When does the filling of the Holy Spirit happen?
The subject of the ‘filling of the Holy Spirit’ is one of the most contentious subjects in Christian circles.
Having been in churches from both sides of the argument, and including the ones in between, I decided to find some solutions within the Bible!
The first aspect we will look at is that being filled with the Spirit is transforming and yet nothing is added because in Christ we have been given every spiritual blessing.
When does the filling of the Holy Spirit happen – at conversion, or once after that, or multiple times after?
Table of Contents:
1. Are we baptised with the Holy Spirit at the point of conversion?
The Holy Spirit is given at the point of salvation and the (additional) event of the Holy Spirit coming upon someone can be given at the same time, but it is normally something that comes at a later date after salvation.
When the apostle Paul went to Ephesus, he found some followers of Jesus and he said to them:
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
Acts 19:2 ESV
And they said, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ ”
They believed in Jesus and therefore they had the Holy Spirit within them.
But you may say, that Paul is discovering that they have not got the Holy Spirit in any form, because he says “Did you receive the Holy Spirit” and they reply “No”.
But we need to understand that true believers have the Holy Spirit within them:
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.“
Romans 8:9 ESV
Paul knew that they had the Holy Spirit within them because they were believers in Jesus Christ
He was asking them if they had received a separate, additional event of ‘receiving the Holy Spirit’ which is also known as the ‘Holy Spirit coming upon people’.
Many people see the filling of the Holy Spirit as what happens when someone receives salvation.
But this implies that the followers of Jesus were not saved until the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came on them.
Obviously when we look at the disciples in the Gospels, especially Peter, we see that their faith went up and down, but overall they believed in Jesus before Pentecost.
Believers obviously have the Holy Spirit at the point of their conversion, but the Bible informs us that there is an additional event where the Holy Spirit comes upon believers, as at Pentecost.
2. Can we be filled with the Holy Spirit several times?
The Book of Acts shows us that the followers of Jesus could be filled many times after they had waited on the Day of Pentecost.
Peter and John, after being threatened by the religious leaders not to speak about Jesus again, went to their friends and prayed:
‘And now, Lord look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’
Acts 4:29-31 ESV
And when they had prayed the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.“
These people had been filled with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and here they were being filled again to receive boldness to speak about Jesus.
Paul tells us to be filled with the Holy Spirit:
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…”
Ephesians 5:18 ESV
That is not a one-off filling that could have happened twenty years ago, or even last year.
This is an ongoing filling, see these examples in the Bible:
- “Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders…” (Acts 4:8)
- “But he [Stephen] full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God…” (Acts 7:55)
- “for he was a good man full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” (Acts 11:24)
- “But Saul, who was also called Paul filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him…” (Acts 13:9)
- “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 13:52)
For more info on this see: How do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?
3. Being filled with the Spirit is experienced and not just reckoned
For many, the work of the Holy Spirit is an invisible work that does not break into our tangible lives.
The Bible does teach us that the Holy Spirit works in the invisible realms, but he also breaks through into our more physical world.
Some would answer the question: ‘Can we experience the Holy Spirit‘ with a definite ‘Yes!’
Jesus gave His followers the instruction to WAIT until the Holy Spirit had come upon them:
And while staying with them he [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘You heard from me; for John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:4-5 ESV
So did Jesus’ followers experience the Holy Spirit – was it something tangible?
If this was an event that they were just to ‘reckon’ as having happened, there would have been confusion about how long they should wait!
But Jesus was saying they should ‘Wait until’ something tangible happened.
When the Holy Spirit actually came, they experienced his presence and they knew that he had filled them.
There was no doubt, and they did not have to ‘reckon’ that the Spirit had come.
They had an experience of the Holy Spirit and his power.
But we may say “That was just a one-off on the Day of Pentecost and then it did not happen again.”
But if we read through the Book of Acts it happened on a lot of other occasions, so we cannot say it was a one-off event.
4. Others can see when we are filled with the Holy Spirit
I expect most of us have known someone who had a depth, a reality in their lives and a power, and then we find out that they are a Christian.
They probably are a follower of Jesus who has the Holy Spirit working in and through their lives.
I’ve known people who obviously were filled with the Spirit (that is; the Holy Spirit) and yet they would not use the terminology: “filled with the Spirit”.
They are unaware of when and how they were filled but the Holy Spirit certainly seems to move through them giving that person a spiritual authority.
This situation generally comes about in the absence of good biblical teaching.
In the Bible, the gift of the Holy Spirit is something that others were aware of. Peter said about a group of Gentile believers:
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as He had come on us at the beginning.
Acts 11:15-17 NIV
Then I remembered what the Lord had said,
‘John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’
So if God gave them the same gift as He gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God!”
Peter knew that the Gentiles had received the Spirit.
It wasn’t something that they had to ‘reckon’ as just happening.
Here are some other Scriptures which show that receiving the Spirit is something definite and observable.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the Apostles hands..”
