No More Filling Of The Spirit

[poorinspirit]

I wish to address the misuse of this verse below.

Ephesians 5:¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

This is a call to be sober: to remain filled with the Spirit as keeping with the fruit of temperance which is self control as opposing drunkenness. This is not a call to seek to be filled supernaturally with the Spirit again. To take that verse to mean that would be going against scripture below, voiding the meaning and promise in those verses.

John 6:³⁵ And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

To seek to be filled again with the Spirit is to say that Jesus has not kept His promise when you came to and believed in Him, because you still hunger and thirst to be filled.

Matthew 9:¹⁷ Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

To seek to be filled with the Spirit again is to testify that we are not new bottles, but a broken bottle, unable to hold the new wine. Being filled and thus a new creature in Christ testifies to Jesus being our Saviour.

Luke 11:⁹ And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. ¹⁰ For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. ¹¹ If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? ¹² Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³ If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

To seek to be filled with the Spirit again would make it as though one does have to ask the Father again as if you did not received what was promised the first time when you were saved.

Colossians 2:⁵ For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. ⁶ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:⁷ Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. ⁸ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹ For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. ¹⁰ And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

To seek to be filled with the Spirit again is to deny that you had received Christ to walk in Him when you were saved. If you acknowledge that He is in you, and yet still seek to be filled again with the Spirit, then you are saying that the fulness of the Godhead bodily is not in Christ for us to be complete in Him.

Ephesians 4:⁴ There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ One Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

To seek another baptism with the Holy Spirit or to be filled with the Spirit again is to give another hope of our calling, testifying to more than one baptism with the Spirit for believers to seek after, moving away from their resting place in Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 12:¹³For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

To seek to be filled with the Spirit again with another baptism is to testify that we are not all baptized by the one Spirit into the one body because there is more than one drink of the one Spirit.

2 Corinthians 11:1Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. ² For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. ³ But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. ⁴ For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.

To seek another Jesus or another Spirit to receive is preaching another gospel as warned against above.

There is only one kind of invitation and only one calling: they all point to the Son in coming to God. It is still emphasized so that believers will not believe every spirit but test them by remembering our faith.

2 Corinthians 13:⁵ Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

Otherwise, then wayward believers depart from faith and wind up preaching another gospel with signs and lying wonders that does not serve the Lord Jesus Christ nor seek the glory of the Son, but those spirits.

1 Timothy 4:1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; ² Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

2 Timothy 2:¹⁵ Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. ¹⁶ But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.....²⁴ And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, ²⁵ In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; ²⁶ And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

May God cause the increase in reminding every believer of our first love, trusting Him to help us keep our eyes on Him since our Bridegroom will be coming soon.

[Boo]

OK, so there was not need for Paul to tell us to "walk in the spirit," because we have no other choice.

[Watchman]

You might want to check on the meaning of the Greek word, pleroo. In this case, it means to be controlled by the Spirit.

W

[poorinspirit]

OK, so there was not need for Paul to tell us to "walk in the spirit," because we have no other choice.

Of course, there was a need for Paul to tell us to walk in the Spirit. It was to oppose walking in the flesh. Since we are in the flesh, the only chance we have in living the christian life is to be always filled with the Spirit as promised from Jesus Christ. That is why we are going to be held accountable for our actions on whethor we sow to the works of the flesh or sow to the fruits of the Spirit. If we had to keep ourselves filled with the Spirit, then that would go against the scripture in the OP of the meaning and promises to us.

Whenever we sin by sowing to the works of the flesh, we grieve the Holy Spirit Whom we have been sealed unto that day of redemption. The Holy Spirit does not leave and neither do we lose a little bit of the Spirit that we need to be filled to the full of the Spirit again. He is either in us or He is not, and since the promise and the faith in Jesus Christ assures us that He is in us forever when we first came to and believed in Jesus Christ, then that is why we are held accountable to God by what we sow to.

If we had to do God's work of filling ourselves with the Spirit, then how easy would it be for the flesh to win? So we are filled with the Spirit always as promised by God so that we are held accountable by what we sow to: the works of the flesh or the fruits of the Spirit.

[Watchman]

Again, I submit that 'filled with the Spirit' means controlled by the Spirit...not filled up with Him, as a glass filled with water.

W

[poorinspirit]

You might want to check on the meaning of the Greek word, pleroo. In this case, it means to be controlled by the Spirit.

