The Holy Spirit Our Helper – Part Eight

The Filling by the Holy Spirit

The next way the Holy Spirit helps us needs a little explanation. There are two different Greek words used in the New Testament for the filling of the Spirit. They are synonyms that mean basically the same thing, but they are used distinctly to convey two different concepts. The first word is found in passages that speak of someone being full of the Spirit in the sense of being a mature believer, someone who is characterized by the qualities of the Spirit, or as Paul puts it in Galatians, characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. Some examples are:

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. (Luke 4:1)

Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them (Acts 6:3)

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55)

He [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:24)

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:52)

The second word is found in passages that speak of someone being temporarily given the Spirit’s power to do some extraordinary ministry in the gospel:

for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. (Luke 1:15)

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41)

His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied (Luke 1:67)

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:4)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! (Acts 4:8)

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (Acts 4:31)

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17)

9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.” (Acts 13:9-11)

It is this second kind of filling that I want to speak about. This filling is momentary, usually, empowerment by the Holy Spirit, usually to speak in powerful ways. For example, Jesus tells his disciples:

Don’t worry about coming up with a defense when you are hauled before persecuting authorities because the Holy Spirit will give you what to say in that moment” (Luke 12:11,12)

In other words, the Holy Spirit will fill you, empower you, give you what to say in that time. This is what happened in one of the instances we just looked at in Acts 4:8. Peter and John were arrested by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council, and called to speak a defense for their actions of healing a lame man in the name of Jesus, and Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit to make that defense.

I think this is what I experienced, a filling of the Holy Spirit, to explain the gospel to my friend back in high school. I was speaking beyond my natural capacity. I am betting that many, if not all of you, have experienced this kind of help from the Spirit at some point in your life. Of course, you have to be in the process of serving Him. You won’t be filled with the Spirit if you are living a spiritually inactive life.

And there is a mystery with this one, as well, that I cannot answer. Why doesn’t the Holy Spirit give us this kind of help every time we witness to someone, or have to do some ministry? I don’t know. But it is really cool when He does.

Jesus Filled With the Spirit