John 3:34-36
"For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His Hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.'"
I love this passage. It tells us simply that God the Father has given all things to Christ. These things, all authority and power, are given by the Spirit's touch, and are given "without measure". As surely as I write these words, Jesus is declared Lord by the Spirit's touch, fully revealed as God while living with humanity equally fully in person.
The text is clear. When a person accepts the Son, they are given new life eternal because all things are given to the Son. There is no other way to salvation.
Likewise, with every believer, the Spirit is also given "without measure". Don't let anyone tell you they've received a greater filling of the Spirit due to having some Spiritual gift given for the edification of the Church. Every believer receives the same measure of the Spirit's grace and power – a filling without measure. Simply put, we receive all of the Spirit when we come to faith in Christ. It is this filling without measure that brings our salvation and ushers us into everlasting life.
While the evidence of the Spirit's filling may be greater in some than in others, presumably due to the nature of their Spiritual gifts, this doesn't mean we are any less filled by the Spirit. What we are seeing is either a more visible gift of the Spirit in one's life than in another, or the Spirit coming on power in one as they are being used of God. But both have the Spirit "without measure".
Likewise, while the Spirit's power seems to be manifested in a greater way in some believers than others, this is not due to a limitation of the Spirit's filling. We are all fully and equally filled with the Spirit at our salvation. While this doesn't mean the Spirit's power is equally at work in us, the filling is none the less the same.
I'm thankful that we don't have to worry about the Spirit being given to us according to the measure of our faith. Instead, the Lord fills us "without measure".
LORD JESUS
Lord, I thank you for the full filling of your Spirit. May I do nothing in my life which would cause you to withhold a manifestation of your presence in my life, always being open to be used of you in every way. Amen.
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