223 – HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
September 11, 1960
Henry F. Kulp
Ephesians 5: 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
We have come to a very, very important portion of Scripture that every believer should understand. In this day of confusion, so many ideas are put forth about the filling of the Holy Spirit that one should be completely grounded in this truth, understand what God means.
1/ First of all, as we brought out to you last week, it is necessary to see why we need to be filled with the Spirit. Man as we told you, is made up of body, soul and spirit, and body soul and spirit are completely corrupt, totally depraved. The spirit is that which should make us God-conscious, but instead of man being controlled by the spirit, because of sin, he is controlled by the soul, and man is a soulish being, and there is no hope that the spirit of man can be changed and be made conscious of God. So God gives us a new spirit, His Spirit, The Holy Spirit, the third person of the God-Head, to indwell our bodies and direct us and fill us.
2/ Now, remember that man is a religious being. He tries to make himself right in the sight of God, but his spirit is so corrupt, he can’t understand God, but he permits another to control him and lead him in his religion.
Ephesians 2: 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Here it says, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. This is the spirit of Satan, or his demons. They control men because their spirit is depraved and they permit the spirit of Satan to come in and control them and lead them and make them religious beings without the true knowledge of God.
3/ The next important thing to see is, even after we are saved and have a new nature, the old nature is still corrupt, the person is still soulish unless he permits the Holy Spirit to fill him and control him. Let’s just get proof of what I am saying here.
Romans 8: 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Here we are told that we do not know how to pray, even after we are saved, we do not know how to pray. The old nature does not know how to pray, and to show you how utterly dependent we are upon this new nature, the Holy Spirit that indwells us, He has to do our praying for us, and for Him to do that, He has to fill us, or control us.
4/ Now the next point in our study is to see that God has two entirely different programs worked out for mankind under the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not react the same with mankind in every dispensation.
5/ There is one program of the filling of the Holy Spirit that is not for today. There is a day coming when God will fill men with the Holy Spirit and cause them to do His bidding. Man will have to do His bidding—the Holy Spirit will make him, and the Holy Spirit fills man in that day, he will have no choice, but that is not true today—the filling of the Holy Spirit is not that today that automatically makes us do the will of God. We are not filled completely with the Holy Spirit for all time here on earth.
6/ Joel 2: 28, 29 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
Here God says he will pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophecy, and your old men shall see visions. That is certainly not talking about the day and the hour in which we are living. This has to do with the Kingdom, not with the church which is in operation today. We do not pray for the pouring out of the Spirit—that is incorrect. We do not pray today—“Lord, pour out Thy Spirit upon us.” Everyone who is saved is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and he has as much of the Holy Spirit as he is ever going to get. It is a matter of how much the Holy Spirit gets of the individual.
7/ Then, in this coming day, the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon all men. He hasn’t been poured upon all men today, but in that day He will.
8/ What will be the result when He is poured out upon men?
Ezekiel 36: 26, 27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Here God promises to give them a new spirit. When He pours out His Sprit upon all men, they will have to do His will. They will be caused supernaturally to do His will. Notice, He says I will give you a new heart and a new Spirit, and my Spirit will cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye will keep my judgments and do them.
I realize this is new to many folks, but it is entirely in accord with the teaching of the Word of God. Today God does not fill us with His Spirit and make us to do His bidding, but in the coming day of His Kingdom, His Spirit will be poured out on all flesh, and men will automatically do His will.
5/ Let us get more proof that the Holy Spirit will be poured out upon men and men will be made to do God’s will. We want more Scripture then just Ezekiel 36.
Let us go back to Psalms 22: 27, 28 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.
And here God tells us all the ends of the world, and that means the ends of earth, because that is a common figure of speech in the Old Testament for all the people living upon the earth. The ends of the earth, means those living in the most remote places of the earth, and of course, includes all in between—so it takes in everyone, everywhere.
6/ And everyone, everywhere shall remember and turn to the Lord. The word, remember, is not the usual word, remember, that we think of, for our word, remember, means to bring back to mind, something already known before, or to hold in mind, something already known. Here it does not mean that—here it means to imprint. It is not that man can recall something that God has done for him, but rather, God will imprint something upon the mind of man.
7/ Then the word, turn, could be better translated, shall be turned. This is not a matter that man in his own human effort will turn, but rather that man shall be turned. God shall imprint something upon the mind of man, and turn him about and he will do God’s will, and all this shall come about through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the filling of the Holy Spirit in man, and causing him supernaturally to do the will of God.
