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- The Spirit comes upon people, including (and especially) the primary association with baptism.
- The Spirit fills people, usually in the context of inspired (prophetic) speech
- The Spirit leads/guides people, including passages which use the specific phrase “in the Spirit”
In the previous day’s note, I discussed the first of the three principal themes involving the Holy Spirit in Luke-Acts, listed above. In the next two daily notes, I will be looking at the last two in turn.
Filled with/by the Spirit
This image (and vocabulary) is virtually unique to Luke-Acts in the New Testament; indeed, of the 24 occurrences of the verb plh/qw / pi/mplhmi (“fill [up]”), all but 22 are in Luke-Acts. There are 9 instances where people are said to be “filled” by the Spirit, and another 5 where they are said to be “full” of the Spirit (using the related adjective plh/rh$):
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- Luke 1:15 (of John)—”he will be filled [plhsqh/setai] by the holy Spirit” before he has even come out of his mother’s womb
- Luke 1:41 (of Elizabeth)—”and Elisheba was filled [e)plh/sqh] by the holy Spirit…”
Luke 1:67 (of Zechariah)—”and Zacharyah was filled [e)plh/sqh] by the holy Spirit…” - Luke 4:1 (of Jesus)—”And Yeshua, full [plh/rh$] of the Spirit, turned back…”
- Acts 2:4 (of believers)—”and they all were filled [e)plh/sqhsan] by the holy Spirit…” (cf. also vv. 2, 13)
- Acts 4:8 (of Peter)—”Then (the) Rock {Peter}, filled [plhsqei/$] by the holy Spirit, said…”
- Acts 4:31 (of believers)—”…and they all (together) were filled [e)plh/sqhsan] by the holy Spirit…”
- Acts 6:3 (of the Seven [incl. Stephen])—”…seven (who are) full [plh/rei$] of (the) Spirit and wisdom…”
- Acts 6:5 (of Stephen)—”…a man full [plh/rh$] of trust [i.e. faith] and the holy Spirit”
- Acts 7:55 (of Stephen)—”but being (in a state) full [plh/rh$] of the holy Spirit…”
- Acts 9:17 (of Paul)—(Ananias): “…so that you might see again and be filled [plhsqh=|$] by the holy Spirit”
- Acts 11:24 (of Barnabas)—”…he was a good man and full [plh/rh$] of the holy Spirit and trust [i.e. faith]”
- Acts 13:9 (of Paul)—”But Shaûl, the one also (called) Paulus, filled [plhsqei/$] by the holy Spirit…”
- Acts 13:52 (of believers)—”and the learners [i.e. disciples] were filled [e)plhrou=nto] with joy/delight and the holy Spirit”
In many, if not most of these instances, the filling by the Spirit produces inspired (prophetic) speech, just as the Prophets of Israel where inspired by God to speak. This is certainly the case with Zechariah and Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s parents, who each utter prophetic oracles (Lk 1:41ff, 67ff). It is said specifically of John the Baptist that he would have the spirit/power of a Prophet (i.e. Elijah, Lk 1:17, 76ff), which would be the source of the preaching/proclamation in his ministry (Lk 1:80; 3:2-3ff). Similarly, Jesus begins his public ministry with an inspired address in the synagogue at Nazareth, in which he identifies himself as the Anointed Prophet/herald of Isaiah 61:1ff (Lk 4:16-21ff). For the first believers, the filling of the Spirit was also principally for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel, especially in the face of persecution (cf. Lk 12:11-12; 21:12-15 par). It would give to their proclamation a divine authority and power, both to bring about repentance and conversion but also it would also allow believers to resist the attacks of their opponents (Acts 4:8ff, 31; 6:10; 13:9, etc), just as Jesus withstood temptation by the Devil (Lk 4:1-13, 14).
The basic idea of filling comes originally from the fundamental meaning of pneu=ma (“spirit”) as “breath” or “wind” (cf. Acts 2:2, 4). However, the image of the Spirit as water is also clearly at work, in light of the central association with baptism. We see a play on the idea of believers filled with liquid in Acts 2:13; however, in Luke-Acts we do not find the symbolism of drinking associated with the Spirit as we do in the Gospel of John (Jn 4:7-15, 23-24; 6:53-55, 63; 7:37-39). In the account of Jesus giving the Spirit to his disciples in Jn 20:22, it is said that he “breathed in(to)” them, perhaps alluding to the creation account (Gen 2:7); in any case, it is certainly parallel to Acts 2:2-4, where the believers are filled by the Wind/Breath (Spirit) of God. We also find in Luke-Acts influence of the Old Testament/Jewish traditional imagery of being filled by Wisdom—i.e. the Wisdom of God—Lk 2:40; Acts 6:3 (cf. also Acts 6:5, 8; 9:36; 11:24). For the theme in the Old Testament and Jewish Wisdom literature, cf. Isa 11:9; 44:3; Psalm 107:9; Prov 3:19-20; 9:5; 18:4; Wisdom 1:7; Sirach 1:16; 2:16; 15:3; 17:7; 24:21; 39:6, 12, etc.