Clarity in understanding what the Bible teaches about being filled with the Spirit
Clearly understanding how to be filled ourselves
Pentecost and being Filled with the Spirit
Truth, and Misunderstanding re. the Spirit
Receiving & being Filled
We should always be desiring MORE of the Spirit
1. Truth, and Misunderstanding re. the Spirit
Normal Order—Acts 2
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Faith/Repentance Born again by the Spirit New Life
Water Baptism
Receiving the Spirit in power
Same sequence with: Samaria, Ethiopian, Paul, the 12 Ephesians
If water baptism is delayed, it does not block receiving the Spirit in power
This is just the normal order
Note that I have not used the term “Baptized in the Spirit”
Misunderstanding of this expression has caused horrible divisions in the history of the church.
It is another word for being Born of the Spirit
John 3:5,6
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Let me show you the only place in the N.T. where the term Baptized in the Spirit is clarified:
1 Corinthians 12
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many.…
As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.…
If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
So the body of Christ, the true church, is all those who are baptized in the Spirit and take in the Spirit.
People who want to deny that there is a need to receive the Holy Spirit point out that
Baptism in the Spirit = being part of the body
In fact it means the same as being “born of the Spirit”
The phrase that is consistently used is receive the Spirit or be filled
Christians are never told to be baptized in the Spirit, we are told to be filled!
The problem is that we are using the wrong terminology —confusion of terms
Once we disentangle these two expressions, then the Bible has a very clear teaching
All Christians are born of the Spirit, but not all Christians are empowered by the Spirit
All Christians have the Spirit
All of us have the Spirit living in us
Rom 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
Rom 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Having the Spirit = new life
Receiving an empowerment of the Spirit = equipping for the Kingdom
Summary
At the moment you become a Christian you receive the Spirit.
“Baptism with the Spirit” happens at the point of conversion.
“Empowering” and “gifts” may come immediately or later but all Christians have the Spirit
All of us should be earnestly desiring to be “Filled with the Spirit” more and more
Two Wrong Views:
Since the Scripture clearly teaches that everyone who is a member of the body of Christ is “baptized in the Spirit”, there is nothing more.
“Baptism with the Spirit” is a second experience after conversion
There are two kinds of Christians, those who have been and those who have not
(Traditional Pentecostals say you must speak in tongues)
The Bible teaches:
All Christians have been baptized in the Spirit
Not all Christians have received the Spirit’s empowering
This is not a once for all experience. We should keep desiring more filling
This has been very divisive.
My Mum was radically saved in a Pentecostal church
She had an ecstatic filling of joy for two weeks and became fearless in telling people about Jesus
But because she didn’t speak in tongues, she was made to feel a 2nd-class Christian and ended up leaving that particular church
Good arguments on both sides
Let’s look at what actually happened
Sequence of events
Born/Baptized in the Spirit makes us a Christian
Baptized in water as a public testimony
Receiving & being filled (does not happen automatically)
At Pentecost 1 and 3 happened at the same time
We need to desire and pursue more of the Spirit
There are a wide range of manifestations, but always empowerment
It is not all or nothing—we can all have more
Pentecost and being Filled with the Spirit
Truth, and Misunderstanding re. the Spirit
Receiving & being Filled
We should always be desiring MORE of the Spirit
2. Receiving & being Filled
Receiving the Spirit: Acts
1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you
2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
2:38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
-Note the sequence of three things
8:15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
8:17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Receiving the Spirit: Acts
8:19 “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
9:17 …laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
10:47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
19:2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
Receiving the Spirit cont’d
2 Cor 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received
Gal 3:2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
What is the result of receiving the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit
It is about Empowerment for the Kingdom
Luke 24 & Acts 1
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
…But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
So Pentecost was primarily about receiving power for spreading the kingdom
Following after Jesus
He was empowered immediately after his baptism at the beginning of his ministry
The Spirit came down like a dove
Up to that point he had lived a quiet life—suddenly he was doing mighty miracles
Luke 4 —Jesus empowered by the Spirit
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness
And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.
This was the effect of the Spirit empowering Jesus in a radical new way.
Manifestations have been quite contentious—what do we see in the Bible
Manifestations
Jesus: a dove, supernatural signs and wonders
Pentecost: flames, foreign languages (tongues) & boldness to speak
Acts 4: Building shaken, boldness to speak, “great power”
Paul: “scales” fell from his eyes, boldness to preach
Cornelius: foreign languages (tongues)
Ethiopian: filled with joy
My own experience
Pentecost and being Filled with the Spirit
Truth, and Misunderstanding re. the Spirit
Receiving & being Filled
We should always be desiring MORE of the Spirit
3. We should always be desiring MORE of the Spirit
Filling and re-filling
Acts 2:4 (Pentecost) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 4:31 (Later) And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
What is the difference? Were they not all already Spirit-filled at Pentecost?
The difference was that Pentecost was the first time
They initially received the Spirit
But needed to be refilled (Old man who had been filled 50 years ago)
So does every Christian now have the Spirit?
It’s not an all or nothing
All of us need more!
Acts 6
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
Refilling: Ephesians 5
And do not get drunk with wine, which is debauchery, but be (continually) filled by the Spirit,
(Greek tense indicates a continual action)
Getting more
It is possible to be a Christian yet not to have received the Spirit as an empowerment
This empowering is simply the first filling that needs to be continually repeated
This is not for your own benefit, but for the body
It is pointless to analyze our experience to know if we have been filled
The Bible never tells us to do this, but always to desire more
Simply ask to be filled again! (and again—it’s free!)
don’t put God in a box—the man who prayed all night and then went for a walk
What do I do?
Believe (and be baptized) -Peter tells them to “repent” —what does that mean?
Be humble enough to recognize your need
Ask: Luke 11:13 …how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Often it comes with others praying over us, (Occasionally “Laying on of hands” but does not need a “bishop”)
Trust in God’s timing but keep asking
We are going to pray now for everyone here who believes in Jesus as their saviour to be filled with the Spirit and empowered.
If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, then Peter’s words at Pentecost are for you
Repent (turn the opposite way, so you are trusting Jesus, not yourself)
Be Baptized—a public commitment
This may be your first filling, in which case you are receiving the Spirit
You may already be Spirit-filled and so this will be an opportunity to get more
If you are a follower of Jesus, and you want more the the Spirit
please stand and I am going to pray these verses over you
Ephesians 3
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
