Be Filled!

Being filled with the Spirit of Jesus is important. Luke’s descriptions of being filled include the fact that some of the people who were filled with the Spirit in chapter 4 of Acts had already been filled in the event he had described in chapter 2. The idea that someone should be called “Spirit-filled” as if it were a condition that was not affected by our leakiness doesn’t seem to match the variations in attitude and behavior of the believers I know. It doesn’t seem to fit in Luke’s narrative either.

Rather than argue that arguable point, however, Paul’s advice to the congregations in Galatia seems to be a better idea to study. He wrote that they should “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16-25). Being “filled” seemed in Scripture to bring immediate supernatural consequences for the filled people. Paul is suggesting that we live like that all the time.

Without regard for whether you can stay “filled,” determine to live in such a way that the Holy Spirit’s power and identity are required for you do it. “Walking in the Spirit” means that you take steps to do it. Some steps may be unsure, some unstable, but the overall motion is “walking.” If you ever seem to be short on His power or fruit, then “be filled!”