What is the filling
of the Holy Spirit? – Part 1
Ephesians 5:18
To be filled with the Holy Spirit means to work in the power and in
control of the Holy Spirit. For this, on the basis of Ephesians
5:18 “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be
filled with the Spirit ” it is claimed that the Bible
teaches to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But if we step out of the influence
of the often, and emphatically reiterated wrong teachings about the Holy Spirit, and look at this sentence according to common sense, and that too in its correct context, then
there is nothing confusing here. This sentence has a simple and straightforward
meaning; here the effect of wine to control a person has
been expressed through a figure of speech. What Paul has
written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit can be understood by
paraphrasing as follows, “Just as person ‘full’ of and
inebriated with wine can be recognized by his dissipation, i.e. debauchery,
that he is under the influence and control of the wine within him,
similarly a Christian Believer has to express and demonstrate by his
spiritual behavior that he is ‘full of’ and under control of the Holy Spirit” and then from verse 19 to 21 he speaks of the behavior expected of a person ‘full’ of the
Holy Spirit.
Take note of another thing in this sentence, Paul
has written, ‘...be filled” i.e.
let it be a continual process, always be or always remain under the influence
and control of the Holy Spirit; do not make it an intermittent process. This
does not and cannot mean that you will have to keep on taking measures of the
Holy Spirit till you are finally ‘full’
of Him; or that since one leaks out the Holy Spirit, so whenever that happens,
take a topping up dose of the Holy Spirit to restore its levels within you.
This simply cannot happen at all, since as we have seen
above, Holy Spirit is God, a person of the Holy Trinity, He cannot be broken into bits and pieces, He
is not given out in parts or installments, He cannot be
increased or decreased, and He is just the same in
quantity and quality in every true Christian Believer. Since this is the truth
therefore the only thing possible is that as soon as a person truly comes into
the Christian Faith and receives the Holy Spirit, then at
that very moment he has become ‘filled’ with the Holy Spirit, because
over and above, or besides the Holy Spirit that has been given to him, he will
never receive any extra or ever again; the Holy Spirit
within him will always remain just the same in quantity and quality; now all that the person needs to do is to keep expressing the
Holy Spirit within him, through his practical life keep demonstrating the
influence of the Holy Spirit in him. So, what can vary is a person’s expressing
or demonstrating his own obedience and submission to the Holy Spirit ‘filled
up’ within him at the time of his salvation; but his behavior and conduct (as
we will see shortly) is not an indicator of the ‘amount’ of Holy Spirit present
within him – because that can never ever vary, in quantity
or quality.
- To Be
Continued
Next: What is the
filling of the Holy Spirit? Part 2 –
Understanding (1)
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