Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?…The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.”
1 Samuel 10:1, 6-7
Samual was the prophet and judge for Israel when Israel asked for a king. They wanted to be like all the other nations around them who had a king, so God handpicked Saul. Samuel anointed Saul with oil and spoke a prophetic word over his life. The Spirit of the Lord would come upon Saul, enable him to prophesy, and would change him into a different person. And that is exactly what happened.
As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.
1 Samuel 10:9-10
What happened to Saul when the Holy Spirit came upon him is a foreshadowing of what happens to the early disciples when the Holy Spirit comes upon them during Pentecost in Acts 2.
When we put our faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit within us and are saved. We see this happen to the early disciples in John 20:22. Yet, when the Holy Spirit comes upon us, as it did to the early disciples in Acts 2, we often see a dramatic shift in the life of the believer. Along with life change, we see supernatural gifts like prophecy awakened.
When Peter tries to explain the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, he describes it as a fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel 2:
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
“‘In the last days, God says,
Acts 2:14-18
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
One of the effects of the Holy Spirit coming upon a believer–sometimes called being “filled with the Spirit”(read Ephesians 5:18; Acts 2:4; Acts 4:8 & 31; Acts 13:9 & 52)–is that they begin to prophesy. In other words, they begin to hear more clearly from the Lord than they’ve ever heard before, and they feel a fiery urge to speak those words. Yes, there are many other gifts that are awakened or imparted when a person is filled with the Spirit, but throughout scripture, prophecy is one of the most prominent and consistent ones.
And similarly to Saul, when a believer goes from having the Holy Spirit dwell in them to then also being filled with the Spirit–having the Spirit come upon them–they feel changed. It often feels like a second conversion experience. Many testimonies attest to the feeling of being changed into a different person, as Saul was.
A hunger for intimacy with God gets ignited. A sense of how completely loved you are by the Father overwhelms you. Gifts and talents that you had before are set ablaze with the power of the Spirit. Love and grace for people around you increases. Your prayer life deepens. Old sin habits aren’t given a second thought because your desires have been renewed. You no longer want the old things you used to want. Your boldness for the gospel triples.
I am convinced that as followers of Jesus we were never meant to only have the Spirit dwell within us. We all were meant to have the Spirit come upon us. We were meant to be changed and empowered as Saul was. We were all meant to be filled with the Spirit and meant to live a dynamic, supernatural lifestyle. This is what God always intended, not a new religion but a new kind of humanity.
“…His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity…”
Ephesians 2:15
Fire and Light 