Filled with the Spirit

Brother Kenneth Yoder

Acts 8:5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

7  For unclean spirits,  crying with loud voice,   came   out of many  that  were possessed with them: and many taken with the palsies, and mat were lame,  were healed.

8 And there was great joy in that city.

9  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which be foretime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

10  To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

12 but when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the king­dom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the mira­cles and signs which were done.

14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had recei­ved the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:

15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost

16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money.

19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.

20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish   with   thee,   because   thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

21  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

22  Repent therefore of this thy wicked­ness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

24  Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, mat none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans

The spirituality of our fellowship has declined from what it once was. Both inward personal holiness and the outward standards of holiness have suffered loss. Contributing to this spiritual decline is the false conclusion of the teaching of One Work of Grace. Most falsely conclu­ded there are no further fillings of the Spirit beyond regeneration.

In this article we are going to explore the possibility of a fresh anointing from those passages that teach that being filled with the Spirit is a definite experience beyond regene­ration. This aspect of the truth has almost been lost among us. The result of this loss has been that the people in our fellowship no longer feel a holy urge to be filled with the Spirit. As a consequence we scarcely ever witness anyone seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Everything was embodied in one original experience of regeneration. The inference was that once one had experienced God's regenerating power there was no other filling of the Spirit necessary or possible.

These teachings are the majority opinion among us. I realize I am in the minority. I also realize it may appear to be a waste of time to publish these articles because the mind-set of our people is against this truth. They have been conditioned against seeking the Spirit as a definite experience.

As a consequence we seem to be hope­lessly bound in a no-win situation. Let me explain. The very experience that the church so desperately needs is a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This experience would provide the spiritual power needed for revival. All other combined efforts to affect an awakening will fail without a fresh filling of the Spirit. It is this experience that has been denied the church by false teachings. What a dilemma and impasse!

I believe that if we take any lower ground than urging people to seek a fresh filling of the

Holy Spirit, we will find it impossible to affect revival among our churches. I am disregarding for the moment the need of revival in our world. I am talking about a restoration of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our fellowship. Time will prove whether I am right or wrong but I am going to make a prediction. Our people will continue to backslide and many of our congregations are destined to become a part of spiritual Babylon unless our preachers urge the church to be filled with the Spirit. If we want the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, then we must return to those teachings that produced it in the first place.

Let me add another thought before I delve into our study of the eighth chapter of Acts. Those who are seeking to be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit are careful how they live, so as not to grieve the Spirit.

A preacher who intensely desires to be anointed by divine unction prays more ear­nestly. A man who isn't satisfied with merely preaching a good message (one that is well organized, logical, and true to the Scriptures) will seek God's special anointing of the Spirit. This anointing is something that is beyond all human ability to produce. This desire makes him far more careful about what he is, what he does, what he says and how he prays. He realizes that if he offends the Spirit of God, he will not only lose the sense of God's presence, but he loses the anointing of the Spirit. It is always tragic and sad to witness a preacher who has lost the anointing of the Spirit.

The anointing of God's Spirit is a reality that makes a difference in one's ability to preach effectively. It even made a marked difference in our Lord. Jesus was about thirty years old when he was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Jesus' ministry began when he was baptized with the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean that he was totally without the Spirit of God before this experience but it does mean that something actually happened. There was such a marked difference in Jesus that even people who had known him we!!, noticed it

Jesus explained what had happened to him. He explained it by reading a passage from Isaiah (See Luke 4:17-19). Jesus said, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel. Jesus described the change that occurred in him as an anointing of the Holy Spirit.

The above passage from the eighth chap­ter of Acts is the account of the first mission­ary outreach of the church at Jerusalem. Samaria was the first place outside of Jerusa­lem that the Gospel was preached. Following Stephen's death was a time of persecution. This wave of persecution is described in the first four verses of the eighth chapter of Acts. Saul, who later became the Apostle Paul, consented to putting Stephen to death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church that was at Jerusalem,

This time of persecution forced many of the Christians to flee for safety. God overruled their persecution to the advancement of the kingdom of God.  Those who were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.

