Why Filled with the Spirit?
Updated: March 27, 2025
Because you can’t do anything truly powerful without Him! Jesus was very clear with His disciples on this point, saying that they shouldn’t go anywhere until they received something: the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. He said that this is the moment when they would receive lasting power in this new post-Resurrection age. They already had authority because they were now members of God’s family, but that wasn’t enough. Jesus obviously thought that they needed power also.
As the book of Acts reveals, this gift of the Holy Spirit was recognized as the most important step – the very next step for every believer – right after believing and/or being water baptized. Notice in the Bible book of Acts that even well after Pentecost in chapter 2, believers were still having hands laid on them to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This confirms that this is not something that happens automatically when a person is born again. It wasn’t automatic then, and it is not automatic now.
This baptism was always described as a one-time event, the first time the Spirit came upon them in an immersive fashion. (Water baptism is also shown to be a one-time event in a person’s life.)
In the Bible there is a distinction between being “filled with the spirit” and “baptism” of the Spirit Click here for Bible Gateway search results on this. Notice how this phrase “filled with the spirit” appears in both the Old and New Testaments (before and after the Pentecost of Acts 2).
There is also a distinction in the Bible between having the Spirit in you and having Him on or with you. In John 14:17, Jesus says plainly that there is a difference, saying to His disciples that having the Spirit in them would be a future event. John the Baptist was told that Jesus would be the one to “baptize with the Holy Spirit.” Notice that Baptisms are external, with external effects and outcomes. Jesus said that the disciples should not leave until the Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, when there was an outward, physically-audible sound heard. When they spoke in tongues, people heard them, and it wasn’t mere sound. It was all speech with meaning (not necessarily known to the speakers themselves) telling “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11). (See also Why Tongues?)
In John 7:38–39 Jesus said that the Spirit will flow from the inside of believers as “rivers of living water.” Surely this is not a river of fear, doubt and unbelief. It is not a river of selfishness, foolish talking, and coarse joking. It is a river of love, faith, hope, and joy. It is a river of forgiveness and thankfulness. All the gifts and fruit of the Spirit are in this river. It doesn’t take much jostling for a full and open bottle of water to flow out onto others. How much of the above is flowing onto others in your life? The Apostle Paul told believers, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) Paul indicates that it is by an act of their will that they can be so filled. In partnership with God, we can be filled! Let us be determined to stay open to His infilling!
(John 1:33, Acts 1:8, Acts 2, Ephesians 2:19, Acts 8:14-17, Matthew 3:16, Acts 19:1-6)