Day 25

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal power.

‘Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.’ (Ephesians 5:18)

To be filled with the Holy Spirit does not mean we are to have more of the Holy Spirit than we had before. The word ‘filled’ is not like us filling up our car with gas or filling up our cup of coffee. The Holy Spirit cannot be topped up. Nor is He an impersonal power like wind by which you fly a kite, orelectricity by which you run a machine. The Holy Spirit is a personal being. Therefore we either have Him resident in our lives or we don’t.

However, with Him present in our lives, the Scripture warns us that we can grieve Him, quench Him or, on the other hand, we may be filled with Him. To be filled with the Spirit is for Him to be the dominating influence in our lives. The phrase to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ occurs nine times in the book of Acts. On other occasions Acts talks about people being ‘filled with awe,’ ‘filled with wonder,’ ‘filled with amazement,’ ‘filled with jealousy,’ and ‘filled with joy.’ When the writer uses the word ‘filled’ here, he is talking about the emotions of awe, wonder, amazement, jealousy and joy so dominating the personalities of the people that they determine their behaviour. That too is how he uses the expression to be ‘filled with the Holy Spirit.’ The Spirit dominates our personalities and determines our behaviour.

How is the Holy Spirit filling your life?