WEDNESDAY July 3, 2024

Be Filled With the Spirit

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:18-21

The Apostle Paul gave the Ephesian believers good counsel. They were to be filled with the Spirit. It was a command to be filled with the Spirit. Dwight Moody said: “God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and if we are not filled it is because we are living beneath our own privileges.” That is, we are not in full submission to God. He expects us to obey––not to disobey. This applies to all Christians, not just the select few. Submission to God is probably one of the hardest things for us to do, but we are to be in complete submission to Him and to each other.

Christians think about the Holy Spirit’s power when it is used in preaching, teaching, witnessing and evangelizing, but God’s Spirit is used in all areas of our lives. The word filled means “to keep on being filled.” It is not just a one-time filling––it is a daily filling of the Holy Spirit. We cannot fill ourselves; the Holy Spirit fills our hearts and minds. The word filled also refers to “the will, mind and emotions.” They all have to be under the constant control of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit dominates our lives.

The Apostle Paul stated there are four evidences of being filled with the Holy Spirit. God has given us power, the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit in our lives: ...be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18). God has given us joy in worship, which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we sing, God does not care what we sound like. I like that. He hears our voices, and we sound beautiful to Him. Being thankful in everything is yet another evidence of His indwelling Spirit. The final evidence of being filled with the Holy Spirit is seen in our submission to one another.

Through the Spirit of God, are all these evident in your life?

The church can have light only as it is full of the Spirit, and it can be full only as the members that compose it are filled individuals.
~A. W. Tozer~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!