What does the Spirit-filled life look like?

By Steve Cornell

What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Is your local Church distinguished as a Spirit-filled community of believers? How would you determine the answers to these questions? Clearly, the personal presence and power of the Holy Spirit is central to living a life that pleases God. It is also the key to true Christian community. The Scripture speaks of:

· Walking by the Spirit

· Being led by the Spirit

· Bearing the fruit of the Spirit

· Keeping in step with the Spirit

· Sowing to the Spirit

(Galatians 5 & 6)

This emphasis reminds us that everything in the believer’s life is affected by the role of the Holy Spirit. All of these expressions (from Galatians 5 & 6) also fit under another New Testament command: “Be Filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

But how does one obey this command? What does the Spirit-filled life look like? Is there a way to identify the Spirit-filled person? An epitaph was written over the life of Barnabas identifying him as “…a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” (Acts 11:24). Notice that in this epitaph being “full of the Holy Spirit” is treated as a measurable and visible description of character (cf. Acts 6:4- “pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom”). We must guard against the tendency to understand the spirit-filled life as a subjective reality. It is about character and life choices. One should be able to see evidence that testifies to the Spirit-filled character of an individual or community of believers. Let’s explore this in more depth.

The command to be Spirit-filled in Ephesians 5:18 follows another command (Do not get drunk on wine). The two commands are placed in contrast to each other in a way that invites a comparison between what the one forbids and the other requires. The first command is in a verb tense (aorist) requiring that we never do what it forbids: “Do not ever get drunk on wine.” The second command is in a verb tense (present) requiring continual action: “Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit!” This supports the idea that being Spirit-filled should be descriptive of a person’s life. Further, since each of these is a command – each one becomes a matter of choice and obedience – because each one could be disobeyed. Becoming drunk is a choice; Being filled with the Spirit is also a choice.

But what does it mean to be filled?

Two observations help us understand what it means to be filled with the Spirit:

1. The meaning of the word “filled.” It is used of wind filling a sail, of being filled with emotions like joy or grief, of a body being filled with leprosy and of a person being full of deceit (Acts 13:10). The idea of permeation or domination is envisioned. It could be framed this way, “allow the dominating influence of the Holy Spirit to permeate every part of your life.”

2. The contrast: “Do not get drunk on wine.” The person who decides to get drunk chooses to allow the alcohol to be the controlling factor in every function of his life (speech, vision, bodily coordination and even the mind are affected when one is drunk).

In contrast, the person filled with the Spirit chooses to allow the Spirit of God to be the controlling influence in all parts of his life (speech, vision, body, mind). “A person, and in this case, a community,” one wrote, “whose life is so totally given over to the Spirit that the life and deeds of the Spirit are as obvious in their case as the effects of too much wine are obvious in the other.”

The commands of Ephesians 5:18 are followed by four supporting participles – (1) speaking (2) singing (3) giving thanks and (4) submitting. These are not commands – they are participles that are expected outcomes of obedience to the main command to be filled with the Spirit (in this sense they are participles with imperatival force).

On this basis, a Spirit filled person is:

· Full of joy: 1^st, 2^nd participle

· Grateful: 3^rd participle

· Humble/submissive: 4^th participle

To put matters differently, a spirit filled person is not:

· Grouchy or grumpy

· Ungrateful or discontent

· Rebellious or arrogant

Again, central to living a life that is pleasing to God is the personal, presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Personal: (Ephesians 4:29-32); Presence: (As a community: I Corinthians 3:16, in individual lives: I Corinthians 6:18-20); Power: Ephesians 3:14-19All of this is presented in the context of choices that relate to the question of control. (cf. the battle for control in Galatians 5:16-17).

Life which is (according to the flesh) is a life that is directed by self and for self. It is life driven by selfish ambition. It is life where I demand to be in control. And, since I am in control – I feel easily threatened and I must fight, scheme, manipulate and worry. I do these things to fight for my control (consider the contrast in James 3:13-17).

The apostle uses a harvest metaphor to describe our response to the flesh and to the Spirit. Choose the soil that you wish to cultivate and do your sowing. Expect to reap a harvest from your choice.

Galatians 6:7-8: “Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.”

