Hey guys,
I just finished reading Five Views of Sanctification last night and was appalled that one author gave every conceivable academic description of "filling" without a) ever saying this is what it is and b) without ever testifying that he had experienced it! His words: "...seems to indicate a state or condition. ("subjective feeling")" "...biblical use ... seems to refer to personal characteristic." "...figurative expression ... mean[ing] that the Holy Spirit dominated, had full control, possessed,... This definition ... is the onoe recommended by Keswick teachers, Campus Crusade..." "But if a person has in mind the idea of control by the Spirit, a relationship of trusting obedience, that one certainly is competent to judge [whether one is filled] and perhaps alone can know for sure." (p 176-177 "Keswick Perspective")
"The nearest I can come to it is this: 'Filled with the Spirit' is a figurative, poetic expression that refers primarily to the relationship between two persons in which one is in charge, a relationship that began with a specific event that was intended to initiate a continuing condition. The relationship normally results in a glorious sense of the divine presence and certainly results in a transformed life."
Can we all work on a "model?" We have a spirit of our own, right? It consists of our mind, emotions, and will. Therefore, when our mind, emotions, and will are full of the Mind, Emotion, and Will of God (the Holy Spirit), we are "filled with the Spirit." Experientially, that means that we have perceived one of the "winds" (John 3) that "bloweth and listeth where it will" (perhaps hearing a sermon, reading the Bible, singing a good hymn, listening to a testimony, etc.) and our spirit is, for some period of time, is "touched" on all 3 levels and is controlled by the Spirit which often also "quickens" our flesh to action as a result.
IOW, I find that most writers cannot adequately describe it because they don't have a framework in man to hang God's Spirit on. Some have not differentiated soul from spirit. How many of you have heard it said that God's Spirit communes with our soul?
Others, still, have not discerned the components of our spirit --- which spirit is what communes with God's Holy Spirit. God has a "Persona" of His mind, emotions, and will.
I believe that understanding "filling of the Spirit" comes pretty easily 1) if we know what it is being filled and 2) if we know thereby how filling would be experienced.
skypair
Filling of the Spirit --- What is it?
Discussion in 'Baptist Theology & Bible Study' started by skypair, Mar 18, 2008.
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Quick example:
Numerous times in reading my Bible, I will come across a passage that suddenly makes sense to me. Often it is something I was looking for but couldn't work out when suddenly, there is was! The knowledge of it and Who the thought came from does overwhelm my emotions as well! And it is usually my immediate desire to at least tell some brother or sister in Christ and ponder (again, this is the lasting effect of "filling") how best to use this information in my life.
Perhaps y'all could explain how you experience "filling." :godisgood:
skypair -
Skypair, under the OT people were filled with the Spirit for specific ministry, but should not be confused with the permanent indwelling of the Spirit of the believer.
Samson is a good example of how this works (Judges 14-15). -
Filled with the Spirit is when the Spirit has complete control in all your mind , will , and emotions that they are constrained by the Spirit in obedience to Scripture and worship is therefore done decently and in order.
Being drunk with wine, and not always fermented grape juice, is "excess"/ waste.
Many things "waste", and are wasted by, the Christian, when he becomes drunk with the wine of fornication, for an example.
When one is filled with the Spirit one is prosperous in the things of God/ contrary to the ol' "prosperity gospel" preached by Dollar and such. -
skypair -
skypair -
Scripture: Acts 4:31:
"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." (TNIV, emphasis mine).
While they all had the indwelling of the Spirit, they needed a special filling for a particular ministry--preaching the word with boldness. -
And Yes, I have been filled with the Holy Spirit many times, whether preaching or not. It is my meat and my drink.
BBob, -
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BBob, -
I also believe that the filling of the Spirit is for particular ministry role and for the glory of God.
BBob, Do you believe that the indwelling and the filling of the Spirit one and the same? -
John of Japan Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
R. A. Torrey researched every mention of the Holy Spirit in the Bible ("endued with power," "the Spirit came upon them," etc.) and came to the conclusion that it is always to receive power for God's service. John R. Rice and other authors have followed Torrey in this. -
BBob, -
Isn't that guy Rice your grandfather? -
Here's my question: Do you believe that you can enter the pulpit without being filled with the Spirit? -
BBob, -
John of Japan Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
His book The Power of Pentecost or The Fullness of the Spirit is to me the all time classic on the subject (and I have over 20 books on the Holy Spirit). I've read it about five times. His basic premise, which he develops very completely, is the same as Torrey.
One controversial point is that the baptism and the filling of the Holy Spirit are the same. (Torrey believed that the baptism was simply the first filling of the Spirit.) But this is really easy to prove if you study Acts. Both terms are used of the same event. Don't have time to elaborate now. :type: -
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Unless we understand each filling as another baptism of the Spirit.
The -
John of Japan Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Concerning the baptism and the fullness being the same, compare Acts 1:5 and 2:4. Luke was talking about the same event using the two terms. This does leave room, though, for Torrey's view that the baptism was the first time filling, and after that it should be called the filling of the Spirit.
Some dispensationalists who believe the filling to be simply for the Christian life, like to bring in 1 Cor. 12:13 here to say that the baptism is simply being put into the body of Christ at salvation. But I think the data in Acts disproves that view. I think 1 Cor. 12: 13 and the baptism in Acts are two different things.
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