Sunday, June 04, 2006

Acts 2:4

As the room has been filled, pljrow, with the wind, so they have been filled, pimpljmi, with the Holy Spirit. This author uses the term pimpljmi in passive voice for being filled with the following:
  • filled with/of (genitive) the Holy Spirit - Luk 1:15, 41, 67, Act 2:4, 4:8, 31, 9:17, 13:9
  • filled days or time - Luk 1:23, 57, 2:6, 21, 22
  • fulfilled Scriptures - Luk 21:22
  • filled with emotion - rage (Luk 4:28), fear (Luk 5:26), fury (Luk 6:11), wonder (Act 3:10), zeal (Act 5:17, 13:45), confusion (Act 19:29)

Outside of these verses, pimpljmi only occurs in 2 other places in the New Testament, both times in Matthew. Both uses are, in contrast to the figurative Luke/Acts occurences, purely literal.

  • 22:10 - The wedding hall of the king is filled with guests when the servants go out into the streets to bring in everyone they can find, both good and bad.
  • 27:48 - The sponge offered to Jesus on the cross is filled with sour wine for him to drink.

The combination of all of these uses paints a picture of being filled with the Holy Spirit. From the seasonal and prophetic uses, we have the sense of the covenant promise that the filling of the Holy Spirit is the delivery on. From the emotional uses, in each case leading to activity on the part of the one filled, we anticipate a similar, visceral response to a force that will also bring to action, in word and deed. From the literal uses, we can infer a saturation as well as a crowding. Imagine the Holy Spirit filling the senses, crowding out fallen, human inclination, empowering and instigating in one heart-pounding moment.

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