Joy's Spirit-Filled Supernatural Expression

Hebrews 1:9 “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

In this section, we will discuss the phenomenon of people laughing as they encounter the power of the Holy Spirit. As with all the phenomena discussed in this series, there are potentially three different types of manifestations that can occur in this area as well:

• People laughing in the Spirit.

• People pretending to laugh in the Spirit.

• People laughing under demonic influence.

Firstly, we will examine the biblical evidence for the genuine phenomenon of people laughing as a result of encountering the power of the Holy Spirit. To understand this phenomenon, we need to recognize a characteristic of the Holy Spirit. The passage above provides some insight into this area. In this passage, we see God the Father speaking to His Son, Jesus, and telling Him that He has anointed Him with the oil of gladness. The oil of gladness that God the Father refers to is the Holy Spirit. Thus, we see that the Holy Spirit is described by God the Father as the oil of gladness.

The word translated "gladness" can also be translated as "extreme joy." Therefore, it would be entirely scriptural to say that God the Father has anointed our Lord Jesus with the oil of extreme joy. Notice that the scripture states that God has anointed Jesus more than His companions, implying that God has also anointed the Lord's companions, though with a lesser amount of the same oil. So who are the Lord's companions? Clearly, they are the church. Therefore, it would also be scriptural to say that God has anointed His saints with the oil of extreme joy.

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” 

Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

1 Thessalonians 1:6 “And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit.”

All three of the above passages of scripture confirm the same truth: when the saints are filled with the Holy Spirit, they simultaneously encounter His joy. So, what does the scripture mean when it says that the saints were filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit? To answer this, we need to consider how people naturally react when they are filled with joy, as it is possible for people to experience joy in the natural sense.

The least evidence someone displays when they are filled with joy is typically a smile. Some people, who are more expressive, might even chuckle when they are joyful. Then there are those who are very expressive and would likely laugh when filled with joy. Clearly, in the natural, it is impossible for someone to be full of joy without showing some form of evidence of that joy on their face or through their actions.

How much more, then, when the saints of God are filled with the extreme joy of the Holy Spirit? It would indeed be impossible for a saint to be filled with His joy and not express it in at least the same manner they would in the natural.

Psalms 126:1-3 “When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion, We were like those who dream.  (2)  Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them."  (3) The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad.”

So, what about laughing in the Spirit? The above passage of scripture answers that question for us. This passage describes the saints of God expressing extreme joy in what the Lord has done for them. It is not a description of the saints' behaviour in heaven but rather of those on earth. The scripture records the nations observing the saints of God as they express the joy of the Lord, declaring that the Lord has done great things for them. Notice that the scripture states that their mouths are filled with laughter. Therefore, it is entirely scriptural for the saints of God to be filled with laughter when they encounter the joy of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 14:14 “For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful.”

So how do people laugh in the Spirit? Laughing in the Spirit operates on a similar principle to speaking in tongues. As revealed in the above passage of scripture, when believers speak in tongues, it is their spirits using their body’s vocal cords to speak in a supernatural language that their minds do not understand. In other words, their spirit is doing the talking, and their minds play no part. Similarly, when believers laugh in the Spirit, it is their spirits using their bodies to laugh in a supernatural way, and their minds play no part. In the natural, they have no idea why they are laughing, just as when they pray in tongues, they have no idea what they are saying. It is the spirit of the believer laughing as an expression of being filled with the extreme joy of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 13:52 “And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” 

When believers receive the gift of tongues, they can speak in tongues whenever they choose (1 Corinthians 14:15). This is because speaking in tongues is initiated by the born-again human spirit. The question then arises: can believers laugh in the Spirit whenever they want to? The answer is no. Believers cannot laugh in the Spirit at will because the laughter is the born-again human spirit’s response to being filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. In the above passage, believers are described as being filled with the Holy Spirit and joy. Therefore, it is only on those occasions when the Holy Spirit comes upon the saints and fills their spirits with joy that their spirits will respond by expressing that joy through laughter. From this perspective, laughing in the Spirit is comparable to operating in the gifts of the Spirit. In other words, this phenomenon occurs as the Holy Spirit wills, not as man wills (1 Corinthians 12:11).

It is also important to note that laughing in the Spirit is not the same as laughing in the natural. What do I mean by that? I have experienced both, and while sustained laughter in the natural eventually becomes uncomfortable and even painful, sustained laughter in the Spirit produces no such side effects. On each occasion when I have laughed in the Spirit, the laughter came from within my spirit (my belly), and my mind had nothing to do with it. I was not seeking to laugh in the Spirit at the time, and on each occasion, I was taken by surprise when I did. I have also laid hands on believers to pray for various requests, and they began to laugh in the Spirit, surprising both myself and the recipient of prayer, as neither of us was seeking such a manifestation from the Lord at that moment. I can clearly testify, both from scripture and experience, that this type of phenomenon occurs as the Holy Spirit wills, not as we will.

Michael E.B. Maher

Holy Spirit Encounters

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