The Most Important Bible Character You’ve Never Heard Of

How One Overlooked Story Changes Everything We Know About the Holy Spirit

Image source: Canva Pro

I was promised an encounter with God.

Not just any encounter — a full-force, undeniable, Holy Spirit smash.

I was fifteen, standing in a packed conference hall at Hillsong in Sydney, desperate to experience something real. At this point in my faith, I was searching — really searching — for something more. And that morning, Pastor Brian Houston had announced a special “Holy Spirit Elective” for anyone who wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit and encounter God’s power firsthand.

So I went.

Heck, if it was real, I wanted it.

At the end of the session, the preacher invited anyone who wanted to be filled with the Holy Spirit to come forward. I didn’t hesitate. I made my way to the front, heart pounding, hope rising.

The guy on the podium promised that the Holy Spirit was about to sweep through the place and smash everyone. That every single person would receive it. With growing fervor, he prayed and prayed, building to a crescendo until finally, he shouted:

“HERE HE COMES!”

The keyboard pad swelled. The lights dimmed — because, apparently, the Holy Spirit hates fluorescent lighting and silence.

And then… it happened.

All around me, people got “it.” Arms shot into the air like they were slow-dancing with a ten-foot Jesus. There were tongues, tears, spontaneous worship—a few gyrating middle-aged women.

It was wild.

And me? I got nothing.

Nothing. Not. A. Thing.

I felt like the kid who didn’t get picked for the team in the schoolyard at lunchtime. Like God had passed me by. And I walked away from the whole experience feeling deeply, existentially depressed. Wondering if I was even a Christian. Wondering if God loved me. Wondering if He even existed at all.

How messed up is that?

But it turns out I shouldn’t have been worried, because being filled with the Holy Spirit was never about feeling something spectacular — it was about being empowered for a purpose.

It was never about speaking in tongues or rolling around on the floor in a euphoric daze. It wasn’t about collapsing under the weight of glory, shaking uncontrollably, or feeling an electric current surge through your veins.

It wasn’t about chasing a spiritual high.

It was about being equipped to do something. To create. To build. To bring something into the world that wasn’t there before.

How do I know?

I’m glad you asked.

The First Spirit-Filled Person

Let me ask you something.

Who was the first person in the Bible that was filled with the Spirit of God?

Think about it. This is a big deal. The very first time Scripture explicitly mentions someone being Spirit-filled — before Pentecost, before the prophets, before even the great miracle-workers of the Old Testament.

Surely, it had to be someone important. Someone powerful. Someone prophetic. Someone who did big things. Someone obvious.

Moses, right? The man who stood before Pharaoh and parted the Red Sea?
No? Okay — then maybe Elijah, the fire-calling, Baal-slaying prophet who outran a chariot?
Or one of the other spiritual giants — Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel — men who spoke directly for God, who saw visions, who stood between heaven and earth?

These are all good guesses, but they’re all wrong.

The first person ever described as being filled with the Spirit of God wasn’t a miracle worker. He didn’t part seas, call down fire, or shake nations with prophetic words.

He wasn’t a warrior, a priest, or a king.

He was an artist.

Wait… Who?

Unless you’re some kind of Bible trivia whiz, I bet you’ve never heard of him.