Monday May 11 2026
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Ephesians 5:18-21And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Many in the world are confused about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Some believe that this is simply referencing moment of emotional frenzy, perhaps manifesting itself in speaking in gibberish or running around church buildings. One person once told me that being filled with the Spirit led to him walking on hot coals!
None of these are Scriptural depictions of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that being filled with the Spirit is accomplished in five ways.
The second, positive exhortation, ‘be filled with the Spirit,’ is followed by a series of five present participles that explain how the action of the verb should be fulfilled…It is this last view, the participles taken as the means of being filled by the Spirit, that makes the best sense in this context. Interpreting the participles as means fits well with the grammar of the passage, as Wallace concedes, because a participle of means often follows a present imperative to explain how the action will be carried out. (Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians: Exegetical Commentary On The New Testament, 9493, 9713 (Kindle Edition); Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan)
So, we are filled with the Spirit by: (1) “speaking” to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs; (2) “singing;” (3) “making” melody in our hearts to The Lord; (4) “giving” thanks; (5) and ‘submitting” to one another.
The filling of the Spirit is a command of God, and it is progressive in nature. We “keep on being filled with the Spirit” as we “keep on” doing these things.
We may only be “filled with the Spirit” if we already have the Holy Spirit. We receive Him into our hearts when we become children of God through faith, repentance, and baptism (Galatians 3:26-29).
Have you become a child of God?
Lord, please keep filling Your people with the Spirit. Thank You for His Presence in our lives! Amen.