“ALL WERE FILLED WITHTHE HOLY SPIRIT” (Acts 2:4)
“Be filled with the Spirit.” –Ephesians 5:18
At our Baptisms, we became the temples of the Holy Spirit. The Lord wants us to be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18; see also Acts 2:4). Paul taught that those filled with the Holy Spirit do the following four things. They:
- address “one another in psalms and hymns and inspired songs” (Eph 5:19),
- “sing praise to the Lord” (Eph 5:19) in their hearts,
- “give thanks to God the Father always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph 5:20), and
- “submit to one another out of fear of the Lord” (Eph 5:21, our transl)
Those filled with the Holy Spirit have set their hearts on higher realms (Col 3:1). In spirit, they inhabit the throne room of God. They have entered “His gates with thanksgiving, His courts with praise” (Ps 100:4). Those filled with the Spirit upbuild, encourage, and submit to those around them. They can love their neighbor in this way because they love themselves (Lk 10:27). They love themselves because the Holy Spirit cries out in their hearts “Abba!” (“Father”) (Gal 4:6) Secure in their Father’s love, those filled with the Spirit are a people of praise, thanksgiving, submission, and love. Accept the grace to be filled and stay filled with the Holy Spirit.
PRAYER: “To the One seated on the throne, and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!” (Rv 5:13)
PROMISE: “I Myself am the living Bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this Bread he shall live forever; the Bread I will give is My flesh, for the life of the world.” –Jn 6:51
PRAISE: Praise the risen Jesus, Who baptizes us and fills us with the Holy Spirit! (Mk 1:8)
