What The Bible Says: Holy-Spirit FillingMuestra

SPIRIT-FILLING: WHAT IT IS & HOW IT WORKS

Spirit-filling Defined 

The Greek word pleusta means to be filled or controlled, intoxicated, or thoroughly permeated; totally influenced. It also means to be overcome by a power greater than your own. In this case, the Holy Spirit! Zechariah 4:6 says, “ . . . Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit . . . . ” And Ephesians 5:18 underscores the point that there is no greater place to be than thoroughly permeated, controlled, influenced, and overcome by the greatest power in the universe: “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” 

Spirit-filling Analyzed 

Notice four things about Ephesians 5:18: 

Spirit-filling is a command. God doesn’t give a lot of suggestions, and He is never tentative. If God says it, He commands it. But here is some good news: Because He commands it, it’s possible. God doesn’t command us to do things and then withhold His help.

Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to “have the Holy Spirit,” “be indwelt by the Holy Spirit,” or be “baptized by the Holy Spirit.” That’s because these are done in us by God alone through repentance and faith in Christ. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to be “sealed by the Holy Spirit” as we are at conversion. We are “kept by the power of God” (I Peter 1:5, KJV) and “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13). We have no part in these things occurring. 

But this is the only, and essential, part we can participate in: “Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). And we can pursue this because it’s commanded.

Spirit-filling is passive. God is the Source of the filling. We are the object of the action. God does the filling when we ask Him. We can’t do it for ourselves, but we as believers can seek the filling from God who is already in us by His Spirit.

The command is plural. We can’t see this in our English Bibles, but in the Greek the command is plural. And the fact that it’s plural means—it is for every believer. It’s as if Paul is saying, “ALL of you—EVERY Ephesian—be filled with the Spirit!” 

Spirit-filling is not just for certain denominations or the spiritually-elite. If you have believed the lie of the enemy that joy, victory, freedom from fear, and delight in the things of the Lord are for other Christians but somehow not for you, you have been lied to. According to the Word of God, Spirit-filling is for you.

The command is in the present tense. In the original language, the present tense refers to continuous action. A more literal translation would be “be being filled,” “be continuously filled,” or “be filled again, and again, and again.” This means: One baptism/many fillings.

Never in the New Testament do you ever see a believer baptized in the Holy Spirit more than once. But the believers at Pentecost were filled once in Acts 2:4 and those same believers were filled again in Acts 4:31. “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.” Paul was filled once in Acts 9:17, and he was filled again in Acts 13:9. 

This is vital to your theology: There is one baptism, and there are many fillings.