The answer here is initially definitional.? What do you mean by “filled with the Holy Spirit?”? The answer will almost inevitably take us into the murky depth of theology, where, for example, Pentecostals may differ with Anglicans.? That said, let’s move on.

Merlene, my immediate thought on reading your email was that the three practical admonitions are all actions under the control of the recipient, while the “infilling of the Holy Spirit” is not.? It’s something that transpires by the Grace of God within believers, like regeneration or being born-again. ?Paul saw baptism “in the spirit” as the act by which God made a believer a member of the Body of Christ.? Some religions refer to this as being “sealed” in the spirit, and it’s akin to justification, a once-off event.

But this isn’t the only context in which the New Testament uses the expression “filled in the spirit.”? Luke in Acts 2:4 notes that at Pentecost the believers in the Upper Room were “all filled with the Holy Spirit?….” They then began to speak in foreign languages that they didn’t know and went outside and evangelized to the multitudes from around the world in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.? Then Peter gave his finest sermon, starting with an expression that meant in effect, “they are not filled with wine, but with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:15)

The irony of this was not lost on Paul in Ephesians 5:18 when he commands, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”? This, Merlene, seems to be the closest biblical text to what you seem to be asking.? Is the filling in Paul’s command to the Ephesians different from the one-off act of sealing a justified believer by the filling of the Holy Spirit?

The Greek verbs used in our two proof verses, interestingly enough, differ:

·?????? Acts 2:4 - π?μπλημι, pimplemi, means to fill as in to fulfil or accomplish. In other words, done and dusted.

·?????? Ephesians 5:18 - πληρ?ω, pleroo, to fill to the full; to make replete; to complete; to consummate; to render perfect. Per Strong, it literally means to cram (as a fishing net full of fish).? In the Aorist tense, it expresses ongoing action as when it is translated “supply” in Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

So this is the crux of your question, why Paul did not command the Thessalonians to continue to fill (pleroo) their spiritual tanks with the Spirit.

Neither Luke nor Paul meant re-baptism or regeneration or born-again in the Spirit. That would be completely inconsistent with everything else in Scripture about justification (salvation).

So what did Paul mean in Ephesians 5:18 (other than a clever wordplay on what Peter said in Acts 2:15)?? Is he simply giving a wowser’s (non-drinker’s) response that instead of losing control under the influence it is better to remain in control with the guidance of the Spirit?? In other words, anything that alcohol can bring you, God can give you immeasurably more. Possibly, although Paul wasn’t a wowser, he was for moderation.? It would fit his verb choice.

But there may be a call to experience to the full (and continue to experience to the full) what God can do through believers by His Spirit.? Your second question asked whether the same Spirit that appeared at Pentecost (and to Centurian Cornelius and his family) appeared to the Thessalonians (or to believers today). In the 1^st century and now, some people saw cloven tongues of fire and rushing winds, and others filled with the Spirit didn’t. ?Believers have always had different ideas about the fullness of the Holy Spirit.? Here’s how I would answer this second question:

1.?????? I would prefer to substitute “indwell” in place of “appear”.? In that case the answer is that the Bible says, “Yes!”

2.?????? Keep in mind that those in the Upper Room (and many others) were already believers who had accepted Jesus and lived for and by Him and were justified and living sanctified lives.? Even so, when the Holy Spirit arrived, they were changed (super-charged).

3.?????? With non-believers like Cornelius, the inrush of the Holy Spirit as at Pentecost was a divine sign to the Jews that Gentiles were acceptable to God.

4.?????? The appearance of all signs and wonders in these two events each had a clear purpose. Per the Bible, people have different gifts, which are for the Glory of God and the edification of the Body of Christ. The Bible doesn’t require that everyone who accepts Christ handles snakes, for example, but some religions have made that their practice.

5.?????? Believers in Thessalonica received the Holy Spirit just as others did then and believers do today.

Back to the primary issue: Scripture gives two testaments to the fruit of an individual’s fullness of the Spirit:

1.?????? To be witnesses (Acts 1:8)

2.?????? To fulfil their family and social roles and responsibilities (Ephesians 5:18-6:9)

Jesus expressed HOW to be filled to the full in John 7:37-38 when He said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ?This saying predicted the coming of the Holy Spirit.? So what are the requirements to be filled to the full with the Spirit?

3. Desire, volition, recognition of need: “If anyone thirsts”
4. True repentance: “let him come to Me”
5. Acceptance of Jesus Christ and receiving His offer of the Spirit: “and drink.”
6. Living and acting in faith: “He who believes in Me.”

So, Merlene, why no reference to “be filled with the Holy Spirit”?

Paul wrote:

??? a. Pray and be Patient – Items 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 above

??? b. Work if you want to Eat - Items 2 and 6 above.

??? c. Be Doers, not Hearers – Items 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 above.

May I suggest that Paul covered the topic pretty comprehensively with the practical guidance that he gave, which, it seems to me, would keep their spiritual tanks topped up.

Having said that, it’s now apparent why forests have been chopped down (virtual forests these days) to accommodate learned tomes on the nature of the supernatural fullness in the Spirit, whether a one-time event (justification) or an ongoing requirement (sanctification). ?That’s one reason we have religions.

Thanks for the question, Merlene, it was highly appropriate for a Sunday. I value anything that immerses me in Scripture.

Blessings,

Ray