The Spirit-filled life is the Christ-directed life by which Christ lives His life in and through us in the power of the Holy Spirit (John 151I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.3You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.4Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.5I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.8My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.9Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.10If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.11These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.12This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.13Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.14You are My friends if you do what I command you.15No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.16You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.17This I command you, that you love one another.18If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.19If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.20Remember the word that I said to you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.21But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.23He who hates Me hates My Father also.24If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.25But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, They hated Me without a cause.26When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,27and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.).
One becomes a Christian through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, according to
John 3:1-81Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews;2this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."3Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."4Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?"5Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.6"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7"Do not be amazed that I said to you, `You must be born again.'8"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.. From the moment of spiritual birth, the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at all times (John 1:1212But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,; Colossians 2:9, 109For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,10and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;; John 14:16, 1716I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;17that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.). Though all Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not all Christians are filled (directed and empowered) by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the source of the overflowing life (John 7:37-3937Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.38"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"39But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.).
The Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ (John 16:1-151These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.2"They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.3"These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.4"But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.5"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?'6"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.7"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.8"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;9concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;10and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.12"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.14"He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.15"All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.). When one is filled with the Holy Spirit, he is a true disciple of Christ.
In His last command before His ascension, Christ promised the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to be witnesses for Him (Acts 1:1-91The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach,2until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.3To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.4Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;5for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."6So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"7He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;8but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."9And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.).
How, then, can one be filled with the Holy Spirit?
We are Filled by the Holy Spirit by Faith;
then we can Experience the Abundant and Fruitful Life Christ Promised to each Christian.
You can appropriate the filling of the Holy Spirit right now if you:
Sincerely desire to be directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 5:66Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.; John 7:37-3937Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.38"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, `From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"39But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.).
Confess your sins.
By faith thank God that He has forgiven all of your sins - past, present and future - because Christ died for you (Colossians 2:13-1513When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.; 1 John 1; 2:1-31What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life-2and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-3what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.4These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.God Is Light5This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.6If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;7but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.8If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.1My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;2and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.3By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.; Hebrews 10:1-171For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?3But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.4For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.5Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, But a body You have prepared for Me; 6In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no pleasure. 7"Then I said, `Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of Me) To do Your will, O god.'"8After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),9then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.10By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.11Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,13waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.14For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.15And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16"This is the covenant that I will make with them After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind I will write them," He then says, 17"And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.").
Present every area of your life to God (Romans 12:1, 21Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.2And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.).
By faith claim the fullness of the Holy Spirit, according to:
His Command - Be filled with the Spirit. "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:1818And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,).
His Promise - He will always answer when we pray according to His will. "And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him" (1 John 5:14, 1514This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.).
Faith can be expressed through prayer...
