Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside (John 4:14).

Jesus was the most Spirit-filled person to walk the earth. The Gospels regularly refer to Jesus as ‘filled with the Spirit’ and ‘led by the Spirit.’ However, we Christ-followers can live that same kind of life! We can be Spirit-filled and Spirit-led as well. Jesus later says, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12) Jesus said these words right before sharing about the promise of the Holy Spirit.

 Jesus told believers that the Holy Spirit would indwell them (John 14:17) and that this happens at conversion (1 Cor. 6:19-20, Acts 2:38).  Therefore, being Spirit-filled should be a normal part of the Christian life.  This makes me wonder then, how is having the Holy Spirit and being Spirit-filled different?

There are many ways to characterize a Spirit-filled life, but there is one that I believe is the key to it all: surrendering/ yielding to the Spirit. In Luke chapter 4, Jesus spends 40 days and nights fasting, praying, and surrendering to God’s will. Then He returned in the power of the Spirit. Jesus was constantly spending time in God’s Word. He knew it so well that He was able to quote Scripture when teaching and preaching. When Jesus revealed to everyone that He was the Messiah, he read a prophecy about himself from the book of Isaiah and said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoner and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus was also obedient to His Father’s will, even to the point of laying down His own life. Jesus’ total surrender to God ignited the power of the Holy Spirit in Him, and it can do the same in us as well.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, Jesus changed the whole world during his short time on Earth. Later, when his disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, that’s when they made the biggest impact as well. That same Holy Spirit is alive and active in the lives of every believer. We just need to yield to God and allow Him to work through us.  There are many ways that we can practice this, but first, I suggest spending time in God’s presence daily reading God’s Word, and talking to Him. The more time we spend with Him, the more deeply we grow to love Him. Secondly, you could ask God to reveal your sin to you. I remember a time when I realized that I had been in the habit of praying for others to change, but was not confessing my own sin. I didn’t even recognize the sin that I needed to confess. This scared me because I didn’t want to become a self-righteous Pharisee. I asked God to reveal my sin and he honored my request. This humbled me and started a process of confession and repentance in my life.

 How do we know if we are living in the Spirit? I think it is evident by whether or not we are exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit discussed in Galatians 5:22-23.  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  If you are like me, you probably find yourself struggling with one or many of the fruits on this list. When I notice bad fruit coming out of my heart, I know that I need to spend more time reading God’s word, listening to sermons, confessing my sin, repenting, and praying. The more time I spend with God, the more I’m filled with the Holy Spirit and see His fruit.

We are not expected to live supernaturally on our own. God gave us His Holy Spirit to help us. We gain power through being filled with the Holy Spirit and that allows us to bear fruit that isn’t merely “natural.” However, we need to regularly hook up to the power source that God gave us.