Luke follows Philip in the scattering of the Christians. Philip went to Samaria and he preached Christ to the people. The people with one accord gave heed unto the Gospel that Philip preached. Miraculous signs and wonders witnessed to the reality of the message that Philip preached. Verse 7 described some miracles that Philip did: unclean spirits came out of many, those who had the palsy and others who were lame were healed. Many believed and were baptized, as they accepted Philip's preaching.

This narration follows the normal New Testament pattern of evangelism.  First, the preaching of the Gospel and then the people believe and are baptized. These believers, though baptized in water, had not yet been filled with the Spirit. They were not filled with the Spirit until sometime after. It was long enough for news of this revival to be carried to the church at Jerusalem. The church appointed Peter and John to go down to Samaria. When these two brethren arrived in Samaria, they laid their hands on these believers and they received the Holy Spirit.

This passage raises a very serious ques­tion. How can one be a believer and not have the Spirit? This is especially puzzling considering what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:9b, Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. The Apostle Paul is simply stating one cannot be a true believer without the Holy Spirit. Then how could those believers at Samaria not have received the Spirit? That is the question I want to deal with.

It is obvious that these people were true believers. All the language that describes their experience is the normal pattern for true believers. There is one exception and that, of course, was Simon. He is pointed out as the exception and positively is not the norm of New Testament believers.

Simon observed the power of the Spirit as he followed Philip around. Simon was a sorcerer who had used magical tricks to bewitch the people and they thought he was some great man of God. He recognized that what these apostles had was a power that surpassed his powers of magic. What these brethren were doing far surpassed the magical power that he possessed.

Simon tried to buy this power. He attemp­ted to purchase the power of the Spirit. He said, "Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost." Peter said, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor tot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity." Peter's words are unquestionably a description of a person that is not saved nor regenerated.

Simon had not repented. He had not abandoned his old ways. That is what repen­tance is. Repentance is abandoning your old sinful ways. He had intellectually accepted the story of Jesus, but he had accepted it, as he had not repented . This is a danger to be avoided. The expression, "then Simon himself believed", must means that he merely accepted it intellectually.

There are many who accept the story of Christ intellectually without repentance. Millions of people have done this. Every one of you realize that this is a possibility. A person can believe the story of Christ in the sense of accepting all the facts intellectually and be baptized in water without repentance. Simon's heart was not right with God because he had not repented of his old ways of sorcery.

Some who argue for One Work of Grace teach that Simon's experience was the norm for Samarian believers, but this text singles out Simon as the exception. He is not an example of those believers. He had neither part nor lot in the matter.

The apostles accepted the other believers and as they laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them. Do you think that if all of them were like Simon that the Spirit of God would have fallen on them? Of course not! If all of the other believers were as Simon, then the apostles would surely not have been satisfied with the work that Philip had done. The truth is they were satisfied with the other believers. Therefore, when they laid their hands on them,

these believers received the Holy Spirit.

They were true Christians who had not received the Spirit. I repeat, that really presen­ted a problem. I want to bring some thoughts for consideration on how we may resolve this problem.

1 have meditated on this subject for years. Years ago a brother called me by phone one Sunday morning. He was a pastor from one of the Southern States. He had been studying this account of Samarian believers in pre­paration for a message. He said, "Brother Yoder, this passage doesn't seem to line up with the teachings of One Work of Grace." And of course, it doesn't. Those who believe in one experience of grace have a difficult time trying to explain this passage intelligently.

Again, did these believers receive the Spirit when they became Christians or did they receive him sometime after? I did not arrive at the following conclusion until after years of meditating on this passage. Evidently, Luke and Paul were writing about two different works of the Spirit. A problem only arises if you decide to take what the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:9 and make it parallel with or equivalent to what Luke has written in the book of Acts.

We should accept each passage at face value. First, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. This means that a person who does not have the Holy Spirit is not a true believer. Second, Luke wrote of true believers who had not yet been filled with the Spirit. Obviously, they were not writing about the same experience or there is an irreconcilable difficulty. The attempts to make these passages say the same thing leads to all kinds of stretching and wrestling of the Scriptures. Many have invented peculiar interpretations in their attempt to teach only one experience that would not normally flow out of these passages as you read them.

