The Holy Spirit seeks—so we learn from the story of the Acts—for men who are not merely possessed by but also filled with the Spirit, for service (6:3, 5; 9:17; 11:24). Possession touches assurance; infilling, service.
e) The Holy Spirit Empowers the Believer for Life and Service.
Rom. 8:2—"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (also vv. 9-11). There are two natures in the believer: the flesh and the Spirit (Gal. 5:17). But while the believer is still in the flesh, he does not live after the flesh (Rom. 8:12, 13). The Holy Spirit enables the believer to get constant and continual victory over sin. A single act of sin a believer may commit; to live in a state of sin is impossible for him, for the Spirit which is within him gives him victory, so that sin does not reign over him. If sinless perfection is not a Scriptural doctrine, sinful imperfection is certainly less Scriptural. The eighth chapter of Romans exhibits a victorious life for the believer; a life so different from that depicted in the seventh chapter. And the difference lies in the fact that the Holy Spirit is hardly, if at all, mentioned in the seventh chapter, while in the eighth He is mentioned over twelve times. The Spirit in the heart is the secret of victory over sin.
Then note how the Holy Spirit produces the blessed fruit of the Christian life (Gal. 5:22, 23). What a beautiful cluster of graces! How different from the awful catalogue of the works of the flesh (vv. 19-21). Look at this cluster of fruit. There are three groups: the first, in relation to God—love, joy, peace; the second, in relation to our fellowman—longsuffering, gentleness, goodness; the third, for our individual Christian life—faith, meekness, self-control.
f) The Holy Spirit is the Guide of the Believer's Life.
He guides him as to the details of his daily life, Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16, 25-"Walk in the Spirit." There is no detail of the believer's life that may not be under the control and direction of the Spirit. "The steps (and, as one has well said,'the stops') of a good man are ordered by the Lord."
The Holy Spirit guides the believer as to the field in which he should labor. How definitely this truth is taught in the Acts 8:27-29; 16:6, 7; 13:2-4. What a prominent part the Spirit played in selecting the fields of labor for the apostles! Every step in the missionary activity of the early church seemed to be under the direct guidance of the Spirit.
g) The Holy Spirit Anoints the Believer.
This anointing stands for three things:
First, for knowledge and teaching. 1 John 2:27—"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 . . . ye shall abide in him." Also 2:20. It is not enough to learn the truth from human teachers, we must listen to the teaching of the Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:9-14 teaches us that there are some great truths that are spiritually discerned; they cannot be understood saving by the Spirit-filled man, for they are "spiritually discerned." See also John 14:26; 16:13.