In Part I of this study you were introduced to the fact that the Baptism of the Spirit was not available in Old Testament times. Though this particular ministry was not offered this doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit was inactive during this time. The Holy Spirit has always been very active among mankind, particularly during the Dispensational period known as "The Age of Israel". The Spirit was actively "Filling" or empowering God's people. This Filling Ministry of the Spirit was always introduced by very specific terms in our Old Testament texts. These terms will become very important background materiel for our future studies on the Spiritual gifts, particularly as this ministry crosses over into the New Testament Church Age.

Though we've explored and defined the Filling before, I want to give you what I feel is the Bible based definition of the Filling of the Spirit. The Filling is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to the believer (either Old or New Testament) where He supernaturally empowers that believer. Once empowered, the believer is able to exercise a Gift of God to the edification of the Church. This Ministry is not continuous, nor is it offered to believers who are in carnality and active sin. An immature believer may be just as Filled as the mature believer is, but the immature believer may not have discovered his spiritual Gift at that point. Therefore, the Filling does not mandate the operation a spiritual Gift. It empowers the believer, but never compels him. The Filling doesn't control the believer, but gives him the ability to work in partnership with God to promote God's Plan on the earth. All points of this definition will be clearly illustrated as we get deeper into this study.

In both the Old and New Testaments the context doesn't always read, "He was Filled with the Spirit" when this Ministry was in effect. "Filled" is a common term used for this empowering Ministry, but if we bear in mind that the evidence of the Filling is the operation of one of God's Spiritual Gifts then we can see many other synonyms for this Ministry.

1 Samuel 19:20 "And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied."

1 Samuel 19:23 "And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah."

1 Samuel 10:6 " And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man."

1 Samuel 10:10 "And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them."

Numbers 24:2 "And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him."

2 Chronicles 15:1-2 "And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you."

2 Chronicles 15:8 "And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD."

In all of the above texts some form of "come upon" is used with "The Spirit of God" or "The Spirit of the Lord" to denote the Filling Ministry of the Spirit. There are also other phrases found in the Old Testament to show this Filling:

Isaiah 11:1-2 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;"

The Hebrew for "Rested" is NUWACH, which means "to fall on or rest on". The King James legitimately translates this verb both ways. When NUWACH is used in conjunction with "Spirit" this refers to the Filling Ministry. The Isaiah passage is particularly interesting because it shows that Jesus, while in His earthly ministry, relied on the Filling ministry of the Spirit to perform the miraculous. Jesus refers to this union with the Spirit in Luke 11.20 and Matthew 12.28.

This is clearly a Millennial prophecy dealing with the Filling of the Spirit. God said that He would pour out His Spirit on all flesh. The only time there will be a worldwide Filling of the Spirit will be during the Millennial reign of Christ. Though "poured out" is a rare synonym for the Filling, it does occur in Scripture.

Exodus 31:1-6 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee;"

Exodus 35:31-35 "And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work."

Luke 1:15 "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

Luke 1:41-42 "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."

Luke 1:67 "And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,"

In Exodus we see that the carpenter Bezaleel and his fellow workers were filled with the Spirit in order that they could build for God. They were responsible for building the Tabernacle, the Ark of Testimony, and the Mercy Seat on the Ark, the Table of Shewbread, the Golden Lampstand, and the Altar of Incense. All of these items were furniture used in the Temple of Israel, and were vital for proper Jewish worship. All the items had to be built to exact specifications and weights, exactly as God prescribed, with the available tools. The Filling gave these craftsmen a supernatural degree of accuracy and talent while building these holy items.

John the Baptist was Filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. He was a Nazarite, one who was specifically sanctified by God from birth to serve Israel (see Numbers 6; Judges 13.5-7, 17; Lamentations 4.7; Amos 2.11-12). John particularly needed the Filling because his mission in life was to announce the coming Messiah (Isaiah 40.3; Matthew 3.3; 11.10; Mark 1.2-3; Luke 3.4). The Filling of the Spirit empowered John to preach and teach about the coming of Jesus.

Elisabeth and Zachariah (John's mother and father) were both Filled with the Spirit so they could testify and prophecy of the coming Jesus. Again, the Filling is followed by Divine empowerment.

