An Answer to a Letter of Inquiry.
YOU ask, dear brother, “What is your reading of Acts 19:2?” and say, “Acts 2:4 and Acts 4:8 show that Peter had more than one filling.”
Now you must clearly understand that I am no teacher, nor am I by any means well up in Scripture; but it is doubtless well for us to bear in mind that neither Old Testament saints, nor even the saints who were with the Lord when He was down here, were sealed or indwelt by the Holy Ghost. In fact, none were until Acts 2. “For the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). The Holy Spirit used to come “upon” Old Testament saints, and they prophesied. For instance, He came “upon” King Saul and he prophesied (1 Sam. 10:10, etc.), but He did not abide always with him or any other Old Testament saint. Even David said, “Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me”; but of course we could not pray thus, for our Lord has said, “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth... for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:16, 17).
Now this promise was fulfilled in Acts 2 when the Holy Ghost came down and baptized all believers into one body―the Church. All these believers had been Jews, but now they were in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit they were really and truly Christians. So at the present time all true believers are “sealed” or indwelt by the Holy Ghost (Eph. 1:13), and are so added to the already baptized Body.
There is no repetition of baptism of believers into the Body of Christ, and there is no withdrawal of the Spirit from one who is “sealed” or indwelt by Him. “And He shall abide with you forever.” But He is grieved by what man may call “small” sins of any kind. May God deliver you and me from thus grieving Him!
We don’t get, I think, any mention of Gentile believers “indwelt” by the Holy Ghost until Acts 10:44, 45, hence, I suppose, the ignorance of the saints at Ephesus, as shown in Acts 19:2. With regard to Acts 1r. 4 and Acts 4:8, and your remark that these scriptures “showed that Peter had more than one filling,” I don’t think it should be put quite like that, as we must remember that the normal state of a Christian is being “filled” by the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4); but it is much to be feared we are not, at times, in our normal condition, hence the admonition, “Be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18).
Possibly it may be well to recapitulate a little. The Holy Ghost used to come “upon” Old Testament saints, also “upon” those saints who lived during our Lord’s sojourn on earth, and it was their privilege sometimes to be “filled,” but they were not indwelt by Him. On the contrary, New Testament saints, i.e. since Pentecost, have been indwelt by the Holy Ghost, and it is our privilege to be “filled” as well. The Holy Ghost also dwells in the Church corporately.
The Church is Christ’s Body. So we are united to Him, our Head, in the glory, and also to each other down here, “for we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones” (Eph. 5:30), “and every one members one of another” (Rom. 12:5).
If these truths were known and acted upon by all Christians, dear brother, what a blessed state of things would result! There would be no more isms and no more divisions C. P. W. N.
“SINCE Thou past borne sin’s heavy load,
My guilty fear is o’er;
Made Thine, by virtue of Thy blood,
I’m sealed for evermore.”