And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 9:17
It is clear from the Book of Acts that the empowering of the Holy Spirit is distinct from the indwelling Holy Spirit who is in every believer. A number of events in Acts reinforce the empowering of the Holy Spirit as being something that is separate from salvation, though it can happen at the same time.
When believers heard that Saul of Tarsus had been converted, they basically thought, “Saul, a believer? No way.” Saul was a notorious persecutor of the church, after all. His conversion was unexpected to say the least. But God spoke to a man named Ananias and told him to go visit Saul and pray for him, because Saul was a chosen vessel to bring the gospel to the Gentiles.
Saul already had put his faith in Christ. He already had met the risen Lord on the Damascus road. But Ananias arrived and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). Saul would become the apostle Paul, one of the most powerful preachers in the history of the church, and would pen a good portion of the New Testament.
Taken from "Empowered" by Harvest Ministries (used by permission).
