Jose Morelos

This Wednesday we continued our study of Acts by looking at the second chapter, specifically the first 13 verses.  We asked ourselves and then answered a few questions in relation to the Holy Spirit.

Who Has it and Who Doesn’t?
These provocative questions were sparked by comments within our group during our second meeting, when we looked at Acts 1.The straightforward answer to these questions is that all believers (Christ followers) have the Holy Spirit and nobody else does. It is the gift of the Father to all who believe in the Son.  We looked in Romans (8:9) and John (14:17) to verify that answer.

What is the baptism of the Holy Spirit?
The baptism of the Holy Spirit consists of two parts: first, becoming a part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Eph. 5:23) and second, receiving or being indwelled by the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). We discussed how once you are baptized by the Holy Spirit you are never alone and that it is never “undone.”

Another note from the verses in Acts 2 is that while speaking in tongues happened after the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it wasn’t a result of the Baptism. It was a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Which brings us to the third question of the night.

What is the filling of the Holy Spirit?
Filling of the Holy Spirit is a temporary thing that requires constant refilling (Rom. 6:3-4, Eph. 5:18). The filling of the Holy Spirit is always followed by external manifestation (Acts 1:4). This is a marked difference from being baptized by the Holy Spirit. That happens once, at salvation, but being filled is something that can happen many times. We see many instances in the Bible of people being “filled” – Acts 6:5 where Stephen was filled with faith and the Holy Spirit, in Luke 1:45 Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and we see in Luke 1:67 that Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied. These are just three examples of many found throughout scripture.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit you must giving total control of your life to the Holy Spirit. This is done through emptying ourselves (asking God to help us empty ourselves) and allowing Him to fill us with the Holy Spirit.

These were the main topics of discussion during our time on Wednesday. I have added a link here to download the full set of notes that include more scripture references and information on the other sections of Acts 2. 

Download notes.