Be Filled with the Holy Spirit Series

 

I was blessed to have a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit when I committed my life to Christ. For me, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and my conversion happened at the same time. I had been searching for the truth, and when I heard the Gospel clearly presented, I decided to surrender to Christ fully. God gave me an experience of waves of love flowing through me. The Spirit gave me a deep inner witness that I was a child of God. I had never felt such love in my life up to that point. From that moment on, I had assurance of my salvation. Not long after my conversion, I realized that my initial experience with the Holy Spirit was not typical. I reflect on that time when God was drawing me, and I remember how lost I felt then and how gracious God has been to me. I was at rock bottom, so when God brought me from death to life, I literally felt a heavy weight lift off me. I was unaware that I had been carrying that weight until it was lifted. I still have a long way to go, but my heart has always been hungry and thirsty for Christ, and by God's grace, I believe I will always desire more of the Lord. As believers in Christ, we never stop discovering the depths of God's love and grace.

 

The Multifaceted Jewel that God Is Cutting and Polishing

 

I have walked with the Lord for more than forty-eight years and have been a part of many different types of churches, worshipping with Baptist, Pentecostal, Evangelical, and Charismatic groups of believers. My experiences with church life have been diverse. I have seen both genuine manifestations of the Holy Spirit and those that have been fake. These experiences have helped me gain a variety of perspectives. Truly, the Body of Christ is a multifaceted gem that God is shaping into His treasured possession for the Day He comes for His Church, His called-out ones from this evil world system. Here’s what the Lord speaks through the prophet Malachi:

 

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him (Malachi 3:17, KJV).

 

On the day when I act,” says the LORD Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him (Malachi 3:17, NIV).

 

The Lord called me to Himself in a Pentecostal church in the USA. It was supposed to be just a visit to America, but I had no idea what God had planned for me! I grew up as a commercial fisherman in England, but after my conversion to Christ, when I returned to my hometown of 16,000 people, I couldn't find a church like the one I had experienced in America. I attended an Evangelical church that gave me a strong foundation in the Word of God and taught me how to share my faith.

 

When a travelling ministry couple I knew from the Pentecostal church in the USA visited England, they chose not to join us at our church because it wasn't their denomination. I felt that this attitude grieved the Spirit of God. I wanted to love the church just as Christ loves the church, regardless of different styles of expression. We can all be blind to our own preferences. Can any of us claim to have perfect discernment? Despite our differences and personal preferences, God loves the WHOLE church.

 

There is always more to learn about walking in harmony with the Spirit of God. Each part of the Body of Christ, God’s people, highlights different values and ministries, and I believe that the Lord does not prefer one reflection of His Church Body over another. We will all be caught up together when Christ comes for His Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We must learn to live out our faith within the family of God and truly answer Jesus' prayer: “That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21). As I reflect on my experiences with God, traveling to 32 different countries across five continents, I have appreciated each of the diverse emphases within the Body of Christ, especially on the topic of the Holy Spirit. It is my belief that God is shaping each of us to love the Church as He sees it and to be open to learning from every facet of the jewel He holds in His hand.

 

Historic Waves of the Holy Spirit

 

When we look at the recent movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church worldwide since the early 1900s, we can identify three distinct waves of the Holy Spirit revealing Himself and His ministry to the Church. The first in this period occurred in the United States, with the Azusa Street revival of 1906 in Los Angeles, which gave rise to the Pentecostal movement. The second wave was an outpouring known as the Charismatic Movement, which began in Van Nuys, California, during the 1960s and 1970s.  Many people refer to the “Jesus Movement” that occurred during this time frame. Many Catholic churches, the Anglican Church, and other Orthodox churches were affected by the Charismatic movement. Both waves quickly spread across the world, revitalizing many dry and dusty churches eager for more of God.

 

Since the 1990s, I believe we are witnessing a Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, popularized by C. Peter Wagner in his book of the same name, in which the Lord is reviving churches whose theology has kept them distinct from the previous two waves. These third–wave churches do not want to emphasize speaking in tongues or prophecy. They want to pray for the sick but don't highlight the gifts of the Spirit in a Pentecostal manner. Regardless of the expression of the church you are part of, I think we can learn a lot from our brothers and sisters who reflect Christ's life in different ways.

