How Can I “Be Filled With the Spirit”?

This blog post is the seventh in a series of posts about the gift and power of the Holy Spirit that the believer has access to.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 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 5:15-20 (NIV)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25 (NKJV)

So practically speaking, just exactly what do we do to “be filled with the Spirit”? First of all, realize that the Holy Spirit is available to all of God’s children:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13 (NKJV)

The initial baptism of the Spirit which the believer receives upon initial conversion is a miracle, an act of God. This is different than the subsequent “filling” of the Spirit after conversion, which is still a miracle. So how are we to “be filled with the Spirit”? It sounds like we are not the ones doing the filling. For starters,

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. . .” Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

The Word is the Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture. Paul encourages believers to live continually under the influence of the Holy Spirit by letting the Word control us--letting the mind of Christ dominate our thoughts and deeds. The filling of the Spirit is not some emotional experience, but rather a steady controlling of the life by obedience to the truth of God’s Word. Do you see why it is so important to read the Word daily? John MacArthur explains the instruction of God through Paul in Ephesians 5:18 to “be filled with the Spirit” as follows:

“True communion with God is not induced by drunkenness, but by the Holy Spirit. Paul is not speaking of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling (Romans 8:9) or the baptism by Christ with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13) because every Christian is indwelt and baptized by the Spirit at the time of salvation. He is rather giving a command for believers to live continually under the influence of the Spirit by letting the Word control them (see note on Col. 3:16), pursuing pure lives, confessing all known sin, dying to self, surrendering to God’s will, and depending on His power in all things. Being filled with the Spirit is living in the conscious presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, letting His mind, through the Word, dominate everything that is thought and done. Being filled with the Spirit is the same as walking in the Spirit (see notes on Galatians 5:16-23). Christ exemplified this way of life (Luke 4:1).”1

The more the Word is in (and obeyed by) the believer, the more continually she is controlled by the Spirit-inspired Word. However, when a believer receives Christ, and thus is baptized with the Holy Spirit for salvation, it does not necessarily mean she will live a life of walking by the Spirit or be continually filled with the Spirit if she rarely or never reads the Word after the experience of conversion. In contrast, Jesus’ life exemplified being “filled with the Holy Spirit” and being “led by the Spirit”:

“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2a (NKJV)

Not surprisingly Jesus overcame the severe temptations (filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit) which, not too dissimilar to when we experience cravings for food, was while He was hungry while fasting for 40 days. Perhaps a helpful question to ask when in the tentacles of temptation is, “What would Jesus do?” Believers ought to live as He did since we have His Spirit’s presence and power available to us.

Jesus instructs us to abide in His Word and in Him to overcome sin and be free:

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . . Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.’” John 8:31-32, 34-36 (NKJV)

“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:6 (NKJV)

“Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.” 1 John 3:6 (NKJV)

Does this mean a human being can somehow be sinless? Hardly. The idea here is that inasmuch as we abide in Him we do not sin. When we do sin we need to (and want to) repent and return to abiding in Him. The idea conveyed in the verse is that of habitual sin, perhaps better understood that whoever abides in Him does not habitually sin. While we still battle the flesh there is transformation—we are being changed to the degree that we do abide in Him. The more we allow the powerful Word to abide in us the more transformation.

But this verse can be confusing, and even discouraging, to those struggling with bondage to the flesh, whether they be fleshly desires or physical addiction. Can you be a true Christian and engage in a habitual besetting sin that has control over you? Yes. Can a believer be captive to sin and/or addiction? Of course. Can a Christian in addiction overcome addiction in the power of the Holy Spirit? Also yes, of course.

