There is a lot of controversy over what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. John MacArthur says that when a person becomes a believer in Christ, he or she is immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. He said, "Every Christian, from the moment he believes, possesses the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing in existence as a Christian without the Holy Spirit. You see, it is the life of God in you that is the redeeming reality. When you become a child of God, God takes up residence by His Spirit within you. There’s no such thing as a Christian without the Spirit of God (Be Filled with the Spirit, Part 1)."
Luke 1:15 describes John the Baptist as being filled with the Holy Spirit from the time he was in his mother's womb. He..."shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; but he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb." I love how Luke 1:44 describes John's reaction when Mary goes to visit Elizabeth. "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy."
I don't believe it was "the babe" that leaped for joy, but rather, the Holy Spirit, who was residing in John, who leaped for joy. In Romans 3:10-11, the scripture makes it plain that none of us desire Christ on our own. “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God." It is the Spirit who teaches us and opens our eyes to the truth that draws us to Christ. We do not come to Him naturally. 2 Timothy 1:8b-9 says, "...God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began..."
God saves us. God gives us the Holy Spirit. Our first step after these gifts is obedience. It reminds me of when our children were starting to crawl. Immediately, our relationship changed from sitting and staring with love and our little bundle, to full-on parenting. "No, don't touch that." "Stay here. Don't go to the steps." And what kind of obedience is involved in the Christian life? God tells us to study His Word(2 Timothy 2:15), to tell others about the gospel(Matthew 28:19), to love others (John 13:34-35), to love Him (Matthew 22:37), provide hospitality(1 Peter 4:9). The Christian life is a vigorous life. It is not for the weak, and yet in our weakness, we must ask God for help in living the life He calls us to live, and as we practice obedience and reliance on God's will, we become stronger, but never independent of His power and the teaching we receive from His Spirit.
There have been three times in my life when I had a "John the Baptist moment." No. Now that I think of it, I'm going to only claim two of them for that. The first was when our oldest three were young. I don't remember what was specifically going on, besides lack of sleep, non-stop dirty diapers, breastfeeding, and potty training, but there was about six months when I just didn't pick up my Bible. Finally, the evening came when they were all tucked in bed and I just couldn't hold back anymore. I HAD to read my Bible. It was such a strong desire. I sat down in the recliner, picked up my Bible, and as I started to turn the pages, I felt the Spirit within jump! It took me by surprise. It was a 2-Second Happy Dance. I believed then, and now, that God was confirming my choice at that moment through His Spirit.
The second time it happened, I was at a graduation party. My friend asked one of the men at the party to pray us into dinner. He started praying..."Jesus..." So simple, and yet such a powerful name. The Spirit within did another one of those 2-Second Happy Dances. I believed then, and now, that God was confirming the power of His Son's name to me, through His Spirit. It was amazing.
The "third" thing that happened was a bit different. We had been members of a "seeker sensitive" church for eight years before finally leaving. The pastor at that church only taught the same cycle of topical sermons every year. I never realized it while we were there, but by the time we left, I felt empty. There was a local pastor, whose CDs we had listened to before leaving that church. We decided to go listen to him in-person while we were in between churches. That first Sunday there, listening to him preach the Word, my spirit literally felt like a sponge. I was soaking up true Gospel teaching for the first time in years at that church. I physically felt my own spirit being watered and soaking up that teaching. What a blessing that was.
And so...why share? So weird. What does it mean? I like what John MacArthur said. Referring toRomans 8:16, which says, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." He called it "...the mysterious internal ministry of the Spirit of God within us confirming to our own spirits that we are the children of God." That's what I believe God was doing with me. He was confirming my relationship with Him during times when I was being obedient through Bible study, prayer, and meeting together with other believers to hear His Word preached. He is ever faithful, and always loving and merciful.
Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:4-5
Love,
Becca
Our family listens to John MacArthur at least twice a week. His website, Grace to You is full of useful resources. That pastor that we visited back in 2004 was Tom Nelson, pastor of Denton Bible Church. We joined that church and remained members until 2020, when we moved out of state.