 

Some churches have separated from others over their understanding of the Holy Spirit—particularly regarding the Pentecostal and Charismatic emphasis on a distinct experience known as “The Baptism of the Spirit.” For example, my friends from the Pentecostal church where I became a Christian chose not to worship with us at the church in England I was attending because they did not practice the gifts of the Spirit as they did. They were accustomed to an environment that highlighted gifts such as prophecy and tongues. From my perspective, I sensed in them a subtle sense of spiritual superiority toward believers who didn’t share that emphasis. (They remain dear friends to this day!) But this experience reminded me how easily we can all be shaped by our surroundings and teachings—and how quickly we can judge others within the Body of Christ.

 

I believe an attitude of division can cause the Spirit of God to be grieved and depart from public meetings. This perspective can lead to a situation in which some feel they must "pump up" the things of the Spirit emotionally. Have you ever been in a meeting like that? However, the gifts and presence of God do not need man's help. If our public meetings become dry, we need to care for our relationships with others in the Body of Christ. Broken relationships in the Church and unforgiveness are the main barriers to the moving of the Holy Spirit.

 

The things of the Holy Spirit are not meant to be like the land of Egypt, where the farmers pumped water from the Nile River to irrigate the fields. In his final words to the Israelites just before they entered the land after leaving Egypt, Moses described what the Promised Land (Israel) would be like.

 

The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden (Deuteronomy 11:10; emphasis added).

 

This passage of Scripture is an example of "typology." Egypt represents the worldly system that keeps us in bondage, that is, slavery to sin. Pharaoh symbolizes Satan, the oppressor. Moses is the rescuer. Passover symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus and the shedding of the Lamb's blood for judgment to pass over. The promised land they were entering was watered by rain from heaven and by springs that rose up, serving as a type or shadow of living the Christian life. Conversely, the land of Egypt, watered by foot, refers to working hard and using a foot pump to bring water to the fields. The "land" of Israel represents the things of the Spirit of God, which happen "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord" (Zechariah 4:6).

 

What we can never achieve through our own strength or fleshly efforts, God does supernaturally. This is how we are born into the Kingdom of God and continue to learn how to walk with Christ in the power of His Spirit. I love this analogy because when we read the New Testament, the Spirit came upon people spontaneously, without any effort on man's part. In each account of the Holy Spirit’s coming to individuals, we do not see people “coerced” into speaking in tongues or giving a word of prophecy. The Holy Spirit fell upon believers in a way that clearly showed that God included both Jews and Gentiles into one Body of Christ.

 

The Four Visible Manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts

 

For the rest of our study today, let's examine how the Holy Spirit came upon believers in the Book of Acts. We will consider why He came in this manner. We can never restrict God by saying this is the only way the Holy Spirit fills believers. God often does things differently than we expect. In truth, He doesn't need our help to fill someone with His Spirit. He chooses whom to use and how to move. God chooses to work sovereignly through His people.

 

The Scriptures record four specific instances in which the Holy Spirit appeared to groups of people with visible signs of His power: Acts 2, Acts 8, Acts 10, and Acts 19. On these four occasions, the Holy Spirit dramatically descended on new believers. They spoke in tongues, prophesied, or demonstrated other spiritual gifts. The first instance was when the Holy Spirit came upon Jewish believers who were waiting for His arrival.

 

The Jewish Believers Receive the Spirit of God

 

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine” (Acts 2:1-13).

 

What observations can you make in this passage? Why do you think the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire? What could this represent?

 

When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord, 2 Chronicles records the gathering of the Israelites to dedicate it, with Solomon praying aloud before all of Israel. The fire of the Lord fell upon the temple:

 

¹When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ²The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. ³When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 7:1-3; emphasis added).

 

So, why do I mention Solomon's temple? Because the believers filled with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost represented the new Israel and the new temple of the Lord. God was confirming to the nation that the New Covenant believers (Jeremiah 31:31) in Jesus were the new expression of His love and grace. The tongues of fire resting on believers on the Day of Pentecost symbolized God's glory shining on each of them. Paul told the Corinthian believers that the Church, Jews and Gentiles together, is God's temple: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).

 

Doctor Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, provides a second example of the Holy Spirit's arrival among a different group, referencing the Holy Spirit's coming to the Samaritans.

 

The Samaritans Receive the Spirit of God

 

¹⁴When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. ¹⁵When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ¹⁶because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! (Acts 8:14-20).

