Opening illustration: Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Let us turn to the book of Acts in God’s Word and see what God intended by ‘being filled with the Holy Spirit.’
Introduction: An important verse in understanding the filling of the Holy Spirit is John 14:16, where Jesus promised the Spirit would indwell believers and that the indwelling would be permanent. It is important to distinguish the indwelling from the filling of the Spirit. The permanent indwelling of the Spirit is not for a select few believers, but for all believers. There are a number of references in Scripture that support this conclusion. (i) The Holy Spirit is a gift given to all believers in Jesus without exception, and no conditions are placed upon this gift except faith in Christ (John 7:37-39). (ii) The Holy Spirit is given at the moment of salvation (Ephesians 1:13). Galatians 3:2 emphasizes this same truth, saying that the sealing and indwelling of the Spirit took place at the time of believing. (iii) The Holy Spirit indwells believers permanently. The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a down payment, or verification of their future glorification in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 4:30).
1. THE CONSISTENT SYMBOLS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT "UPON" AND "WITHIN"
Our previous study of scripture shows that there are fundamentally two symbols used consistently to describe two different operations of the Holy Spirit.
One symbol is "upon" which in both the Old and New Testament has to do with receiving power and results in action.
(a) The Spirit upon for power
In describing the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, the New Testament consistently uses the image of the Spirit upon someone.
The Form Is Used
The Spirit or Holy Spirit {fell upon, clothed, anointed}
(name of person) = [dynamic action]
THE SPIRIT "UPON" JESUS EMPOWERING HIM FOR MISSION
(Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, Luke 3:22); (John 1:32-33); (Luke 4:18)
AS PROMISED TO ALL CHRISTIANS
(Luke 24:48-49); (Acts 1:8); (Acts 2:17-18)
EXPERIENCED BY THE FIRST CHRISTIANS
(Acts 2:3); (Acts 10:44)
A second symbol is "within." In the Old Testament this was for giving skill or wisdom. In the New Testament it means justification and sanctification. Here action is not the important thing; rather there is communion with Christ, receiving eternal life and transformation of character.
In the New Testament, images that are "inward" or speak of the Spirit "within" describe the sanctifying and justifying operations of the Holy Spirit.
(b) The Spirit Within For Changed Character
(I Corinthians 6:19-20); (Romans 8:9); (John 14:17)
This is the transformational, fruit-bearing work of the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit.
To summarize these two distinctive operations of the Holy Spirit, Archer Torrey writes:
"The Bible consistently distinguishes between the external and internal work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit upon us, or with us, or pushing us ("moved"), or leading us, is like the weapons and vehicles which a military unit has to have for its work, but which tells us nothing about the inner attitudes of those who use them.
When the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit in terms which make it clear the Holy Spirit is in one’s inner being, then it also speaks of character, of fruit-bearing, of life, of wisdom to know God’s will and the will to do it. These two different roles of the Holy Spirit are quite clear, unequivocal, and distinct in the Bible..."
Note: There are some terms used for the working of the Holy Spirit that do not seem to fit neatly in this within and without motif. Of special interest are "filled" and "receive."
The phrase "receive the Holy Spirit" in Acts 8:15, 17, 19, Acts 10:47, and Acts 19:2 refers to the empowering operation of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:15, however, it depicts the inward justifying and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
The term "filled" is more problematic and requires further attention.
2. THE PROBLEM WITH "BEING FILLED": IS IT CONSISTENT WITH THE INWARD OR OUTWARD WORK?
The motifs of the Holy Spirit upon for power, and within for salvation and sanctification are all very consistent until we reach the term "filled" with the Holy Spirit. This term is used extensively in Luke and Acts. Paul urges us in the book of Ephesians to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But how are we to understand this term?
Does it have the same meaning as "upon" for gifts and power, or does it refer to the inward sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit yielding the fruits of a Christian life?
A study of the Greek dissolves this confusion and offers some profound insights into the nature of the Holy Spirit’s work.3 We find that those who translated the Bible into English, Korean and Chinese used the same word "filled" for several different Greek words.4 The words in Greek all have as their root meaning to be "filled" or "full." But there are some decisive differences in meaning that have been blurred by our word "filled" that lacks such distinctions.
Necessity mandates a rather lengthy comparison of these two terms. I undertake this analysis because this is key to a Biblical understanding of the "infilling with the Holy Spirit" and the "baptism with the Holy Spirit". It will open the way for us to be both reformed as well as open to the empowering dimension of the Holy Spirit’s work.
