mailmandan
Active Member
So, how can one be filled with the Holy Spirit if one has not yet received the gift of the Holy Spirit?Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not limited only to the saved. Being indwelled with the Holy Spirit is limited to those who have been saved; but being filled with the Holy Spirit is not.
There is a difference between the role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and in the New Testament in regard to "indwelling." The New Testament teaches the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit in believers (Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5). When we believe the gospel/place our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul calls this permanent indwelling the “guarantee of our inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:14)That had been occurring throughout the OT and occasionally even to non-believers and to animals such as Baalam's donkey.
In contrast to this permanent indwelling in the New Testament, the indwelling in the Old Testament was selective and temporary. The Holy Spirit “came upon” such Old Testament people as Joshua (Numbers 27:18), David (1 Samuel 16:12-13) and Saul (1 Samuel 10:10). In the book of Judges, we see the Holy Spirit “coming upon” these various judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel from their oppressors. The Holy Spirit did not permanently indwell them/seal them, but instead, came upon these individuals for specific tasks. So, while in the New Testament the Holy Spirit only indwells believers and that indwelling is permanent, the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals in the Old Testament for specific tasks and not to permanently seal them with the Holy Spirit.
In regard to Balaam's donkey, one of the most ludicrous arguments that I have ever heard from folks who attend the CoC in a desperate effort to "get around" the fact that these Gentiles in Acts 10:43-47 had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues (spiritual gift which is only for the body of Christ - 1 Corinthians 12) and were saved BEFORE water baptism is that Balaam's donkey (in Numbers 22) also spoke in tongues, but that does not prove the donkey was saved either. In the first place, the Lord simply opened the mouth of the donkey to speak in order to rebuke Balaam. The donkey did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit or the spiritual gift of tongues, which is for (human) believers only. This same ludicrous argument concludes that these Gentiles in Acts 10:43-47 merely received the gift of tongues, but not the gift of the Holy Spirit and were not saved until AFTER water baptism.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit certainly does indicate salvation and is a subsequent experience to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit in which the Holy Spirit controls and guides every aspect of the believer, providing empowerment for ministry, which may or may not be accompanied by speaking in tongues. (Acts 2:4; 4:8; 4:31; 7:55; 9:7; 13:9; 13:52 etc..)Being filled with the Holy Spirit indicated only that the one being filled was being enabled to do something not normally within his capabilities; it did not indicate salvation.