God The Holy Spirit | How Can I Be Filled with The Holy Spirit?
About this series:
The Holy Spirit is fully God, eternally existing with the Father and the Son. Throughout the Old Testament, we see glimpses of the Spirit’s presence and work, but it is through the teaching of Jesus and the events of the New Testament that the church’s understanding of the Holy Spirit is revealed more fully.
About this talk:
Having become a child of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, the privilege is then to continue with God’s very own life at work in us. Those he makes his children, he empowers to live as his children. This reality - promised in Old Testament passages such as Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Joel 2:28-29 - is demonstrated regularly in the book of Acts and then encouraged in Ephesians 5:18: “be (continually) filled with the Spirit.” By comparing other statements about filling in Ephesians (3:21; 4:10), there is an argument to say that it is actually the Spirit who fills us with the fulness of God - NET Bible notes conclude, ‘Believers are to be filled by Christ by means of the Spirit with the content of the fullness of God.’ 1 Either way, the Christian life is not only begun by the power of the Spirit, but is sustained / lived by the power of the Spirit.
Acts 2:1-4 clearly records a unique event in that it was the first time the Holy Spirit was “poured out” (see v 33) such that the believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit.” The “sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting” (v 2) and “what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (v 3) are unique to this account. It is noteworthy that Luke is struggling to describe exactly the sights and sounds of that event - “a sound like...” and “what seemed to be...” The effect on the believers was considerable - both what they said and how they appeared left the crowd amazed.
Peter’s explanation of these events, presumably from hearing the teaching of Jesus, was that “this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel,” specifically that God would pour out his Spirit on all people, men and women, young and old. All of which was a part of Jewish expectation - that God’s specially anointed servant would come to defeat the enemies of God’s people, bring in the kingdom and, anointed by the Spirit of God, bring a new day for Israel.
In Acts 10:44-47 and Acts 11:15-16 (NIV) four different terms are used to describe the same event: “came on,” “poured out,” “received” and “baptised with.” It appears from the other references in Acts (listed after the title, above) that the dominant term Luke uses for the believers' experience of the Spirit was “filled with” (2:1-4; 4:8; 4:31; 9:17; 13:9; 13:52). It is worth considering what that term means:
All New Testament uses are given by Luke (those in Acts, above, plus Luke 1:15,41&67).
It is used elsewhere, for example, of a person being filled with rage (Luke 4:28) or astonishment (Acts 3:10), of a boat being so full of fish that it began to sink (Luke 5:7) and of a time period having reached its fulfilment (Luke 2:6).
This word ‘weaves through the New Testament as a golden thread of divine plenitude - filling wombs with prophets, hearts with the Spirit, boats with fish, and history with ordained moments. Whether blessing or judgment, empowerment or opposition, the verb announces that nothing spiritual, emotional, or temporal remains half-measure under God’s sovereign hand.’
It has often been said this reality is best likened to the sail of a yacht being filled with wind. It is a dynamic filling, not a static one (as, for example, a glass filled with water). It is a filling that acts upon and changes the movement of the yacht. And the filling of the sail is not a one-time action, but continual as the sail is ‘offered up to’ to the wind.
And so, while the follower of Jesus is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, it is their ongoing privilege to be filled with, led by, empowered by the very life of God himself. And we should settle for nothing less. Perhaps Martyn Lloyd-Jones said it best: ‘The Christian life after all is a life, it is a power, it is an activity...It is not just a philosophy, it is not just a point of view, it is not just a teaching that we take up and try to put into practice. It is all that, but it is something infinitely more. The very essence of the Christian life, according to the New Testament teaching everywhere, is that it is a mighty power that enters into us; it is a life, if you like, that is pulsating in us.’
Audio only
Life Group Discussion: How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit
Stay in the same small group. Work through the sheet in order: why we need the Spirit, what his work can look like, and how we position ourselves to receive.
Discussion 1: Why Do We Need to Be Filled?
Read
Luke 4:1; Luke 4:14–18; Zechariah 4:6; Galatians 3:3
Discuss
What do you notice about the place of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life and ministry in Luke 4?
What do Zechariah 4:6 and Galatians 3:3 tell us about trying to live or serve God in our own strength?
What are the implications for us and for the people around us when we rely mainly on our own strength or wisdom rather than the Spirit?
If the Son of God needed the Spirit of God to fulfil the purposes of God, then so do I.
Discussion 2: What Can Being Filled Look Like?
Each person: choose two different options that particularly resonate with you. Look up the passages, then share what you notice.
Creativity and Skill: Exodus 31:1–5
Forgiving Others: Acts 7:59–60
Identity as God's Children: Romans 8:14–16
Prophecy: Acts 2:17–18
Sharing Jesus: Acts 9:17–20
Worship and Gratitude: Ephesians 5:18–20
Courage: Acts 4:29–31
Encouragement: Acts 11:22–24
Spiritual Gifts: 1 Corinthians 12:4–11
Wisdom: 1 Corinthians 2:12–13
Discernment: Acts 13:8–11
Seeing Jesus Clearly: Acts 7:55–56
Joy Under Pressure: Acts 13:50–52
Discuss
Which two did you choose, and what stood out to you?
What do these passages tell us about how varied the Spirit's work in and through us can be?
Can you think of a time when you have experienced the Spirit working in or through you in one of these ways?
Discussion 3: How Can We Position Ourselves to Be Filled?
Jesus says in John 3:8 that "the wind blows wherever it pleases". We cannot control or manufacture the work of the Spirit. But we can intentionally position ourselves to receive from him.
We cannot make the wind blow, but we can raise our sails.
Read
Luke 11:9–13; John 7:37–39; Luke 5:15–16; Acts 4:31; Romans 12:1–2
Discuss
What different attitudes or actions do you notice in these passages that help us position ourselves to receive from God?
In Luke 11:13, who does Jesus say the Father gives the Holy Spirit to? What qualifications does he mention, and what qualifications does he not mention?
Of these postures, which do you most need to lean into this week: ask, seek, wait, pray, surrender, make space, come thirsty, receive?
Personal Response
If You Are Making a Sailboat:
On the hull, write two or three areas where you need the Holy Spirit this week.
On the sails, write two or three postures you want to practise:
ask, seek, wait, pray, surrender, make space, come thirsty, receive.
Whether or Not You Made a Sailboat:
Share one area where you need the Spirit's help, then pray briefly for each person to be filled afresh. The Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.
