We have been learning about the Holy Spirit, who is the promised Helper, sent from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Luke 24:49). As believers in Christ, it is crucial for us to recognize the Helper has been sent to strengthen, comfort, lead, guide, and empower us to accomplish God’s plan for our lives.
Although every believer in Christ is regenerated and made alive by the agency of the Holy Spirit, yet there is another dimension of the Holy Spirits work in our lives that begins when we are filled to overflowing by this Wonderful Third Person of the Godhead.
This may be difficult for some to understand, but although the disciples were born again after Christ’s resurrection (John 20:21-22) they had not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that was promised (Matthew 3:11; Acts 1:8). This would be a subsequent event only available to those who were born again.
The apostles were always diligent to make sure every new believer received the same infilling of the Holy Spirit they received on the day of Pentecost (See Acts 2:1-4). The apostles even traveled to other cities to ensure every new believer was immediately filled with the Holy Spirit (see Acts 8:14-17).
Unfortunately, this is not always the case today when individuals accept the gospel and turn to Christ. Often these new believers barely grow in their faith or revelation of God’s plan or purpose. These individuals may even slip back into their old lifestyles. They lack the power of the Holy Spirit’s infilling.
Before going further, I want to reiterate this point… the gift of the Holy Spirit is only for God’s children. An unbeliever cannot receive the Holy Spirit because their spirit has not been regenerated or made new.
Jesus said new wine (the Holy Spirit) must be poured into new bottles (born again human spirits) or else the bottles will break (Luke 5:37-38). When we are born again, we become the ‘new bottles’ He alluded to in the parable in Luke. The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit… only God’s family (John 14:17).
Why did God choose the infilling of the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues or unknown languages for His children? Why did Jesus, just before ascending to heaven, tell the believers to wait in the Upper Room for the Promise of the Father (Luke 24:49)? Why did 120 of these believers go to the Upper Room to pray and wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them?
Jesus was not starting a denomination or religious sect; He was instructing the apostles and believers to wait for the Promised Holy Spirit because their ministries and lives would depend on the empowerment of this Divine Helper. They would shortly face difficulties few would face, and they would need the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to give them boldness and confidence to continue preaching Christ in their hostile environment.
The apostles and new believers too would need help in prayer beyond their own intellect and reasoning because they would be facing a plethora of unknowns. They would need the ability to pray the mysteries and plan of God into manifestation on earth.
The Father knew about their weakness and provided the answer by giving them His Holy Spirit and the ability to pray from their spirit in languages and syllables they did not understand (Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 14:2,13-15).
Just because they did not understand what they were praying did not delegitimize their prayer; in fact, it took their prayer to a whole new level, which is something the apostle Paul later discovered. He even went on to boast that he prayed in these new tongues more than the entire church at Corinth (1 Corinthians 14:18). He understood praying in tongues was agreeing with heaven’s plan beyond anything he could grasp with his intellect or reasoning.
As we shared in our study on Reasons for Prayer and the Necessity of Prayer, we have a responsibility to petition the Father for our needs and the needs of others. The problem is, we do not always know how to pray as we ought according to Romans 8:26-28.
That’s why the Father chose to give us the ability to pray in faith from our spirit without interference from our limited understanding. He then can answer those prayers in ways we could never dream of with our limited insight.
This type of prayer was dependent on the wisdom of God and not human understanding or ingenuity. It was contingent on faith and the operation of God through the Holy Spirit. It was dependent on yielded vessels who would allow their prayers to be energized and guided by the Holy Spirit who knows all the mysteries of the Father's eternal plans and purposes (1 Corinthians 2:9-12).
We do not have the space or time to delve into a fuller understanding of this topic, but my new book, ‘He Speaks Mysteries’, will cover it in depth. Please keep posted for its release later this year.
When we read what the scripture says about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of believers, it is in the context of them receiving this same endowment Jesus spoke of and the 120 disciples received on Pentecost 2,000 years ago.
There are not two Holy Spirits, but only one, and He is the same One who anointed Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and the same One who came upon the disciples in the Upper Room.
The Holy Spirit is in every believer in Christ, but subsequent to salvation there is an infilling or baptism with the Holy Spirit for an enduement of power. Jesus was on earth as the Son of God, but He also needed the infilling of the Holy Spirit to be endued with power from on high (Luke 4:1,14; Acts 10:38).
He did not need the Holy Spirit to regenerate His spirit as we do (Titus 3:5) because He was the spotless Lamb of God. However, because He limited Himself (Philippians 2:5-8) by taking on the likeness of men, He operated as a man anointed by the Holy Spirit and lived with the same limitations we have, yet without sin. This is a great mystery (1 Timothy 3:16).
Receiving Christ and the infilling of the Holy Spirit is just the beginning of an exciting and fruitful walk of faith we can all experience as we renew our minds through obedience to God’s Word.
I have included several scripture references for your study. Please go over each one to help you have greater clarity on this important subject.
We will discover more about the Helper in our next post. Until then, may God our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ richly bless and keep you.
James Brown
CST 01/07/2024