One thing that fascinates me in the New Testament is how God used the apostles. These were fallible human beings just like you and me. But after they became Spirit-filled, God used them to do extraordinary things. The good news is that God can and wants to use us in supernatural ways as well.
For the apostles, it started with an experience referred to in the Bible as the baptism with the Holy Spirit. I know that some disagreement exists among those within Christendom as it relates to this experience.
But think about it in terms of water baptism when John the Baptist was the baptizer. He baptized with water. In the case of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the baptizer. He baptizes with the Holy Spirit instead of water. John the Baptist said that Jesus would do this when He came (Matthew 3:11).
Also, let me state emphatically that before the apostles experienced the baptism with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were already born again and heaven-ready. What I am talking about has nothing to do with salvation. Nevertheless, prior to His ascension to heaven, Jesus stressed to the disciples the need to receive this experience. It became the vehicle for God to use them in extraordinary ways.
The Commandment to Wait for the Baptism with the Holy Spirit
Jesus said, “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:47, KJV). This task would belong to those He called to be apostles.
But in the same conversation, He gave them a vital piece of instruction: “But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (verse 49). This power He referred to came by way of the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples had been under Jesus’ teachings and mentoring for the length of His ministry. You would think they were more than equipped and qualified to spread the good news. But Jesus himself said to them, you need this power from above before you go forward.
According to Acts 2:4, after the disciples received the baptism with the Holy Spirit, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit” (NASB).
Guidance for Living a Spirit-Filled Life
In his letter to the Ephesians Paul writes, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). In this verse, the verb phrase, be filled, is in the present tense. In the Greek language, this denotes a continuous action.
Actually, that’s true in the English language as well. For instance, let’s say you were at the local grocery store, and you saw someone whom you had not seen in years. “You look great,” the person says to you. “What have you been doing?” And you with a glow on your face, respond, “I jog.” The reason you use jog in the present tense is to denote that you do it on a regular basis.
Well, that’s the context of the quote above from Ephesians 5:18. This verse is instructing us to always be filled with the Spirit. In effect, we are being called to live a Spirit-filled life.
Paul follows his appeal with some guidance on how to live such a life. He said:
- Speak to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (verse 19)
- Give thanks always for all things (verse 20)
- Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God (verse 21)
- Wives, submit yourselves to your own husband (verse 22)
- Husbands. love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it (verse 25)
The point is that in order to experience a Spirit-filled life, you must yield every area of your life to the Holy Spirit.
Note that in Paul’s appeal, he juxtaposes being drunk with wine with being filled with the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes drunken, he is living under the influence of alcohol. Conversely, a Spirit-filled life is one being lived under the influence of the Holy Spirit. It is to this end that Paul wrote to admonish the church at Ephesus.
Copyright © 2022 by Frank King. All rights reserved.