Week 4 The Experience of Life
LESSON FOUR
BEING FILLED IN SPIRIT
Hymn 267
Scripture Reading:
Acts 2:2 And suddenly there was a sound out of heaven, as of a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Eph 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.
THE MEANING OF BEING FILLED IN SPIRIT
Man’s spirit is more important than his body. Thus, Ephesians 5:18 says, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissoluteness, but be filled in spirit.” We need to be filled with Christ unto all the fullness of God (1:23; 3:19). Today all the riches of Christ is in the life-giving Spirit. Hence, for us to be filled in the spirit is to be filled with the essential Spirit. The essential Spirit is the life-giving Spirit, which is spoken of in John 14:17—the Spirit of reality as the realization of Christ.
Ephesians 3:17 tells us that Christ has to make His home in our hearts. This is the essential Spirit in our spirit filling us completely. Then Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God will occupy our hearts and make His home in our hearts. When we are filled in our spirit experientially with the essential Spirit who is the consummation of the Triune God, Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God will fully occupy, possess, and make His home in our hearts. At the end we will be filled and occupied with the Triune God completely. This is the significance of the filling of the Holy Spirit. (Vessels Useful to the Lord (in Chinese), pp. 118-119)
THE WAY TO BE FILLED IN SPIRIT
Through Thorough Prayers and Confessions
How can we be filled with the Triune God? It is through thorough prayers and confessions. It is good to have a prayer of consecration, but the most precious thing is that you have to find a time from your busy schedule to kneel down before the Lord personally and have a thorough prayer of confession. In the beginning you may tell the Lord, “O Lord, forgive me. Although you have forgiven me all my sins, until today, I have never had a thorough confession and dealing. Today I am willing to confess all of my sins thoroughly before You. Please shine on me!”
When you pray, do not try to seek for feeling. You have to believe that the Lord’s Spirit is with you. You do not need to confess according to a sequence, but according to what you feel and your memory, confess your sins to the Lord one by one until you have nothing more to confess from your feeling and memory. Then you should believe that at this time, you are filled with the ultimate consummation of the Triune God in your spirit. (Vessels Useful to the Lord (in Chinese), pp. 120-121)
Exercising to Call on the Lord and Speaking the Lord All the Day Long
Therefore, when we get up in the morning, the best thing for us to do is not to think about other things, but only to think about the Lord Jesus. It is easy to talk about this, but it is not simple to practice. This is because we all have many things filling our hearts. In spite of this, we still need to practice. You need to call on the Lord in this way in the morning. Then during the whole day, you need to practice speaking the Lord. When there is no one with you, you should call on the Lord Jesus; when there are others with you, you should speak the Lord Jesus to them. Eventually, what you breathe is the Lord Jesus, and what you speak is also the Lord Jesus. Then you will definitely be filled with the Triune God who is the Spirit. This is a very normal matter. This should be our normal daily living. (Words of Training for the New Way, vol. 1, p. 90)
THE SECRETS OF MAINTAINING THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Not Quenching the Spirit
After we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we still have to do a few things in order to maintain the filling of the Holy Spirit. First, we should not quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). The Spirit makes us burning in spirit (Rom. 12:11) and fans into flame the gift which is in us (2 Tim. 1:6). Hence, we should not quench the Spirit.
Not Grieving the Holy Spirit
Second, we should not grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him and not to walk according to Him in our daily living (Rom. 8:4). How do we know if the Holy Spirit grieves? This can be confirmed by our living. If you are not joyful in your Christian life, this is the sign that the Holy Spirit is grieving in you. It is because the Holy Spirit is grieving in you that you are not joyful. If you are joyful, this indicates that the Holy Spirit in you is also joyful. A sister testified that she prayed to an extent that her whole being was comfortable, light, and full of joy; this indicates that the Holy Spirit in her was joyful. Hence, not to grieve the Holy Spirit is not to grieve yourself.
Obeying the Holy Spirit
Third, on the positive side, you have to obey the Holy Spirit. In Acts 5, Peter says, “…the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him” (v. 32). This shows that the Holy Spirit is for us to obey. Obedience is the way and requirement for us to enjoy the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:4 also mentions, “Do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.” This is the way to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the requirement to maintain ourselves to be filled. We not only have to study these verses, but we also need to put them into practice in our daily living. (Vessels Useful to the Lord (in Chinese), pp. 164-165)
References: Vessels Useful to the Lord (in Chinese), chs. 7, 10, 12; Words of Training for the New Way, chs. 9, 12; CWWL, (1963) Vol. 4, Contacting the Lord, Being Filled in Spirit, and Having Proper Christian Meetings for the Accomplishment of God’s Eternal Purpose, ch. 3.