 

Peter was given the keys of the kingdom: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19). The Jewish believers were narrow-minded about the idea of the Samaritans becoming believers. In their minds, they were half-Jews and half-Gentiles and, therefore, not worthy of God's work among them. God chose Peter not only to be a witness to how the Spirit fell but also to be the one who laid hands on the Samaritans. We are not told whether they spoke in tongues, but again, something visible happened to the Samaritans that made one of them, Simon (v. 18), desire the same kind of power. He wanted the Holy Spirit's power so much that he offered to buy it from Peter.

 

Although Simon sought the power of God, he did not enter into the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  What does this teach us about motives in relation to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and ministry?

 

Later, the Lord decided it was time for Peter to open the door of faith again, this time to the Gentiles. Peter had such a bias against the Gentiles that God had to convince him through a vision that even the Gentiles were called to be part of the Church (Acts 10:9-16).

 

The Gentiles Receive the Spirit

 

⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” ⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. ⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. ⁴⁶For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, ⁴⁷“Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” ⁴⁸So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days (Acts 10:43-48).

 

When the Holy Spirit aimed to include the Gentiles in the Body of Christ, He had to overcome the biases within the believing Jewish community. He showed the Apostle Peter a vision of unclean animals being brought before him to eat. Peter refused three times to eat the "unclean animals." At that moment, the servants of Cornelius, the centurion, arrived, inviting Peter to go to Caesarea and speak with the Gentiles (those considered "unclean" by the Jews). Peter obeyed. During the meeting, without Peter laying his hands on them and in the middle of his preaching, the Holy Spirit suddenly came upon the new Gentile believers. This time, Peter didn't even lay hands on them, as he did with the Samaritans (Acts 8:17), possibly because he had been ingrained to believe it was not only "unclean" to enter a Gentile's home but even more so to touch them. The Spirit fell on the new Gentile believers without even waiting for Peter to finish his message.

 

The other time the Holy Spirit came upon people dramatically was in Acts 19 with the disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus, in what is now Southwest Turkey.

 

The Disciples of John the Baptist Receive the Spirit

 

¹While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. ⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷There were about twelve men in all (Acts 19:1-7).

 

In the above account, Paul met twelve disciples of John the Baptist in the city of Ephesus (v. 7). These individuals believed in John's message and responded to the call to be ready for the Kingdom of God by being baptized as a sign of their repentance. Likely, they had not heard the Gospel or the teachings about what Jesus had accomplished through His crucifixion. Paul explained that John preached a message of repentance in preparation for the coming of Christ, the Messiah, but now the time had fully come, and the way was opened for them to become full disciples and believers in the finished work of Christ on the cross. When Paul laid hands on them and prayed, they spoke in tongues and prophesied. The writer of the Book of Acts, Doctor Luke, shows us through these four examples that the Holy Spirit came upon the Jews, the Samaritans, the Gentiles, and the disciples of John the Baptist. They were all awaiting the fulfillment of the prophecies about the coming of the Kingdom of God.

 

What do these four examples teach us about the Holy Spirit’s coming upon believers? 

 

1) The Holy Spirit is not dependent on Christian leaders' laying on of hands to be filled with the Spirit. The impartation of the Spirit sometimes occurred through the laying on of hands, as in the case of the apostle Paul, who was filled with the Spirit after Ananias laid hands on him three days after his encounter with the Lord (Acts 9:17). God used him to lay hands on the disciples of John the Baptist. Again, we cannot put God into a box and say that He uses only one way to impart the Spirit’s power.

 

2) As far as we know, the Samaritans did not speak in tongues, but they still exhibited an outward sign— a visual experience with God—that made Simon, the Samaritan, desire such power.

 

3) When the Holy Spirit comes upon believers, gifts of the Spirit sometimes operate, as with John the Baptist’s disciples and the 120 believers on the Day of Pentecost.

 

Wherever these Bible studies find you, anywhere in the world, we encourage you to get alone with the Lord Jesus and cry out to Him for the infilling and power of the Spirit. Understand that His power doesn’t rely on laying on of hands but on the desire for God within each of us. Let us be eager and hungry to receive all that God wants to give us, for it is His power working from within us that He longs to share with His Church and the world! “…Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).

 

Prayer: Lord, help us stay open to Your Holy Spirit and ready for all You would have us do. We honor Your presence and acknowledge that You are sovereign. Thank You for continually guiding, teaching, and surprising us with Your amazing grace.

 

Continue Your Journey…

 

This devotional is part of our Be Filled With the Spirit series. Here’s the link to the YouTube video of the study: The Coming of the Holy Spirit

 

Keith Thomas
Facebook: keith.thomas.549
Email: keiththomas@groupbiblestudy.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@keiththomas7/videos