How can we be "filled" with the Spirit?
A persistent and recurring injury that I’ve experienced multiple times over the course of my adult life is the severe spraining of my right ankle. Each time I’ve sprained it, it looks worse and it takes longer to heal. It’s one of the most painful injuries I’ve ever experienced, and it contributes to my desire to be particularly cautious when I’m walking on uneven ground or near curbs that would be easy to accidentally step off of in an awkward way.
God’s word encourages us to be careful about how we walk, but the analogy carries a deeper significance than simply putting one foot in front of another. When Scripture teaches us to walk a particular way, it’s speaking about the manner in which we live our lives. It’s describing the way we intentionally journey through life, either with the Lord or away from the Lord.
The majority of people on this planet are running in a direction that is far from God’s desire for them. They’re embracing foolishness because their lives aren’t anchored in the truth. But we who know Jesus Christ and have entrusted our lives and our futures over to Him are encouraged to walk with Spirit-empowered wisdom. We’re called to make careful use of the time we’ve been blessed with because our time will be used up before we know it. We may be surrounded by evil, but God’s will for us is that we shine the goodness of His gospel in the midst of a dark world.
As the apostle Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus, he wanted them and all believers who would read his words to be very intentional about using their lives to bring glory to Jesus. He encouraged the church to embrace a manner of living that was the genuine fruit of sincere faith. Real faith in Christ is marked by obedience to Christ. And even though many people in your life may be taking their lives in an unwise direction, you don’t have to join them, nor do you need to follow their example.
Recently, I was in a meeting with a group of people I have known for a while, including one man who has a reputation for vulgarity. As soon as I saw him walk into the room I wondered, “How long will it be before he says something disgusting and immature?” I didn’t have to wait long. I’m pretty sure it was one of the first things that came out of his mouth. And he continued to do that throughout the meeting, each time scanning the room to see if anyone was laughing with him. He never seemed to catch on that most people were just trying to avoid eye contact with him.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17)
God’s word encourages us to be more careful than my acquaintance chose to be in that meeting. The days are evil. The prevailing thoughts on what constitutes humor is foolish. But we don’t have to embrace that foolishness because the Holy Spirit lives within all who trust in Jesus, and He grants us a mature understanding of His will for our lives. His will is that our lives would mirror the heart and character of Jesus.
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,” (Ephesians 5:18)
When I was in high school, there was a student assembly that was scheduled for later in the day. I asked what it was about, and I was told, “The school district scheduled a hypnotist to come and perform for the students. I think he’s going to be taking volunteers from the audience.” I checked to confirm that this was true, and when I determined it was, I left school and walked home.
I knew most of my friends weren’t going to understand my decision, and I might even be teased because of it, but that didn’t matter to me. I was convinced that it wasn’t biblically wise or spiritually healthy to give someone else control over my thinking, even if it was being done in a playful or entertaining way.
That’s part of what Paul was admonishing the church to understand in Ephesians 5:18, although in that context he spoke of avoiding drunkenness. We all know that too much alcohol in the body will cause a person to lose control of their thinking and their actions. They will think, say, and do things that may cause severe harm to themselves and others if they give alcohol control of their thinking.
Alcohol isn’t the only thing vying for control of our thought life. We’re surrounded by all sorts of things that want to gain control of our minds. There are spiritual forces that are more than happy to use media, apps, substances, and false beliefs to control us by directing our thinking in an ungodly way because if our beliefs can be brought into submission to sin, our behaviors will soon follow.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have a much better option than granting control of our thought life over to Satan and his influence. The contrast Paul encourages us to embrace involves being “filled with the Spirit.”
What do you think Paul meant by that phrase?
Scripture makes clear that the moment we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are indwelled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14). This is an irrevocable and unchangeable reality of our relationship with Jesus. Once the Spirit takes up residence within us, He isn’t leaving.
So how is the filling of the Spirit different from His indwelling?
To be filled with the Spirit means to live a life that is completely yielded to His control. It carries the idea of holding nothing back from Him. When we’re filled with the Spirit, we’re submitting ourselves to His leading in every area of our mind and every area of our life. We’re literally welcoming His presence to fill us in every way so as not to give any remaining room in our lives over to evil.
Every believer is indwelled with the Spirit, but because of the remaining presence of our old, sinful nature, we still struggle with sin. For that reason, it’s fair to say that we aren’t always “filled” with the Spirit in the sense that Paul uses that phrase. Let me explain what this struggle often looks like.
In Ephesians 4:30 we read, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” In that passage, Paul made it clear that Christians have the capacity to grieve the heart of God. The Holy Spirit grieves over the evil we unnecessarily welcome into our lives. He grieves over our adoption of worldly views. His heart is grieved over the trivial way we tinker with sin.
If we’re grieving the Holy Spirit, we aren’t filled with Him.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:19 we’re told, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Quenching the Spirit involves placing our will above His. We quench the Spirit whenever we ignore His leading or reject His wise counsel. We quench the Spirit every time we work against Him by pursuing our own ambitions even when those desires conflict with the word of God.
If we’re quenching the Holy Spirit, we aren’t filled with Him. He may be living within us, and He may have sealed us as His forevermore, but we certainly aren’t cooperating with what He’s trying to accomplish.
The odd part about that is that when we grieve and quench the Spirit we may actually feel like we got away with something, but here’s the downside of failing to cooperate with His work. Grieving Him and quenching Him results in us failing to experience the full expression of His power working in miraculous ways through us. We rob ourselves of amazing experiences, opportunities, and moments that would foster our hearts to give Him praise when we give the forces of evil control over our thinking.
I think we also rob our prayers of power when we resist the filling of the Holy Spirit.
“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:13-16)
James was known in his generation as a man of prayer. He was a leader in the early church who was also known for being wise. I think it’s fair to say that a healthy prayer life and wisdom go hand in hand.
The Holy Spirit inspired James to encourage the church to pray. They were called to pray when they were cheerful and when they were dealing with illnesses and infirmities. They were invited to confess their sins to each other and seek divine intervention on behalf of each other.
The church was also reminded in the letter that James wrote that there is great power in prayer, specifically when those prayers emanate from a person who walks in righteousness. I think another way we can say that is that men and women who are filled with the Spirit pray powerful prayers. Things happen when they pray. Diseases are healed and God intervenes in miraculous ways in response to the prayers that come from people who submit themselves over to Him completely, without holding anything back.
So, do you consider yourself someone who is filled with the Spirit or are there still areas of your life that you’re knowingly holding back from Him? Have you given Him control of your faith? Have you given Him control of your attitude? Have you given Him control of the way you speak to your spouse and children? Does He control your career or do you? Is He in charge of your finances or do you call the shots? Are you ingesting things in your body or putting things into your mind that allow evil to influence you, or is your thinking fully submitted to the Holy Spirit?
“May not a single moment of my life be spent outside the light, love and joy of God’s presence and not a moment without the entire surrender of my self as a vessel for Him to fill full of His Spirit and His love.” - Andrew Murray
That’s the kind of prayer I want to be praying. I want to live in the light, love, and joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to surrender myself to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and I want my heart to grieve like His heart grieves any time I choose anything less than that. I hope you’re willing to pray the same thing for your life and that as your faith matures, His heart becomes your heart.
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)
© John Stange, 2023