10-18; 2 Peter 1:4-11), the common enemy of spiritual progress is the self-life. The idea of "self" refers to that principle inside all of us that asserts what-it-wants, when-it-wants and how-it-wants. 

The problem with the Corinthian church was "self". In 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, Paul said he had to address those at Corinth as spiritual babes who were carnal - that is to say - operating from a self-centered, rather than Spirit-empowered life. Hence the expectation to put others ahead of myself requires the Spirit-filled life.  

2. Expectation #2 communicated by the Lord's table - Using the cross as your tool of conformity to Jesus Christ (i.e the crucified life)
The Corinthians still had the Spirit of God as Christians, however they were living the life from their soul rather than from the Holy Spirit inside their human spirit. When Jesus called his disciples in Luke 9:23-24 and Luke 14, He told them that they needed to take up their crosses daily, and die to self, and follow Him. 

Undeniably the calling of the Lord's table demands we die to self if it is to be enjoyed and God-honoring.  All Christians who have been scripturally baptized and are members of churches of like faith are proper recipients of the table. Even if we come to the table and are in a season of being more carnally minded than Spirit-led, the Lord's table clearly tells us that we cannot remain in such a condition. 

The question we must ask ourselves regarding our last time at the Lord's table is: "have I been living the Spirit-filled life?" Such a life is the only way in which one can see the necessity to die to self and participate daily in going to the cross as the chief instrument of daily conformity to Jesus Christ. 

When we die to self, the command to examine ourselves before God in 1 Corinthians 11:28 means we have willingly acknowledged the constant need to be in fellowship with Jesus above our selfish ambitions, self-centered motives and self-gratification. Such an act of daily self-denial occurs when we daily go to the cross as the tool of our conformity to Jesus Christ. Whenever we see how the Lord's Table pictures the Spirit-filled life, the central focus of the cross makes sense. Paul's exposition in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 points us to Jesus Christ and Him crucified, risen, ascended and soon coming. 

The commands to take up one's cross and die to self are really two parts of one great overall idea. Whenever I partake of those token signs of the bread and fruit of the vine, I am in effect declaring Galatians 2:20 - "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

3. Expectiation #3 communicated by the Lord's table: Desire more of Jesus, His work and His power. 
We honestly cannot love our fellow Christians as we ought apart from the filling of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, we cannot value the cross of Christ, the scriptures and Christ-Himself apart from the regular filling and empowering work of the Holy Spirit. How we treat other Christians reveals what we think of Jesus (compare Matthew 25:40). Paul's warnings in 1 Corinthians 11:27-33 regarding partaking of the Lord's table in an unworthy manner has mostly to do with how well we are regarding others Christians in our local churches. 1 John 3:14-16 reminds us - "We know that we have passed out of death into life,because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

To be sure, flippancy towards the Lord's table or a coldness towards the cross could be included in the warnings. However, to have any issue with a fellow brother or sister constricts the closeness I will have with Jesus until such issues are resolved (see Ephesians 4:32; 5:8-18).  

Closing thoughts
We have considered today how the Lord's table calls Christians to exercise themselves with one another and the Lord Jesus along the lines of three expectations. Such expectations can only be carried out when the Christian is repeatedly filled with the Holy Spirit. First, the expectation of putting others before myself (i.e dying to self). When Christians serve each other the elements, such an act represents what they ought to be doing all the time. The Spirit's filling work will make such a duty a delight.

The second expectation communicated at the Lord's table is to come to the cross as the tool of conformity to Christ. Dying to self occurs only one way - co-crucifixion with Jesus Christ. This is not getting converted over again. Rather, co-crucifixion has to do with taking what is an instrument of salvation and using it as a tool of sanctification. Self and the flesh would rather abandon the cross. However, the Lord's table features such. Hence the Spirit-filled life is necessary to embrace this second expectation of co-crucifixion communicated in the Lord's supper. 

