So.  Are you skotos?  Or are you phos?  Are you karpos?  Or are you akarpos?  And by the way, just how well do you walk?  Is it just simply putting one foot in front of the other, rinse and repeat, until you depart from point A to arrive at point B?  Or is your “WALK” more than just a foot movement thang?  Read on to find out…

In these lessons, we have been learning about the Third Person of the Trinity…third revealed, not third in importance…God the Holy Spirit.  In our first lesson from John’s gospel chapter 15, we saw Jesus in the Upper Room promising the disciples that He it was “good” that He should go away because He would send The Holy Spirit to come and dwell INSIDE each of His believers to help them with…..everything!  Then, we went to Jesus by night with Nicodemus in John 3 to learn that we must be born again from above.  Proof of our second birth (the spiritual one!) will be the presence of The Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Last lesson, we consulted with Paul in Romans 8 to discover the truths of being “indwelt” by The Holy Spirit.  Our flesh is still around until we see Jesus, but His Holy Spirit lives in us to help us daily as we defeat the control of our fleshly desires by moment by moment reliance on the power of God WITHIN us.  To that truth I shout thank YOU, Lord. 

Today, we track with Paul in Ephesians 5 as we seek to understand what it means to be “filled” with the Spirit.  First of all, let me say that when we realize we are sinners and we confess our sins and repent of those sins, we come to Jesus and He comes to us.  He loves us enough to take us as we are and make us new by His blood.  He gives us His Holy Spirit to care for us and guide us and provide daily cleansing for us until we go to live with God in Heaven. 

We don’t get a “little bit” of The Holy Spirit.  At salvation, He comes into EACH of us in ALL of His fulness.  The rest of the “filling” is our responsibility…let me explain…as we empty ourselves of US, the Holy Spirit gains more and more control of our lives.  We surrender in one area.  He fills that spot.  We repent of a certain sin.  He fills that spot.  We stop using our own stubbornness and having our own way.  He fills that spot.  It is a daily, moment by moment process of personal spiritual growth toward sanctification.  That word means to be set apart as holy to God.  We work on that the rest of our lives.  Well, really, GOD works on that IN US by His Holy Spirit as He continues to grow us to be more like His Son, Jesus.

Now for our mystery Greek words above. 

Before salvation, we are skotos=darkness.  When we come to Jesus, we are phos=light.  The proof of that light in our lives is karpos=fruit that is produced.  Or not.  So, we are either fruitful (karpos) or unfruitful (akarpos).  When we decide to fill ourselves with all the right stuff, we must eliminate consumption of all the wrong stuff. 

Our WALK is not just a locomotion event.  Our WALK is our conduct.  Our testimony.  The way we live our lives.  Spirit Filled people walk differently.  They talk differently.  They make decisions after consulting with the Lord. They live a song of praise kind of life.  Harmony comes more naturally to them.  They live thankful lives and they give glory to the Lord with their time, money, pursuits.  What brings God joy brings them joy.  What crushes the Spirit of the Lord crushes them.  They unashamedly seek to know the will of God and live it out. Deeds of darkness are unfruitful.  Deeds of light produce fruit.  This is the evidence of The Holy Spirit in our lives. 

Psalms:  strike strings and play

Hymns:  sing a pledge toward Jesus

Spiritual songs:  share the Holy Spirit