Volume 5

The Indwelling Vs. The Infilling

By K.D. Anderholm

Some Christian denominations today teach that being born again and being filled with the Spirit are the same experience. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

The scriptures make a definite distinction between the Holy Spirit’s indwelling and the Holy Spirit’s infilling. We see this distinction illustrated by Jesus just before He ascended into Heaven.

 

After breathing upon His disciples and saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22), Jesus commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were "…endued with power from on High." (Luke 24:49)

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When Jesus breathed upon His disciples, they received divine life through the Spirit of regeneration and their human spirits were recreated. (Tit 3:5) They were "born again" and adopted into the family of God. (John 3:3,7; 1 Pet 1:23) 

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Later, when the disciples had gathered in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues. (Acts 2:4) This was the enduement of power Jesus had spoken to them about. After being baptized in the Holy Spirit, the disciple’s preaching was accompanied by great demonstrations of God’s miraculous power. (Mk 16:20)

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Here we see the difference between the Spirit’s indwelling and His infilling. The Spirit’s indwelling is given for adoption and sonship, but His infilling is imparted to empower specific callings, functions and tasks. (Eph 3:19; 5:18)

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Jesus made the distinction between the indwelling and the infilling when He inaugurated the great commission:

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And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues…

Mark 16:15-17 (NKJ)

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When Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved…" He was referring to the Spirit’s indwelling. When He said, "And these signs will follow those who believe…" He was referring to the power of Spirit’s infilling, otherwise known as the baptism in the Holy Spirit. (Mk 1:8)

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Footnotes:

1. The prophet Ezekiel had foretold a time when God would enable mankind to receive a new regenerated spirit. He wrote: "I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART AND PUT A NEW SPIRIT WITHIN YOU; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT WITHIN YOU…." Ezek 36:26-27(NKJ) When mankind was first created, God breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils and Adam became a living being. (Gen 2:7) Similarly, when Jesus breathed upon His disciples, it was an act of recreation. The disciples were the first to receive the Spirit of regeneration and be born again.