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