Sowing to the flesh is a choice to cultivate and plant thoughts, attitudes and behavior in the direction of the things described in Galatians 5:15; 19-20, 24-25. Sowing to the Spirit is a choice to allow the control of the Holy Spirit to be the permeating and dominating reality in your life. It involves giving yourself – your thoughts, attitudes and actions to producing the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

It is significant to consider that each of the qualities from Galatians 5:22-23 is found in the New Testament as a command. This means that much of this is related to choices we make. Galatians 5:16 is a command. The question we must answer is “Who or what will we allow to be in control?”

Key points for individual believers and local Churches:

1. Being Spirit-filled is not a subjective reality but an observable and measurable reality as it was in the life of Barnabas (and the seven chosen in Acts 6:1-4).

2. When the Spirit fills an individual or a community of believers, expect to find permeating qualities of joy, gratitude and humility.

3. When the Spirit fills an individual or community of believers, do not expect to find a life or atmosphere permeated by complaining, discontentment, lack of gratitude or arrogance.

4. When the Spirit fills an individual or a community of believers, expect to find permeating qualities like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

5. The repeated commands in relation to the Spirit-filled life remind us that although  the Spirit produces spiritual fruit (godly character qualities), he does not do this in a way that allows believers to be passive recipients of his work (See: Philippians 2:12-13 “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”). More to come on how to live the Spirit-filled life.

Steve Cornell

Understanding the Holy Spirit

by Steve Cornell 

I. The personhood and Deity of the Holy Spirit: He is the third person of the Triune God.

A. Personality – The Holy Spirit is not a vague force. He is a person possessing everything essential to personhood. The following scriptural defense establishes this truth:  

1. Personal pronouns: (Jn. 15:26; 16:13; Acts 13:2).  The Bible reveals the Spirit not as an impersonal force but as a person referred to as “He, I, and Me.”  (Note the use of masculine pronoun (ekinos) with the title Spirit which is neuter – Jn. 16:13-24; Eph. 1:14). 

2. Personal characteristics:

a. Intelligence: (Ro. 8:27; I Co. 2:10-13; Jn. 14:26)

b. Emotion: (Eph. 4:30; Gal. 4:6; Rom. 15:30)

c. Volition: (Acts 16:6; I Cor. 2:11) 

3. Personal tasks:

a. Communes – (II Cor. 13:14)

b. Comforts – (Jn. 14:16; Rom. 15:13)

c. Counsels – (Acts 15:28; Jn. 14:26; 16:13; I Tim. 4:1; Rev. 2:7)

d. Convicts – (Jn. 16:7-11)

e. Glorifies – (Jn. 16:14; see also 17:4) 

4. Personal treatment:

a. Lied to – (Acts 5:34)

b. Resisted  - (Acts 7:51)

c. Sinned against – (Mt. 3:29)

d. Blasphemed (Mt. 12:31-32)

e. Grieved (Eph. 4:30) 

B. Deity - The fact that the Holy Spirit is God can be understood through His identification with the other members of the Godhead and through His works and attributes. 

1. Divine identification:

a. Called God (Acts 5:3-4)

b. Temple of God/temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20)

c. In commission (Mt. 28:19)

d. In benediction (II Cor. 13:14)

e. In spiritual gifts (I Cor. 12:4-6)

f. In salvation (Eph. 1:3-14; I Pet. 1:2)

g. In creation (Gen. 1:1-2; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:1-3)   

2. Divine works:

a. Creation (Gen. 1:2;Job 26:13; 33:4; Isa. 40:13; Ps. 104:30)

b. Revelation (I Pet. 1:11; II Pet. 1:21)

c. Incarnation (Lk. 1:35)

d. Resurrection (Rom. 8:1)

e. Regeneration (Jn. 3:5-8; Ti. 3:5) 

3. Divine attributes:

a. Omniscience (Jn. 16:13; I Cor. 2:10,11)

b. Omnipresence (Ps. 139:7-8)

c. Eternality (Heb. 9:14) 

II. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit 

A. In salvation: The Spirit is involved in four primary ways at the moment of salvation.

1. Regeneration: The impartation of spiritual life to the one who has faith in Jesus (Ti. 3:5; Eph. 2:1; I J. 5:11-12) 

2.  Indwelling: Christians may have varying degrees of spiritual power and fruitfulness but Scripture clearly teaches that all Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 6:19-20; II Cor. 1:21-22). 

