What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
First of all we have to understand that there is a slight difference between being baptized with the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The former(baptized with the Holy Spirit) is a once for ever event in every believer.
Baptism from the word baptizo means to be immersed into or to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water.
In the early days the word baptizo was used with another word bapto which also refers to immersion into a solution.But the difference was that bapto meant that after dipping or immersing into water the change was temporal whiles baptizo produced a permanent change.
It was used when making pickles from cucumber,you first bapto the cucumber or vegetable into boiling water to clean it and then for you to get the cucumber as a pickle you will have to baptizo into vinegar to allow the fermentation to take place to produce a permanent change.
So from this we can learn that baptizo/baptism is to produce a permanent change in us.When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit we have a permanent change of our nature- that is we are regenerated and become part of Christ. We are united with Christ.
Therefore baptism is the means of being united with Christ in his death and resurrection.It is through baptism with the Holy Spirit that we become members of the body of Christ, we become part of Christ,we are baptized into one body .(1 Cor 12:12-13)
So what then is this baptism, it refers to we being immersed into the Holy Spirit.
Just as at the baptism of Christ in Luke 3 the Holy Spirit descended on Him, even so at the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God comes to reside in us and we become part of Christ.Baptism with the Holy Spirit is the Residence of the Holy Spirit in us and our residence in Him.
(1Co 12:13)
“For 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.”
So at baptism we drink into one Spirit, the Holy Spirit fills us. Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs when we repent and believe in Jesus.
Peter said that repent and ye shall receive the baptism and the gift of the Spirit.
So baptism with the Holy Spirit is the initial filling of every believer with the Holy Spirit.It occurs at repentance and faith in Christ, at salvation and new birth.
In Luke 4 Jesus was not only baptized but also was filled with the Spirit.Hence at baptism with the Holy Spirit we are filled with the Holy Spirit but we need to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.
It is just like dipping an open bottle into a basin of water, at first the bottle get dipped into and become immersed into the water,which refers to the baptism with the Spirit, then as it stays immersed, the water starts entering and flowing into the bottle till the bottle becomes full of water. This is being filled with the Spirit.Now the bottle comes under the influence of the water completely. Even so when we are filled with the Spirit, the Holy Spirit occupies every area of our life. He replaces timidity with boldness, weakness with power,doubts with faith,hate with love, and with goodness.
Being filled with the Spirit is allowing the Holy Spirit to control and influence every aspect of your life.It is being under the leadership of the Spirit.He become president over you,and as a President He navigates, leads and controls every aspect of you with your submission.
There are five things or levels that accompany our being filled with the Holy Spirit . There are five types of fullness of the Holy Spirit
- Full of the Holy Spirit and of Wisdom(Act 6:3)
- Full of the Holy Spirit and of Faith(Act 6:3)
- Full of the Holy Spirit and of Power(Act 11:24,Act 6:8)
- Full of the Holy Spirit and of Good deeds or Good works (Act 9:36)
- Full of the Alms-deeds (Kindness) (Act 9:36)
Stay Blessed