God bless you. Acts 13:52: "And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. " Today we will talk about the filling of the Holy Spirit In dealing with this issue it is extremely important that we remember that the Holy Spirit is not a substance or an influence; It is not a question of a gas or a liquid or a power, but of a Divine Person who comes to dwell in the life of every believer from the very moment of conversion.
Says the apostle Paul in Rom. 8:9 that "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. " The Holy Spirit dwells in all Christians, and does not come to us by part, but as a complete Person.
All who believe enjoy that blessing. Everyone who believes already has the Spirit, but today we will talk about the filling of the Spirit. In this message we will answer questions such as: What is the filling of the Holy Spirit?
How do you get the filling of the Holy Spirit? How do you lose the filling of the Holy Spirit? How do I know if I am filled with the Holy Spirit?
Let's answer the first question: What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? All of the words that are translated in the Bible for FULLNESS carry the basic idea of total dominance or control. When the work of the Holy Spirit is described, it conveys the general idea of God controlling and man submissive as an effect of the filling of the Spirit.
The filling of the Holy Spirit, which is what is sometimes confused with the baptism of the Spirit, is a repetitive experience; unlike the experience of baptism which is a unique experience. Ephesians 5:18 says: Do not be drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery; rather be filled with the Spirit, Here Paul exhorts us not to get drunk with wine, but rather to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But what does that mean?
Many times Scripture uses the expression "to be filled with" to indicate the condition of someone who is being controlled by something. For example, in Luke 5:26 it speaks of a group of people who were filled with fear when they saw the Lord heal a paralytic; and in Luke 6:11 it is said of the Pharisees that they were filled with rage against Christ because he healed a man on the Sabbath who had a withered hand. It is not the same to feel fear or anger than to be full of fear or anger.
They are two different experiences . A person full of fear is controlled by fear, just as someone who is full of anger has been controlled by anger to the point that they can even do crazy things. Being filled with the Spirit, then, is nothing other than being controlled by the indwelling Spirit.
Notice the contrast in Ephesians 5:18: “Do not be drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery; rather be filled with the Spirit. ” What happens to a person when they get drunk is that they have drunk so much alcohol that its influence dominates them. That man is under the influence of drink.
What Paul tells us here is that we must not let that happen, we must not allow alcohol to influence us in this way, but we must allow ourselves to be controlled by the Spirit. Just as drink affects the mind, heart, and will, so we must be affected by the Spirit in our mind, in our heart, and in our will. That is the similarity between drunkenness and the filling of the Holy Spirit.
Being filled with the Spirit is being controlled, guided and directed by Him. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not an option, it is a COMMANDMENT. In Ephesians 5:18 the apostle Paul is not giving us a choice but a command, inspired by the Spirit of God: the command is to be filled with the Spirit.
Unfortunately, although this is a mandate, not all Christians experience fulfillment, because this fulfillment depends on how much we are able to surrender control of our lives to God. To the extent that we surrender to God, to the same extent the Spirit of God does his work in us. Let's take a closer look at the key text of Ephesians 5:18 to highlight some details that we can easily miss.
First of all, notice that these words were written in the imperative mood: "Be filled with the Spirit. " It is not advice or an option, but an ordinance given to us by the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit. It is the express will of God that Christians are filled with the Spirit.
Secondly, and closely linked to the previous point, it is obvious that Christians play a responsible and active role in this matter. This is an exhortation that Christians can either neglect or obey. Third, I want you to also notice that the imperative is in the plural, which means that Paul directs this command to all the believers in the Church in Ephesus and not to a small group of special and super-spiritual Christians that were in the church: "Be (everyone) filled with the Spirit.
" Some believers seem to think that they should be content with a mediocre Christian life and let certain people reach a level of spirituality that they cannot even dream of. But that is not what the apostle Paul says here. He gives the same mandate to all the brothers of the Church: "They have to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
" In other words, the apostle is saying "Let yourselves be filled with the Holy Spirit, let yourselves be guided, let yourselves be controlled and influenced. " "Let yourselves be continually controlled by the Holy Spirit. " This must be the daily experience of the Christian because every day we are going to need His control, His influence, His direction.
Another very important question that I know many will ask. How do you get the filling of the Holy Spirit? Regarding this, let's start with two things that we must avoid.
If we want to be filled with the Spirit, we must avoid grieving the Spirit at all costs. In Ephesians 4:30 the apostle Paul says: "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. " The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person who dwells within us.
He goes with us everywhere, and this is something that we Christians tend to forget. I must take care of what I see, what I hear, what I do, so as not to grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells in me. Christ dwells in us by His Spirit.
If we want to be controlled by Him we must take care not to make Him sad. On the other hand, and closely linked to what we have said, we must take care not to allow ourselves to be controlled by anything contrary to the Spirit. Paul says in Gal.
5:17 that "the desire of the flesh (referring here to indwelling sin) is against the Spirit. " And in Rom. 8:7 says that "the carnal mind (the thoughts, plans, and desires of the flesh) are enmity against God.
" If we want to be filled by the Spirit, we must avoid being controlled by our appetites, our passions, our desires that are contrary to the Spirit. And the same can be said of the patterns of the world that are opposed to those of God. Being controlled by any of these things is the exact opposite of being filled with the Spirit.
But what must we do to be filled with the Spirit? Pay close attention: 1. To be filled with the Holy Spirit we must fill our minds with the Spirit-inspired Word of God, so that it increasingly controls our thoughts and actions.
As the Word of Christ fills us, His thoughts become ours, His standards our standards, and His will our will. In this way the power of His Spirit will manifest itself more palpably in our lives. To the extent that the Word of Christ permeates our minds and controls us, to the same extent the power of the Spirit of God working in us and through us is more widely manifested in our lives .
And what will be the result? The Spirit will produce in us wisdom, faith, joy, peace, hope, goodness, patience, comfort, and knowledge of God. Colossians 3:16 says: Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, teaching and exhorting one another in all wisdom, graciously singing in your hearts to the Lord with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
2. It takes a heart and an understanding willing to give everything. It takes a desire, an interest and a deep motivation.
Decisions need to be made that lead us more to obedience and abandonment of what is sinful. 1 John 3:24 says: And he who keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And in this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
3. Nothing is possible without prayer. Acts 4:31 says: When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled trembled; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.
Prayer is fundamental since together with a deep desire to want to be filled, it shows our interest. We already know that we should not sadden or turn off the Holy Spirit. But, just as we ask God for so many things, we must also ask him in prayer to help us with everything that prevents us from being filled with the Spirit.
If we do this, we will gradually give in and the Holy Spirit will gradually fill us with his control. Another question: How do you lose the filling of the Holy Spirit? The Christian does not sin because of the absence of the Holy Spirit, but in spite of His presence.
Even when the Christian sins, the Holy Spirit continues to dwell in him, and this very fact is what makes sin even worse. When a Christian grieves the Spirit or turns it off, what he does is denying control and lordship to the Holy Spirit, thus losing the filling. How do I know if I am filled with the Holy Spirit?
Someone filled with the Holy Spirit is someone whom the Holy Spirit guides, teaches, empowers to testify of Christ, fills him with love, conforms him to the image of Christ, strengthens him, reveals biblical truth, gives him freedom. The filling of the Holy Spirit is closely linked with the sanctification of the believer, constant, habitual and increasing obedience to the Word of God and a due style controlled by Him. The filling of the Spirit is manifested through a godly character and a fruitful life.
The filling of the Spirit affects everything, our mind, our vocabulary, our relationships with others and, in short, everything we are and do. The Spirit stimulates our mind, our heart, our will. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is allowing Him to stimulate us in love for God, in obedience, in adoration, in service.
That is why in the Bible the fullness of the Spirit is connected with godly traits of character. An abundant spiritual life can only be produced by the fullness of the Spirit in us. This is the effect that the filling of the Spirit produces in the Christian: good testimony, wisdom, faith, joy, peace, hope, comfort, knowledge of God and good fruits of faith.
It is impossible to live the abundant Christian life that Christ offers without being filled with the Spirit. That fullness is essential for Christian joy, for spiritual worship, for faithful service, for constant obedience. We will not be able to walk as is worthy of the vocation with which we were called, we will not be able to live up to who we are as Christians, be imitators of God, walk in love, walk in light, walk in wisdom, if we are not filled with the Spirit Holy.
If there is something that we urgently need in our lives, it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And you, do you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit? If you wish, leave us your answer.
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