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Author
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Topic: They Were All Filled
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Carol Swenson
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Member # 6929
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“Be filled with the Spirit” is God’s command, and He expects us to obey. The command is plural, so it applies to all Christians and not just to a select few. The verb is in the present tense—“keep on being filled”—so it is an experience we should enjoy constantly and not just on special occasions. And the verb is passive. We do not fill ourselves but permit the Spirit to fill us . The verb “fill” has nothing to do with contents or quantity, as though we are empty vessels that need a required amount of spiritual fuel to keep going. In the Bible, filled means “controlled by.” “They … were filled with wrath” (Luke 4:28) means “they were controlled by wrath” and for that reason tried to kill Jesus. “The Jews were filled with envy” (Acts 13:45) means that the Jews were controlled by envy and opposed the ministry of Paul and Barnabas. To be “filled with the Spirit” means to be constantly controlled by the Spirit in our mind, emotions, and will.
When a person trusts Christ as his Saviour, he is immediately baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13). Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to be baptized by the Spirit, because this is a once-for-all experience that takes place at conversion. When the Spirit came at Pentecost, the believers were baptized by the Spirit and thus the body of Christ was formed (Acts 1:4-5). But they were also “filled with the Spirit” (Acts 2:4), and it was this filling that gave them the power they needed to witness for Christ (Acts 1:8). In Acts 2, the Jewish believers were baptized by the Spirit, and in Acts 10 the Gentile believers had the same experience (Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-17). Thus the body of Christ was made up of Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:11-22). That historic baptism, in two stages, has never been repeated any more than Calvary has been repeated. But that baptism is made personal when the sinner trusts Christ and the Spirit enters in to make him a member of the body of Christ. The baptism of the Spirit means that I belong to Christ’s body. The filling of the Spirit means that my body belongs to Christ.
We usually think of the power of the Spirit as necessary for preaching and witnessing, and this is true. (See Acts 4:8, 31; 6:3, 5; 7:55; 13:9. The Apostles experienced repeated fillings after that initial experience at Pentecost.) But Paul wrote that the Spirit’s fullness is also needed in the home. If our homes are to be a heaven on earth, then we must be controlled by the Holy Spirit. But how can a person tell whether or not he is filled with the Spirit? Paul stated that there are three evidences of the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the believer: he is joyful (Eph. 5:19), thankful (Eph. 5:20), and submissive (Eph. 5:21-33). Paul said nothing about miracles or tongues, or other special manifestations. He stated that the home can be a heaven on earth if each family member is controlled by the Spirit, and is joyful, thankful, and submissive.
(Wiersbe)
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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Carol Swenson
Admin
Member # 6929
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posted
The Holy Spirit Fills The Believing Sinner
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
A great deal of controversy and misunderstanding throughout church history has come into existence concerning this ministry of the Holy Spirit. For example, what is the difference between the indwelling and the filling of the Holy Spirit? To aid in understanding this vital distinction, consider the following illustration.
A guest is invited into a home. But upon entering that home he is immediately confined to a small room somewhere near the front door. For awhile, he may even be forgotten by his host. Finally, however, the owner of the house is convicted concerning his shabby treatment of the house guest. He thereupon gives his guest free access to every room in the house.
In this illustration the Holy Spirit is, of course, the invited guest. The host is the believing sinner, and the house stands for his life. The difference then between the in-dwelling and the filling is the difference between being confined in a small room somewhere and being given free access to all the rooms.
The filling, therefore, does not mean the believer gets more of the Holy Spirit, but rather the Holy Spirit gets more of the believer.
In the light of these five ministries,(regenerated, indwelled, baptized, sealed, filled), we may observe that:
All five of these ministries happen instantaneously to the believing sinner. They all occur by faith and are not in the least dependent upon one’s personal emotional feelings at the time.
The first four ministries can never be lost , and therefore need not be and should not be asked for again. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to ask God to baptize us by his Spirit, or to seal us with his Spirit, or to regenerate and indwell us. If a man has accepted Christ, he has for all eternity been regenerated, indwelled, baptized, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The fifth ministry, (filling), however, can be lost, and therefore should be asked for as many times as needed. The following passages bring this out:
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16).
Believers in the book of Acts experienced the filling of the Holy Spirit often in their lives.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel” (Acts 4:8).
“Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business” (Acts 6:3).
“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55).
“And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 9:17).
“For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord” (Acts 11:24).
“Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him” (Acts 13:9)
“And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 13:52).
The first four ministries give us peace with God.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).
But the fifth ministry assures us the peace of God.
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7).
Thus, all Christians, regardless of how backslidden they might be, enjoy peace with God, but only Spirit-controlled believers can know that blessed peace of God.
In Acts 2:13 and in Ephesians 5:18 a comparison is made between being filled with the Spirit and being filled with wine.
“Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine” (Acts 2:13).
“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
In all fairness, a comparison can be made between these two:
a. Both control the user and give him a new boldness, one in the good sense and the other in the bad sense of the word.
b. Both produce a desire for more.
The fifth ministry is lost whenever disobedience is found in the life of the believer. This disobedience may manifest itself in either (or both) of the following ways:
a. The sin of quenching the Holy Spirit.
“Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thess. 5:19).
This sin involves not doing that which the Holy Spirit would have us do. The same word is used elsewhere in reference to the putting out of a fire.
“A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment into victory” (Mt. 12:20).
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph. 6:16).
“Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Heb. 11:34).
b. The sin of grieving the Holy Spirit.
“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30).
This sin involves doing that which the Holy Spirit would not have us do.
To illustrate: A believer boards a plane in Chicago for Los Angeles and finds himself seated next to an unsaved man. In flight the Holy Spirit attempts to witness to the unsaved man through the testimony of the Christian, but he remains silent and fails to witness. At this point, the believer has quenched the Holy Spirit. He has not done that which the Spirit of God wanted him to do.
As the flight continues, however, the two men introduce themselves and begin talking, but not about spiritual things. In fact, to the shame of the Christian, several off-color stories are passed between the two men. Now the saved man has gone the second step and grieved the Holy Spirit—he has done that which the Holy Spirit did not want him to do.
These two sins, if left unchecked for a long period of time, can eventually lead to that “sin unto death” as described in the following passages:
“To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5).
The sin unto death in this case was immorality on the part of a totally carnal believer in Corinth.
“For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:30).
In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, gross dishonesty and blatant hypocrisy led to the sin unto death (Acts 5:1-11). That Ananias was indeed a believer is proven by the question Peter asked him:
“Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost… ?” (Acts 5:3).
The sin unto death does not mean one loses salvation, but it does imply the possibility that God will remove him from the scene down here earlier than originally planned. This seemed to have been in the thoughts of Paul when he wrote:
“I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:26, 27).
The fifth ministry may (and should be) instantly regained . This can be accomplished by knowing God’s means of forgiveness and cleansing—the blood of Christ.
(Willmington's)
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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