(a) FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: TWO MEANINGS
(i) Pletho: (plhvqw) The Short Term Filling For Power: One Form Of Filled Is Short Term And Results In Action
Pletho - (plhvqw) is used where the filling is temporary and is immediately followed by action. This form of "filled," when used in reference to the Holy Spirit corresponds to the use of upon. It corresponds to the English words charged, loaded, stuffed, or moved. It is an expression of the outward operation of the Holy Spirit for power.
Examples of pletho referring to things other then the Holy Spirit:
• (Matthew 27:48, John 19:29)
• (Luke 4:28-29)
• (Luke 5:7)
• (Acts 19:29)
In all of these cases the "filling" is temporary and results in some type of dynamic action. The sponge is filled with vinegar so it may be drunk. The boats are filled with fish and begin to sink etc. The boats are not always full of fish nor the people always filled with wrath...these are temporary as well as recurrent conditions.
The same is true when this term is used in reference to the Holy Spirit. This filling with the Holy Spirit is temporary, and results in clear dynamic action. There is a sense of movement and of being caught up by the Spirit of God and then being empowered to do something active for God.
• (Luke 1:15)
• (Luke 1:41-42)
• (Luke 1:67)
• (Acts 2:4)
• (Acts 4:8)
• (Acts 4:31)
• (Acts 9:17-20)
• (Acts 13: 9)
Observations:
• This is the same pattern that we also found in the Old Testament. It is consistent with the Old Testament image of the Spirit of YAHWEH "falling upon" a person resulting in dynamic action. The Spirit {filled} (name of person) = [dynamic action]
• This "filling" is a work of the Holy Spirit that is clearly different from the inward, sanctifying, new birth work of the Spirit that is unique to the New Covenant. It must be, because Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Zechariah were still in the Old Covenant and not yet born again, and yet they were filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to speak God’s word.
• The "filling" (pletho) is also something that happens again and again, just as a sponge may be filled and refilled many times. It is a temporary and episodic phenomena that happens again and again. The disciples were not "filled" with the Holy Spirit only once but many times. The disciples were filled at Pentecost; that was their "baptism" into this way of experiencing the Holy Spirit. But afterwards, they were filled many times to do the works of Jesus. The filling with the Holy Spirit (pletho) has the same meaning as “the Spirit falling upon.”
(ii) Pleroo And Pleres (plhrovw plhvrhs) Long Term For Sanctification: Another Form of "Filled" Means Saturated
Pleroo (plhrovw) and pleres (plhvrhs). These terms are used to describe a state of being. Generally it is long term and means saturated with something. As a tree must be "saturated” with sap if it is to be alive and produce fruit. There is no sense of dynamic action; rather, a state of being is described. References (with no mention of the Holy Spirit) use these words in a similar way.
• (Luke 2:40)
• (John 12:3)
• (Romans 15:13)
• (Ephesians 4:10)
• (Acts 2:2)
• (Acts 5:3)
• (Acts 5:28)
Examples of "filled" (pleroo, pleres) with the Holy Spirit
• (Luke 4:1)
• (Acts 6:3)
• (Acts 6:5)
• (Acts 7:55)
• (Acts 11:24)
• (Acts 13:52)
• (Ephesians 5:18)
Observations:
• There is no sense of dynamic movement in these cases. Rather, there are descriptions of “states of being” reflecting changed character.
• This “fullness” is not episodic in its expression, but is long-term. This is because the indwelling of the Holy Spirit lasts until the resurrection: Romans 8:10-11
• No “Old Covenant” people are mentioned in this list because, unlike the “Spirit upon,” this is a distinctive “New Covenant” work of the Holy Spirit.
• In Luke 4:5 and Ephesians 5:18, the context of being filled with the Holy Spirit is on the brink of action; for instance, Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit and then led into temptation. This action flows not from manifestations of power, but rather from changed character.
• Being filled with the Holy Spirit then really has two different meanings, depending on the context. The Spirit is to be within us transforming our characters to be more and more Christ-like. At the same time, we may have the Holy Spirit upon us for power, manifesting the gifts and doing the works that Christ did.
(b) BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE DYNAMIC BALANCE OF THE "INWARD" AND "OUTWARD" WORK
It is God’s intention that the inward and outward operations of the Holy Spirit work together in dynamic balance. When this happens, Christians have love and power, fruit and gifts, and the result is the advancement of the Kingdom of God. We can look at some images showing this balance and some of the results.
