True Signs Versus Counterfeits

There is another way that false prophets can be identified: in the way they are used by unclean spirits to perform supernatural signs other than the ones discussed in the previous section.

This brings us to the second category of supernatural manifestations that can occur in the church: those signs that are manifested only as the Spirit wills. These signs depend on the gifts of the Spirit being manifested through the saints and cannot be manifested by faith alone. It is entirely normal for the gifts of the Spirit to be manifested in the church, and the New Testament provides abundant evidence of this fact. Believers should expect to see these gifts manifested among them and should encourage each other to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture lists nine gifts of the Spirit: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 2:8-10). The Lord has also set different ministry gifts in His church, the five main ones being the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. Each ministry gift operates in various spiritual gifts, which form part of their called offices.

This series will not discuss either the ministry gifts or spiritual gifts in detail, as it focuses not on teaching about the gifts of the Spirit but rather on the different manifestations that can accompany their demonstration. This focus will help saints better discern which manifestations are from God and which are not.

Unfortunately, the devil can counterfeit this second category of signs, making it possible for unclean spirits to deceive the church in these areas. In Exodus, when Moses performed various signs before Pharaoh, his magicians could perform some of the same signs. Therefore, a supernatural encounter does not always mean it comes from the Holy Spirit. Of the nine gifts of the Spirit, demons most commonly counterfeit the prophetic gifts (the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge given through prophecy) and the working of miracles by exposing people to their supernatural power.

Acts 4:29-31 “Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word,  (30)  by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus."  (31) And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”

In the previous section, we saw that it is scriptural for saints who have not yet received the Holy Spirit to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The saints in Samaria, for example, attended Peter and John's meeting with the express purpose of being filled with the Holy Spirit. However, what we will see in this section is that it is entirely unscriptural for saints who have already been baptized in the Holy Spirit to seek to be filled again with the Spirit. This does not mean that the saints will not be filled again; it just means that it is unscriptural for them to seek to be filled again. There is a vast difference between these two concepts.

There are numerous accounts in scripture of the saints being filled with the Spirit again after their initial baptism. Scripture says that Peter was filled with the Spirit when he spoke to the Jewish council on the day he and John were placed on trial (Acts 4:8). Scripture also says that Paul was filled with the Spirit when he confronted Elymas the sorcerer on the island of Paphos (Acts 13:9). These are just two of numerous examples of saints being filled with the Spirit after receiving their initial baptism of the Holy Spirit. Clearly, it is scriptural for saints to be filled with the Spirit more than once. Nevertheless, there is a scriptural pattern regarding this point. First, we see that on each occasion, the saints were filled as the Spirit willed, not as they willed. Second, we see that on each occasion when the saints were filled, it was to enable them to perform a specific task.

The passage of scripture quoted above describes the church in Jerusalem being filled with the Spirit. This was the same church that had been filled with the Spirit on the day of Pentecost only a few weeks before. Why were they filled again? The context of this account is that Peter and John had been arrested for preaching the gospel, and upon their release, they had been commanded by the Jewish leaders to no longer teach in Jesus’ name. As a result of their encounter with the Jewish authorities, the church had gathered together to pray. This account is a record of what transpired at that prayer meeting.

This incident took place several weeks after the day of Pentecost, when one of the phenomena that occurred was the sound of a rushing mighty wind from heaven that filled the whole temple where the saints were gathered (Acts 2:2). On this later occasion, one of the phenomena was that the power of God physically shook the building where they were. Scripture goes on to say that all the saints present at that prayer meeting were also filled with the Holy Spirit. They were filled with the Spirit in answer to their prayer so that they could proclaim the word of God with boldness. Thus, we see the same New Testament pattern: the saints were filled as the Spirit willed, and they were filled for a specific task.

Luke, as the writer of the book of Acts, informs us that all the saints present at that prayer meeting were filled with the Holy Spirit. How did he know this? It was not because they all began to speak the word of God boldly in that meeting, for that comment refers to the answer to their prayer—they continued to proclaim the gospel boldly throughout Jerusalem and Judea, despite being threatened by the authorities not to do so. How, then, did Luke know that all the saints present at that meeting had been filled with the Holy Spirit? It was also not because the saints spoke in other tongues as they did on the day of Pentecost, because ever since Pentecost, the saints had continued to speak in tongues and would have been praying in tongues during much of the prayer meeting that night. The answer as to how Luke knew that the saints were filled with the Holy Spirit lies in the other visible phenomena we discussed in the previous section: some would have trembled as the tangible power of God came upon them, some may have fallen under that power, and some may have wept while others may have laughed. These types of phenomena would have convinced Luke that the saints were being filled with the Holy Spirit once again.

Michael E.B. Maher

Holy Spirit Encounters

Buy Now

Donate