LESSON SIX – BEING FILLED IN SPIRIT

Acts 2:2 — Suddenly there was a sound out of heaven, as of a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Eph. 5:18 — Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.

THE MEANING OF BEING FILLED IN SPIRIT

The human spirit is more important than the human body. This is why Ephesians 5:18 says, “Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.”… We need to be filled with Christ unto all the fullness of God (1:23; 3:19). Today all the riches of Christ are included in the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:17). To be filled in our spirit is to be filled with the essential Spirit. The essential Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, and the life-giving Spirit is the Spirit of reality as the realization of Christ, referred to in John 14:17.

Ephesians 3:17 says that Christ wants to make His home in our hearts. When we are completely filled with the essential Spirit in our spirit, then Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God will occupy our heart and make His home in our heart. When we are filled in our spirit experientially with the essential Spirit, the ultimate consummation of the Triune God, and when Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God fully occupies, possesses, and makes His home in our hearts, the result will be that we are filled with and occupied by the Triune God completely. This is the significance of the filling of the Spirit.

THE WAY TO BE FILLED IN SPIRIT

Through Thorough Prayer and Confession

How can we be filled with the Triune God? We can be filled with the Triune God through thorough prayer and confession.… [Renewing your consecration] is good, but you also have to find some time in your busy schedule to kneel down before the Lord by yourself and to thoroughly pray and confess. This is most precious. At the beginning of this time, you may tell the Lord, “O Lord, forgive me. Although You have forgiven me of all my sins, I have never had a thorough confession and a thorough dealing. Today I would like to confess all my sins thoroughly before You. Please shine on me!”

When you pray in this way, do not seek for feeling. You have to believe that the Lord’s Spirit is with you. You also do not need to confess according to a sequence. Simply confess according to what you sense within and according to what you remember. Confess your sins to the Lord one by one until, according to your inner sense and your memory, you have nothing more to confess. Once you have done this, you should simply believe that you have been filled in your spirit with the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Vessels Useful to the Lord,” pp. 103, 105)

Practicing to Be Filled with the Spirit

by Calling on the Lord and Speaking the Lord All the Day Long

When we get up in the morning, the best thing for us to do is not to think about other things but only to think about the Lord Jesus. It is easy to talk about this, but it is not simple to practice. This is because we all have many things filling our hearts. In spite of this, we still need to practice.…You need to call on the Lord in this way in the morning. Then during the whole day, you need to practice speaking the Lord. When there is no one with you, you should call on the Lord Jesus; when there are others with you, you should speak the Lord Jesus to them. Eventually, what you breathe is the Lord Jesus, and what you speak is also the Lord Jesus. Then you will definitely be filled with the Triune God who is the Spirit.…This is a very normal matter. This should be our normal daily living. (CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” pp. 163-164)

SECRETS TO MAINTAINING THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Not Quenching the Spirit

After we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we still have to do a few things to maintain the filling. First, we should not quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). The Spirit causes us to be burning in spirit (Rom. 12:11) and also causes us to fan into flame the gift which is in us (2 Tim. 1:6). Hence, we should not quench the Spirit.

Not Grieving the Holy Spirit

Second, we should not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him and to not walk according to Him in our daily living (Rom. 8:4). How do we know if the Holy Spirit is grieved? We can know by our living. If we are not joyful in our Christian life, this is a sign that the Holy Spirit is grieving in us. It is because the Holy Spirit is grieving in us that we are not joyful. If we are joyful, this indicates that the Holy Spirit in us is also joyful. A sister testified that she once had prayed to the extent that her whole being was refreshed, light-hearted, and so full of joy. This is proof that the Holy Spirit in her was joyful. Hence, to not grieve the Holy Spirit is to not grieve yourself.

Obeying the Holy Spirit

Third, on the positive side, we must obey the Holy Spirit. In Acts 5 Peter said, “The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him” (v. 32). This shows that the Holy Spirit is for us to obey. Obedience is the way and the requirement for us to enjoy the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:4 says, “Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” This is the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the requirement for maintaining a life of being filled with the Holy Spirit. We should not only study these verses but also put them into practice in our daily life. (CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Vessels Useful to the Lord,” pp. 141-142)

References: CWWL, 1985, vol. 5, “Vessels Useful to the Lord,” chs. 7, 10, 12; CWWL, 1987, vol. 2, “Words of Training for the New Way,” chs. 9, 12

FILL ME WITH THY GRACIOUS SPIRIT

Fullness of the Spirit — The Filling – 267

Fill me with Thy gracious Spirit,

Fill my longing spirit now;

Fill me with Thy hallowed presence,

Come, dear Lord, and fill me now!

Fill me now! Fill me now!

Fill me with Thy Spirit now!

Strip me wholly, empty throughly,

Fill me with Thy Spirit now!

Thou can’st fill me with Thy Spirit,

Though I cannot tell Thee how;

But I need Thee, greatly need Thee;

Come, dear Lord, and fill me now!

I am weakness, full of weakness;

At Thy sacred feet I bow;

By Thy blest, eternal Spirit,

Fill with strength, and fill me now!

Cleanse and comfort, bless and save me;

Fill my broken spirit now!

Thou art comforting and saving,

Thou art sweetly filling now.