Then finally, the expectation of loving Jesus and His people more deeply. Only when we have emptied our hearts of hurt and heartache by the Word and the Spirit can we be fit vessels for the filling and leading of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-22). The Lord's table calls Christians to unity, love for one another and the Lord Jesus Christ. The flesh will never be sold on such activities. Only the Spirit-filled life will continuously desire and strive towards improvement in the areas of loving Jesus and other Christians. 

How the Lord's Table is connected to the reality of Spirit-filled life

1 Corinthians 11:20-23 "Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper, 21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise thechurch of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. 23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread."

Introduction:

These last several posts have attempted to trace the relationship between the Lord's table and the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian life. Care has been taken to advance the notion that when the Lord's Table is observed in any local church, what is being pictured by the elements of bread and fruit of the vine is not some empty ritual or mere remembrance of things. The bread and fruit of the vine are symbols for sure - but they are more than symbols. 

Three realities pictured by the Lord's table
The bread and fruit of the vine that is partaken of converted people of God who have been scripturally baptized (see Acts 2:38-41) signifies certain realities. 

1. The chief reality of the past is of course the accomplishmentof salvation won by the Lord Jesus Christ - which Paul expressly tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. 

2. The second reality communicated by these signs and symbols is a future one - namely the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as stated in 1 Corinthians 11:26. However, in many Baptist churches at least - no further significance is found. 

3. The third reality portrayed by the Lord's table is the Spirit's work in ministering to God's people the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ. This is sadly a glaring omission that is unknowingly over-looked by many churches, pastors and Christians. When we consider what Paul states about his receptions of the Lord's Supper instructions for the church at Corinth, we must ask: in what manner did the Lord Jesus Christ deliver these instructions to Paul. The wording corresponds to what we read in the first three Gospels. However, when Jesus came to Paul, He had already risen and was already ascended. 

The post-resurrected, ascended Jesus is able to be with His people here while remaining in heaven due to the fact of Him not only remaining God, but by the Spirit granting opportunity for His people to experience Him.  It is in this vein of thought we must consider the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

To get as quickly as possible to the point of today's post - it must be stated that the current Person and activity of Jesus Christ is experienced and enjoyed by the repeated filling and re-filling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's filling ministry of the Christian following their conversion represents the epicenter of post-conversion life. 

The importance of the Spirit-filled Christian life in the local church
The Spirit of God is the One who initially unites us to the Living and exalted Christ at salvation - hence taking care of our position before God in Christ. The Spirit's filling ministry deals with our experience of such a life with God by our fellowship with Christ Who lives inside of us. 

The very identity of the church as the "body of Christ" speaks to the present reality every Christian continues to enjoy from their inception into salvation by grace through faith. The church as a body of believers partaking of the Lord's table is the chief point of 1 Corinthians 11. Moreover, the church as a body of Christ is made possible by the Person and work of the Holy Spirit - as seen in 1 Corinthians 12. 

As we noted earlier, the Spirit's ministry of filling the Christian stands as the central hub of post-conversion Christianity. The Spirit-filled life is the Spirit-led, Spirit-controlled life. Whenever one reads the key passage on the Spirit-filled life - Ephesians 5:8-21 - we find the call to such a life in Ephesians 5:8-14; the command to have a Spirit-filled life in Ephesians 5:15-18 and the consequences flowing from such a life in Ephesians 5:19-6:4. 

All Christians have the Holy Spirit indwelling them from the moment of regeneration in saving faith (Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:4-5). Were the Holy Spirit not active in salvation - no one would be saved. In that moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit unites the new Christian to Jesus Christ through what the Bible calls "Spirit-baptism" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). All of this occurs instantaneously. The Christian now has all of the Holy Spirit they're ever going to get. However, the issue that remains from regneration onwards is: "how much of me does God the Holy Spirit have?" 