W

Not sure where you are coming from, but I could not find "control" as being one of those definitions for pleroo.

http://www.sacrednamebible.com/kjvst...RK41.htm#S4137

How are we controlled by the Spirit when we can quench the Spirit? How can the spirits of the prophets be subject to the prophets if there is some kind of loss of control by giving in to the Spirit's control? Where is the fruit of temperance? There are too many questionable factors in that phrase of being "controlled by the Spirit".

We are to submit to Christ and be led by the Spirit as the Good Shepherd leads us by the Spirit within us, but that is a far cry as being "controlled" by the Spirit that one seeks a supernatural filling for that to happen which is not of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a new age rudiment of the world.

The only relevancy that being "filled" has in regards to the Spirit is to not ignore the first part of that verse, calling on believers to not be drunk with wine wherein there is excess, but be filled ( past tense) and thus remain filled with the Spirit.... where there is no excess: because you are filled as promised for coming to and believing in Jesus Christ. Being filled with the Spirit means we are saved. That has to be one of the truths of our testimony in giving of Jesus Christ as our Saviour in that we are filled as promised and thus saved, otherwise, where is the testimony that Jesus is the Saviour?

To avoid drunkenness is not by seeking to be filled again supernaturally with the Spirit: but to be sober: which temperance is a fruit of the Spirit which means self control. Therefore to execute or fulfill being filled with the Spirit is to remain in self control as opposing drunkenness and thus the call to be sober or to remain sober.

The Spirit in us will always lead us to keep our eyes on the Son, the Bridegroom, in testifying of Him in seeking His glory as we shall be led by the Spirit in us to do the same. It is the seducing spirits or the spirits of the antichrist that would take the spotlight off of the Son in the worship place by bringing about signs and lying wonders. That is why we are not to believe every spirit but test them by the knowledge and faith that Jesus Christ is in us, and so, that which is being sensationally felt in the flesh as coming over us and filling us again and again and again IS NOT the Holy Spirit. That supernatural phenomenon is being experienced in other world's religions, occults, and cults in christianity... so beware. May the Lord help us to keep our eyes on the Son because the Bridegroom will be coming soon to collect the ready bride and not the foolish ones still going out to the market to be filled again.

[poorinspirit]

You might want to check on the meaning of the Greek word, pleroo. In this case, it means to be controlled by the Spirit.

W

Not sure where you are coming from, but I could not find "control" as being one of those definitions for pleroo.

http://www.sacrednamebible.com/kjvst...RK41.htm#S4137

How are we controlled by the Spirit when we can quench the Spirit? How can the spirits of the prophets be subject to the prophets if there is some kind of loss of control by giving in to the Spirit's control? Where is the fruit of temperance? There are too many questionable factors in that phrase of being "controlled by the Spirit".

We are to submit to Christ and be led by the Spirit as the Good Shepherd leads us by the Spirit within us, but that is a far cry as being "controlled" by the Spirit that one seeks a supernatural filling for that to happen which is not of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a new age rudiment of the world.

The only relevancy that being "filled" has in regards to the Spirit is to not ignore the first part of that verse, calling on believers to not be drunk with wine wherein there is excess, but be filled ( past tense) and thus remain filled with the Spirit.... where there is no excess: because you are filled as promised for coming to and believing in Jesus Christ. Being filled with the Spirit means we are saved. That has to be one of the truths of our testimony in giving of Jesus Christ as our Saviour in that we are filled as promised and thus saved, otherwise, where is the testimony that Jesus is the Saviour?

To avoid drunkenness is not by seeking to be filled again supernaturally with the Spirit: but to be sober: which temperance is a fruit of the Spirit which means self control. Therefore to execute or fulfill being filled with the Spirit is to remain in self control as opposing drunkenness and thus the call to be sober or to remain sober.

The Spirit in us will always lead us to keep our eyes on the Son, the Bridegroom, in testifying of Him in seeking His glory as we shall be led by the Spirit in us to do the same. It is the seducing spirits or the spirits of the antichrist that would take the spotlight off of the Son in the worship place by bringing about signs and lying wonders. That is why we are not to believe every spirit but test them by the knowledge and faith that Jesus Christ is in us, and so, that which is being sensationally felt in the flesh as coming over us and filling us again and again and again IS NOT the Holy Spirit. That supernatural phenomenon is being experienced in other world's religions, occults, and cults in christianity... so beware. May the Lord help us to keep our eyes on the Son because the Bridegroom will be coming soon to collect the ready bride and not the foolish ones still going out to the market to be filled again.