8/ All of this, of course, will be after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.
9/ Psalms 25: 8 Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Here it says, Good and upright is the Lord, therefore will He teach sinners in the way. That word, teach, is important. We are apt to read into this word something that is not here. When we think of teaching, we think of continuous process, but in the Hebrew word it does not mean this. This word could be better translated, suit, or cast. So it means that God will suit information, or cast information into the mind of man, and cause him – in other words, to be in the way. Again, supernaturally. God through the Holy Spirit will cause man to do His will.
10/ Psalms 67: 7 God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Psalms tells us the ultimate end of this program. God shall bless—this is the work of God—and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him. Again the ends of the earth literally means all men everywhere. Men in his own nature does not fear God. Even men who are saved today and indwelt by God do not fear God. God has to constantly remind us today that we are to fear Him. Many believers do not fear God in our day, but here everybody, everywhere will be caused to fear God because the Holy Spirit will bring that fear into the heart where man will have the right attitude toward God, a holy righteous, God.
11/ So you can see the whole program is completely different from today. God does not send the Holy Spirit upon us today, to make us over and cause us to be what we should be. He gives us the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit takes up His abode in our bodies, and if we permit the Holy Spirit, He can fill and control us and guide us, and correct us, but the moment we do not meet the requirements that God sets up, that very moment the Holy Spirit is no longer filling us, and rather we are filled with the flesh and we walk in the flesh.
12/ The next thing in our study to see, is that did not happen on the day of Pentecost, We do not have a repetition of Pentecost today. It is truly impossible in our day. This has to do with the Kingdom.
Acts 2: 16, 17 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Here where Peter says, this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel, and it shall come to pass saith God, In the last days, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. This was the beginning of that program, the program depended upon Israel receiving Christ as their Messiah, and then the Kingdom would come, but at the start of that program, we notice, instead of all flesh, all those who were part of that early group were filled with the Spirit.
Acts 2: 1 - 4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The filling of the Holy Spirit there on the day of Pentecost is not the same as the filling of the Holy Spirit in our present day and age.
13/ For I want you to notice the immediate change that took place in the behavior of those believers. He came and took possession of them, not only did they speak with tongues and prophecy, and work miracles, but they all began living one for another.
Acts 2: 44, 45 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Acts 4: 32 – 34, 35 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Notice it says, they were of one heart and soul. It says the multitude of them that believed were this way. Never before had the disciples of Christ even approached such a spirit of love one for another. The twelve had never had anything like this in their past experience.
14/ And then you can go on a little while later in the Book of Acts and you find Paul and Barnabas did not have this attitude, did they? No, the program was changing even then.
Acts 15: 39 And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;
And the contention was so sharp between them that they departed asunder one from the other. What a difference from the day of Pentecost and the days right after Pentecost. If you think that you should have a re-enacting of the day of Pentecost and the season right after it, then it is going to be necessary for you to share every thing and to live one for another, and not have any problems. But I am positive that it would be wrong to even attempt this today. God has not instructed us to act like that in this day.
15/ Then, again, we can see the difference in the program when we recognize at Pentecost the Lord Jesus Christ was the Baptizer, not the Holy Spirit.
And here we read, He, meaning Christ, will baptize you with (or in) the Holy Spirit
John 15: 26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 16: 7 If I depart I will send Him unto you.
But under this present dispensation, Jesus Christ does not baptize us in the Holy Spirit, but rather we are baptized into Christ, into His body.
Galatians 3: 27, 28 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
This is an entirely different program. This is not the day of signs, miracles and wonders. This is not the day of the Holy Spirit taking charge of us automatically and supernaturally causing us to do his will. Rather, it is a day when we are baptized into Christ, given a new Spirit, the Holy Spirit to indwell our bodies, and He leads us as we permit Him.
16/ So, today, it is a moment by moment filling as we yield to the Holy Spirit. If we do not yield to Him, then we find we are not led by him, and we do not have the filling. If we could only see this truth and permit God to work in and through us. That we are not to expect the things that happened in the past and will happen again after the Rapture of the Church, His Body. We are not to expect a great emotional experience, but rather quietly obeying His Word.
AMEN
Ref: 09/11/1960 / 223 HOW TO BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / 08/09/2020
