The Seven Calls of the Lord Jesus Christ (5) – The Fifth Call: Be Filled with Spirit!

The Seven Calls of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Fifth Call: Be Filled with Spirit!

Download PDF:
https://od.lk/f/MV8zMzk4NTU3MDhf
https://od.lk/fl/MV8xODI0MzMzNl8

https://on.soundcloud.com/1qpuQ5BzzFHT76uH9

Please share this website with all your friends and family members. Thank you, and God bless.

All the Bible verses quoted in this article are from the King James Version.

The Fifth Call: Be Filled with Spirit!

In the previous four articles, we discussed the call to repentance, the call to come to the Lord, the call to bear the yoke of the Lord, and the call to follow Him. Today, we will explore together the fifth call: Be filled with spirit!

Many people respond to the first four calls but overlook the fifth call, which prevents them from becoming true disciples of the Lord, and when faced with difficulties or challenges, they cannot remain faithful to the Lord.

The call to be filled with God’s spirit is found in Ephesians 5:18:

“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with [the] spirit.”

(There is no definite article before the term “spirit” in the Greek language of the Bible.)

First of all, we need to remember:

“The Holy Spirit” or “the Spirit” (always has the definite article) when used for God refers to a person of the Godhead, also known as the third person of the Triune God.
“Holy spirit” or “spirit,” without the definite article, is the authority and power emanating from God, bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon the people of God. It is better to term it God’s spirit.

In the Greek language of the Bible, the definite article is always used before the word “Spirit” or “Holy Spirit” when referring to the third person of the Triune God, but when speaking of the authority and power of God, the term “spirit” or “holy spirit” does not have the definite article preceding it. Unfortunately, English Bible translations have often confused “the Holy Spirit” with “holy spirit” and “the Spirit” with “spirit” in many places by adding the definite article to “holy spirit” or “spirit” when there is none in the Greek language, making the passages difficult to understand.

When we talk about being filled, we mean utilizing the capacity to contain energy, like a battery being filled with electricity, a body being filled with vitality, or containing a quantity of units of an object, like a box filled with stones. The Holy Spirit is a person. The people of God can only have the Holy Spirit indwelling their bodies, but they cannot be filled with Him. However, the people of God can be filled or not filled with “holy spirit,” meaning they can be filled or not filled with the authority and power of God. We can say, I have a husband or I have a wife. We can also say, I am filled with the love of my husband, or I am filled with the love of my wife. But we do not say, I am filled with a husband or I am filled with a wife! Because a husband or wife is a person.

After we repent of sin, come to the Lord, take up the yoke of the Lord, and follow the Lord willingly, we need to be filled with God’s spirit in order to make all people disciples of the Lord, and we can remain faithful to the Lord until death. Being filled with God’s spirit means receiving full authority and power from God to follow the Lord.

The filling of God’s spirit is the work of the Holy Spirit. As soon as we sincerely repent of our sins and accept the atonement of Jesus Christ:

*God immediately forgives us, declaring us righteous, and bestows upon us the position of sons and daughters.
The Lord Jesus Christ immediately cleanses us from sin, using His blood to wash away all our sins, and grants us roles: (1) as prophets, to preach the Gospel; (2) as kings, to rule over ourselves and reign with Him in the Kingdom of God; (3) as priests, to daily offer ourselves to *God, worship God, and intercede for the people of God, which is the Church of God.

The Holy Spirit immediately regenerates us, granting us all the authority and power of God to faithfully fulfill these roles. Authority includes authority over demons and sin, authority to proclaim the Word of God, and authority to worship God. Power includes all the gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit, also known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12).

The filling of spirit by the Holy Spirit always occurs for all who sincerely believe in the Lord, but to be filled with spirit, one must actively receive it. Below is an illustrative example to help us understand the various aspects of being filled with spirit.

Example 1: Let’s imagine there are three barrels, each with a capacity of 20 liters. The first barrel is completely empty. The second barrel contains stones, filling up to half the barrel. The third barrel is completely filled with stones. If these three barrels are used to draw water from a well, what will happen?

The first barrel will contain 20 liters of water. The second barrel will contain approximately 10 liters of water. The third barrel will contain very little water.

The second and third barrels hold less water than the first barrel but require more effort to draw water from because of the weight of the stones in the barrel.

Through the example above, we understand that God’s spirit has been given to every child of God by the Holy Spirit, but each child of God must take their worldly desires out of their hearts so that their hearts are completely devoted to heavenly things. Then, only then, is the life of the children of God filled with God’s spirit, meaning filled with the authority and power of God. As long as our hearts are still focused on the world, still loving worldly things, then on that day we are still not filled with God’s spirit. The more we love worldly things, the more our lives lack the authority and power of God.

Example 2: There are three vehicles used for delivery work. The first vehicle is a three-wheeled vehicle with a gas tank that holds 4 liters, used to deliver small items within the city. The second vehicle is a small truck with a gas tank that holds 40 liters, used to deliver large items or items to suburban areas. The third vehicle is a large truck with dual gas tanks that hold 400 liters, used to deliver items to other cities. Each vehicle is used for different delivery tasks, but each vehicle needs to be filled with gas to complete the delivery work.

Each child of God is used by God for the same purpose of building the Church and the Kingdom of God, but each person will be assigned different positions with different specific tasks. However, each person still needs to be filled with God’s spirit to fulfill their duties. Two people, each filled with God’s spirit, may have completely different tasks, and the manifestation of the results of their work will also be different.