When   you   understand   that these   two passages are talking about two different experiences, then there is not any problem at all. The filling of the Spirit described in Acts was something entirely different from the regenerating work of the Spirit that Paul wrote about in Romans.

When Jesus described the filling of the Spirit, he never described it as regeneration. The language and terms that Jesus used don't depict regeneration. What Jesus said, when he instructed the disciples to wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit is not the language of regene­ration. The expressions he used and the context from which he spoke doesn't sound anything like regeneration at all.

Let us read a couple of passages together. Luke 24:45-49 Then opened he their under­standing, that they might understand the scrip­tures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repen­tance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Jesus was instructing the disciples regard­ing the empowering of the Holy Spirit in the context   of   preaching   the   Gospel   among nations.  Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem. Jesus said, I'm going to send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem (wait for it), until you are endued with power from on high.

Luke continued this story in the beginning of the book of Acts. Acts 1:4-9 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusa­lem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

These were the last words of our Lord just before he ascended to Heaven. Jesus com­manded his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait until God's promise of the Spirit was given. Jesus described it as a baptism with the Holy Spirit. In the eighth verse, Jesus said, "ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter­most part of the earth." The language and terminology in these statements by our Lord describing the filling of the Spirit is in terms of being empowered for service. None of these statements are describing regeneration.

Jesus himself was filled with the Holy Spirit in a definite experience and at a definite time. Luke 3:21,22 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am wel1 pleased.

This is speaking of the time when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. As Jesus stood praying the Spirit of God, in the bodily shape of a dove, came down upon him. This was a sign given to John the Baptist, (See John 1:29-34)

The Holy Spirit descended upon Christ. This does not mean that he was totally void of the Spirit of God before this experience. This was an actual experience of being filled with the Spirit.

Luke describes the results of this filling in the next chapter. Luke 4:1, And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost. The phrase 'full of the Holy Spirit" is an expression in the New Testament that speaks of the results of being filled with God's Spirit.

Luke 4:14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about. The very language of these texts: 'We Holy Spirit descended upon him ", "Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit', and "Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit", indicates that some­thing happened to Christ that prepared him for his ministry.

This is very obvious as you continue to read Luke account. Luke 4:16-22 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought 40 (Nazareth was Jesus boyhood home), and, as his custom was, (Reading the Scriptures in the synagogue was no new occasion for Jesus, but was something that was customary. In other words this wasn't the first time he had done these things), he went into the syna­gogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhear­ted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the accep­table year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And began

to say unto them, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me "means God had anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit. I repeat, something had happened to Jesus that was conspicuous. Notice the twenty-second verse, And all bare witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?

Jesus traveled on to Capernaum. Luke 4:31,32 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days. And they were astonished at his doc­trine: for his word was with power, (empha­sis mine).

It is clear from this account by Luke that Jesus himself was filled with the Holy Spirit. He was anointed by God with the Spirit. There is no possibility that Jesus' anointing could be interpreted as regeneration. Christ did not need regeneration. That fact is so obvious that it is elementary but I am making a point.

Furthermore, the language that Jesus used in describing the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that the disciples were to receive, was not the language of regeneration. His words were not calculated to create any expectations of what we call regeneration. His language did produce an expectation to receive power from God to preach the Gospel. Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And ye shall be witnesses unto me.

Let us return to our text. Those who believed at Samaria were filled with the Spirit sometime after they believed. Peter and John prayed for them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is clear from the above discussion that it is possible to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit and not to have received the empowering of the Holy Spirit. One may be a Christian and not have received the endowment of power from on high. This endowment of power from on high is not a necessary element of regeneration. The experience of being filled with the Spirit was a definite crisis experience for both Jesus and the Apostles. The phrase, definite crisis experience, means it occurred at a definite time. There was a moment in which it happened. In the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament the filling of the Holy Spirit was always a crisis experience.

It is also an experience that can be repeated more than once. The Apostles experienced it more than once. In the fourth chapter of Acts, Peter and John had been threatened by the council and let go. Acts 4:23 And being let go, they went to their own company and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said —. The following verses record the essence of their prayer.

Notice in the twenty-ninth verse the phrase, And now, Lord, behold their threatenings. These men were men of like passions as you and I. If someone threatened to kill you for preaching the Gospel you would need courage to continue to do so, wouldn't you?

