In this video, Michael Horton explains what the Bible means when it talks about being “filled with the Spirit” and talks about how Christians can pursue that goal.
The following is a lightly edited transcript provided by a transcription service. Please check video before quoting.
Christians, very definitely, should pray for more filling of the Holy Spirit. And the thing is the Holy Spirit has promised to fill us more and more with himself through his Word.
Now, it’s important for us not to think of this in terms of being justified or being regenerated. We’re all regenerated. We’re all new creatures in Christ. We’re all justified equally. But not only are some Christians more filled with the Spirit, at other times and other Christians, a lot of times, I’m more filled with the Holy Spirit at certain times in the day than I am at others. And a lot of that’s going to depend on hearing the Word, on reading the Word, immersing myself in that great story. That’s how the Holy Spirit speaks to us. That’s how the Holy Spirit gives us greater confidence that the gospel is true, not just for others, but for me.
I think that’s what Paul means by saying, “Be more and more filled with the Holy Spirit.” It’s not as if the Holy Spirit is, you know, a jar of lemonade, but he is more and more filling us with his knowledge and with his goodness and encouragement in Jesus Christ. And so it’s very important that we make use of the means of grace, preaching, first and foremost, prayer, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and also getting together with other Christians and talking about this. These are all ways in which the Holy Spirit stirs us up to affection for the gospel and fills us more and more with the good things of his Word.
