Fill it and experience it

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17    But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

Paul in the prior verses had just told the Thessalonians in this letter of the great falling away; the great apostasy of the church. He speaks of Satan at the peak of his limited power, and of how Christ will defeat him. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. All of works of Satan and the anti-christ will be over shadowed by the glorious return of Christ in that day. The Thessalonians must understand that they are chosen by God, and must live their lives in the security of their belief. They are to live with the assurance of that faith that lies within them.

This scripture ties the power of the Spirit that is living inside you, to the power of the Word that He has given you. The two are inseparable; they cannot work alone.  I love how my study Bible puts it: “The Spirit without the Word is mute, He has nothing to say. The Word without the Spirit is lifeless, is has no power to act. The work of the Spirit is always united with the work of the Word to convict the believer of the truth.” When you experience Salvation, His Spirit comes to live inside you. The Spirit opens your mind to the things of Christ; without Him you mind has a closed door to the Word. Christ told his disciples of the power that he will give to them when he ascended into heaven. This same Spirit is available to all believers today. John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

There are so many roads to go down when you come to understand that the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you upon your faith in Jesus Christ and his power to forgive sin. John 14:6 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. You are missing the boat and missing the greatest blessing in your life if you claim Christ, but do not spend time in His Word. Your life is but an empty jar, waiting to be filled. Your life will never be the same once you possess the Spirit that brings life to the words of the Living Word. You will begin to see things you have never seen before in the Bible. God’s glorious message will become revealed to you and awaken your soul for your time here. Open it, read it, experience it for yourself.