Filling of the Holy Spirit

Definition and Meaning

The filling of the Holy Spirit refers to the state in which a believer's thoughts, words, and actions are placed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Most denominations regard the filling of the Spirit not as a once-for-all event but as something that may be sought repeatedly. They differ, however, on how it relates to baptism in the Holy Spirit and on whether particular signs necessarily accompany it.

Biblical and Historical Background

The principal supporting text is Ephesians 5:18: "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." The Acts of the Apostles records several scenes involving the filling of the Spirit:

• At Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke with other tongues (Acts 2:4).
• Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke before the council (Acts 4:8).
• The same company, after praying, were filled again (Acts 4:31).

The filling of the Spirit became a central theme in the nineteenth-century Holiness movement and the early twentieth-century Pentecostal movement. In Korea, after the Pyongyang Great Revival of 1907, the experience of the Holy Spirit became a key concept for explaining revival.

Practice and Denominational Understandings

In Korean Protestant churches, the phrase "filled with the Holy Spirit" is common in greetings ("Be filled with the Holy Spirit"), in representative prayer, and in sermons. At revival meetings and gatherings at prayer retreat centers, believers often seek the filling of the Spirit through unison spoken prayer (tongseong gido), in which many pray aloud together. When church officers are appointed, the filling of the Spirit is sometimes cited as a qualification, with reference to Acts 6:3.

Relationship to Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Denominational Views

• Presbyterian and Reformed: Baptism in the Holy Spirit is regarded as something every believer receives once, at regeneration (1 Corinthians 12:13). The filling of the Spirit is understood as the Spirit's governance, received repeatedly thereafter through the Word and prayer. As marks of this filling, these traditions emphasize the fruit of the Spirit and a life of obedience.
• Baptist: Many Baptists hold a view broadly similar to the Presbyterian one, regarding baptism in the Spirit as occurring at conversion and the filling of the Spirit as a repeated experience.
• Holiness and Methodist: Following the tradition of Wesleyan theology, these churches emphasize sanctification, the cleansing of the heart subsequent to regeneration (the new birth). Holiness churches have historically associated this sanctification with baptism in the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit.
• Pentecostal and Full Gospel: Baptism in the Holy Spirit is regarded as an experience distinct from regeneration, with speaking in tongues as its initial evidence. Baptism in the Spirit and filling of the Spirit are often used synonymously.

Some voices caution against experience-centered understandings, while others stress experience as a way of moving beyond merely formal faith. This difference is also connected to the debate over cessationism and continuationism.