[andrew_no_one]

You might want to check on the meaning of the Greek word, pleroo. In this case, it means to be controlled by the Spirit.

W

Strong's Number: 4137
Definition
to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full
to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally
I abound, I am liberally supplied
to render full, i.e. to complete
to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, fill to the brim
to consummate: a number
to make complete in every particular, to render perfect
to carry through to the end, to accomplish, carry out, (some undertaking)
to carry into effect, bring to realization, realize
of matters of duty: to perform, execute
of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, accomplish
to fulfill, i.e. to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment

[GaryMac]

In Christ, Christ in you, being filled with Gods Spirit is your state of mind, it is the state of your being, your mentality, your spirit, how you think and act.

[the rookie]

There is a difference between the Holy Spirit in you - imparted freely, fully, and finally - and the Holy Spirit upon you, throughout the scriptures. The Holy Spirit "within" is about our sanctification and life with God. The Holy Spirit "without" is about external breakthrough and power to do the works of the kingdom. When the New Testament talks about being "filled with the Spirit", it is about the hand of God upon us to accomplish a divinely initiated task, related to the advancement of the kingdom of God.

[Watchman]

Not sure where you are coming from, but I could not find "control" as being one of those definitions for pleroo.

http://www.sacrednamebible.com/kjvst...RK41.htm#S4137

How are we controlled by the Spirit when we can quench the Spirit? How can the spirits of the prophets be subject to the prophets if there is some kind of loss of control by giving in to the Spirit's control? Where is the fruit of temperance? There are too many questionable factors in that phrase of being "controlled by the Spirit".

We are to submit to Christ and be led by the Spirit as the Good Shepherd leads us by the Spirit within us, but that is a far cry as being "controlled" by the Spirit that one seeks a supernatural filling for that to happen which is not of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a new age rudiment of the world.

The only relevancy that being "filled" has in regards to the Spirit is to not ignore the first part of that verse, calling on believers to not be drunk with wine wherein there is excess, but be filled ( past tense) and thus remain filled with the Spirit.... where there is no excess: because you are filled as promised for coming to and believing in Jesus Christ. Being filled with the Spirit means we are saved. That has to be one of the truths of our testimony in giving of Jesus Christ as our Saviour in that we are filled as promised and thus saved, otherwise, where is the testimony that Jesus is the Saviour?

To avoid drunkenness is not by seeking to be filled again supernaturally with the Spirit: but to be sober: which temperance is a fruit of the Spirit which means self control. Therefore to execute or fulfill being filled with the Spirit is to remain in self control as opposing drunkenness and thus the call to be sober or to remain sober.

The Spirit in us will always lead us to keep our eyes on the Son, the Bridegroom, in testifying of Him in seeking His glory as we shall be led by the Spirit in us to do the same. It is the seducing spirits or the spirits of the antichrist that would take the spotlight off of the Son in the worship place by bringing about signs and lying wonders. That is why we are not to believe every spirit but test them by the knowledge and faith that Jesus Christ is in us, and so, that which is being sensationally felt in the flesh as coming over us and filling us again and again and again IS NOT the Holy Spirit. That supernatural phenomenon is being experienced in other world's religions, occults, and cults in christianity... so beware. May the Lord help us to keep our eyes on the Son because the Bridegroom will be coming soon to collect the ready bride and not the foolish ones still going out to the market to be filled again.

from Precept-Austin: Pleroo indicates more than just pouring water in a glass up the brim and has at least three shades of meaning that are helpful in illustrating the meaning.

(1) pleroo was often used of the wind billowing the sails of a ship and providing impetus to move the ship across the water. To be filled with the Spirit then to is to be moved along in our Christian life by God Himself, by the same dynamic by which the writers of Scripture were “moved by the Holy Spirit” (2Pe 1:21-note). In the spiritual realm, this concept depicts the Holy Spirit providing the thrust to move the believer down the pathway of obedience. A Spirit-filled Christian is not motivated by his own desires or will to progress. Instead, he allows the Holy Spirit to carry him in the proper directions. Another helpful example of this first meaning is a small stick floating in a stream. Sometime in our lives most of us have tossed a stick into a creek and then run downstream to see the twig come floating by, propelled only by the force of the water. To be filled with the Spirit means to be carried along by the gracious pressure of the Holy Spirit. From a negative aspect, the men in (Ro 1:29-note) are being moved by their depraved minds to do unspeakable evil.

