The Truth About The Holy Spirit (Part Five)

The Spirit-filled life is not recommended, suggested, or advised, it’s commanded! Paul says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). The verb, “be filled” is an imperative. It literally means, “be being filled.” In the Greek, “be being filled,” especially in Ephesians 5:18, uses the verb, meaning “a continuous, passive, and controlling influence like a ship's sail catching wind.” It signifies being totally permeated and governed by the Holy Spirit, rather than a temporary filling. It implies an ongoing state of life completely controlled by God, contrasting with being drunk, and is a command for believers to continually yield to the Spirit's presence and power. In other words, believers are expected to be continually filled because the command is in the present tense indicating a continued requirement. Scripture teaches that while speaking in tongues (glossolalia) is a spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit, it's not a requirement for being Spirit-filled; all believers are commanded to be filled but none are commanded to speak in other tongues, as evidenced by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:30 stating not all speak in tongues, and Galatians 5:22-23 highlighting “fruit of the Spirit” as evidence of being filled, not tongues. The core experience of the Spirit involves transformation and divine empowerment, with tongues having been one of many diverse gifts for building up the church, not the indicator of a believer's spiritual status. In fact, speaking in tongues, as the Bible defines it, was a supernatural gifting unique to the apostolic era, and not something we should expect to see today.

Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Bible teacher & expositor