“A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for

they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them,

because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery

of the Spirit-Filled Life?
2. Spiritual Man
(One who is directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit)
by Dr. Bill Bright. – The following is taken from a booklet written
called ‘How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit’. It explains how
Christians can live their Christian lives with fulfillment and not
become defeated by sin.

Every day can be an exciting adventure for the Christian who

knows the reality of being filled with the Holy Spirit and who lives
constantly, moment by moment, under His gracious direction.
“He who is spiritual appraises all things…We have the mind of
The Bible tells us that there are three kinds of people.
Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:15)

1. Natural Man
(one who has not received Christ) 3. Carnal Man
(One who has received Christ, but who lives in defeat because he
is trying to live the Christian life in his own strength)
 “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly”
(John 10:10).”I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides
in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can
do nothing” (John 15:5).”But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-
control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22,
23).”But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you; and shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth”
(Acts 1:8).
“And I brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as
to carnal men, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not
solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now
The Spiritual Person
you are not yet able, for you are still carnal. For since there is Some spiritual traits which result from trusting God:
jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshy, and are you not
walking like mere men?” TRAITS
(1 Corinthians 3:1-3).

God has Provided for Us an Abundant and Fruitful

Christian Life
Jesus said, “I came that they might have life, and might have it
abundantly” (John 10:10).
“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in
him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” The degree to which these traits are manifested in the life depends
(John 15:5). upon the extent to which the Christian trusts the Lord with every
detail of his life, and upon his maturity in Christ. One who is only
“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, beginning to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit should not
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such be discouraged if he is not as fruitful as more mature Christians
things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22, 23). who have known and experienced this truth for a longer period.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon
you; and shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea
Why is it that most Christians are not experiencing
and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts the abundant life?
1:8).
 TRAITS
Carnal Christians cannot experience the Abundant and
Fruitful Christian Life
The carnal man trusts in his own efforts to live the Christian life:

1. He is either uninformed about, or has forgotten, God’s love,

forgiveness, and power (Romans 5:8-10; Hebrews 10:1-25;
1 John 1; 2:1-3; 2 Peter 1:9; Acts 1:8).

(The individual who professes to be a Christian but who continues

2. He has an up-and-down spiritual experience. to practice sin should realize that he may not be a Christian at all,
according to 1 John 2:3; 3:6, 9; Ephesians 5:5).
The third truth gives us the only solution to this
3. He cannot understand himself – he wants to do what is problem…
right, but cannot.

Jesus Promised the Abundant and Fruitful Life as the

4. He fails to draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit to live the result of
Christian life. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Romans 7:15-24; 8:7; being filled (directed and empowered) by the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:16-18)
The Spirit-filled life is the Christ-directed life by which Christ lives
His life in and through us in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 15).

1. One becomes a Christian through the ministry of the Holy

The Carnal Person Spirit, according to John 3:1-8. From the moment of spiritual
birth, the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at all times
Some or all of the following traits may characterize the Christian (John 1:12; Colossians 2:9, 10; John 14:16, 17).Though all
who does not fully trust God: Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not all Christians
are filled (directed and empowered) by the Holy Spirit.

2. The Holy Spirit is the source of the overflowing life (John

7:37-39).
 3. The Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ (John 16:1-15). When 3. Present every area of your life to God (Romans 12:1, 2).
one is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is a true disciple of
Christ.

4. By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to:

o His Command: Be filled with the Spirit. “And do not
4. In His last command before His ascension, Christ promised get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be
the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to be witnesses for filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).
Him (Acts 1:1-9).
o

His Promise: He will always answer when we pray

How, then, can one be filled with the Holy Spirit? according to His will. “And this is the confidence
which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything
according to His will, He hears us. And if we know
that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that
we have the requests which we have asked of Him”
We are filled by the Holy Spirit by faith; then we can
(1 John 5:14, 15).
experience the abundant and fruitful life which Christ
promised to each Christian
Faith can be expressed through prayer…

How to pray in faith to be filled with the Holy Spirit

You can appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit right now if you:

1. Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy

Spirit (Matthew 5:6; John 7:37-39).
We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith alone. However, true
prayer is one way of expressing your faith. The following is a
suggested prayer:

2. Confess your sins. By faith thank God that He has forgiven “Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have been
all of your sins – past, present and future – because Christ directing my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned
died for you (Colossians 2:13-15; 1 John 1; 2:1-3; Hebrews against You. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins
10:1-17). through Christ’s death on the cross for me. I now invite
Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill
me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled,
and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I How to Walk in the Spirit
asked in faith. I now thank You for directing my life and for
filling me with the Holy Spirit.”
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? If so, ask God to
fill you with the Holy Spirit right now and trust Him to do so. Faith (trust in God and in His promises) is the only means by which
a Christian can live the Spirit-directed life. As you continue to trust
Christ moment by moment:

1. Your life will demonstrate more and more of the fruit of the
How to know that you are filled (directed Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23) and will be more and more
conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 12:2; 2
and empowered) with the Holy Spirit Corinthians 3:18).

Did you ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit? Do you know that 2. Your prayer life and study of God’s Word will become more
you are now filled with the Holy Spirit? On what authority? (On the meaningful.
trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word: Hebrews 11:6;
Romans 14:22, 23.)
Do not depend upon feelings. The promise of God’s Word, not our
feelings, is our authority. The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the 3. You will experience His power in witnessing (Acts 1:8).
trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word. This train diagram
illustrates the relationship between fact (God and His Word), faith
(our trust in God and His Word), and feeling (the result of our faith
and obedience) (John 14:21). 4. You will be prepared for spiritual conflict against the world
(1 John 2:15-17); against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17); and
against Satan (1 Peter 5:7-9; Ephesians 6:10-13).

The train will run with or without the caboose. However, it would be
futile to attempt to pull the train by the caboose. In the same way, 5. You will experience His power to resist temptation and sin
we, as Christians, do not depend upon feelings or emotions, but (1 Corinthians 10:13; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 1:19-23;
we place our faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God and the 2 Timothy 1:7; Romans 6:1-16).
promises of His Word.
Spiritual Breathing

By faith you can continue to experience God’s love and

forgiveness.
If you become aware of an area of your life (an attitude or an
action) that is displeasing to the Lord, even though you are walking
with Him and sincerely desiring to serve Him, simply thank God
that He has forgiven your sins – past, present and future – on the
basis of Christ’s death on the cross. Claim His love and
forgiveness by faith and continue to have fellowship with Him.
If you retake the throne of your life through sin — a definite act of
disobedience — breathe spiritually.
Spiritual breathing (exhaling the impure and inhaling the pure) is
an exercise in faith that enables you to continue to experience
God’s love and forgiveness.

1. Exhale — confess your sin — agree with God concerning

your sin and thank Him for His forgiveness of it, according
to 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 10:1-25. Confession involves
repentance – a change in attitude and action.

2. Inhale — surrender the control of your life to Christ, and

appropriate (receive) the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith.
Trust that He now directs and empowers you; according to
the command of Ephesians 5:18, and the promise of 1 John
5:14, 15.

Adapted from Have You Made the Wonderful Discovery of the

Spirit-Filled Life? by Dr. Bill Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade
for Christ. © Cru. All rights reserved.