The Holy Spirit: The Filling Of The Spirit

Review

Turn to Ephesians 5:18-21.

Last week we finished our Bible study on the indwelling of the Spirit and tonight we’re going to begin the third and final portion of this series on various terms that we find in Acts relating to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Since we’re starting a new section, I want to take a few minutes to review what we have learned so far.

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The baptism with the Spirit was a supernatural work of God in fulfillment of His promise to empower the early church. After Pentecost, this work was limited to the apostles’ ministry and it ceased with their passing.

It happened in different ways, but often, the apostles would pray and the Holy Spirit would supernaturally come upon new believers, indwell them, and empower them to do miracles - such as speaking in other languages that they did not otherwise know.

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Indwelling of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit takes up permanent residence in the spirit of the believer the moment that they are regenerated at salvation.

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The Holy Spirit permanently marks that individual as a child of God. Because they are indwelled by the Spirit, the believer enjoys God’s continual presence and is guaranteed to receive all of the promised future blessings of salvation.

While they are related, the baptism with the Spirit and the indwelling of the Spirit are not the same.

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Tonight we will begin studying what I believe is the most important part of our mini series on the Holy Spirit. This is the part that as much as possible, I want you as a Christian to grasp and understand. The reason why is because this is the part that is far more than academic; it is practical Christian living.

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The Filling Of The Spirit

This is another term that - no doubt - you have heard mentioned in preaching. We have already seen it mentioned in our series through the book of Acts. Here’s some examples from the Gospels and the book of Acts:

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Luke 1:15 KJV 1900

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.

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Luke 1:41–42 KJV 1900

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

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Acts 2:4 KJV 1900

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

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Acts 4:8 KJV 1900

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

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Acts 4:31 KJV 1900

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

Now let’s think a little bit about our study in Acts: who are these people in Acts 4:31? They pray and it says they are filled with the Holy Ghost. Whatever that means, who is this group of people that this happens to? Hint: look at verse 23. Answer: believers - the church at Jerusalem

Question: what happened with the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter two? The baptism with the Spirit

So what has already happened to these believers? They have been baptized with the Spirit and have been indwelt by the Spirit.

The filling of the Spirit is not the same as the baptism with the Spirit or the indwelling of the Spirit because those things had already taken place in their lives. The filling of the Spirit means something different.

I’m painting this distinction with some black and white lines, but let’s begin to discover what it means and eventually we’ll see how the filling of the Spirit relates to these other terms that we have studied.

Read Ephesians 5:18-21.

If you’ve been a Christian for even a short time, chances are, you’ve asked yourself some of the following questions:

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?

How can I be filled?

Why am I not filled?

Can I know if I am filled?

Why do I need to be filled?

These are all legitimate questions. To start building our understanding of this concept, let’s take a look at what the word “filled” means. Here’s the definition of the Greek word:

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Filled: to fill up, to take possession of, to be completely under the influence, or wholly occupied with

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Filled: to be controlled

In each of those verses that I referenced a few minutes ago, you can substitute the word “filled” with the word “controlled” and it fits into the context of the verse.

Review verses above and substitute the word “controlled.”

The word “controlled” may suggest to you that this is some kind of mechanical or robotic experience where the Spirit takes over and you just become a robot in His hands. That’s now what these verses indicate, however. These verses indicate that these people retained full control over their minds and bodies.

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They didn’t lose their freewill, but the Spirit supernaturally moved them and enabled them to do exactly what He wanted because they were surrendered to do His will.

Now we’re not very far along in this study, but there’s a question that’s worth asking right now:

Application: Christian, what are you controlled by? As you go about your daily life, what does your life indicate its controlled by?

You see, if you are filled with the Spirit, in other words, if you are living under the Spirit’s control, here’s what will be reflected in your life: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

Now none of that comes naturally, does it? No! That’s the fruit of the Spirit. When the Spirit is in control of your life, then the Spirit will produce that fruit in your life.

But if the flesh is controlling you, here’s what will be reflected in your life: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like.”

“Pastor Tim, I don’t even know what some of those words mean!”

You may not, but be assured that your flesh works overtime to produce these sins in your life.

Romans 7:18 KJV 1900

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Once you come face to face with the dark reality called the flesh, I hope it helps answer the question “why do I need to be filled?”

Why? Because if you’re not under the control of the Spirit, the only alternative is the flesh and I don’t think any of us want that.

Christian, you have the Spirit indwelling you, but that is not enough. He must also control you. As I close in prayer tonight, ask the Lord to help you learn what this means so that you can go and live it day by day.

Are we anywhere commanded to be baptized with the Spirit? Are we anywhere commanded to be indwelt with the Spirit? No. But we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. that’s why I said at the beginning of this series that this study is vitally important for us to understand. We need to practice this in our daily lives.

Being filled with the Spirit is not something you do to yourself, it is something that the Spirit does to you. You don’t make yourself be controlled by the Spirit, you submit to the Spirit’s controlling.