WBS.261
Q&A – HOW CAN YOU KNOW YOU ARE FILLED
WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Acts 2: And when the day of Pentecost was
fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were
sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.
This is a question
that seems to beset many believers. It
is a question that, more often than not, comes from questioning how the Holy
Spirit can be inside of me if I am still committing sin, or if I am undisciplined,
or am lacking power in my life, or am weak in faith. It is usually not asked so much as a
doctrinal question as it is a spiritual condition question (although it is a
pet doctrinal issue for many).
To answer this
question, we must first define the critical term. What do we mean by being “filled”
with the Holy Spirit? This is where one runs into doctrinal issues rather
quickly, and where theological opinions abound.
There are two answers
to the question.
1. Being filled means, “to be indwelled by” the
Holy Spirit.
2. Being filled means, “to be under the influence
of” the Holy Spirit.
It seems to me that a
disciple would KNOW when he/she is wholly under the influence of the Holy
Spirit. The manifestation of the Holy
Spirit consuming our life’s expression would be rather obvious; and not the reason
why someone would ask this question. We
will touch upon this idea, however, at the end of this study; but clearly what
needs to be addressed is whether or not a disciple has the Holy Spirit at all. So, let’s ask this question in a more direct
way.
HOW CAN WE KNOW THAT
WE HAVE RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT?
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is unto
you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as IAUE
our Elohim shall call.
Earlier in his address
to the Jews that had assembled around the disciples that morning, Peter had
explained that the phenomenon of the 120 disciples speaking in the languages of
all the peoples who had gathered from many nations, declaring unto them the
mighty acts of Elohim, was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel. Joel had said that in the latter days IAUE
would pour out His Spirit upon all flesh.
This was a manifestation of that.
Peter refers to the unmistakable
and indisputable manifestation of the Holy Spirit that was the very cause of
the crowd having gathered when he refers to “the
gift of the Holy Spirit.” He
explained that one must repent and be baptized (in water), and then the gift of
the Holy Spirit would be received…not just by the crowd that gathered that
Pentecost morning; but “to all that are afar off, even
as many IAUE our Elohim shall call.”
Peter was not laying
down a formula. He was not explaining
that in order to receive the Holy Spirit you first had to repent, then you had
to be baptized in water, and THEN you could receive the Holy Spirit. If you think about it, the 120 disciples who
had just been “filled” with the Holy Spirit had not been baptized in the name
of Yahushua Messiah since his resurrection.
Before they were visited by the resurrected Messiah, many of them still
had not resolved in their minds who he was.
After his death, they were all ready to go back to their old lives. Any water baptism prior to the resurrection
would not represent the same thing as it would after his resurrection. This is evidenced in Acts 19 with the passionate
Ephesian disciples who had received John’s baptism of repentance; but they were
baptized again AFTER they had the word of Elohim more fully preached to them by
Paul. (Acts 19:1-7)
There are five
instances in the Book of Acts where the experience of new believers receiving
the Holy Spirit is recorded.
The first is the 120
disciples who were in the upper room praying for ten days awaiting the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is
obvious that all of them had repented.
They had not received the Holy Spirit yet because He had not yet been
given to man (John 7:39). Messiah
first had to complete the formalities of his sacrifice in the temple of IAUE
not made with hands…in the presence of His Father, Himself. Once that was completed, the Holy Spirit was
poured out on the day of Pentecost, and the disciples received the Holy Spirit
(which was made evident, manifested by, their speaking in tongues). They were
no doubt numbered among the 3,000 who believed and were baptized that day.
(Acts 2:41)
The second incident is
in Acts 8:5-17, when Phillip went to Samaria and preached the gospel and cast
out demons, healed the sick, and healed the lame. The whole city came to Messiah and the people
were baptized in water; but it took Peter and John coming up to Samaria from Jerusalem
to lay hands on these new disciples before they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles
which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of Elohim,
they sent unto them Peter and John:
15 Who, when they were come
down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit:
16 (For as yet he was fallen
upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Master Yahushua.)
17 Then laid they their
hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
The third incident is
in Acts 9:1-18, when Paul confronted the resurrected and glorified Messiah on
the Damascus road. No doubt repentance
was Paul’s first response. After being
blinded by the glory of the Master for three days, Ananias was sent to him to
restore his sight and to fill him with the Holy Spirit. Immediately after he his sight was restored and
he received the Holy Spirit, Paul was baptized in water.
Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his
way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother
Saul, the Master, even Yahushua, 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 Spirit.
18 And immediately there
fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and
arose, and was baptized.
The fourth incident is
in Acts 10:34-48, when Peter went to the house of Cornelius, the Roman
centurion. As he preached the gospel to
him, his family and friends, the Scripture says the Holy Spirit “fell upon
them,” and then they began speaking in tongues and magnifying IAUE. Peter recognized this as evidence of the same
event they experienced on the day of Pentecost and said that they had received
the “gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Immediately, he instructed them to be baptized in water.
The fifth incident is in
Acts 19:1-6, when Paul met with the disciples of John in Ephesus. Though the
passage does not state it openly, it was apparent to Paul that these disciples
were not “complete,” so he asked them point blank if they had received the Holy
Spirit SINCE they believed. They were
unaware of any Holy Spirit. Paul asked them about their baptism; and they said
they were baptized unto John’s baptism.
Hearing this, Paul understood they had not actually believed on Yahushua
as Messiah. When they believed on
Yahushua, Paul baptized them, then laid his hands upon them; and they received
the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues and prophesied.
If we consider that the
unrecorded event of the 3,000 who were added to the church on the day of
Pentecost (Acts 2:41) followed the instructions of Peter (Acts 2:38), then
we have six conversion events in the book of Acts: Three received the Holy Spirit AFTER they
were water baptized. Three received the
Holy Spirit BEFORE they were water baptized.
The real point to be
made here is that one first has to become a repentant believer, i.e., born
again, become a new creature in Yahushua Messiah, BEFORE one is qualified to
receive the Holy Spirit. One does NOT automatically
receive the Holy Spirit as a “package deal” with believing; therefore, “Have I received the Holy Spirit since I
believed,” is the real question. If
you are not aware of a moment in your life AFTER you believed in Messiah when
your body was invaded by the presence of the Spirit of the Creator, the answer
is, “No.” If no one has laid hands on
you or prayed with you to receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit;
or if you have not asked IAUE to give you his “gift” and filled your body with
the Holy Spirit, the answer is, “No.” If
you did not approach your water baptism with the full expectation that you
would receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit when you emerged from
the water, the answer is, “No.” If IAUE
has not sovereignly filled you with the Holy Spirit (like the household of Cornelius
experience), the answer is, “No.”
Next post we will
discuss a “Yes” answer.
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