What Does Being Filled with the Spirit Mean?

Ephesians 5:18 commands believers to “be filled with the Spirit.” But what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? This phrase has been understood in a variety of ways. Some have interpreted it as a spiritual manifestation of speaking in tongues. Others have said being filled with the Spirit is the same as being filled with Christ. Although there are many notions as to what being filled with the Spirit means, if we pay attention to the grammar and broader context of Ephesians, we can understand this passage.

Understanding the “With” Preposition

First, there is the problem of what it actually means to be filled “with” the Spirit. Many of the English versions (NASB, ESV, KJV, etc.) choose this translation, but it is slightly ambiguous. Although it could take a variety of nuances, two different options are primary.

1. It could communicate content (one is filled with the content of the Spirit)
2. It could communicate means (one is filled [with something] by means of the Spirit) [Note: HCSB and NET simply translate it this way, “by the Spirit”]

As it turns out, this is probably a more important issue than we first realize. Ephesians 5:18 is a command to be filled, but we will not be able to fulfill the command unless we know with what we are to be filled.

The phrase “with the Spirit” (ἐν πνεύματι) is a Greek construction that nowhere else communicates content with this verb of filling. In fact, content is usually communicated by the Genitive case, but here, it is a preposition plus the Dative case. Grammatically, this kind of phrase is often used to communicate means (the Spirit is how we obey this command). Thus, the most natural grammatical understanding of Ephesians 5:18 is that the Spirit is the means by which we are to be filled.

With what/whom are we to be filled?

At this point in the letter, Paul obviously assumes you have paid attention to the first four chapters of Ephesians (yet another reason to read contextually and not skip around). At the very beginning of the book, Paul stressed the fact that God has revealed the mystery through wisdom and insight (Eph 1:8-9).

In Ephesians 3:4-10, Paul proclaims that God had revealed this mystery through the whole church by the ministry of the Apostles and the prophets. It is because God has made known the glories of this mysterious union through the church that Paul prays for his readers (Eph 3:14), that they would, “be filled with the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19). Here the same exact word (“filled”) is used (just like Eph 5:18), but the object of the filling is specified as the fullness of God.

Paul specifies that the fullness of God is the content with which the believer is to be filled, and he then expands on that theme in the next chapter. In Ephesians 4:10 Paul continues the theme of filling and speaks of Christ being the active agent of filling all things (same word again). So, for the studious student of Ephesians, Paul has carefully instructed the reader to understand that there is intertrinitarian work going on here. By the time one comes to the command in Ephesians 5:18, the reader recognizes that the believer is to be filled by the fullness of God (Eph 3:19), Christ is the agent who works this out (Eph 4:10), and now Paul explains that the Holy Spirit is the means by which it comes to pass (Eph 5:18). Contextually and grammatically, seeing the Holy Spirit as the means by which the filling takes place is the best option.

The Importance of Understanding “Filled with the Spirit”

Simply put, we don’t want to focus on the wrong thing. Some have used this verse as proof text in the charismatic movement to focus on seeking a filling of the Spirit or a baptism of the Spirit. They want to be baptized with the Spirit, so they will use Ephesians 5:18 to support this idea. After all, if Ephesians 5:18 commands us to seek to be filled with the content of the Holy Spirit, then we are sinning if we are not seeking that filling.

However, nowhere does Scripture command believers to seek the Holy Spirit. Believers are commanded to be self-controlled and exercise discipline (Titus 2:2-6), to engage in mature thinking (1 Cor 14:20), do good works (Titus 3:1), etc. But seeking a mystical experience with the Spirit is not a part of Christianity’s teaching.

One reason for the practicality of the Bible’s commands is that when we seek to obey God and align ourselves with His Word, then our relationship with God becomes what it ought to be through the aid of the Holy Spirit’s work in our life. The Holy Spirit is the unseen helper (John 14:16-17) who works behind the scenes to help us obey God and draw close to Him. We are not commanded to seek the Spirit, but Scripture is clear that the Spirit is the motivating power behind enabling our obedience.