The answer to that question is answered by the filling ministry of the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit weds the increased experience and power of the risen Christ. This is not to say that I wasn't already connected to Jesus. The Spirit's initial uniting of me to Him guarantees that positional reality (see Ephesians 2:6-8). However, the Christian should throughout their Christian walk desire to have an increasing experience to match what they are learning about their position in Christ. 

When we approach the Lord's table - we approach with the idea that what is being pictured in those signs and symbols is not only the historical reality of Calvary and not only the future reality of the second coming - but also the present reality of the Spirit's uniting of Jesus with me - and me with Him. Our churches need Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit. The filling ministry of the Spirit is a repeatable reality that is available to all Christians and is commanded to all Christians. Are we yielded to the Lord? Does He have more of us today than He did yesterday?

Since the weaknesses of the flesh and the onslaught of the world makes Christians prone to spiritual leakage - we need to be filled again and again. The repeatability of the Lord's table reminds us of the fact we need to be fellowshipping with Jesus repeatedly. The experience of the Lord's table and the actions of taking in bread and fruit-of-the-vine reminds us of the growing experience every Christian needs in taking in the Person, presence and power of the risen and ascended Christ by the filling of the Spirit. Proof positive of these observations found in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13. Together we "drink" of One Spirit. Together we are the body of Christ. Such truths are pictured by the Lord's table. 

The hope from these last few posts is that the reader is seeing the clear linkage between the Holy Spirit's Personal ministry in continuously uniting the Christian to Christ to what is communicated and portrayed in the Lord's supper. Moreover, the specific filling ministry of the Holy Spirit stands central to the post-conversion Christian life. Although no passage of scripture forbids a Christian from partaking of the elements who is not Spirit-filled, nonetheless the picturing of the necessity of that reality in the Lord's supper should quickly move a wavering Christian to repent and ask the Spirit of God to fill them anew with a deeper experience and love for Jesus. 

More tomorrow....

How The Holy Spirit's working is pictured in the giving of bread in the Old and New Testaments

Nehemiah 9:20 "You, in Your great compassion,Did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go. 20 “You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst."

Introduction:

Today's post is a continuation from the past couple of posts, wherein we have been exploring how the Lord's table pictures not only the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Christian, but also the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the Christian. Yesterday we concluded by noting how Christians partake of and enjoy the Person and work of Jesus Christ by their union with Him, and He with them by the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit from the inception of salvation takes a sinner upon their reception of Christ through Divinely wrought faith and places them "in Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). It is being set forth in these posts that the Lord's table portrays the Spirit's manifest work in the life of the Christian in bringing the reality of the Person and work of Christ to the Christian and the Christian's life to fuller realization of Jesus Christ. 

Today's post wants to consider the Old Testament background that informed the backdrop of Jesus' institution of the Lord's table. It will be proposed that if we can find evidence of the Holy Spirit's working in those instances where God fed his people, or where He gave them institutions like the passover, then the link between the Spirit's ministry and Christ's ministry should follow in a fuller and richer way.

How we know the Lord's supper was the fulfillment of what was pictured in the Passover

The Jewish Passover feast was initiated by God in Exodus 12 to commemorate His deliverance of the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. Exodus 12:6 reads - "You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight." In context we discover several important details that point the way to God's ultimate passover lamb - the Lord Jesus Christ. 

First, the "it" in Exodus 12:6 is noneother than the Passover lamb, that every family was to slaughter and later on in the Mosaic law would specifically be done by a qualified Levitical priest (Leviticus 23; Deuteronomy 16:1-2). 

Second, the "fourteenth day" of the month corresponded to March or April on our calendars. Now with the details thus far seen, we have foreshadowed the Lamb of God, spoken of by John the Baptist in John 1:29 and the timing of when He was to be crucified. 

