Holiness Evangelism (with multiple quotes takes from MacArthur’s commentary on Ephesians)

“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom [a]every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen” (Eph 3:14-21 NASB).

According to Macarthur, “In this great prayer of entreaty to God and exhortation to His children, Paul prays specifically for the inner strength of the Spirit, for the indwelling of Christ in the believer’s heart, for incomprehensible love to permeate their lives, for them to have God’s own fullness, and for God’s glory thereby to be manifested and proclaimed. Each element builds on the previous ones, making a grand progression of enablement.”

Since “our new identity makes us the dwelling place for God” (cf. Eph 2:5, 19, 20, 22), “Paul prays that God would enable them to employ the fullness of that power . . . [and] “that their unlimited energy from Him would be manifested” (Macarthur)). As Christians therefore, we are to walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16), i.e. we must “be Spirit conscious, Spirit filled, and Spirit controlled” (Macarthur).

Curiously, Paul in Ephesians 3:16-17 seems to place the Spirit’s presence within the person before the salvation experience but this order would be incorrect “because every believer at salvation is indwelt by Christ (2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:27) and cannot have ‘the Holy Spirit in the inner man’ until he has received Christ as Savior (Rom. 8:9, 11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19). Paul, however, has already made clear that all believers are in Christ (1:1, 3, 10, 12; 2:6, 10, 13). He is therefore not here referring to Christ’s indwelling believers in salvation but in sanctification” (Macarthur).

“Being made strong inwardly by God’s Spirit leads to Christ’s being at home in our hearts, which leads to love that is incomprehensible” (Macarthur; cf. Eph 3:17-19). “When the Spirit empowers our lives and Christ is obeyed as the Lord of our hearts, our sins and weaknesses are dealt with and we find ourselves wanting to serve others, wanting to sacrifice for them and serve them—because Christ’s loving nature has truly become our own. Loving is the supernatural attitude of the Christian, because love is the nature of Christ” (Macarthur).

This Holy Spirit filled life, as prayed for by Paul for all Christians, where believers mature in Christ, grow in their love for God, and glorify Him with their lives will result in an evangelistic fervor among those who possess it. To be thoroughly equipped and filled with the Spirit, Christians must diligently study the Scripture and apply its teachings to their lives (2 Tim 3:16-17). As they grapple with the biblical demands for holiness and become convicted of their sinfulness (as their misdeeds and errant thoughts are brought to light through careful study of God’s word), they will be led to apply the gospel of repentance and faith anew. This gospel of sanctification is merely the application of the gospel proclaimed at salvation as Christians are exposed to the demands of Scripture and their corresponding fallenness. When convicted (just as with their initial salvation experience), Christians are to repent and seek God’s grace (empowerment through the Holy Spirit) to achieve the victory over their sin and to make them righteous in Christ. This is what it means to be filled with the Spirit, and this filling will lead to a love for God as the believer obeys God’s Word. As 1 John 5:3 NASB states, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” With a growing love for God sparked by diligent study and application of His Word and empowered by the renewing presence of the Holy Spirit, believers will be enabled to live holy lives (by keeping with repentance) that exhibit Christ to a lost world. Evangelism that arises from these spiritually filled believers will be far more powerful than any contemporary worldly gimmicks employed by some churches. This holiness evangelism, built on obedience to Christ and His Word, will spawn from believers as they spread the love of God in word and Deed.