Be Filled with the Spirit Part 1

The Bible talks a lot about being filled with the Holy Spirit. The word used in this verse for filled means being continually filled. That means being filled, and filled, and filled again. It means to keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.

(show flat sponge) Can anyone tell me what this is? It’s called a flat sponge.

Talk about how useless this sponge is without water just as the Christian is useless unless he’s filled with the Holy Spirit.

The sponge is hard. God doesn’t want us to have a hard heart toward Him. He wants to fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit.

This sponge is dry. Without the Holy Spirit filling us, our lives and passion for God can be dry. God wants to fill us with His Holy Spirit so that rivers of living water can flow out of us.

This sponge can’t wash or clean anything. Being filled with the Holy Spirit keeps us cleansed from sin.

Object Lesson Experiment:

(Dip the sponge in the bowl of water so it is a little wet. Let the children make observations on how the sponge has changed. It is wetter, bigger, softer, more useful. Dip the sponge again until it gets saturated.)

The more this sponge gets saturated with water, the more useful it is. The more we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the more useful we are to the Kingdom of God.

If I were to leave this wet sponge on the shelf, what would happen to it? It would get dried out and hard again. That’s the way we will get if we don’t continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Let’s read about being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18b-21:

Ephesians 5:18–21 NKJV

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Every couple of years, Ligonier Ministries releases a study regarding The State of Theology in the United States. The 34-statement survey was designed to discover what Americans believe about God, salvation, ethics, the Bible, and so on.

The State of Theology survey reveals deep confusion about the Bible’s teaching, not only among Americans as a whole, but also among evangelicals. There is something very wrong when a majority of Americans can give the correct answers to basic Bible questions and at the same time say that their beliefs are purely a matter of personal opinion.

Three statements in the survey deal with the person and work of the Holy Spirit. One statement is: “The Holy Spirit is a force but is not a personal being.” How would you answer that statement? The statement is false, but in the 2020 study, 59% of all Americans agree with that statement. Sadly, 59% of Evangelical Christians also agree with that statement. The fact is that “the Holy Spirit can be grieved and lied to (cf. Isaiah 63:10; Acts 5:3; Ephesians 4:30). He can also speak (cf. Hebrews 3:7-11; 10:15-17). An impersonal force can do none of these things, so these personal characteristics indicate that the Holy Spirit must be a person.”

Moreover, the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity. He is the one who regenerates or gives new life to a person, which is what enables that person to exercise faith and become a Christian. The Holy Spirit is the one who then empowers and enables Christians to live holy lives before a holy God. Christians are empowered and enabled to live holy lives before a holy God by being filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18b-21 teaches us what is involved in being filled with the Spirit.

I. The Command to Be Filled with the Spirit (5:18b)

Ephesians 5:18 NKJV

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

From Ephesians 4:17 onwards the Apostle Paul has been describing the new life of the Christian. And he has been contrasting the new life of the follower of Christ with the old life. Old life vs. new life. In verse 18 Paul exhorts Christians to be filled with the Spirit and not to get drunk with wine.

Last week we examined what Paul meant by not getting drunk with wine. Now we will examine what Paul meant by being filled with the Spirit. Paul said in verse 18b, “…be filled with the Spirit.”

There is confusion in about being filled with the Spirit. And, there is confusion about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There are some who believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a work subsequent to salvation. They would say that just as the Holy Spirit came upon the believers at Pentecost and enabled them to speak in tongues (cf. Acts 2:1-4), so believers today may expect the Holy Spirit to come upon them some time after their conversion and enable them to speak in tongues. How do we answer this?

It is helpful to recognize that in the Bible we must distinguish between what is prescriptive and what is descriptive.

On the one hand, something that is prescriptive is that which gives directions or injunctions. That is, we are to follow the teaching that is given in that portion of Scripture.

On the other hand, something that is descriptive is that which describes or explains an event. Christians are not specifically required to put into practice what is described in that portion of Scripture—unless there is a clear command to do so. There are many places in Scripture where we’re not told to do the same thing someone else did. Just simply, “that’s what they did.” It’s still happened as Scripture records it. It’s not given as a command, or even normative, simply an accurate description of what happened.

The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost that enabled believers to speak in tongues was a unique event. Speaking in tongues was an evidence that the Holy Spirit was now being given to all people from every people, tribe, nation, and language.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit (sometimes described as “the gift of the Holy Spirit”) is what happens when a person becomes a part of the family of God.

In 1964 (and reprinted in 1977), John R. W. Stott wrote a book titled, Baptism and Fullness, in which he distinguishes the difference between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. He writes:

I have concentrated on the meaning of the expression “gift” or “baptism” of the Spirit. I have tried to summarize the strong biblical evidence both that these two are one and the same thing, and that they describe an initial blessing (received at the beginning of the Christian life) not a subsequent one (received some time later), and therefore a universal blessing (given to all Christians) not an esoteric one (enjoyed only by some).

In other words, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a one-time event that takes place in the life of every Christian at the moment of regeneration. The fullness of the Holy Spirit, or being filled with the Holy Spirit, is something that takes place throughout the Christian’s life. John Stott puts it this way, “When we speak of the baptism of the Spirit we are referring to a once-for-all gift; when we speak of the fullness of the Spirit we are acknowledging that this gift needs to be continuously and increasingly appropriated.”

