Preface
Amos 8:11, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord.
History proves that millions of lives have been lost in famines. History has also proven that hunger will cause the living (people and animals) to eat virtually anything in hopes of sustaining life.
Comparably so, the lack of fulfillment in the human psyche can cause people to seek experiences that they otherwise would not if they had fulfillment. Numerous Christians that know our Blessed Lord can attest to having experienced spiritual famines until they met Him as described in Amos.
Note what Apostle Paul said in Romans 10:13-14:
- For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
- How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
We are the “preacher” now: the witnesses. And, the Holy Spirit will work through us to bring conviction to sinners by confirming the Word in whatever ways He deems necessary. Unless St. John 3:16 has been reascended, the Holy Spirit will use anyone who is ready, willing, and available for Him to work through to fulfill St. John 16:8, “And when He [the Holy Ghost] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment . . .”
Jesus said in John 12:32, “. . . if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” The disciples in Mark 16:20 gave personal testimonies about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ without having Bibles to read from. Note the reference:
- And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. NKJV
The reference reassures believers that the Lord will confirm His message. It is therefore incumbent upon true believers in God’s Word to share it more fervently than ever because only the Holy Ghost can reach the human-spirits, especially in this high-tech intellectual generation.
It inevitable that a growing group called “the religious nones” relative to church affiliation or religious beliefs would be encountered. A thought provoking article explains why they left religion behind. Factors driving the group are cited in the article, The factors driving the growth of religious ‘nones’ in the U.S. Given that the group is comprised greatly of educators, presenting the Holy Bible to them especially would be no different to presenting any other religious book unless we yield to the Holy Ghost/Spirit for Him to control ministering to them.
Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “. . . no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit”. In other words, we can articulate the message, but only the Holy Ghost can communicate the message to bring conviction. Thus, us being conscious the difference between baptized in the Holy Ghost and filled with the Holy Ghost could empower us with a fearless confidence to witness to any group for Jesus Christ given that He emphatically stated in Acts 1:8 that we would be witnesses about Him when the Holy Spirit comes.
I too wholehearted believe that there is a monumental revival on the horizon. But, as it was in the book of Acts it will be outside, in the streets, not within the four walls of churches. Just as others are that I know and am meeting, I am also being driven in that direction and to contribute to financing it, thus, the vision for Comprehensive Evangelism.
The Lesson
The subject, Baptized In The Holy Ghost vs. Filled With The Holy Ghost, is not semantics. There is a significant difference. Learning from the Holy Spirit what it is gave me a much broader understanding of His role in evangelism. In short, it’s His responsibility not ours given that we are willing, ready, and available.
Authors have their particular styles of writing and vocabulary. Their literary works are consequently quite consistent in these respects. Therefore, to distinguish the difference between “filled with the Holy Ghost/Spirit” and “baptized with the Holy Ghost/Spirit” references by one New Testament author are cited. The author is Luke. (One reference at the end is by Apostle Paul.)
About Luke
Theologians generally agree that Luke became acquainted with Paul in Troas around 51AD. The Adam Clarke’s Commentary is one amongst others that say that the pronoun, “we”, in the phrase, “we endeavored to go into Macedonia”, in Acts 16:10, is the first place that the historian Luke refers to himself. And, from this, it is supposed that he joined the company of Paul for the first time. This was close to 14 years after Paul’s conversion and about 22 years after the Day of Pentecost.
His acquaintance with Paul was the key factor in him meeting the other apostles, which were Jesus’ companions from the beginning to the end of His ministry. They were the eyewitnesses that taught Luke everything that Jesus did and preached.
It was about eight years after meeting Paul and the apostles and about 29 years after the Day of Pentecost that Luke began writing his Gospel to Theophilus. It was during these years that he learned the complete history of our Lord’s ministry from the beginning until His ascension.
Note the following points about Luke:
- he never saw or met Jesus
- he was not one of the 12 disciples
- he was not in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost
Luke nevertheless wrote a precise chronology of our Lord’s life in 59AD as the disciples dictated to him. He began with Gabriel’s prophecy to Mary about Jesus’ birth, His ministry, and His Ascension. Luke summarized this in his salutation to Theophilus:
Luke 1:1-4:
- Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us,
- just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us,
- it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,
- that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
Luke wrote the book of Acts about 63AD, about four years after writing his Gospel to Theophilus, about 11 years after meeting Paul, and about 33 years after the Day of Pentecost. Again Luke asserts the accuracy of his writings in this salutation just as he did in the his Gospel to Theophilus:
Acts 1:1-3:
- The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
- until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,
- to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.
The years between writing his Gospel and the book of Acts gave Luke additional years of experiences and learning from Apostle Paul and the other apostles. Accordingly, the Book of Acts covers a period of about 32 years, from the Ascension of Jesus [about A. D. 30] and ends with the account Paul’s earliest ministry in Rome [about A. D. 62].
