Be Filled With The SPIRIT

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18.

Unfortunately many Christians are not filled with the Holy Spirit. Many are not even sure it means to be filled with the Spirit.

A Christian who is filled with the Spirit will think differently, and act differently, and talk differently, because now he is being controlled by the Holy Spirit.

Alcoholic beverages are often called “spirits.” It is very remarkable that in both Acts 2:13 and Ephesians 5:18 the infilling of the Holy Spirit in its effect is compared to the effects of wine. The Bible draws both a comparison and a contrast between drunkenness and being filled with the Spirit (cf. Acts 2:4, 13-18).

God says, “Do not be under the power and influence of spirits, but be under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit.”

Three points of comparison: joy, speech, and power.

1. THE JOY OF THE LORD.
   ACTS 2:13-15; Acts 13:52; Galatians 5:22-23.

2. THE NEED TO TELL OTHERS.
   Second Sam. 23:2; Jeremiah. 20:9; First Corinthians 9:16; Romans 12:1-2.

3. THE POWER OF GOD.
   Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; Acts 4:8; Acts 4:31; Acts 7:55; Acts 9; Acts 11:24-26; Acts 13:6-12.

In John 7:37, our Lord said, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” Galatians 3:14 says, “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” In Acts 2:4, we read that on the day of Pentecost, “they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.”