Filled with the Holy Spirit
Deutsch
English But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? How does this show up? Is this power a sign that I am filled with the Holy Spirit?
I deliberately took this verse out of context. Jesus actually says this sentence to his disciples. And Pentecost automatically comes to mind. The first great awakening: an ecstatic event.
But now imagine for this moment that Jesus says this sentence to you: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...
Reinhard Bohnke once said: “The Holy Spirit is not a super drug, nor a sedative or stimulant. He doesn't just come to give us an emotional kick. He is the very life force and is designed to strengthen us so that we can live victoriously, abundantly, and with witness.”
Do you realize the power God placed in you when you became His child? Are you aware of what he has endowed you with, who lives in you?
Even though we have the Spirit of God within us, we constantly desire more. More love, more power, more authority, more wisdom, more peace...
Actually, I don't read in the Bible that the Holy Spirit comes in a box of chocolates, bit by bit. But it feels like that sometimes, right? There are days when you are spiritually stronger than others. There are periods of emptiness and periods of strength. In the phase of emptiness, do I take out my Holy Spirit chocolate box, fill myself up and then am I strengthened again?
Yes, the Holy Spirit is someone that God wants to fill you with, but just because the Holy Spirit is part of God's children's "standard equipment" doesn't mean that He has room to work in our lives the way He wants.
Just because I am a Christian does not mean that the Holy Spirit fills every fiber of my life.
Ephesians 5:18: And do not become drunk with wine in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit..." This does not mean that someone who is filled with the Spirit should behave in the same way as someone who is drunk .
Paul is calling on Christians to allow themselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit, even though they have already received it. A commandment is given here precisely because there appears to be a lack. Otherwise the words don't make sense.
Paul assumes that children of God do not automatically live in the fullness of God.
And when I look at our lives, that's the reality. Well, that's definitely the case for me. The Holy Spirit doesn't always seem to flow out of all my pores.
For Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time thing. Funnily enough, the Bible never says that you will be filled with the Spirit once and that fullness will last until your death. In Ephesians the Greek says, “be continually filled with the Spirit.” Paul actually says, “Make sure that it is a constant experience for you that the Holy Spirit fills you. Be fulfilled again and again.”
Let's take Peter as an example:
Just before Jesus ascended to heaven - he breathed on his disciples and said: Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). At Pentecost Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). When Peter was arrested, filled with the Holy Spirit, he spoke to the priests (Acts 4:8) and when Peter gathered with other disciples, the whole house shook and "they were all filled with the Holy Spirit..." (Acts 4:31).Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit again and again.
Maybe you might say, yes, but God has control over whether I am full of the Holy Spirit or not. I can not do anything about that. The spirit just blows where it wants. I like to read the verse again: Ephesians 5:18: be filled with the Spirit - this is a form of command, a challenge to you and me.
I know there's a bit of a challenge here: Paul doesn't use the active form. He doesn’t say – fill yourself with Holy Spirit. He uses it in the passive form: be filled with the Spirit or allow yourself to be filled. We should let something be done to us.
How can I obey a command that is separate from my activity?
It would be like me saying to you: You should be called by your father. Yes, we should be fulfilled because we cannot fulfill ourselves, we do not have that power.
But at the same time it's a call for us to do something, right? This tension between: God does something and we do something and both are equally important is a spiritual principle that is repeated very often: healing, faith, salvation, baptism, sanctification, spiritual gifts. What is often tension/contradiction for us is harmony for God. The only question is: what is my part? God's part is clear. God wants to do something in me. What can I do to give him a clear playing field?
Elsewhere, but in the same letter, Paul challenges us to renew our thinking. Ephesians 4:23 You must have your spirit and mind renewed
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We have the same challenge again: it is imperative to let something be done to us...
What do I want to say with these verses?
Our thinking is shaped by the world and is filled with so many lies every day. And we don't even notice it. These little things sneak into our brains, then into our hearts, completely unconsciously. So much information, so many words around you, it's easy to find 1, 5 or 10 lies creeping in a day. Some migrate out of the ear canal very quickly. But some of them remain stubbornly stuck. Lies hold me back. They stop me from walking in the strength God has given me.
My thinking controls my motivation, my enthusiasm, my fire - a lot happens in our thinking (battlefield of thoughts).
Lies that I believe can become habits and then it's hard to give them up, even theological lies.
We have a work in our community called “Sozo” - and Sozo is a tool that is used precisely to expose, disempower and drive out lies. At Sozo you have the opportunity to meet Jesus and he personally shows you where lies are in your life. Lies can paralyze you and prevent you from coming into the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Why do you think that the devil is called the father of lies and not the father of hatred, destruction or selfishness? He is called the father of lies because he is the source of lies and this weapon is the most effective weapon of all.
Here is someone in our service today who believes a lie: I see you lying on the ground like a broken glass/vessel in many pieces and you believe that only when you are whole can God fill you again. And God wants to tell you, “That’s not true. The moment I fill you, you will become whole again. I see how God wants to give you new fullness and in this moment the individual parts that were still broken on the ground are coming together again.
The Holy Spirit has taken up residence in you and wants to act powerfully in your life and in my life. He wants to be in contact with every fiber of your being and in every area of your soul.
Our confirmation class recently also focused on the topic of the Trinity. This can be challenging to explain, especially when this word does not appear in the Bible. But for me it's not about the kids understanding everything, but about them cultivating and living a relationship with every person in this trinity (or whatever you want to call it).
The Holy Spirit is a person - and we must be aware of that. This point helps us understand that this is a relationship issue. You know, I can be married but not live with my husband, but next to him. And that happens quickly. This happens very quickly and nothing bad has to have happened. Suddenly other things come into focus and you lose sight of them and the same can happen with the Holy Spirit.
How focused am I on what God has filled me with?
How much do I cultivate my friendship with the Holy Spirit?
We need a hunger for friendship with the Holy Spirit, for encounters.
For me personally, what are my encounters specifically with the Holy Spirit?
There is a good comparison that explains the fullness in the mind: If you blow into a trumpet, a sound comes out, only when the trumpet is filled with your air does it play a sound. So in short, when your breath is in this instrument. When God's breath, when His Spirit is in you, you are filled. If I am not connected to him, his breath can no longer flow through me.
This connection ensures that constant fulfillment can occur.
We need this spiritual hunger. We don't need hunger for selfish reasons. God is not interested in us only enjoying his abundance, according to the motto: The main thing is that I am well, the main thing is that I have the strength within me.
That's why listen to the verse in Acts. doesn't stop there either, but continues:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 (ESV)
Receive and give!
Summary: make the lies disappear from your heart, be hungry and cultivate friendship with the Holy Spirit.
No matter what reasons you need abundance and I'm sure there are some here who want a new abundance from the Holy Spirit.
Maybe you need a new hunger for this abundance, for this friendship, for this person, then now is the time.
If you have never felt this fullness in the spirit, now is your time.
Author: Melanie Kundt
Images: https://unsplash.com/