The third detail we find in Exodus 12:6 is with reference to the whole congregation of Israel. The Passover lamb was given on behalf of each family and in a representative way the whole of God's people. We know when Jesus came to this world, He did indeed come to die for the whole world in one respect as the Historically given Savior who is offered to all men indiscriminately in the Gospel (1 John 2:1-2). However in a specific, saving way, Jesus died for His church, composed of all whom God set His Spirit to work and who by faith responded to such work (Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 4:10). 

All of these details revealed in the Passover meal foreshadowed what would be the final passover and thus - the Ultimate Passover Lamb - the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark 14:12 tells us the timing of the institution of the Lord's Table - "On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” As we noted earlier, Jesus Christ was called by John the Baptist the "Lamb of God" in John 1:29  "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" So Who was it that was revealing the Passover and events like it? Notice what the Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:10-12 "As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as Hepredicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." The Holy Spirit is the One who revealed the Passover and also connects it to what would be its culmination in the Person and activities of the Lord Jesus Christ.

How we see the Holy Spirit working in the giving of manna and Jesus' preparation for the giving of Himself

As the Israelites made their way through the wilderness following their deliverance out of Egypt, God began fedding them Manna or bread from heaven. God gave them this celestial - but nonetheless physical - bread, knowing full-well they would rebel against Him and would have to be sustained by Him in the wilderness of Sinai for 40 years. 1,000 years after those events, Nehemiah retells the entire history of God's dealings with the people of God and connects the Holy Spirit's leading to the giving of manna. Notice Nehemiah 9:20 “You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them,Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth,
And You gave them water for their thirst." Jesus would 450 years after Nehemiah reveal how He was the fulfillment of the meaning foreshadowed in God's giving of Manna. In John 6, Jesus revealed Himself to be the Bread of Life. To be more specific, John 6:58-63 records Jesus saying - "This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard thissaid, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble? 62 What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."

Bringing home the main point of today's post - the Holy Spirit works to illuminate the believer's heart and mind to their ongoing connection to Jesus Christ

What is the point? The point is to show how the Holy Spirit in both the giving of the manna and in Jesus' revelation of Himself as the bread of life works to illluminate minds and hearts to the implications of all that is being said. When we see the giving of the Passover and then the later giving of the manna of Heaven, we come to realize how both actions foreshadowed the ultimate giving of Jesus Christ - both the Bread of Life and Lamb of God. The significance of such realities would not be possible without the Holy Spirit. In the same token, when we consider the Lord's supper, the signs of the bread and fruit of the vine serve to portray the reality of which the Holy Spirit is communicating to every Christian. Each time we partake of the Lord's supper, we are in that instant reminded in a fuller way of the profound, daily reality of our union to Jesus Christ. 

Such a union with Jesus, wherein we "partake" or "enjoy" the benefits of His still remaining in a physical body on our behalf while being God, is all made possible by the Holy Spirit. The bread and the juice do not contain such realities, but rather are signs and symbols signifying the fact that Christians are the ones possessing such realities. Bible teachers of old expressed rightly that the Spirit's work in the Lord's supper includes making clear our unbreakable connection to the Lord Jesus Christ. We as it were are brought up to where He is positionally at salvation (see Ephesians 2:6-8). What the Lord's supper does is set the occassion whereby the church of the living God enjoys that reality in the fullness and richness of what it means to be in fellowship with the risen and exalted Christ. 

Where is Jesus when the Lord's Supper is celebrated? In Heaven and by the Spirit's working - in us. Where is Jesus after the Lord's supper has concluded? In Heaven and by the Spirit's working - in us. The only distinction here is that in the Lord's supper - the Holy Spirit amplifies our awareness of this truth - which is one reason Christians so often sense the solemnity of such an observance. The Holy Spirit's work and ministry is included in all that is portrayed by the bread and fruit of the vine. He points the way to what Jesus did, will do and is doing in us. Praise be to God, by the Spirit's working, we are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ - and He with us. As 1 John 4:13 and 17 states - (13) "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." (17) "By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world."

More tomorrow.....