NOTES for Eph 5:9

In the "Question - Answer" section you can find a question about what one must be like for the Holy Spirit to descend upon one, and the answer to that question. The verse from the letter to the Ephesians that we have just read says that such "preconditions," in any case, do not include "all goodness, righteousness, and truth," since they are, on the contrary, fruits of the Spirit. So then, in order for the Spirit to descend, must one be a villain, an impious person, and a liar? Of course not. It is simply that without the Holy Spirit we are villains, impious people, and liars. We must very strongly want to stop being such, ask for the Spirit, and wait for Him. Wait not passively, but actively, confessing our sins, keeping watch, observing ourselves, perceiving every deviation from goodness, righteousness, and truth in our life as insufficient freedom for the Holy Spirit in us, and turning to God again, asking Him to give us the Holy Spirit again and again.