It is a historical fact that Luke was a physician. Given his profession he had a very descriptive mind. His thought process would have undoubtedly been to place things in a chronological order. That is obvious in what he said to Theophilus and the decisiveness in which he wrote his Gospel and the book of Acts.
Filled with the Spirit vs. Baptized with the Spirit
It is important to note that how just one word in each of the following verses completely defines two different operations of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 1:5, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
- Acts 2:4, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
The terms “baptized with the Holy Spirit” and “filled with the Holy Spirit” have been used interchangeably for decades by Pentecostal denominations and Charismatics that resulted from the Azusa Street revival that began in 1906. Their members have been heard saying that they are “baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit”. This came from not understanding the difference between baptized and filled relative to the Holy Ghost/Spirit.
Remember, what Luke learned from being with the apostles is the basis of what he said in his writings. Note that Luke used the term, “filled with the Holy Spirit”, three times to describe something that happened 33 years prior to the Day of Pentecost. Therefore, the term most definitely DID NOT originate with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. But, since the term, “filled with the Holy Spirit”, was associated to events decades before the Day of Pentecost, on the Day of Pentecost, and subsequent to the Day of Pentecost, there has to be some commonality between the events to justify the use of the term in all instances.
Filled with the Holy Spirit 33 years prior to Acts 2
Note what the angel, Gabriel, said to Zacharias about the son that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have in their old age: Luke 1:15, ” . . . He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
Six months after Elizabeth conceived Gabriel also told Mary about her being favored by God to give birth to Jesus, the Savior. She went and told her cousin, Elizabeth. Note what happened to her and what she did when she heard Mary’s greeting:
Luke 1:41-42:
- And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
- Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Approximately three months later when John (the Baptist) was born note what happened with Zacharias, the father: Luke 1:67, “Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied . . .”
MEMO: Elizabeth, Zacharias, and their son, John the Baptist, were all “filled with the Holy Spirit” without being “baptized with the Holy Spirit”. The reason is that “baptized with the Holy Spirit” could not occur until after the ascension of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and on a specific day, i. e., the Day of Pentecost.
The commonality with the three is that being “filled with the Holy Spirit” caused them to talk but not in other tongues as on the Day of Pentecost. These are the three times the term, “filled with the Holy Spirit” was used 33 years prior to the Day of Pentecost.
The Greek word for “filled” is ple`tho. That same word is used in the following references. Rather than to give a definition of the word, let’s allow the other instances in which Luke used it define its meaning. Remember that only the writings of Luke are being used to insure that the word is consistent in its application and meaning.
Being Filled with An Emotion
MEMO: Always note the action(s) and the result(s) that follow the word “filled”.
Luke 4:28-29:
- So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
- and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.
MEMO: What happened in vs. 29 was the action that resulted from being filled with wrath.
Acts 5:17-18:
- Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,
- and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
MEMO: What happened in vs. 18 was the action that resulted from being filled with indignation.
Acts 13:45:
- But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.
MEMO: The contradicting and blaspheming by the Jews was the action that resulted from being filled with envy.
Note that in the three examples that being filled (with emotions) resulted in action. Hereafter, note the action that resulted from being filled.
FACT: To allow ourselves to be filled with an emotion that results in action, we would have . . .
- no concern for where we are
- no consideration for whose present
- no fear of the consequences of our actions
Filled with the Spirit after Acts 1:8
Let’s compare being filled with emotions as aforementioned to being filled with the Holy Spirit. And, let’s factor in what our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, said the Holy Spirit would do according to John 16:8, “And when He has come, He will convict the world . . .” Therefore, being filled with the Holy Spirit would not only precipitate action, result would follow: conviction.
Acts 2:4, 14, 41:
- And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to [the action] speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
- [The action continues.] But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.
- [The results] Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Note the sequence of events. In vs. 4, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. The action was their speaking with other tongues (earthly languages). In vs.14, Peter began to explain this phenomenon to the crowd standing outside. Upon learning what happened in the upper room, about three thousand were added: they were also converted and became believers. Thus, the filling precipitated the action of speaking in tongues, which drew the crowd and ultimately resulted in an addition of about three thousand converts.
Acts chapter 3 gives the account of the man that was lame from birth receiving the miracle performed by Peter as he and John entered the gate of the temple. The miracle plus the sermon that Peter preached caused about 5,000 to become believers brought a great disturbance amongst the Sadducees. Consequently, Peter and John spent that night in jail as noted in Acts 4:3.
