Foundation Topic

How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit lives in every person who belongs to Jesus Christ. But sometimes, we don't pay attention to him, we don't let him lead, we quench him, and grieve him. God wants us to be filled with his Spirit, which means letting him rule our heart and mind. When we set our hearts and minds on things of the Spirit rather than the worldly desires of our sinful nature, the Spirit fills us with joy and worship, and God's power can be seen at work in us.

Short Content

What Does It Mean to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit?

Maybe you feel like us at times: inadequate in my Christian faith. I look around and see other people who appear to have greater spiritual maturity. They’re more productive, more exuberant, more "on fire" for God. Some even appear to be emotionally "giddy" about their faith.

As I compare myself to others, doubt creeps in. Am I missing something that these other Christians have?

While we should all expect our Christian lives to have ups and downs—times of spiritual strength and spiritual fatigue—the Bible tells us that every one of Jesus’ followers will experience the Holy Spirit’s leading and power.

For those who don’t regularly experience the Holy Spirit’s power, perhaps it’s because they don’t understand the Bible’s teaching on being filled with the Spirit.

As we take a closer look at what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we hope you will learn about how believers relate to the Holy Spirit, and how to more regularly experience the Spirit’s filling.

Before we look at some verses, let’s set a few things straight about the Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit is a "he" not an "it." We must think of the Holy Spirit as a person, not as a force or commodity. If you think of the Spirit as a force or commodity, you will wrongly think of the Spirit in terms of quantity (e.g., this person has more of the Spirit than another person).

We should rather think in terms of a relationship with the Spirit—more on that later.

Second, we must recognize that everyone who has genuine saving faith is equally indwelled by God’s Spirit (John 14:16-17; 2 Corinthians 1:22). All believers are "sealed" by the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13 ESV). Again, we shouldn’t think of the Spirit in terms of quantity, as if some Christians have more of the Spirit than others. Every single believer is equally indwelled by God’s Spirit.

Third, the original Greek for our English translation "filled" has the sense of being controlled or influenced by something. In fact, the Greek verb tense can be translated as "keep on being filled by the Spirit." Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time event. It should be a continual experience for those who follow Jesus.

So, what does it mean to be filled by God’s Spirit? Read the rest of this article to find out, or explore the contents of this page!

by Bibles.net 

OPEN YOUR BIBLE

Theme Verse

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

EPHESIANS 5:18-20 NIV

How to Be Filled with The Spirit?
Article: 8 Min

What Does It
Mean to Be
Filled With the
Holy Spirit?

by Bibles.net
Quote

The Spirit-filled life
is not a special,
deluxe edition
of Christianity.
It is part and
parcel of
the total plan of God
for his people.

A.W. Tozer
Quote

What Does a Spirit Filled Life Look Like?

Show me a person focused on the person and work of Jesus Christ—never tiring of learning about him, thinking about him, boasting of him, speaking about and for and to him, thrilled and entranced with his perfections and beauty, finding ways to serve and exalt him, tirelessly exploring ways to spend and be spent for him, growing in character to be more and more like him—and I will show you a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit.

by Dan Phillips | Source
Quote

Trying to do
the Lord’s work
in your own strength
is the most
confusing,
exhausting, and
tedious of all work.
But when you are
filled with the Holy Spirit,
then the ministry
of Jesus just flows
out of you.

Messages: 32 Min

Life with the Spirit

by Andrew Wilson

Article: 17 Min

What Does It Mean to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit?

by John MacArthur at Grace to You

70’s | 80’s | 90’s

Spirit Of God, Descend Upon My Heart

by Sue Nixon with Walt Wagner
Verse
Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Messages: 54 Min

The Holy Spirit and Our Relationships

by Britt Merrick

Quote

If we are full of
pride and conceit
and ambition

and the world,
there is no room for
the Spirit of God.
We must be emptied
before we can be filled.

How to Pray in The Spirit?
Messages: 37 Min

Praying in the Spirit

by Colin Smith

Verse
Ephesians 6:17-18 NLT

Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Verse
Jude 20-21 NIV

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Verse
Acts 4:31 ESV

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

How to Grieve The Spirit?
Article: 7 Min

Three Surprising Ways to Grieve the Holy Spirit

There are at least three ways to grieve the Holy Spirit—and they correspond to the three ways in which the Spirit acts as light to expose our guilt, illumine the word, and show us Christ

by Kevin DeYoung at The Gospel Coalition

Image

And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit
of God,
by whom
you were sealed

for the day
of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30 ESV
Quote

What Grieves the Holy Spirit?

No language can adequately express this solemn truth, that the Holy Spirit rejoices and is glad on our account, when we are obedient to him in all things, and neither think nor speak anything, but what is pure and holy; and, on the other hand, is grieved when we admit anything into our minds that is unworthy of our calling.

by John Calvin | Source
How to Be Led by The Spirit?
Quote

When led of the Spirit,
the child of God
must be as ready
to wait as to go,
as prepared to be
silent as to speak.

Messages: 48 Min

Being Led by the Spirit to Do God’s Will

by Britt Merrick

Hymns

Light of God

by Margaret Becker feat. Kristyn Getty and Joanne Hogg
Verse
Psalm 32:8 NIV

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

Image

For those
who are led
by the Spirit
of God
are the children
of God.

Romans 8:14 ESV
Quote

If the Holy Spirit
guides us,
he will do it according
to the Scriptures and
never contrary to them.

Verse
Our Prayer for You

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light." (Colossians 1:9-12 NIV)

Books
Books