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Experiencing God as Holy Spirit
- How do I get more?

The Holy Spirit is God as spirit. He is with us at all times, around and within. He wants us to have all the good things He has to offer. The question is, 'how do I actually make sure I get everything?'

 This thread (Experiencing God as Holy Spirit):
  1. Who is the Holy Spirit?
  2. What does He do?
  3. What does He give?
  4. What does He achieve in us?
  5. How do I get more?

The Holy Spirit has already started the ball rolling

Every Christian has the Holy Spirit living within them.
John 20:21-22 -
21Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:9-11 -
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

In addition, however, the disciples of Jesus had a deeper experience of the Holy Spirit which changed their lives.

 

Baptism in the Holy Spirit / Being filled with the Spirit

Acts 1:4-5 -
4On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

What do you think 'baptism in the Holy Spirit' might mean?

'Baptise' (from the Greek word baptidzo) means to get thoroughly soaked or immersed in. So water baptism involves a thorough immersion in water, baptism in the Spirit means a thorough soak in the Spirit.

 

The first occasion

Acts 2:1-4 -
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

A different word from 'baptise' is used here (v 4). What does the word 'fill' add to the idea of baptism in the Spirit?

Since to baptise means we are in the Spirit, and to fill means that the Spirit is in us, the Holy Spirit completely affects us within and without as a result of this experience. A physical illustration would be the air we breathe for our survival: we live in the air, and the air needs to also be in us.

 

What difference can we expect?

Contrast the two following verses:
John 20:19 -
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"
Acts 2:14 (and onwards) -
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say

From cowering, bewildered, fearful followers, they became bold, public, uncompromising witnesses for Jesus. Being empowered for witnessing is one of the results.

 

What other differences might you expect?

Research this further by talking to (other) people in church who have been filled with the Holy Spirit, and see what they have to say. (It is a profoundly good thing, and people will enthuse!)

 

How can this be mine?

You may have already been filled with the Holy Spirit, in which case ask God to refresh you and refill you.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit is by definition the Holy Spirit's work. However, we read in scriptures that praying and laying hands is one way God honours the request (e.g. Acts 19:6 - When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.).

What is my part then?

  • desire to receive this
  • confess your sins and be clean
  • let go and relax so that the Holy Spirit can have free rein
  • expect God to honour your request
  • believe He will fill you
You may wish to pray now with someone to receive more. If you wish, call on someone within the Church Fellowship who has experience. If you are not in personal touch in this way, then e-mail us now.

 

Keeping it

Will this experience fade, or will it last? Is it renewable?

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.

The followers of Jesus were filled with the Spirit again.

Ephesians 5:18 -
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

"Be filled " means "go on being filled" (it is in the present continuous tense).

Once we have been filled we need to go on beng filled with the Holy Spirit if we are to retain the benefits.

 

Any questions?

If you have any queries, or comments, then e-mail us and we'll get back to you

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