3. Baptism: At salvation, “we all were immersed in one Spirit, so as to become one body” (I Cor. 12:3; Matt. 3:11).  In the book of I Corinthians, Paul recognizes different levels of spiritual growth and different spiritual gifts among the believers in Corinth. Yet he says, placing himself with them, “we all were immersed with one Spirit…” The Corinthian reference (12:13) supplies definition of the historical illustrations in Acts 19:1-7).   

4. Sealing: The Spirit who regenerates, indwells and unites, is the seal of security guaranteeing the completion of our salvation (Eph. 1:13; 4:30; II Cor. 1:21-22). 

B. In Christian living: The Holy Spirit is involved in the life of every believer in the following ways after salvation: 

1. Producing Christlikeness: (II Cor. 3:18; Jn. 16:14; rom. 8:28,29)  

2. Filling: Every believer has all of the Holy Spirit he will ever have at salvation, but throughout Christian living many believers do not yield themselves completely to the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible, the filling of the Spirit is a command, not a prayer request. The meaning and means of the filling of the Spirit must be carefully understood if we desire to experience the fullness of His ministry in our lives. 

a. Meaning: The word “filled” carries the idea of wind filling a sail or someone being filled with joy or grief.  Permeation, like salt permeating meat, and total domination are also involved. The dominating influence of the Holy Spirit should permeate our character to the extent that being with us is like being with Christ. 

b. Means: To be filled with the Holy Spirit implies that we are empty of selfish ambition. Our total desire must be to please God in every area of life. This type of living will involve three continual practices. 

1) Feeding on God’s Word: Colossians 3:16, 17 reveal the same results of dwelling on the Word as the results of the filling of the Spirit listed in Ephesians 5:18-20. 

Thought: “As we give ourselves to the study of God’s Word, we shall begin at once to experience the benefit of the indwelling Spirit’s cooperating action.  For if as we study we are willing to learn and to be led, the Spirit will become our teacher and enlighten and increase our understanding, so that more and more we shall discern what we should believe, and how we should act to please God” ( J.I. Packer, The Spirit Within Us, p. 53). 

2) Confession of sin: As we are in the Word, God will reveal sin to us. This will lead to confession based on I John 1:9. To confess sin is to agree with God about it.  

3) Yielding to God: The filling of the Holy Spirit requires submission to God. Rebellion- in any form- hinders the filling of the Spirit and places a roadblock on the path toward maturity.  Yielding to God involves humility and implies that we choose God’s will in our decisions (Rom. 6:12,13). 

Final thought: writes, “This is something we are told to be doing all the time C namely, to keep ourselves full. We keep our lungs full of fresh air by constantly breathing; we are to keep ourselves filled with the Spirit by constantly exposing ourselves to His active ministry towards us” (J.I. Packer, The Spirit Within Us, p. 60). 

3. Producing Fruit: The results of the Spirit filled life are observed in objective character traits. Just as we recognize an apple tree by the apples we see on it, so we can recognize the Spirit-filled believer by the fruit he or she produces. Two primary passages apply to this: Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:18-21. 

4. Other works: 

a. Pouring out God’s love (Rom. 5:5)

b. leads to obey (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:16-18)

c. Assurance (Rom. 8:16)

d. Intercession (Rom. 8:16)

e. Producing hope (Rom. 15:13)

f. Strength (Eph. 3:16)

g. Unifying the church (Eph. 4:3)

h. Giving spiritual gifts (I Cor. 12:7-11)

i. Power for witness (Acts 1:8)

j. Comfort (Jn. 14:16)

k. Cooperative witness (Jn. 15:26, 27; Rev. 22:17)

l. Illumination (Jn. 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; I Jn. 2:20,17) 

C. Toward the unbeliever: The primary work of the Holy Spirit toward unbelievers is the pre-salvation work of conviction concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (Gen. 6:3; Jn. 16:7-11; Acts 7:57; 24:25).