What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? – Part 2
Understanding (1)
Even by common sense this is nothing mysterious, nor something that
requires some extra-special understanding. As we see in Acts 2:4,
along with the other disciples, Peter also received the
Holy Spirit, and then in Acts 4:8 it says that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and confronted the officials
opposing the Christian Believers effectively and successfully and preached the
Lord to them. For Peter and John, as per their abilities,
education, and status this was something very extra-ordinary and beyond their
own capabilities, since they were uneducated and untrained
men (Acts 4:13), and they were
confronting scholars of the Scriptures and high ranking officials;
but still, without any hesitation or committing any mistakes the two of
them so boldly stood up to those scholars and high officials, that they could
not say anything against what the two of them said (Acts 4:14) and
they realized that this was possible because those two had been with the Lord
Jesus.
Again it is said in Acts 13:52 that the disciples
were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit – this kept on
happening repeatedly, i.e. they continued working with His power;
and not that the Holy Spirit would leave them and go out every few days – this could not be since the Lord had promised that the Holy Spirit would 'abide with them forever' (John 14:16); and we have already seen
above that the Holy Spirit cannot be ‘topped up’ to restore Him back to a
certain level, and then they had to receive Him all over
again.
It is written for Paul that in Acts 9:17 he was
filled with, or, received the Holy Spirit, and then again in Acts 13:9 when he had to confront the demonic power, it is written that he
did so being filled with the Holy Spirit. The Word gives no indication that
these people had received the Holy Spirit all over again, or
of some different kind to suit the need of the hour, or in
some extra quantity; nor that He had left them but then
was given again to them in some excess than before; and
then they ‘were filled’ and could do that work. It was the same Holy Spirit, in
quantity and quality that they had received before; what
was different was that as per the need of the hour, in submission and obedience
to the Lord, they made an effective use of the power of the Holy Spirit
available to them, and accomplished the job at hand.
Actually speaking, there is nothing unusual in the phrase “being filled
with the Holy Spirit” for doing something special, neither is it something
unique that is possible for only a select few people. But many preachers keep
on presenting it as something unique and extra-ordinary, just to maintain a
sense of supremacy, and to project themselves as unique and extra-ordinary,
they keep on teaching this wrong doctrine, one that is not
in any manner consistent with the facts of the Bible. The
expression, “being filled with the Holy Spirit and doing”, is similar to the day-to-day common use
of similar expressions in routine language.
Take note of some expressions used or experienced practically every day
by all of us: whenever you either say, or read, or hear that a person, "being filled with love…", or that "he was filled with joy and…", or that "being
filled with indignation, he…" etc., then how do you
understand it? Do you understand it to mean that this is
indicating that the person, received some kind of an unusual or different kind
of love, or joy, or anger, etc. one that is not usually present in all people, and then did the thing he did? Or without
any strain on your mind you readily understand that, the person used that which
was already present within him, with a certain unusual intensity and did
something extra-ordinary; or in a unique circumstance made a special
application and use of that feeling to do what he did?
Just the same applies to using this phrase of being filled with the
Holy Spirit to accomplish something unusual or extra-ordinary. It just conveys
using the power of the Holy Spirit already present within every true Christian
Believer, to accomplish something unusual or extra-ordinary, something over and
above the general capabilities and capacity of the person, as we have seen the
examples of Peter, John, and Paul above.
- To Be
Continued
Next: What is the
filling of the Holy Spirit? Part 3 –
Understanding (2)
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