The next the men were released and brought to the rulers, elders, scribes, Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, and John (not the apostle), Alexander, and others that were linked to the priests. When the council began to question Peter and John about the miracle, note what happened:
Acts 4:8-10:
- Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
- If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well,
- let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
Notice that only Peter, not John, was filled with the Holy Spirit and began to literally preach a sermon about the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and the power in the name, Jesus, while the healed man stood there with them. Here the filling of the Holy Spirit precipitated an action: preaching. That instance ignited the process that would ultimately produce the result.
The council was in a real predicament. It could not deny the miracle because the man that was lame was standing there with Peter and John. Furthermore, the citizens of Jerusalem witnessed the healing. Consequently, Peter and John were threaten and ordered not to speak no more about the name, Jesus.
Upon being released and returning to the other disciples they reported what they had experienced earlier that same day. They then began to pray and asked God for boldness to preach about Jesus. Note vs. 24-35:
Worship first . . .
- . . . They raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them,
- who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things?
- The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
- “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together
- to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.
The petition for boldness . . .
- Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness [fearless confidence] they may speak Your word,
- by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
The filling and the action . . .
- And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness [fearless confidence].
Note that in vs. 8 above it was only Peter that was filled with the Holy Spirit, not John. However, just a little time later on the same day they were all [including Peter] filled with the Holy Spirit in vs. 31.
It has been said that there is one baptism and many fillings (with the Holy Spirit/Ghost). I know that this a reference of one’s expectation of Spiritual renewal especially in a revival.
Just playing on words, if there were “re-fillings” of the Holy Spirit then Peter lost something between the time he was filled in vs. 8 and the short time afterwards that he was filled in vs. 31 and consequently had to be re-filled. But, that is not the case.
The point is that the word “filled” in reference to being filled with the Holy Spirit simply means to be totally controlled by Him with absolutely no resistance in a particular instance, which according to the Bible produces results.
Remember that Peter and John had already been imprisoned and warned about preaching Jesus. So, for them to do it anyways is a prime example of what it is to be filled with the Holy Spirit, i. e., move under the total control of the Holy Spirit:
- having no concern for where they were
- having no consideration for whose present
- having no fear of the consequences
The result of the prayer . . .
- Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
- And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.
- Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
- and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
The results of the prayer in vs. 25-30 continue in Acts 5:1-16. The deaths of Sapphira and Anaias for lying is one example. And, also, a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Another instance of being filled with the Holy Spirit is in Acts 13:9-11. In beginning of the chapter the, the apostles were in a time of ministering to the Lord with prayers and fasting. Note what the Holy Spirit said in vs. 2, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
A proconsul, Sergius Paulus, sent for the two men as they passed through the island Paphos. He wanted to hear the Gospel. But, Elymas, the sorcerer, endeavored to hinder the men from speaking to the proconsul. Note what happen with Peter in vs. 9-11:
- Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (Elimas)
- and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
- And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Note that in this instance also that filled with the Holy Spirit precipitated an action: Paul pronounced a consequence on Elimas, which was blindness. (Whereas the Holy Ghost wants to bless people, if He is opposed He may do something to people as in this instance.) The ultimate result is in vs. 12: “Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”
The aforementioned references were about the word, “filled”: filled with emotions and filled with the Holy Spirit. The individuals that were filled with emotions allowed the emotions to control them to the point of taking actions that they otherwise may not have taken. The disciples that allowed the Holy Spirit to fill them simply surrendered themselves to be totally and completely controlled by Him, which produced results.
Baptized in the Holy Spirit
Jesus said in Acts 1:5, “for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
The Greek word for baptized is baptizo. It means to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (used of vessels sunk), to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash oneself, to bathe.
Baptizo is not to be confused with bapto, which also means to submerge. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B. C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be `dipped’ (bapto) into boiling water [to blanch] and then `baptized’ (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptizing the vegetable, produces a permanent change.
What baptizo produces in us coincides with Titus 3:5:, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit . . .” See the tab, The Fellowship-Relationship: Evidence of Born Again.
The regeneration is all things being made new: a new heaven a new earth. The regeneration that the Holy Spirit brings in us now is comparable to what will eventually happen to the heaven and earth then: they will be made new. Note 2 Corinthians 5:17, “. . . if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” It’s comparable to the example of cucumbers becoming pickles.
CONCLUSION
Let’s look again at what Jesus said in Acts 1:5, “. . . you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Given the definition of baptizo, the 120 in the upper room experienced “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” recorded in Titus 3:5. This could only occur after the Holy Spirit became the indwelling presence of God as Jesus promised He would.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit denotes being completely controlled by Him, moved by Him. Being baptized in the Holy Spirit denotes the regeneration, converting of the human spirit, whereby we are cleansed from our sins. To be effective in evangelism after we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit when He wants us to be instruments used by Him to bring about convictions in the hearts of unbelievers. – Amen.
