A SPIRIT FILLED LIFE

THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE

 

This is the title of a little book in our library written in 1895 by John MacNeil. His name came to light from reading a book about the Welsh Revival last week. He was mentioned in the book, although not one of the key players in that revival, which centered around Evan Roberts. I knew we had this book by him, so found it and have been reading it with renewed interest. It is a small paper back, only 126 pages, purchased sometime in the mid '60s for 45 cents, believe it or not! It was published by Moody Press Publications, bearing a  number MCL49, which apparently stood for the 49th book put out by Moody Col portage Library. This was written several years before the Pentecostal denomination was formed shortly after the Azusa Street Revival of 1906, and was not written from a denominational, or a sectarian perspective.

 

It covers everything you might want to know about the Spirit-Filled life, in a simple easy to understand style, and I highly recommend it. If you ever see a copy in a used book store sometime, I suggest you buy it for sure! Brother MacNeil states that a Spirit Filled Life is every believer's birthright, and is a command to be obeyed, "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph 5:18). He speaks a lot about the need for "cleansing", before we ask to be filled with the Spirit.  And he does an excellent job of explaining the difference between "the baptism of the Spirit", and the "filling of the Spirit". Basically there is only one baptism, but there can be many fillings after the first one, which is called the baptism as well as the filling. (Acts 2:4). There has been much confusion around this issue due in part to different terminology, as near as I can determine. Another matter he sheds light on is the difference between our being "blameless" and "faultless". We can be blameless in this present life, provided we are doing the very best we can with the revelation that we have received, (1 Thess 5:23). However we can only be faultless when we stand before God in our resurrected bodies (Jude 24). How sad when some people who have been made blameless by accepting what Jesus has done for us on the cross, then consider themselves faultless, or to have arrived at a state of "sinless perfection", which is impossible to achieve in this life!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer