Filled with the Spirit

Published in the September 2011 issue of the Record of the Free Church of Scotland

In the previous issue of the magazine, we thought about what Paul intended by his idea of ‘the sealing of the Spirit’ and noticed that it means that every Christian has been marked as belonging to God, with the Spirit himself being the indelible proof that this will always be the case. Now we will look at another Pauline description of the work of the Spirit, that is ‘the filling of the Spirit’ (Eph. 5:18), which he only mentions in that verse in his letters. The description, however, is also found in the writings of Luke, both in his Gospel and in the Book of Acts, and there it is used to describe several individuals who were engaged in serving the Lord. Here is a brief summary of where the phenomenon occurs and of the variety of situations in which it was found.

Concerning John the Baptist, it was stated by the angel Gabriel that he would ‘be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb’ (Luke 1:15). Both parents of John spoke prophetic statements of praise as they were filled with the Spirit (Luke 1:41, 67). Luke also records that the Lord Jesus, after he was baptised by John, and ‘full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness’ (Luke 4:1-3).

On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were filled with the Spirit and began to speak in other languages (Acts 2:4). When Peter and John were being questioned by the religious authorities in Jerusalem, Peter’s response was an expression of being ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 4:8).  Afterwards, when they returned to the disciples and engaged in corporate prayer, those present ‘were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness’ (Acts 4:31).

Later, when a difficulty arose over the provision of daily food for some of the widows in Jerusalem, the solution given by the apostles was for the church to ‘pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty’ (Acts 6:3). This remedy ‘pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit….’ (Acts 6:5). Later, Stephen, as he was dying, and ‘full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.’

Saul of Tarsus was confronted by the ascended Christ on the road to Damascus. Shortly afterwards, Ananias was sent to him with a message: ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 9:17). Paul’s colleague for a few years was Barnabas and he is described as ‘a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith’ (Acts 11:24). During one of their journeys, Paul ‘filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at’ a magician called Elymas and pronounced divine judgement on him (Acts 13:8-12). Later, after Paul and Barnabas were forced to leave Antioch in Pisidia, the disciples they left there ‘were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 13:50-52). So it is not surprising that Paul in Ephesians 5:18 should tell his readers to ‘be filled with the Spirit’.

That brief survey indicates that both men and women and Jews and Gentiles were filled with the Spirit. It reveals that the filling of the Spirit was necessary for preaching, for opposing the devil, for praising God, for looking after widows, for using spiritual gifts, for responding with courage to opposition, for dying in faith, and for living for God after spiritual leaders had been forced to leave an area. We should bear these occurrences in mind as we focus in on what Paul says in Ephesians 5:18.

Barriers to the filling

In the passage in Ephesians, Paul precedes his comments on the filling of the Spirit with two aspects of living that will prevent the filling from occurring. The first is a wrong use of time and the other is the consumption of too much wine (he probably mentions them because they were common features of life in the ancient world, a lifestyle that was incompatible with following Jesus).

With regard to their use of time, Paul says to his readers that they should redeem it. While he did not approve of the practice of slavery, Paul realised that it could teach spiritual lessons, with the obvious one being his frequent references to Christians as slaves of Jesus Christ. But in using the illustration here, he refers to the purchaser and not to the slave. Obviously it was costly to purchase a slave and the purchaser had to be selective when doing so (he would want to buy a healthy slave). The implication is that self-denial accompanies the filling of the Spirit and therefore a Spirit-filled Christian will choose activities that will aid him to know that filling. He has to be selective about how he spends the time that God has given him.

The other barrier to the filling of the Spirit that Paul mentions is intoxication. People at the time did not have tea or coffee, or bottles of fruit juice from which to drink. Instead the choice was usually between wine and water, often watered-down wine at that. There was always the danger that too much wine would be drunk. Obviously, a person under the control of alcohol cannot redeem the time.

But we will miss the point if we conclude that Paul is only speaking about wine. What he is saying is that we should not be so under the influence of something that it controls us, whatever that something is. A person can be controlled by work, sport, hobbies, gardening – all legitimate things – as well as by many illegitimate things that take up one’s time and prevent one from being filled with the Spirit.

Meaning of ‘filled with the Spirit’

There were several ways in which the term was used, and two of them contribute to our understanding of the filling of the Spirit. When the wind filled the sails of a ship, it was blown along in a certain direction at a fast rate and made good progress. We can see the meaning of that imagery in the way the Spirit can empower Christians to progress quicker in the right direction.

