C.S. Lewis once said that humanity is “far too easily pleased.” Instead of focusing our efforts on pursuing a glorious God, living a meaningful life of worship and service dedicated to him and the expansion of his kingdom, we are all too willing to settle for a life of finite worldly pleasures. In this way, Lewis likens humanity to “an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea.”
I don’t think he is inaccurate in his assessment. It is one of the great tragedies of creation that we find so much comfort and enjoyment in mediocrity. To this human tendency, unsurprisingly, Christians are no exception, especially as it pertains to being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Every Christian has the ability to live a Spirit-filled life, but generally speaking, we do not dwell on this awesome truth enough, nor do we ask him to work through us using his Spirit! Too often, the everyday grind bogs us down, leaving us blind to the ways the Holy Spirit could use us to make disciples and glorify the Father. We come to church with no expectation the Spirit will transform us. We allow ourselves to dwell on the seven-day cycle and all its immediate chores as opposed to dwelling on eternity and how we could be living for it right now.
This article is all about changing that and becoming filled with the Holy Spirit.
What Does It Mean to Be Spirit-Filled?
Essentially, it is to increasingly yield control of your life to his influence. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 5:18-21 for more insight on the matter. It is the basis for this article.
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:18-21
As you can see from this passage, there are many ways living a Spirit-filled life can take form. Maybe it means you now have a greater desire to see the lost brought to Jesus Christ and a will to act on that desire. Maybe you now long to experience community with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, encouraging and equipping them as needed. Perhaps it means letting the Spirit into the bedroom so he can deal with sexual sin, into your office cubicle to reckon with what you look at in your spare time as well as your handling of business accounts, or into your family room to refine parenting skills.
As the Spirit fills you, he could address lust, anger, unforgiveness, financial stress…you get the picture.
Before continuing, it is important to make this clear: receiving the Holy Spirit and being Spirit-filled are not the same thing. When we place our faith in Christ and become born again, that is when we have the Holy Spirit. However, when we are filled with him, then the Holy Spirit has us. So you can have the Holy Spirit without being filled by him. Of course, to do so is profoundly unfortunate, comparable to Superman entering into battle with Lex Luthor without using the laser vision or inhuman strength available to him.
How Do You Become Spirit-Filled?
That’s an interesting question. Asking something like that assumes almost by default that you must take initiative and be the catalyst in having this happen. That is not the case. The filling of the Holy Spirit, like salvation, sanctification, and so many other miraculous happenings, is a work of God, and we must simply yield to his will.
There are some things you can do, though, that help surrender control over to the Spirit.
Don’t Be Filled with the World:
Let’s dig a little deeper into Ephesians 5. Paul tells us not to be “drunk on whine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Take note of the language he’s using here , particularly with the word “instead.” Paul is saying that in place of being full of sinful drunkenness, we are to be full of the Spirit. It’s like we have two choices. We can choose to fill ourselves with worldly pursuits or we can choose to fill ourselves with the Spirit. It’s an either/or type of deal; we can’t do both.
If you want to live a Spirit-filled life, then, but it’s not happened thus far, consider your behavior. Are you desiring a Spirit-filled life while also continuing to lie to your boss every day at work? Are you hoping to enjoy the full abundance of God but also turning on your computer each night to look at pornography?
Repent of your worldly pursuits and pray for the power, grace, and love of the Holy Spirit to overflow within you.
It’s Gonna Take Humility:
A large part of living as an effective servant for Jesus Christ is a letting go of the self. You must realize that you are woefully, wretchedly broken on your own and can do nothing to further God’s kingdom by yourself. Anything of spiritual productivity you have done in the past was due to the awesome power of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It was not done because of your righteousness, grace, spirituality, and so on (this is certainly the case with me).
Consider the wording of our text in verse 18, when Paul writes that we should “be filled” with the Holy Spirit. This call to be filled is written in the passive voice, even in the original Greek with which Paul wrote Ephesians. If Paul had decided to write this passage in the active voice, it would have read something along the lines of “fill yourself with the Holy Spirit.” But he tells us to “be filled” instead.
In other words, be passive and receive the filling of the Holy Spirit instead of taking personal action to get the filing for yourself. See the distinction?
Realize in humility your desperate need for the Holy Spirit and, in prayer and petition, ask God to fill you with him. This is something you need that you cannot attain on your own accord. You will become more filled not as you grow more devout—you will become more filled as you grow more dependent.
We also see this concept of humility in verse twenty-one of this passage. We are to humbly submit to one another out of reverence for Jesus! Being Spirit-filled does not mean taking center stage and powerfully shouting the Gospel from the rooftops so that, after your glorious speech, people have no choice but to convert. Often times, it means lowering yourself to servant status and dying to yourself for the sake of others.
Know the Filling Is Ongoing:
During one of his sermons on this topic Pastor Anthony once said “the influence of the Holy Spirit is a grace in which you continue to walk.” In a nutshell, this means there is not just one instance in which the Spirit fills us, leaving us set for life. We must be filled with the Spirit on a regular and ongoing basis. After all, there will never be a time you don’t need the life-changing power of the Holy Spirit in your life.
You will need him when the person you are discipling backslides once again and you begin to lose patience with them. You will need him when you and your spouse fight for the third time in a week and you’re beginning to worry about your marriage. You will need him when a beloved family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness, and you are so distraught that you feel like you have nothing to give others spiritually.
You will always have need for the filling of the Spirit. Remember that, and consistently hunger for it.
A Life Transformed in Gratitude
I want to close by focusing on verses 19-20, starting in the middle of 19: “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.”
This passage is a clear instruction to do something that may sound like a silly platitude, but it is undeniably necessary t do. Put gratitude in your attitude.
Right after Paul instructs the Church to be Spirit-filled, he goes on to tell us to continually give thanks to the Father. Being Spirit-filled and harboring a thankful heart are linked. And there is a lot for which we can thank God, isn’t there?
We can give thanks for the joyful purpose serving him instills in our lives, as well as the immense honor of having his Holy Spirit come to dwell in us. Or, what about the fact that we have a hope carrying us not just through this world, but into the next? We have eternity ahead of us.
Then think of the small things that make life wonderful. We have God to thank for the cool breeze that rustles through branches, making trees whisper. We have God to thank for the rising sun each morning as it heralds in the new day. We even have him to thank for the roughly 23,000 breaths we draw in over a 24-hour period. There is no shortage of reasons for our thanksgiving.
With God, our yoke is easy and our burden is light. Draw near to him with a humble, submissive heart gladdened by gratitude, and take on the abundance of a Spirit-filled life. Watch as the Spirit transforms your personal relationship with the Lord, your disciple making, your proclivity for old sinful habits, and the innermost desires of your soul.
Story of Grace 