For example, as a dietitian I recognize the demanding physical cycle of hypoglycemia that many compulsive overeaters are entrapped in. I understand that the heart may desire to be obedient while the hypoglycemic body is screaming for something to stop the plunging blood sugar. Many times individuals who struggle with compulsive eating behaviors also suffer from hypoglycemia. This presents a huge barrier to change where other individuals without the disorder make similar changes with relative ease. But hypoglycemia is not a disease, it is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. In hypoglycemia there are unusually large blood sugar swings and the blood sugar drops very low producing the classic symptoms of irritability, mood swings, fatigue, shakiness, sweating, heart palpitations, headaches, a general feeling of unalertness or “spaciness”, sometimes insomnia and, in severe cases, fainting. The precipitously low blood sugar also results in the characteristic “craving” and consequent bingeing behaviors so common in compulsive overeaters. Not infrequently people live their lives trapped in this seemingly unresolvable cycle because they never resolve the hypoglycemia and physical drive to overeat. It is like knocking their head against the proverbial brick wall if they try to work on emotional issues and food behaviors when the body is screaming for sugar. We will always have the best results when we begin by resolving physical problems so that we can work on emotional issues and behaviors from a basis of strength which comes with good health and energy. And while hypoglycemia is not a disease, if left unresolved it can be associated with developing diabetes down the road. Assisting believers with this common problem can improve the health of the body of Christ and help many overcome bondage to food. See the Hypoglycemia blog post for how to minimize or eliminate the symptoms of hypoglycemia.

Even worse, the “solution” that Americans have been given for their weight and overeating problem is diets—a plethora of them. However, weight-loss diets only exacerbate the hypoglycemic overeater’s problems because the calorie deficit chronically reduces blood sugar, setting her up for an even fiercer battle with her own body, often resulting in even stronger cravings and increased bingeing. In fact, weight-loss diets—especially very low-calorie diets—reduce even normal blood sugars in people without hypoglycemia to below normal levels subjecting even more people to marginal hypoglycemia. When attempting to overcome compulsive overeating it is always best to resolve (or prevent from happening) hypoglycemia and come from a place of physical health and strength to work on the harder (more painful) emotional and spiritual issues.

So if you have been hypoglycemic and fighting a battle your body simply cannot let you win for years, start with ridding yourself of any condemnation. Do you think God does not understand the physically-driven cycle you have been in dear one? More help for resolving hypoglycemia is provided in chapters 9 and 10 of the N.E.W. LIFE book below.

On the other hand, not all food addiction is precipitated by hypoglycemia. A believer may not suffer from hypoglycemia but can still be psychologically “addicted” to feeding unresolved emotional pain—just as an alcoholic or drug addict may use their chosen substance to assuage underlying pain. The pain may be so intense that in order to not have to face the fearful monster it demands constant feeding. Do you think God does not understand this also? Let none of what I write condemn you, for that would not be the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, but does not condemn us. The sin may be in turning to food instead of to relationship with God. But friend, abusing food will only keep you from the Healing God wants for you. Jesus most certainly does understand. While in the midst of His own battle in the Garden of Gethsemane He tenderly noted to His disciples:

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41 (NKJV)

Jesus recognized their willingness to follow Him but realized the weakness of the flesh and that they needed a higher strength. We too should take this advice to be on guard for temptation and pray for grace and strength when it comes. No matter what the “reason” for our battle with the flesh (besetting sin, physical or psychological addiction, desire for fleshly lust more than for Jesus) we can live under the influence of the Spirit and depend on His power in all things. Be filled with the Spirit and let the mind of Christ and His Word dominate your thoughts and behaviors. The flesh may oppose the spirit but we can strengthen the spirit by praying and staying in the Word!

One more word about being filled with the Spirit and letting the Word of God dwell in us richly. In a podcast Pastor Alistair Begg adeptly noted:

“. . . the place of the Spirit of God and the Word of God working together to the glorifying of the Son of God. As the late David Watson once observed: All Word and no Spirit, and people dry up. All Spirit and no Word, and people blow up. Both Spirit and Word, and people grow up. We need to be spiritually assisted. Spiritual worship is impossible left to ourselves. It’s not something that we can do. It’s a responsive thing. Response to what? External stimuli? No. Ultimately a response to the magnificence of God’s Glory as revealed to us in God’s Word. See, what our friends and neighbors need to realize is that God is Great.”2 (Begg, 2001)

So how can you be filled with the Spirit? Repent and receive Christ's atoning sacrifice on the cross for your sin. Read the Word of God. Daily. And determine to obey what God says.

Footnotes

2. Begg, A. (2001, May 16). The nature of acceptable worship (id 2227). [Audio podcast episode]. In Truth for Life. www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/the-nature-of-acceptable-worship.

N.E.W. LIFE Books