Another way in which the term was used was with the meaning of ‘control’. For example, Paul writes that Jesus was exalted in order that he might fill all things; in that example, Paul means that Jesus was exalted in order to be in control of everything (Eph. 4:10). The combination of these two illustrations of ‘empowering’ and ‘ruling over’ is what Paul means by being filled with the Spirit. It is a question of who is in control of my heart, mind and life.

We see an example of this in the incident in the life of Jesus when he confronted the devil in the desert. After his baptism, Jesus was filled with the Spirit who compelled him to go into the wilderness to face the temptations of the devil. The filling equipped his humanity with power and direction as he stepped forward to fulfil his calling as Messiah (Luke 4:1).

Another example is Barnabas, who is described as a good man who was full of faith and the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:23-24). He gave sacrificially, he was an encourager, he was a wise pastor, and he was a man who realised his limitations when he went and asked Paul to help him in Antioch. Each of these responses came because he was filled with the Spirit who guided him in a powerful manner.

Stephen too was filled with the Spirit, which enabled him to be a prominent and clear preacher, a  faithful witness unto death for his Master in the face of a hostile crowd, as well as a person who was willing to look after the feeding of the widows in the church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:3-5). He was able to do each of these different activities because he was under the control of the Spirit, who was guiding him powerfully.

Paul’s language here concerning being filled with the Spirit is in the form of a command. He is not making a suggestion or a recommendation; he is giving a command that he expects will be obeyed. Further, Paul uses a plural form, which tells us that this filling is not limited to special Christians; instead it is a duty and a privilege required of all. Again, Paul uses the present tense, so this experience is not a one-off event; rather it is an ongoing, daily, hourly experience.  He also speaks in the passive voice, which indicates that we don’t fill ourselves with the Spirit, but that he fills us – in other words, the Spirit is in control.

Evidences of being filled with the Spirit

In the immediate context in Ephesians Paul mentions two evidences of being filled with the Spirit. One concerns praise and prayer in public gatherings, which indicates that when Christians do not take part in such occasions they are showing signs of not being filled with the Spirit. The other evidence that Paul mentions is in verse 21 and concerns mutual submission. Both these practices indicate that participation in Christian fellowship is an important aspect of being filled with the Spirit.

In verse 19, Paul mentions ‘speaking to yourselves’. He is not depicting an individual speaking to himself; instead he means that Christians are addressing one another when they offer praise to God. When we sing in church, we are not only singing to God, we are also exhorting one another. For example, when we sing, ‘come, let us worship him,’ we should be aware that we are addressing one another.

Paul also says that a Spirit-filled Christian will sing thoughtfully from the heart. This does not merely mean that he will sing loudly; rather it means that he will sing appropriately with suitable feelings. A Christian should not sing the opening verses of Psalm 51 with a cheery smile on his face (if he does, it may be a sign that he is singing the tune and not the words), but nor should he sing Psalm 23 with a sigh of resignation.

Another evidence of a Spirit-filled person is thankful prayer in every situation (v. 20). Gratitude is an essential attitude in a healthy Christian outlook. It is possible that Paul here is reminding his readers that they should be thankful for one another, which fits in with singing to one another (v. 19) and submitting to one another (v. 21). Yet thankfulness extends to every circumstance in which the Spirit is at work in their lives.

The final evidence that Paul gives of a Spirit-filled person is mutual submission (v. 21). This verse is a hinge verse in that it is connected to what precedes it (‘submitting’ is a participle connected to ‘being filled with the Spirit’) but also introduces what follows. The way that Paul expands the concept of submission in the subsequent verses indicates the importance he gave to it, and reminds us that practical Christian living requires the filling of the Spirit. Marriage relationships, parental relationships and work relationships, as far as Christians are concerned, need the filling of the Spirit.

So we have Paul’s picture of Spirit-filled Christians, of those who are under his control. They arrange their time wisely, they are not under the control of other influences, they value corporate worship of God, they love to pray in a thankful manner, and they submit to the Spirit in each area of life. When that happens, others can see that they are being directed very powerfully in the right direction and are making good progress on their journey to heaven.

Robert Murray McCheyne once made the following statement: ‘I am persuaded that I shall obtain the highest amount of  present happiness, I shall do most for God’s glory and the good of man, and I shall have the fullest reward in eternity, by maintaining a conscience always washed in Christ’s blood, by being filled with the Holy Spirit at all times, and by attaining the most entire likeness to Christ in mind, will, and heart, that is possible for a redeemed sinner to attain to in this world.’ What more can one say?