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I. Two aspects of the filling
II. Being willing to be used by God
III. The way to be filled
А. By thorough confession
B. By speaking
IV. Being filled to speak and dispense
Ephesians 5:18 says, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled in spirit." [To be filled in spirit (v. 18) is to be filled in our regenerated spirit, the human spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. Our spirit should not be empty, but should be filled with the riches of Christ unto all the fullness of God (3:19)....Our spirit may be empty and flat, like a flat tire. If our spirit is flat, it needs to be filled with pneuma. We need to go to the heavenly "filling station" and get our spirit filled with pneuma. In this way we shall be filled in spirit. According to chapter three, we are to be filled with the riches of Christ unto all the fullness of God. If our spirit if filled with the riches of Christ, we shall have no problems in our Christian life.]
We have seen that there are two aspects of the all-inclusive Spirit (Lesson 7). One is essential (inward) and the other is economical (outward). These two aspects of the Spirit can be seen in the matter of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
[Acts 2:2 says that the wind filled the house where the one hundred twenty were sitting. The Greek word for "filled" here is pleroo, a word that means to fill inwardly, as the wind filled the house.
Verses 3 and 4 say, "And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which were divided and sat on each one of them; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in different tongues, even as the Spirit gave them to speak out." The Greek word for "filled" in verse 4 is pletho (also used in 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9 and Luke 1:15, 41, 67). This Greek word means to fill outwardly. According to its usage in Acts, pleroo denotes to fill a vessel within, as the wind filled the house inwardly in verse 2; and pletho denotes to fill the persons outwardly, as the Spirit filled the disciples outwardly in this verse. The disciples were filled (pleroo) inwardly and essentially with the Spirit (13:52) for their Christian living, and they were filled (pletho) outwardly and economically with the Spirit for their Christian ministry. The inward filling Spirit, the essential Spirit, is in the disciples (John 14:17; Rom. 8:11), whereas the outward filling Spirit, the economical Spirit, is upon them (Acts 1:8; 2:17).] Every proper Christian should experience both kinds of filling.
[After Pentecost, the experience of the Holy Spirit inwardly as well as outwardly was fully accomplished in the Head (the Lord Jesus) as well as in the Body (represented by the Apostles). From this time onward, all those who desire to experience the work of the Holy Spirit can experience both the indwelling and the outward descending of the Holy Spirit at the same time.]
We should, however, say a word regarding the outward filling. [Actually, if from the beginning all those who are saved would be willing to abandon everything for the Lord to be used by Him, then upon being saved each one would be in a position to receive both aspects of the filling of the Holy Spirit simultaneously, as occurred in the house of Cornelius. We regret to say that today there are too few who are willing to be used by God upon being saved. Most people are satisfied with just possessing eternal life and not having to perish. They completely disregard God's work and God's plan; neither do they desire to have power to work for God and fulfill His plan.
Since man is so unwilling to be used by God, few obtain the outward filling of the Holy Spirit, causing this experience to become mysterious and rare. In fact, the outward aspect of the Holy Spirit is by no means more precious or more difficult to obtain than the Holy Spirit within, the only requirement being that we be willing to be used by God.]
[In order to receive the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, we must first confess, repent, and accept the fact that Christ has died for us. Likewise, in order to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit, we must first accept the fact that we have died with Christ. Then we must deal with sin, the world, the flesh, our self-opinion, and our natural ability, to the end that we may completely empty ourselves of these, allowing none of them to have any more place in us, but rather allowing the Holy Spirit to gain all the ground in us. If we will respond to the demand of the Holy Spirit, removing that which must be removed and forsaking that which must be forsaken, thus emptying ourselves and letting the Holy Spirit have all the ground and authority in us, then automatically the Holy Spirit will fill us, and we will subjectively experience and enjoy the infilling of the Holy Spirit.]
We all must make a thorough confession. We must come to the Lord, not occupied by so many things or persons. We should come simply to contact Him and be filled with Him. As we do, the first thing that will come up will be our sin. We will have a deep sensation that we are not right in a certain matter. As you confess, another matter may come up. Upon confessing again, a third will arise, then a fourth, and so on. Without such a time you probably could not realize how many sins you have.
We must get fully cleared up through prayer by confessing all our failures, wrongdoings, mistakes, sinful things, offenses, etc. If we have not gone to the Lord in this way for some time we may need one or even two hours to be fully cleansed. We may even need to make right any offenses with others or debts that we have accumulated. We all need to have this kind of experience.
After such a thorough confession we will be filled with the Spirit. We do not need to speak in "tongues." Neither should we wonder what will happen or how we will feel when we are filled inwardly and outwardly with the Spirit. We should just go to the Lord again and again. Every day you need this kind of clearing up. Pray, "Lord, cleanse me. Clear me up. I would like to pour out my dirt, my junk and give you all the space in me." If you would do this each day, the infilling and outpouring of the Spirit will be so fresh in your experience.
After Ephesians 5:18 says, "Be filled in spirit," verse 19 continues, "Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." [Right after "be filled in spirit" you have the word "speaking." This kind of phrase could be considered as a modifier. "Speaking to one another" modifies "be filled." How could you be filled? It is by speaking. By speaking, you will be filled in your spirit. But is it by speaking to one another in murmuring? Gossip? World news? America today? School? Family? Computers? Master's degree? Doctor's degree? Speaking in what? Speaking in psalms, long pieces like Psalm 119 which has 176 verses of 22 sections according to the Hebrew alphabet.]
[Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are not only for singing and psalming, but also for speaking to one another. Such speaking, singing, and psalming are not only the outflow of being filled in spirit, but also the way to be filled in spirit. Psalms are long poems, hymns are shorter ones, and spiritual songs are the shortest. All are needed in order for us to be filled with the Lord and to overflow with Him in our Christian life.
According to the New Testament, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are good not only for singing, but also for speaking. Sometimes we are inspired by singing. But on other occasions, speaking that is filled with pneuma may be more inspiring than singing. If we are flat, short of pneuma, then our speaking will afford no inspiration. But if we are full of pneuma, then our speaking will have impact and will inspire others. This is not eloquence; it is utterance with impact.]
[This filling is not only for your nourishment, it is for you to dispense. It is for you to generate. Every human being is made by God to propagate, to generate. Therefore, everybody has to bring forth children! Now we all have to learn how to generate, how to dispense, how to impart into others what we have received into our being. This is to reproduce, this is to generate, this is to bring forth new Christians by speaking. Therefore, speaking is generating, speaking is imparting, speaking is dispensing.]
When you speak you are filled, and when you are filled you speak! This is wonderful. When the Spirit is so fresh in our experience, people will sense something different about us. As you speak to them, they will realize something within you is so new, so different, yet so convincing. If we are cleansed by confessing, we will surely have impact and the working of the Spirit in our speaking. Be filled in spirit!
The Lord charges us to be filled in spirit. This filling is of two aspects — one is inward and the other is outward. The inward filling is the essential aspect of the Spirit, whereas the outward filling is the economical aspect of the Spirit. Both are necessary for our Christian life and ministry. The way to be filled is 1) by confessing all our sins, failures, worldliness, pride, etc., and 2) by speaking. This will make us people who dispense Christ and bring forth new Christians.
