The next aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit is that He renews all the parts of our soul—our mind, emotion, and will. Verse 23 of chapter 4 says, “And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” As our inner man is strengthened and the Spirit gains the opportunity to spread into all the parts of our soul, He becomes the renewing Spirit. The spirit of your mind is a particular term. Originally, the Spirit was only in our spirit, but after strengthening our spirit, He spreads into our mind, which is the leading part of the soul and of the heart. In this way our mingled spirit becomes the spirit of themind. Originally, He is the Spirit only in our spirit, but now He becomes the renewing Spirit in our mind. We can prove this by our experience. When we give Him the ground, the opportunity, to spread into all the parts of our being, we experience the renewing of the Spirit in our mind, emotion, and will.
Verse 18 of chapter 5 says, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.” To be drunk is to be filled in the body with wine, but to be filled in spirit is to be filled in our human spirit with the Holy Spirit. We are not persons who are filled with wine; we are persons who are full of the Holy Spirit in our spirit. This divine, spiritual, and heavenly wine is the Spirit, who is God Himself. We need to drink of Him all day long. We are drinkers of the Spirit who are filled with the Holy Spirit in our spirit. The Holy Spirit is the filling Spirit, the Spirit who is working to strengthen, renew, and fill us within.
After we have been strengthened, renewed, and filled within, we are equipped and qualified to do the work of fighting as an army. We see this aspect in chapter 6. Verse 17 says, “Receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God.” The Spirit here is the slaying Spirit as the sword of God to kill the enemy. All the foregoing items are in a proper sequence. Ephesians begins with the revealing Spirit, followed by the uniting, building up, strengthening, renewing, and filling Spirit. After experiencing the Spirit in all these ways, we are qualified to know Him as the slaying Spirit.
Verse 18 continues, “By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.” In order to slay the enemy, we must pray. If we do not pray in the spirit, we cannot fight the battle for God. Therefore, the slaying Spirit is the praying Spirit.
As an introduction to the book of Ephesians, Paul tells us that all the blessings to the church are spiritual. Then he goes on to say that the Spirit of the Body is the sealing Spirit and the pledge within us. The indwelling Spirit within us is the seal to testify that we are God’s inheritance, and He is also the earnest, the pledge, to guarantee that God is our portion. After this, Ephesians goes on to show us the different aspects of the work of the indwelling Spirit in us. First, He reveals the divine things to us, joins us together as one, and builds us up together as the Body. Then He does the finer, deeper work of strengthening our spirit to renew our soul and fill our whole being. He also equips and qualifies us for the battle. He becomes the slaying Spirit within us so that we pray in Him, and He is the praying Spirit to fight the battle for God in order to fulfill God’s purpose. We need to pray concerning all these points in the presence of the Lord. He is the revealing Spirit, the uniting Spirit, the building Spirit, the strengthening Spirit, the renewing Spirit, the filling Spirit, the slaying Spirit, and the praying Spirit. This is the revelation of the Spirit of the Body and for the Body.