Being indwelt by the Spirit is a one-time event at conversion. Being filled with the Spirit is a repeated, ongoing experience. The Bible commands believers to "be filled with the Spirit" Ephesians 5:18, using a present-tense verb that suggests continual action: keep on being filled.

The Contrast with Drunkenness

Paul contrasts being filled with the Spirit with being drunk. Drunkenness controls a person from the outside, lowers inhibitions, and produces foolishness. Being filled with the Spirit means being controlled from the inside by God, with the result of joy, worship, gratitude, and mutual edification.

The image is striking. Just as wine can fill and influence a person, so the Spirit can fill and influence a person. But the effects are opposite. Wine leads to debauchery. The Spirit leads to songs, thanksgiving, and submission to one another.

What Filling Feels Like

The filling of the Spirit is not primarily an emotional sensation, though emotions may be involved. It is a state of being under the Spirit's control. A person filled with the Spirit is:

• Responsive to God's Word
• Overflowing in worship and thanksgiving
• Submissive to others in reverence for Christ
• Courageous in witness
• Loving in action
• Wise in speech

You can be filled with the Spirit while feeling peaceful, while weeping, while singing, or while silently obeying. The common thread is yieldedness.

How to Be Filled

Being filled is both God's work and our response. We cannot fill ourselves. We can only open ourselves. Here are the biblical conditions for being filled:

1. 1 Repentance. Confess and turn from anything that grieves the Spirit.
2. 2 Surrender. Yield your plans, desires, words, and body to God.
3. 3 Faith. Ask expectantly, trusting that God delights to give the Spirit.
4. 4 Obedience. Step out in the direction the Spirit is leading.
5. 5 Praise. Fill your mouth with thanksgiving, psalms, and spiritual songs.
6. 6 Community. The Spirit fills us as we gather with other believers.

A Daily Habit

One practical way to seek the filling of the Spirit is a daily prayer of surrender:

"Holy Spirit, I confess my sin and turn from it. I surrender my body, mind, relationships, and schedule to You. Fill me afresh today. Control my thoughts, my words, and my actions. I want to live under Your influence, not my own. In Jesus' name, amen."

Say it slowly. Mean it. Then live the day as if you have been answered — because you have.