As Christians, we often imagine that being filled with the Holy Spirit is an emotional experience. It can be emotional or not. But we should ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit regularly.
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus: “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NKJV). The word “filled” is interesting because, in the original language, it refers to the wind that fills the sail of a ship and carries it away. So, being filled with the Spirit means that God’s Spirit fills our sails, so to speak. And that makes following His commandments a pleasure, not a chore.
But the word “filled” also carries the idea of invading. The idea is that God desires His Spirit to permeate every area of our lives. He desires to fill our thoughts, our work time, and our free time. He desires to be a part of everything we say and do.
A few verses later, Paul writes to women, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:22-23 NKJV). And then he says to men, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Ephesians 5:25 NKJV). For this, we need the power of God’s Spirit. We need His help and His constant work in our lives.
David, a shepherd, wrote in Psalm 23:5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over” (NKJV). Shepherds often used oil to ease the pain their sheep felt when flies attacked them during the summer months. They took a special oil, poured it on the animals’ heads, and applied it to their ears. Not only did it help their wounds heal, it also repelled the insects. In the Bible, oil often symbolizes the Holy Spirit. So while it is important for us to feed on God’s Word, spend time in green pastures, and by still waters, we also need the Holy Spirit to fill us. It is God’s oil, the Holy Spirit, who will protect us in our daily challenges and heal us from any wounds we suffer along the way.
The phrase “be filled with the Spirit” in Ephesians 5:18 is a command. God does not ask us to do this. Rather, He commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. From the original Greek, we could translate this as “be filled constantly with the Holy Spirit.” This is not something we do once in our lives. We want the Holy Spirit to fill us again and again.
If our car runs out of gas, what do we do? We go to the gas station and fill it up. In fact, we rarely wait for our car to run out of gas. We keep it filled so it doesn’t run out. It’s the same in our lives as believers. We need the Spirit to fill us with gas. Let’s be constantly filled with the Spirit. Let’s let His wind fill our sails and let Him permeate every area of our lives as well.