Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

This past week in worship service, several people responded to the call to be filled with the Spirit. They raised their hands or came forward for prayer indicating this desire. This week, let’s hear from pastor and theologian D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the infilling of the Spirit from his book The Great Doctrines of the Bible: Volume 2:

“… [It] is equally clear that the infilling of the Spirit is essential to true Christian quality in our life. That is why we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. It is a command to every single Christian: ‘Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit’ (Eph. 5:18). We are exhorted to be filled with the Spirit. And this is commanded in order that our graces may grow, in order that the fruit of the Spirit may develop in us and may be evident to all. It is as we are filled with this life that the fruit and the graces of this life will be manifest. Indeed, the filling of the Spirit is essential to a true act of worship. Did you notice how Paul uses that commandment of his in that very connection? He says, ‘Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit’—and then he goes on at once—‘speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and our Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.’

So the way to test whether we are filled with the Spirit is to ask: Are we full of thankfulness? Are we full of praise? Do we sing to ourselves and to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs? Do we make melody in our hearts? Do we praise God when we are alone? Do we delight in praising Him with others? Do we delight in praising Him in public as well as in private? Are we full of the spirit of praise, of thanksgiving, of worship and adoration? It is an inevitable consequence of being filled with the Spirit. This is something that can happen many times. The baptism, I suggest, is the initial experience, the filling is an experience that can often be repeated. [1]

What about you? Are you continuously seeking the Holy Spirit?

How have you seen the Holy Spirit “active” in your life?

[1] Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1997). God the Holy Spirit (pp. 242–243). Wheaton, IL: Crossways Books.