One person filled with God’s spirit may stand up to preach, and the result may be three thousand people repenting and believing in God, as seen with Peter (Acts 2). Another person filled with God’s spirit may not preach at all but may only speak words of praise to God, as the disciples did on the day of Pentecost when the Church was established and baptized with God’s spirit (Acts 2). Another person filled with God’s spirit may only serve by distributing food to the people of God in the Church, like the deacons in the early Church in Jerusalem (Acts 6). Another person filled with God’s spirit may simply witness the glory of God, like Stephen (Acts 7).

In other words, a person filled with God’s spirit is someone who no longer loves worldly things but only loves the things belonging to the Kingdom of God. A person filled with God’s spirit is someone who desires and acts according to the good will of God (Philippians 2:13). From this, we can understand that being filled with God’s spirit entirely depends on the side of God’s people.

Similarly, salvation is a gift from God, but whoever wants to be saved must genuinely repent of their sins and believe in the redemption of sins by the Lord Jesus Christ. The filling of God’s spirit is also a gift from God, but whoever desires to be filled with God’s spirit must forsake the love of the world and worldly things. 1 John 2:15 states:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

The love of the Heavenly Father, which is the love of *God, is genuine love, for *God is love. Genuine love is unconditional love. From *God’s perspective, He is willing to sacrifice the most precious things to protect those He loves, and He does everything to help them achieve the absolute value that He has predetermined for them. From the human perspective, it means being willing to sacrifice the most precious things to live in purity without violating the commandments of *God, and to make use of every grace and opportunity that *God bestows to become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

A person doesn’t need to beg God to be filled with His spirit. Because the filling of God’s spirit is something God naturally bestows upon those who genuinely repent of their sins and believe in His redemption, a person just needs to stop loving the world and worldly things so that God’s spirit can be filled within them. The well always has water available; all we need to do is remove all the stones from the containers, then the containers will be filled with water, and drawing water will be easier.

The Holy Spirit has been pouring His spirit upon the Church for nearly two thousand years. Today, anyone who genuinely repents of their sins and believes in the redemption of God is immediately incorporated into the Church of God, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and bestowed with His spirit. Whether to be filled with God’s spirit or not is the freedom of choice for everyone.

The phrase “filled with spirit” is used in the Bible to refer to two events: (1) the event of a person no longer loving the world and worldly things but only loving what belongs to God; and (2) the event of the Holy Spirit acting through a person.

Event 1: Being filled with the authority and power of God

Whoever genuinely repents of their sins, believes in the redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, wholeheartedly obeys the commandments of *God, no longer loves the world and worldly things but only loves what belongs to God, naturally lives a life filled with God’s spirit.

John the Baptist was filled with God’s holy spirit since he was in his mother’s womb.

“For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with [the] holy ghost, even from his mother’s womb.” (Luke 1:15).

(There is no definite article before the term “holy ghost” in the Greek language of the Bible.)

This is a special case, unrelated to the choice of John the Baptist. This is a great blessing bestowed upon him by God. However, when he reached the age of understanding, he still had the freedom to choose whether to continue living a life filled with God’s holy spirit or to live a life loving the world.

In the early Church in Jerusalem, there were many who were not apostles of the Lord but were filled with God’s holy spirit, which the Church could recognize.

“Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of [the] holy ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business” (Acts 6:3).

(There is no definite article before the term “holy ghost” in the Greek language of the Bible.)

Barnabas was also filled with the Holy Spirit. He sold a field and donated the money to the church’s treasury, then devoted himself to preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles.

“For he was a good man, and full of [the] holy ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.” (Acts 11:24).

(There is no definite article before the term “holy ghost” in the Greek language of the Bible.)

In all three cases mentioned above, the phrase “filled with holy ghost” or “full of holy ghost” means that the person’s life is entirely oriented towards God, not towards the world.

The term “holy” preceding the term “spirit” or “ghost” helps distinguish the spirit from God from the spirit of humans and spirits from demons.

Event 2: Being filled with a certain grace of the Holy Spirit to fulfill a task

In the life of someone filled with God’s holy spirit, there are times when the Holy Spirit will completely control them to do a certain task, and at that time, the Holy Spirit will grant them the full capability to act accordingly. In all the cases outlined below, the phrase “filled with holy spirit” or “filled with holy ghost” means that the Holy Spirit prompts someone, bestows appropriate grace, and encourages them to do what God wants them to do. In that case, they are completely under the control of the Holy Spirit, acting under the authority and power of the Holy Spirit, but their mind is still conscious of the task they are doing.

“And his father Zacharias was filled with [the] holy ghost, and prophesied, saying…” (Luke 1:67).

“And they were all filled with [the] holy ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).

“Then Peter, filled with [the] holy ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel” (Acts 4:8).

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with [the] holy ghost, and they spake the Word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:31).

“But he, being full of [the] holy ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).

“Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with [the] holy ghost, set his eyes on him” (Acts 13:9).

(In all those verses, there is no definite article before the term “holy ghost” in the Greek language of the Bible.)

A person truly filled with God’s holy spirit will never return to living in sin; instead, they will only grow in their love for God, gratitude towards Him, desire to know Him more, fervor for serving Him, and love for all people. They will respond and have the ability to fulfill the sixth and seventh calls of the Lord: “Preaching the Gospel, making disciples of all nations,” and “Remaining faithful to God until death.”

Timothy Christian Huynh
Priscilla Christian Huynh
04/26/2024