This is a person who has not yet accepted Christ.

„The natural man does not grasp what God's Spirit reveals. He thinks it is nonsense and cannot understand it, for to understand and judge what comes from God's Spirit, God's Spirit is needed again.“ (1Co 2:14 GNT)

Life ruled by the ego

E = Ego, limited ego on the throne
† = Christ outside of life
- = Areas of life, determined by the ego, often lead to disagreement and disappointment

This is a person who has accepted Christ and is led and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

„But the spiritual man knows how to judge everything correctly...“ (1Co 2:15 GNT)

The life led by Christ

† = Christ on the throne of life
E = Ego dethroned
- = areas of life under the guidance of the unlimited God in growing harmony with God's plan

This is a person who has accepted Christ, but often experiences defeat because he tries to live the Christian life in his own endeavours instead of in the power of the Holy Spirit. „And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you could not yet drink it. Indeed, even now you still cannot drink it, for you are still carnal. For if there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not carnal and walk after the manner of men?“ (1Co 3:1-3 GNT)

The life determined by the ego

E = Ego, limited ego on the throne
† = Christ in life, but not on the throne
- = Areas of life, determined by the ego, often lead to disagreement and disappointment

Jesus says: „I have come to bring life in all its fullness.“ (John 10:10 GNT).

„I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.“ (John 15:5 GNT)

„But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and temperance.“ (Galatians 5:22)

„But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The spiritual man

- Some qualities that characterise a life with God.

The impact of these qualities in our lives depends firstly on our maturity in Christ, the degree of our union with him and then also whether we fully trust Christ in all areas of life.

Someone who is just beginning to understand the work of the Holy Spirit should not be discouraged if they do not bear as much fruit as a more mature Christian who has been familiar with this truth for longer.

Why do most Christians not experience this fulfilled life?

Some or all of the following qualities characterise the carnal Christian who does not fully trust in God.

• Ignorance of his spiritual possessions
• Disbelief
• Disobedience
• Lack of love for God and for others
• Lack of prayer life
• Lack of interest in the Bible
• Impure thoughts
• Envy
• Guilt
• Unnecessary worries
• Discouragement
• Critical attitude
• Despair
• Aimlessness
• Legalism (idea of earning something before God)

(The one who thinks he is a real Christian but is constantly practising sin should check according to 1 John 2:3 and 3:6 and 3:9 and Ephesians 5:5 whether he is really already a Christian).

The third point shows us the only solution to this problem...

The Spirit-filled life is a life in which Christ is in charge. Christ lives his life in us and works in us and through us in the constant power of the Holy Spirit. (John 15)

1. According to John 3:1-8, one becomes a Christian through the work of the Holy Spirit. At the moment of spiritual birth, we receive the new life through Christ.
   In John 14:17 we are told that the Holy Spirit remains with us and in us:
   We were given our natural life at birth so that it would remain with us. It is sustained from the outside through air, water, nutrition, etc. It is the same in the spiritual world as in the natural world. We receive our spiritual life - the Bible calls it being born again (John 3:3) - when we give ourselves completely to Christ and testify to this at the appropriate time in biblical baptism. (Acts 2:38; John 1:12; John 14:16, 17). In order for this spiritual life to remain with us, we need to live in the Holy Spirit, in prayer, in the Word of God, etc.
2. The Holy Spirit is the source of a fulfilled life. (Joh. 7,37-39)
3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ. (John 16, 1-15). If you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you are a faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
4. In his last words before his ascension, Christ promised us the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to be his disciples and witnesses (Acts 1:1-9).

How can you be filled with the Holy Spirit?

We cannot earn the fullness of God, it is a gift. We receive it through faith, i.e. by trusting God.

You can experience being filled with the Holy Spirit now if you:

1. Have an earnest desire to be filled and led by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39).
2. Pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit in faith, i.e. trusting Jesus Christ to answer your prayer: „He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This is what he said about the Spirit...“ (John 7:38, 39)
   „ ... that we may receive the promised Spirit through faith“ (Galatians 3:14)
   
   God has made it easy for us to trust him by giving us concrete promises. He tells us in 1 John 5:14:
   „And that is the confidence we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.“
   
   To those who pray according to the will of God, says the next verse according to the Menge translation:
   „So we know (at the same time) that the petitions we have brought before him have already been granted to us.“ (1 John 5:15)
   Another translation (Kürzinger) says:
   „Then we also know that we already have what he has asked for.“
   
   This means that prayers according to God's will are answered at the very moment we bring them before God, even though we usually don't realise it emotionally. Feelings can come later.
   
   Example: Someone prays for deliverance from tobacco. He is answered in faith at the moment of his prayer. A few hours later, he realises that he no longer has a craving for tobacco. (For more details, see St Andrew's letter „Victory over tobacco and alcohol“. Praying according to promises is also explained in more detail there).
   Jesus says this in Mark 11:24 (Menge translation):
   „Therefore, whatever you ask for in prayer, only believe that you have (actually) received it, and it will be granted to you.“
3. God has given us a promise for the reception of the Holy Spirit in Luke 11:9-13. We have already looked at this passage at the beginning of the letter, therefore only verse 13:
   „If you then, being evil, are able to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?“

A prayer with promises strengthens our trust in the answer and is at the same time a way of expressing our faith. A suggested prayer is given below:

Does this prayer correspond to your desire? If so, then make it your own prayer now. May I recommend that you pray this prayer aloud and trust God that he has now filled you with his Holy Spirit.

Have you asked God to fill you with his Holy Spirit? Then on what authority can you know that you are filled with the Holy Spirit? (Because God and his word are trustworthy: Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:22-23).

The feeling is not decisive. It is the promise of God in his word that is decisive, not our feelings. The Christian lives by faith, i.e. by trusting in the credibility of God and his word.

The following drawing is intended to illustrate the relationship between fact (God and his word), faith (our trust in God and his word) and feeling (the consequence of faith and obedience) (John 14:21).

The train runs with and without a trailer. However, it would be pointless to let the trailer pull the train. Likewise, as Christians we are not dependent on moods and emotional movements, but we place our trust (our faith) in the credibility of God and the promises in his word.

Only through faith (trust in God and his promises) can the Christian have a life filled with the Holy Spirit. It is important to note what 2 Cor. 4:16 tells us:

„So the inner [man] is renewed from day to day.“

For this reason, it is recommended that we consecrate our lives to God every morning and ask him in faith - preferably with a promise - for a new fulfilment or refreshment with the Holy Spirit. If you live day by day with trust in Christ, the following will happen:

1. Your life will produce more and more of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22); your character will become more and more like Christ. (Romans 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18)
2. Your prayer life and reading the Word of God will become more meaningful.
3. You will experience his strength to resist temptation and sin.
   God's word says:„The tests to which your faith has been put so far have not yet gone beyond the ordinary. But God keeps his promise and will not allow the test to exceed your strength. ...“ (1Co 10:13 GNT)„I am equal to all things because Christ makes me strong.“ (Phil. 4:13 GNT)
   
   „One last word: be strong through union with the Lord.“ (Eph. 6:10 GNT)
   
   „For the Spirit whom God has given us does not make us timid, but gives us strength, love and prudence.“ (2 Tim. 1:7 GNT)
   
   „There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit [the Holy Spirit], who gives life in Christ Jesus, has set me free from the law of sin and death.“ (Romans 8:1, 2)
   
   „We know that whoever is born of God does not sin, but whoever is born of God he keeps, and the evil one [Satan] will not touch him.“ (1 John 5:18)
4. You will experience his support in your testimony (Acts 1:8).