Filled with the Spirit. . . again?

Acts 4:23-31

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
" 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
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.

Good Morning.

Can you believe these guys? Released from jail, Peter and John, went directly to their Christian friends. And what did they do? They prayed together, lifting their voices in what I'm sure was a strong appeal to God. They began their prayer by affirming what they believed about God. . . Sovereign [supreme, ultimate], Creator of everything, the Spirit-breathed inspiration of their forefather, David, and even the Divine Orchestrator of the supreme sacrifice of Jesus. And then they did a very unnatural thing, they asked God to enable them to speak His word with great boldness. . . WHAT?! They were told not to speak or teach again about Jesus; didn't they realize they were asking for trouble? Of course they did, but they were eager to do what God had commissioned them to do--spread the Gospel of Jesus to all men, near and far. Be My witnesses.

Knowing that the healing of the lame man had brought souls to the kingdom, they ask God to stretch out His hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of His holy servant Jesus.

How does God respond? After they prayed, the place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. . . Wait! I thought they were already filled with the Spirit? Then, what is this? This is an illustration of Ephesians 5:18 — they received another filling, a replenishment, if you will. Notice that the refilling wasn't automatic, it came as they prayed to God for MORE — bold preaching ... healings... miraculous signs and wonders — all in Jesus’ Name.• So, yes, we are filled with the Spirit at the time of our conversion, but the verb that Paul uses in Ephesians 5.18, indicates that we are to 'keep on being filled with the Spirit,' and has to do with allowing ourselves to be Spirit-controlled, submitted to God, ready to be used of Him. We are human, so while we desire a relationship with God, and enter into one, we go about our lives, and often act out of our humanness. . . taking back the rudder of our lives. When we continue to 'be filled' with the Spirit, we choose to surrender our wills to God. It is evident because there will be fruit as a result.

So, there is an initial filling of the Spirit, and another replenishing, some also call the 'baptism of the Holy Spirit.' [There is argument about the usage of this term; some believe baptism of the Holy Spirit means it is accompanied by speaking in tongues; that is not how I interpret it. It might mean speaking in tongues, but not necessarily. It means that we are given the power of the Holy Spirit--remember how Jesus had told the apostles to wait in Jerusalem until they received the Holy Spirit's power? Then, He said, Be My witnesses.] We are baptized with the Spirit, or filled anew with the Holy Spirit, for the purpose of service, for the purpose of being His witnesses in a broken world. R.A. Torrey had some concrete ideas about how to be baptized with the Spirit, using Acts 2.38 as his source, which I will share tomorrow.

Note to self: being filled with the Spirit is not about a feeling, though our lives should be characterized by joy. . . the Holy Spirit was promised to believers by Jesus in John 14, 'And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him or knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. v. 16, 17

If they had been content to rest in their initial filling, (Acts 2:4) they would not have asked, they would not have received — “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2).• Peter and John in particular, and also the young church together, understood their need to stay full of the Holy Spirit. So, they asked God, and He answered. . . moving the earth, and shaking their spirits, while filling them afresh with the Holy Spirit. I want some of that!

Grace. . . Christine (DiGiacomo)