(i) I Corinthians 12 – 14: The “Love” Chapter between The “Gifts” Chapters
One must nurture the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but also be open to moving in the power of the Holy Spirit. This balance of the outward and inward operations of the Holy Spirit is clearly seen in Paul placing Chapter 13, dealing with love (“Spirit within”), right in the middle of Chapters 12 and 14 dealing with the manifestational gifts of the Holy Spirit (“Spirit upon”).
(ii) Acts 2:42-47: The Dynamic Balance and Results
It is God’s intention that the inward and outward work together in dynamic balance. When this happens, Christians have both love and power, and the result is spiritual fruit and gifts, and the advancement of the kingdom of God. We see this dynamic balance in Acts 2:42-47.
Evidence of the inward work of the Holy Spirit: (Acts 2:42)
(They also had such love that they sold their possessions and gave to all who had need.)
Evidence of the outward work of the Holy Spirit: (Acts 2:43); (Acts 4:33)
The Results: (Acts 2:47)
© The Gift Of Wisdom As A Result Of Balance
The gift of wisdom arises out of both the inward and outward works of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit belong to the "Spirit upon for power" motif. They are given without condition and do not depend upon our "holiness." Wisdom, however, is a gift that grows out of the inward as well as outward work of the Holy Spirit.
• James 1:5-6
The "faith and no doubting" belongs to the inward work of the Holy Spirit. This is conditional. The giving generously, as we ask, belongs to the outward operation of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit (rather than just human wisdom gained from experience) is the result of both the inward and outward operations of the Holy Spirit.
This is a very important insight for, in living the Christian life, while love is essential and the gifts of the Holy Spirit useful, it is the gift of wisdom that we need to faithfully fulfill God’s purposes.
Our life in Christ must include both the inward as well as the outward operations of the Holy Spirit. When this happens, the Body of Christ is built up and the Kingdom of God is extended.
(d) The ‘WITHIN’ and ‘WITHOUT’ framework of the filling of the Holy Spirit
• From our baptism onward we have the potential to grow in both the inward and outward works of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the normal, healthy Christian life assumes that we will be in a process of maturing in both.
• The empowering of the Holy Spirit is not some higher, more spiritual, or holy state beyond being in Christ or beyond being "entirely sanctified." The infilling with the Holy Spirit is available from the beginning of our life in Christ; there is no need to wait for a "second work of grace."
• The baptism with the Holy Spirit, which is having the "Holy Spirit upon" for empowerment for service, is promised to all who accept Christ as Lord. It is received in potential in our water baptism, just as are all the other graces promised to us in Jesus Christ. But like all the other promises of God, it must be asked for in prayer, received in faith, and lived out in obedience. There is no precondition first to be "entirely sanctified".
• The first time that we ask for and experience the Holy Spirit upon us granting power and gifts may indeed be a "baptism", that is, an initiatory or beginning experience. Just as the first time we really turn and receive Jesus’ forgiveness as our own is an initiatory experience. This may bring greater faith, greater openness, and an awareness of how to receive the empowering of the Holy Spirit again, but one has not entered an elite spiritual condition. One will need to be filled with the Spirit, i.e., have the Holy Spirit upon them repeatedly in the course of serving Jesus Christ.
• The overall result of the inward/ outward framework is that there are not different classes of Christians. There are, however, differences in growth.
Conclusion: As bitter experience has shown, the Holy Spirit "upon" for gifts and power, by the mercy of God, may occur for a while to great effect, but if there is not the inward work of the Spirit there usually follows a loss of power or disaster. Likewise, if there is just acceptance of the inward work of the Holy Spirit, there may be moral living, good works, exposition of the word and genuine church life. But there will not be the dynamic power to set people free from bondage or to fulfill the task of evangelism and making disciples.
Sin is what hinders the filling of the Holy Spirit, and obedience to God is how the filling of the Spirit is maintained. Ephesians 5:18 commands that we be filled with the Spirit; however, it is not praying for the filling of the Holy Spirit that accomplishes the filling. Only our obedience to God’s commands allows the Spirit freedom to work within us. Because we are still infected with sin, it is impossible to be filled with the Spirit all of the time. When we sin, we should immediately confess it to God and renew our commitment to being Spirit-filled and Spirit-led.
