John chapter 3, the last part of verse 34 where he says, “For God does not give the Spirit by measure.”

I think a lot of people imagine the Holy Spirit to be like a substance that you could dispense in differing quantities or in varying concentrations, like you could get more or less of the Holy Spirit or be given a more or less potent batch of the Holy Spirit or dose of the Holy Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit is a person. He is either with us or He’s not. He’s either moving or He’s not. He’s either in us or He’s not.

Now later in the Gospel of John, Jesus will say to His disciples, “I must go so the Holy Spirit can come to you.” And some of His last words to His disciples will be, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and be transformed into My witnesses.” On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church in fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy, Peter stands up and says, “This promise has been given to every believer.”

Now, behind me here, these buildings are being remodeled and restored to house a distillery and it’s tasting room. And I don’t drink alcohol, so I don’t have firsthand knowledge of this, but I imagine that when people come to visit here, they will not be given a cask or whatever they use to house this stuff and age it and all that. They’ll be given a sample of the spirits to taste.

Now, pardon my crude analogy. But you have not been given a sample of the Holy Spirit. You have been given His fullness. He, if you are a follower of Jesus, inhabits you fully. That means there is nothing, no challenge you could ever face that would overwhelm His power in you. There’s nothing you could ever walk through, no experience you could ever have that would be greater than His comfort to console you with and to carry you with.

You have not been given the Spirit by measure.