If you were to look at all of the terms God used for the Filling Ministry of the Spirit, you'd see the following list of synonyms:

• Derivatives of Come:
• Came on, came upon, come on, come upon, comes on, comes upon
• Derivatives of Rest:
• Rested on, rested upon, rests on, rests upon, resting on, resting upon
• Derivatives of Fall:
• Fell on, fell upon, fallen on, fallen upon
• Derivatives of Pour:
• Pours out, poured out, pouring out
• Derivatives of Fill:
• Filled, fills, filling
• Derivatives of Clothe:
• Clothe, clothed

All of these terms, when combined with a reference to the Holy Spirit, are always followed by the believer being supernaturally empowered to serve God. Please make sure you understand this study up to this point before continuing. Your understanding this terminology will be vitally necessary when we return to our study in Acts.

1 John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."

We try the spirits by seeing what the Bible, clearly and simply interpreted, says. Experience and feelings are often poor gauges of truth. Many things "feel right" in this life, but are clearly wrong when you look at the Scriptural standard. If any movement creates division in the Church, and leads away from Biblical teaching, this is not of God.

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

1 Timothy 4:1 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"

The Bible alone is our sole criteria for righteousness and Godly living. Experiences can be, and usually are, deceiving.

Acts 4:8, 31 " Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,..... 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."

Ephesians 4:11 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"

When under the Filling ministry of the Spirit the disciples were empowered to evangelize, to effectively preach the Gospel of Christ to those around them. This Filling led to many conversions resulting in salvation. Again, this was the FILLING, not the BAPTISM that led to this miraculous occurrence.

Acts 9:17-18 "And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized."

1 Corinthians 12:28 "And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."

Saul (who later was known as Paul the Apostle) was quite a character in the early Church. He spent most of his time being directed by the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court) seeking out and destroying Christians. Saul felt that all Christians were heretics, and honestly believed that he was serving God by destroying them (Acts 9.1-3). While he was traveling down the Damascus Road on the way to more slaughter, Jesus struck him with blindness (Acts 9.4-7). In fact, according to the following Scripture text it seems that cataracts were actually formed on his eyes. Paul then waited in Divinely imposed darkness, without food, for three days (Acts 9.8-9). Jesus led Ananias, a faithful believer, to Paul, and through Ananias God used the Filling Ministry of the Spirit to heal Paul. As before, it was the Filling, not the Baptism of the Spirit, that led to the miraculous operation of Healing in Paul's life. This Healing led to Paul's salvation and, he in turn, benefited the Church as Apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11.13). No Spiritual Gift is ever given to benefit the user only, but always to benefit the Church of Christ.

Acts 13:8-12 "But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."

1 Corinthians 12:28 " And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues."

The Gift of Miracles is unique in that it covers areas of ministry where the other Gifts do not go. Any exercise of the supernatural not covered by the other Spiritual Gifts is covered under Miracles. This Gift can invoke the Death Angel, disease can be created or removed, and natural forces of nature can be stopped, started, warped, or changed to suit God's purpose at that moment. While Filled with the Spirit Paul brought supernatural blindness on Elymas, and this act proved that Christ was in deed the true Savior. All who witnessed this event had their faith strengthened. One of Christ's opponents, the deputy, even became a believer that day. No Spiritual Gift is ever given to benefit the user only, but always to benefit the Church of Christ.

Acts 10:44-48 "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days."

During our background study we discovered that fell on or fell upon were terms used to denote the Filling Ministry of the Spirit. It is this Filling Ministry that caused the believers to exercise the Gift of Tongues. Peter reasoned that, since these believers exercised a Spiritual Gift (brought on by the Filling), then it was logical to assume that they had already been Indwelt and Baptized by the Spirit. If they had already been Indwelt and Baptized, then they were certainly Christians worthy of water baptism. The Filling of the Spirit led to the Gift of Tongues. The Gift of Tongues acted as a visible sign to the Jews that the Gentiles were under the same promise of salvation. You cannot be Filled without receiving all of the other Ministries of the Spirit.

Acts 19:6 "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."

1 Corinthians 12:10 "To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:"

During our background study we also discovered that came on or came upon are terms used to denote the Filling Ministry of the Spirit. Once more, it was the Filling rather than the Baptism that led to the Gifts of Tongues and Prophecy. One who is Filled with the Spirit will, of course, have already been Baptized. But the Filling is what actually drives the Gifts.

Acts 11:15-17 "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"

In the above text Peter was responding to Jewish believers who questioned the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church. Peter's response was to note that these Gentile believers were Filled with the Spirit (fell upon is a synonym for the Filling), and as they were so Filled then they logically had to have been Baptized by the Spirit. And if they had already been Baptized, then they naturally must have been Saved.

In our next study we'll look at the Baptism of the Spirit in greater detail. What is this non experiential ministry, and what does it mean to the believer? Let's see.......................