Acts 8:18 NIV
Simon the Magician was impressed when he saw the Holy Spirit filling people so he offered the apostles money so he could receive this power to impart the Holy Spirit.
This was very wrong of Simon the Magician, but the point is that he SAW that the Holy Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on them.
The next two verses show that the filling of the Holy Spirit was something that was known, or seen:
God… has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”
2 Corinthians 5:5 NIV
Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance“
Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV
When something is given as a guarantee it is a tangible thing or something known, otherwise it can’t be a guarantee.
On another occasion, Paul looked back at a memorable event for the Galation Christians:
Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law, or by believing what you heard?”
Galations 3:2 NIV
The filling of the Holy Spirit is an experience which is felt and known and is a blessing.
5. Being pressured into getting filled with the Spirit.
Some churches focus heavily on teachings about the Holy Spirit and everybody is aware of being filled with the Spirit.
These churches tend to be Pentecostal or Charismatic ones and they can fall into the trap of pressuring people into conforming and possibly faking an experience of the Holy Spirit.
I’ve seen some who can put tremendous pressure on others to get them ‘filled with the Spirit’ and they will not leave until they think that has happened!
I personally have felt this intense scenario of being trapped in a corner and it all seemed to be really contrived.
We do not need these unreal situations, so the goal of these articles is to find as many answers from the Bible to create a real, unforced environment.
6. Christians need to remember who they are
It is easy to feel inferior when some Christians believe that they have been baptised with the Holy Spirit and others don’t feel that.
But it is important to remember that nothing can be added to our salvation.
Why do I say that?
Well, I’ll answer that by asking another question:
Why is the Holy Spirit given?
The answer is found in this verse:
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’”
Galations 4:6 NIV
As stated earlier in this article, the apostle Paul knew that believers are God’s sons and have His Spirit.
And because they are God’s sons He sends His Spirit upon them and fills them.
The term: ‘Because you are sons’ includes ladies in Jesus’ Kingdom.
The firstborn Hebrew son is an important concept in Judaism, for one they are allocated a double portion of the inheritance! 2
1 Chronicles 5:1-2 where, although the tribe of Judah prevailed above their brethren, nevertheless the birth-right, the double portion of two tribal allotments, was Joseph’s.
‘Firstborn (Judaism)’ Wikipedia 3
According to the Law of Moses, the firstborn may be either the firstborn of his father, who is entitled to receive a double portion of his father’s inheritance (compared to the other siblings), (Deuteronomy 21:17) or the firstborn of his mother.”
So nothing can be added to our salvation because the result of salvation is becoming God’s son and you cannot get more than that!
We are brought into His family and because of this, God sends His Spirit into our hearts.
How do we know that we are saved? The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is involved with this assurance.
7. Being filled with the Spirit is a transforming event
Why are some Christians aware of a filling of the Holy Spirit, and others aren’t?
Surely the filling of the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit coming upon someone, should be a transforming and known event?
If we know that we are forgiven and are trusting Jesus to save us, but we haven’t had any awareness of being filled, then the problem is generally down to us not knowing the spiritual truth.
Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones believed that all spiritual blessings are given objectively and in principle at conversion.
Everyone who is converted (or saved, or born again, whatever the terminology) will be given all the spiritual blessings of being a child of God the Father.
But we only realise this in our experience when the Spirit is poured out.
Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was Welsh and he ministered at Westminster Chapel in London from 1939-1968. He is considered today by many evangelical leaders to be one of the greatest preachers of the last century and an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture. 4
Jesus breathed on them the Holy Spirit and then later on the day of Pentecost they received the Holy Spirit, so how do these two things differ?
How is the Holy Spirit involved in revivals?
8. The disciples are an example of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples believed in Jesus before the day of Pentecost, but when the Spirit was poured out they were made aware of their sonship, they received God’s seal of ownership and they became more unmoveable in their faith.
But nothing had changed their salvation, they believed in Jesus and were saved before Pentecost, and now after Pentecost, they still believed in Jesus and were still saved.
For many Christians, the presence of the Spirit within them is hidden, but that does not mean that the Spirit is not there.
When we consciously receive the Spirit, we become aware of His workings, His various gifts and His power.
Objectively and in principle all Christians are ‘in Christ’ and have all that there is in Christ, but in practice and in their experience, some Christians are unaware of the Holy Spirit.
Nothing is added to our salvation when filled with the Holy Spirit and yet it is a transforming event.
9. Sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
‘The Indwelling and Outflowing of the Holy Spirit’ by Charles Spurgeon on 28th May 1882
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[2] How do we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?
The filling of the Holy Spirit can be a very ‘hot potato’ for churches, so in this article, we look at some issues that can arise.
The Toronto Blessing brought many problems, see a review here of the ‘laughing revival’.
References and credits – open in new tabs:
Photo credit: The New York Public Library ↩
Deuteronomy 21:17 ↩
‘Sermons’ Martyn Lloyd Jones ↩