MEASURES OF THE HOLYSPIRIT

BY J.C. CHOATE

The apostle John said of Christ, “for He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him” (John 3:34). What does John mean when he talks about God giving the Spirit to Christ without measure? Measure would imply limitation. In other words, had God given Christ only “a measure” of the spirit that would have meant that He would have been limited as to what He could do, even through the power of the Spirit. But God did not give him the Spirit “by measure”, but “without measure”. That means that neither God nor the Spirit would place any restriction on Him when it came to the use of the power of the spirit.
Continuing, if God gave the spirit to Christ without measure that would of necessity imply that the Spirit was given to others “by measure”. And, indeed, this is what happened. These included apostles, the ones they laid their hands on, and all who have been baptized into Christ.
Our Lord, receiving the spirit without measure, was able to do miracles, including casting out devils and raising the dead, calming the stormy seas, turning water into wine, walking upon water, etc. In addition to all these John wrote, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that believing you might have life through His name” (John 20:30,31)
But perhaps even beyond everything else was the fact that Jesus had the authority to bestow the power of the Holy Spirit on others. He alone could baptize the apostles with the Holy Spirit. The apostles were given the power to lay their hands upon certain disciples that they might have miraculous measure of the Spirit, but they could not baptize anyone with the spirit. Furthermore, those who received the laying-on-of-hands measure of the Holy Spirit by the apostles could not pass that power on others. How do we know these things? The Bible clearly tells us, if we pay attention to what is written.
So let’s take a look at those who received the measures of the Spirit.
There are many who believe that all of the Lord’s people from the apostles right on down to the Christians of our day received or should receive the baptismal measure of the Holy Spirit. Many even pray for that baptism! We are going to see that this is not a valid expectation.
First of all keep in mind that Christ promised to send the Comforter or the Holy Spirit upon the apostles only. He did not make this promise to all of His followers of that day or to all who would follow Him in the future.
When we turn to the book of John, we read, “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 :and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26,27).
Again He said, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” (John 16:7).
Going on, He said, “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will shew you things to come” (John16:13). Now to whom was the Lord speaking in these verses? If you will read the context and notice what Jesus is saying, it is very obvious that He is speaking to His apostles, to those who have been with Him from the beginning (John 15:27). The question, then, is this: Did the Lord keep His promise?
Before we see what finally happened, please consider these statements Christ made to His apostles just prior to His return to the Father in Heaven: “And, behold, I send the promise of the my Father upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Could these statements apply to anyone living today? Of course not!
Luke wrote this also: “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen: to whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God; and being assembled together with them, commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptize with water; but ye shall be baptize with the Holy Ghost not many days from hence” (Act 1:1-5)
Then Jesus said, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:. Surely we can see in these statements that Jesus promised the apostles the power of the Holy Ghost. That being true, who received it? The apostles only or all believers in general?
In Acts 2 we read, “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 apperaered unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4). Reading on through that chapter, we see the apostle preaching to a large crowd of people. Approximately 3,000 of them obeyed the gospel, and on being saved, they were added by the Lord to the church (Acts 2:47.
We also have this statement, “And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles” (Acts 2:43).
Continuing to read to the fifth chapter of Acts (verse 12), the specification is again made concerning those who were doing miracles: “And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people.” The conclusion, then, is that only the apostles received the baptismal measure of the Holy Spirit.
But they were only twelve in number and there was much to do. In the next chapter, Acts 6, the apostles ask the disciples to choose among them seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom. The fact that they were “full of the Holy Ghost”, and yet that they did not have the power to do any miracles shows us that it was the non-miraculous measure of the spirit that was given to each person at the time of his baptism into Christ. As we continue study, we will learn about this measure that all Christian receive upon their baptism.
When these seven men were selected by the church, the apostles prayed and laid their hands on them that they might receive the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit. Now, remember, these men were already full of the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit. What was the difference between what they had received at their baptism, as promised in Acts 2:38 [“then Peter said to them, ‘repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’”] and what they now received through prayer and the laying on of the apostle’s hands? Acts 2 shows it was only the apostles who receive the baptismal measure of the Spirit (Acts 1:26-2:1-4), so we know that these seven had not been baptized with the Holy Spirit. However, at the time of their baptism in water, in their obedience to the Lord , they had received the non-miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit as promised to all converts in Acts 2:38. Now ,as specially selected men they received the laying-on-of-hands measure of the Spirit, that only the apostles could bestow. This enables them todo certain miraculous works by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In conclusion, let it be understood that there is only one measure of the Holy Spirit today and it is the non-miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit that is given to all who obey the Lord.

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