So, God gave the command through Paul in verse 18b, “…be filled with the Spirit.” What does this mean?

As I said earlier, there is much confusion concerning being filled with the Holy Spirit. John MacArthur helpfully suggests several things that are not meant by being filled with the Spirit:

First, being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a dramatic, esoteric experience of suddenly being energized and spiritualized into a permanent state of advanced spirituality by a second act of blessing subsequent to salvation. Nor is it some temporary “zap” that results in ecstatic speech or unearthly visions.

Second, being filled with the Spirit is not the notion at the other extreme—simply stoically trying to do what God wants us to do, with the Holy Spirit’s blessing but basically in our own power. It is not an act of the flesh which has God’s approval.

Third, being filled is not the same as possessing, or being indwelt by, the Holy Spirit, because he indwells every believer at the moment of salvation. As Paul plainly states in the book of Romans, “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him” (8:9; cf. John 7:38–39). A person who does not have the Holy Spirit does not have Christ. Even to the immature, worldly Corinthian believers, Paul said, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,…and we were all made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13)….[A]ll Christians are permanently indwelt by the Spirit.

Fourth, being filled with the Spirit does not describe a process of progressively receiving him by degrees or in doses. Every Christian not only possesses the Holy Spirit but possesses him in his fullness. God does not parcel out the Spirit, as if he could somehow be divided into various segments or parts. “He gives the Spirit without measure,” Jesus said (John 3:34).

Fifth, it is also clear from 1 Corinthians 12:13 that the filling with the Spirit is not the same as the baptism of the Spirit, because every believer has been baptized with and received the Spirit. Although its results are experienced and enjoyed, baptism by and reception of the Spirit are not realities we can feel, and are certainly not experiences reserved only for specially-blessed believers. This miracle is a spiritual reality—whether realized or not—that occurs in every believer the moment he becomes a Christian and is placed by Christ into his Body by the Holy Spirit, who then takes up residence in that life.

Finally, the filling with Spirit is not the same as being sealed, or secured, by him. That is an accomplished fact (see on 1:13). Nowhere are believers commanded or exhorted to be indwelt, baptized, or sealed by the Holy Spirit. The only command is to be filled.

So, what did Paul mean when he wrote, “…be filled with the Spirit.” The Greek word for “be filled” (plerousthe) is key to understanding this command.

First, it is in the imperative mood. “Be filled” is not... "if you get around to it”, but an authoritative command. We have no more liberty to avoid this responsibility than the many others which surround it in Ephesians. To be filled with the Spirit is commanded, not optional.

Secondly, it is in the plural form. In other words, it is addressed to the whole Christian community. None of us is to get drunk; all of us are to be Spirit-filled. The fullness of the Spirit is not an elitist privilege, but available for all the people of God.

Thirdly, it is in the passive voice. The New English Bible renders it: “Let the Holy Spirit fill you.” There is no technique to learn and no formula to recite. What is essential is such a penitent turning from what grieves the Holy Spirit and such a believing openness to him that nothing hinders him from filling us. It is significant that the parallel passage in Colossians doesn’t read, “Let the Spirit fill you” but “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (3:16). We must never separate the Spirit and the Word. To obey the Word and to surrender to the Spirit are virtually identical.

Fourthly, it is in the present tense. Because the fullness of the Spirit is not a once-for-all experience which we can never lose, but a privilege to be renewed continuously by continuous believing and obedient appropriation. We have been “sealed” with the Spirit once and for all; we need to be filled with the Spirit and go on being filled every day and every moment of the day.

How are Christians filled with the Spirit? John MacArthur notes,

“God commands nothing for which he does not provide the means to obey. And if God commands something of us, we do not need to pray for it, because it is obviously his will and intent for us to do it. It is God’s deepest desire that each of his children be filled with his Spirit. We only need to discover the resources he has provided to carry out that obedience.”

“To be filled with the Spirit involves confession of sin, surrender of will, intellect, body, time, talent, possessions, and desires. It requires the death of selfishness and the slaying of self-will. When we die to self, the Lord fills with his Spirit.”

So, God commands us to be filled with the Spirit.

II. The Evidences of Being Filled with the Spirit (5:19-21)

Lord willing, I am going to spend next time fleshing this out in greater detail week after next.

Let me just say today that the evidences of being filled with the Spirit include fellowship, worship, gratitude, and submission.

Paul put it this way in verses 19-21,

Ephesians 5:19–21 NKJV

19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

Conclusion

Having looked at Ephesians 5:18b-21, let us be filled with the Spirit.

One of the other statements in The State of Theology survey is: “The Holy Spirit can tell me to do something which is forbidden in the Bible.” Eighteen percent of Evangelical Christians agree with that statement. That is almost 1 in 5 professing Christians! The fact is that the Holy Spirit is God and the Holy Spirit will never contradict himself by telling us to do something that is forbidden in the Bible.

Our obedience to God’s Word is a barometer of how we are filled with the Spirit. So, let us make a commitment to obey everything that God has commanded us in his Word.