(2) pleroo also conveys the idea of permeation as of salt’s permeating meat in order to flavor and preserve it. God wants the Holy Spirit to permeate and flavor our lives so that when we’re around others they will know for certain that we possess the pervasive savor of the Spirit.

(3) pleroo conveys the sense of domination or total control. It is used by the Gospel writers in various passages to indicate that people were dominated by a certain emotion. In Luke 5:26, after Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and healed the paralytic, the people were astonished and “filled with fear.” In Luke 6:11, when Jesus restored a man’s hand on the Sabbath, the scribes and Pharisees “were filled with rage.” When our Lord told the disciples that He would soon be leaving them, He told of their reaction: “sorrow has filled your heart” (John 16:6). The person who is filled with sorrow is no longer under his own control but is totally under the control of that emotion. In the same way, someone who is filled with fear, anger or even Satan (Acts 5:3) is no longer under his own control but under the total control of that which dominates him. Each of these uses reveals an emotion so overwhelming within the people that it dominated their thoughts and excluded every other emotion.

The word pleroo can also convey the idea of being fully equipped and was used to describe a ship that was "fully equipped" and ready for a voyage at sea. The believer has in Christ all that he needs for the "voyage of life" for we "are complete (pleroo - perfect tense = having been filled full, with the present result that you are in a state of fulness) in Him” (Col 2:10-note). “And of His fullness have all we received” (John 1:16).

The more common meaning of "filled" in the NT is to be controlled by that which fills one's heart and mind. For example, in (Ep 5:18-note) Paul commands (imperative mood) all believers (the verb is plural) at Ephesus "do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled (pleroo) with the Spirit". The verb is present tense calling for all saints to be continually filled, which describes what should be "the normal Christian life" to be enjoyed and experienced constantly and not to be reserved for a few special "spiritual" experiences.

Be filled is not past tense. It is present, passive, imperative. We must always allow the working of the Holy Spirit because we are in communion (koinonia, a joint-participation) with Him. When we do not allow Him complete sway in us, then we are quenching Him. Ephesians 5:18 speaks of allowing the Spirit to control us as opposed to allowing alcohol to control us.

blessings,

Watchman

[the rookie]

Great post!!

[GaryMac]

There is a difference between the Holy Spirit in you - imparted freely, fully, and finally - and the Holy Spirit upon you, throughout the scriptures. The Holy Spirit "within" is about our sanctification and life with God. The Holy Spirit "without" is about external breakthrough and power to do the works of the kingdom. When the New Testament talks about being "filled with the Spirit", it is about the hand of God upon us to accomplish a divinely initiated task, related to the advancement of the kingdom of God.

Im not sure what you are trying to communicate, but when Gods Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and opend all of heaven to him Matt 3:16 it produced an inwared manifestation with an outward responce and he did the things of God that he had not done before. Moses experienced this same, so did Paul and 120 in an upper room, even myself. When the Holy SPirit comes upon you, you will be changed, your actions will change, everything about you changes, it brings a new heaven and erath as in the lives of these mentioned.

[the rookie]

Im not sure what you are trying to communicate, but when Gods Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and opend all of heaven to him Matt 3:16 it produced an inwared manifestation with an outward responce and he did the things of God that he had not done before. Moses experienced this same, so did Paul and 120 in an upper room, even myself. When the Holy SPirit comes upon you, you will be changed, your actions will change, everything about you changes, it brings a new heaven and erath as in the lives of these mentioned.

Not necessarily. The Holy Spirit came upon Saul, for example. The Holy Spirit will be poured out upon "all flesh" at the end of the age, according to the prophet Joel. However, only those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Nonetheless, Watchman communicated what I was saying more expansively and more precisely.

[SPITWAD]

This is a great discussion, and something that, I think is greatly misunderstood, taken out of context, and used in some cases to slotter young impressionable new believers. I am not the smartest person nor do I know Greek or Latin, or Hebrew, but I do know this, God does not ever pull away from us, and the Holy Spirit does not change His intensity in our lives. We are not any less filled with the Holy Spirit from one day to the next. It is us that become aware of Him, the more we spend time with Jesus. We may at times feel like we are filled with the Holy Spirit more than others, but we are not, it's just that at times we are more aware of His presence. Being baptized in the Spirit is a whole nother story altogether.