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“I’M IN THE FIGHT OF MY LIFE, PT. IV”

EPH. 5:18 (KJV)

Ephesians 5:18 (KJV)

¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.

DRUNK, EPH. 5:18, DEFINED

Greek methysko, pronounced meth-oos-ko, Strongs 3182, a prolonged (transitive) form of <G3184> (methuo); to intoxicate:- be drunk (-en).^[1]

EXCESS, EPH. 5:18, DEFINED

Greek asotia, pronounced as-o-tee-ah, Strongs 810, from a compound of <G1> (a) (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative of <G4982> (sozo); properly unsavedness, i.e. (by implication) profligacy:- excess, riot.^[2]

FILLED, EPH. 5:18, DEFINED

Greek pleroo, pronounced play-ro-o, Strongs 4137, from <G4134> (pleres); to make replete, i.e. (literal) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figurative) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.:- accomplish, × after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.^[3]

[1] James Strong, “Μεθύσκω,” in Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).

[2] James Strong, “Ἀσωτία,” in Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).

[3] James Strong, “Πληρόω,” in Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).

God poured out His Spirit to endue His Church with power from on high for service, Acts 1:8 (KJV):

⁸ But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

POWER, ACTS 1:8, DEFINED

Greek dynamis, pronounced doo-nam-is, Strongs 1411, from <G1410> (dunamai); force (literal or figurative); specially miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself):- ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, might (wonderful) work.^[4]

The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the power of God in us, not only for power for service, but in this fight for our lives, He is the force to be reckoned with in every aspect of our faith walk. His indwelling presence is the divine nature in us for character building, Galatians 5:22–26 (KJV):

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³ Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ²⁴ And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

But the ministry of the Holy Spirit is so much more. He gives us power over sin and the flesh, Romans 6:14 (KJV):

¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

[4] James Strong, “Δύναμις,” in Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).

Galatians 5:22–26 (KJV)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

Romans 8:13 (KJV)

¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

He, the Holy Spirit, leads the Believer, and guides the Believer, John 16:13 (KJV):

¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher, John 14:26 (KJV):

²⁶ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Holy Spirit is so much more, Jn. 14:16, 17 (Amplified Bible): -16- And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever - -17- The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.

We need the Holy Spirit’s anointing, 1 John 2:20 (KJV): ²⁰ But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

1 John 2:27 (KJV)

²⁷ But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

ANOINTING, 1 JN. 2:20, 27, DEFINED

Greek chrisma, pronounced kris-mah, Strongs 5545, from <G5548> (chrio); an unguent or smearing, i.e. (figurative) the special endowment (“chrism”) of the Holy Spirit:- anointing, unction.^[5]

Our maturing in the things of God is the consequence of our submitting to the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit in our lives. More precisely, the fruit of the Spirit in manifestation is the indication of our maturing spiritually. Being filled with the Spirit, gifts and anointing, does not necessarily mean maturity. We can be anointed, filled, and gifted of the Holy Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is the manifestation of maturity. The character of God is greater than the gifts, talents, and anointings, 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV):

¹³ And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 3:1–3 (KJV)

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. ² I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. ³ For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?

The sure sign that we’re growing in grace is we’re being changed into the image of His Son, Rom. 8:28, 29 (KJV): ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.^[6]

[5] James Strong, “Χρῖσμα,” in Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).

[6] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Ro 8:28–29.

God zeroes in on one thing, to reveal to men that they are more than conquerors, and that is, He tells men who they are in Christ by waking that inner-man up who has been re-created in the image of His Creator. So, He tells us we must be renewed in our minds, to put off the old man and put on the new man, and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, all dealing with the man on the inside of these bodies. Then there’s the following scriptures, Colossians 3:10 (KJV): ¹⁰ And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.

IMAGE, COL. 3:10, DEFINED

Greek eikon, pronounced i-kone, Strongs 1504, from <G1503> (eiko); a likeness, i.e. (literal) statue, profile, or (figurative) representation, resemblance:- image.^[6]

Now, let’s go back to the book of beginnings, Genesis 1:26–28 (KJV):

²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

IMAGE, GEN. 1:26, DEFINED

Hebrew selem, pronounced tseh-lem, Strongs 6754, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e. (figurtive) illusion, resemblance; hence a representative figure, especially an idol:- image, vain shew.^[6]

LIKENESS, GEN. 1:26, DEFINED

Hebrew dmut, pronounced dem-ooth, Strongs 1823, from <H1819> (damah); resemblance; concrete model, shape; adverb like:- fashion, like (-ness, as), manner, similitude.^[6]

The Word reveals who we are in Christ, re-created after His image and His likeness, the God-image, therefore really what the Word is revealing is who we already are, and reminding us that our inner-man, the born-again man, is in the image and likeness of God. When that God-image and the Word connect, then we become who God says we are. We become transformed into His image and His likeness. We become like God. Whatever’s in the vine is in the branches, John 15:1–7 (KJV):

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. ² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. ³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. ⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

It’s in the inner-man, the inner-man, the inner-man. Whatever’s in the vine is in the branches, in His image and in His likeness. We’re like God. The people of God have God’s Word reminding them that the way we win the fight of our lives is to win the fight within.