Monday, May 17: Filled with the Holy Spirit

I heard a teaching from a pastor recently who said we as Christians are filled with the Holy Spirit until we sin, and then we are “un-filled,” until we confess our sins. After confession, we are filled again. That theology didn’t sit right with my spirit when I heard it. Rather than simply disagree, I turned to the Bible to find the answer.


In Acts 1:8, we see that God gives believers the Holy Spirit to imbue them with power and become witnesses for Him. In Acts 2:4, the Day of Pentecost arrives (a day celebrated this coming Sunday). In Acts 1:12-15, 120 people in the upper room are all filled with the Spirit. In Acts 4:8, we see Peter in front of the Sanhedrin, and Peter is filled with the Holy Spirit. In all of these, the word “filled” is in the aorist tense in the Greek, πλησθεις (plēstheis, or the passive participle pimplēmi). The aorist tense signifies an event that occurred at one time in the past. This tense alone tells us that God fills us with the Holy Spirit at one time!


In Acts 4:31, we see that believers prayed and are all filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 6:3, there is a need of distribution of food to the widows. The requirement of the men for this job is that they must be filled with the Spirit. Do they lose that job when they commit a sin, and then gain the job back after they have asked for forgiveness? This sure puts more emphasis on our works than on the work that Jesus did in our behalves on the cross! As long as I live on this earth, I will continue to sin. That brings to mind Paul's words:


15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
 Romans 7:15


Lastly, in Acts 6:5, we see that Stephen is full of the Holy Spirit, while in Acts 11:24, we see the same description of Barnabas. What is the significance of being filled with the Holy Spirit? All of God exists inside of each of us as believers, rather than a small portion of God in each of us. That is hard for our finite minds to conceptualize! Rather than removing a portion of Himself when we sin, He remains in us as the Comforter. And when do we need that comfort more than after we have sinned?


Confessing our sins is an important aspect of walking with the Lord, but we can’t wrongly put too much emphasis on our own failures. If you are not aware of your sin, or forget a sin you committed, the Lord is still faithful to forgive your sin if He is your Messiah. As much as we want to take control of our own lives, we are richly blessed that God is truly the One in control!