These men had been threatened and prayed saying, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word. What were they praying for? They were praying for courage to face persecution. Threatened with death they would need courage and boldness to continue to preach the truth.

Did God answer their prayer? Yes! How did He answer their prayer? Something occur­red similar to Pentecost. Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

The thirty-third verse describes the results of this filling of the Spirit. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resur­rection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

What does this passage teach? Peter and John being released by the council assembled with the other apostles and believers. The church at Jerusalem prayed that God would give them the courage and boldness to con­tinue to preach the Word. God answered their prayer by filling them afresh with the Holy Spirit. The result was that they spake the Word of God with boldness.

This filling of the Spirit could not possibly be identified with regeneration. If being filled with the Spirit was the equivalent of regene­ration, then these brethren would have had to have fallen from grace. If the filling of the Spirit and the regenerating work of the Spirit are identical then a man would have to backslide before he could receive it again. It would not be proper to pray for it if you were presently saved. The truth is that the regenerating work of the Spirit and the empowering work of the Spirit are two separate distinct works of the Spirit.

Somebody may ask, "Why is this so important to you, Brother Yoder?" My answer is, because this truth opens a chance of renewal and revival for our congregations. It opens a possibility of a more victorious future. Without the hope that a fresh filling of the Spirit brings what have we got? What hope for the future would we have if we already possess all that is promised? Spiritual renewal accom­panies being filled with the Spirit. When the church needs it, she may seek it!

We need something to encourage us. This truth opens a chance of a better future for the church. Since the church may be endued with power from on high, we may yet hope that the work of God will experience a fresh anointing that will bring a revival.

A prayer to be filled with the Spirit after one is regenerated is a proper prayer. A Christian may seek God in earnest prayer to be filled with the Spirit. This is not out of line with the teachings of the Bible. We have scriptural grounds for seeking to be filled with God's Spirit.

Consider the following thoughts seriously. Suppose what I have written is true. Suppose that the ability of the church to experience spiritual renewal lays in being filled with the Spirit. Suppose a fresh filling of the Spirit is the source of her spiritual power. Suppose that in this experience is the impulse of inspiration and courage that is needed to be effective witnesses. Suppose that being filled with the Spirit means all this and more.

Suppose further that the church denies there is such an experience, what would be the results? First, to deny it would eliminate seeking it. If the church never sought it, she would never receive it. Now what would happen to such a church? Plainly, she would be powerless and non-effective in her witness. This is my conclusion in analyzing the problem we face in this area.

Personally, I have been seeking a fresh anointing on my ministry. That does not mean that I have backslidden or that I have drifted from God into lukewarmness. It does not mean that I am totally powerless. I am not totally powerless, I am not void of courage. I still have courage. I still have inspiration to preach, but I know there is more spiritual power available. Realizing this has created a hunger in me to seek it.

If I were of the opinion that many are today, that no such experience is available, I don't know what I would do. In the face of our insurmountable problems, I guess I would wring my hands in despair. That is the logical conclusion that some have arrived at. I cannot accept that. I can't accept as fact that God is not sufficient for our needs today. I cannot accept as fact that we are left without a promise of sufficient power to meet what we are facing in our generation.

I am disturbed by the fact that only the older Christians among us seem to understand this subject. The reason of course is they are the only ones who have experienced these things and that many years ago. The tragic truth is that our younger generation has not been taught these truths. As a matter of course they   have   not   sought   nor   received   the

Most are not even aware of the possibility. Paul asked some disciples at Ephesus, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye belie­ved?" (See Acts 19:1-7). Some say the question should be, Did you receive the Holy Ghost when you believed?, (implying that they should have). No matter which way Paul asked the question, the answer was, no. Their reply was, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. Their understanding was partial. It is possible to be living for the Lord and walking in all the light you have and yet unaware of these things. I am not degrading or belittling anyone but I am simply saying that power is available to God's people that most are unaware of.

I deliver this message for your deliberate judgment whether or not it is true. Your appraisal whether or not it is true will determine whether you accept it and seek God for a fresh filling of the Spirit or reject it as simply my opinion. Our future as a spiritual fellowship may rest on your decision. "END*"