In 2 Kings 2, Elisha seems to receive a double portion of God’s Spirit. Is that a thing?

We are told by Paul that God gives the Holy Spirit without measure.

The way the Holy Spirit is given to us is often described by pastors as being like a fire hose, a powerful river of living water flowing through us.

It’s not that we have and then lose the Spirit. The Spirit in us is a flowing. It’s supposed to be a flowing. We don’t have to keep asking for more.

When the Holy Spirit comes on Jesus at His baptism, it’s to anoint Him, to send Him out to ministry.

Elisha is being anointed to be sent out as God’s prophet.

He was given the Spirit for a task. He received what He needed to carry it out.

As long as Elisha is God’s prophet, he will have the anointing on him to carry out his assignment.

However, Elijah said that Elisha would receive the double portion, which is what he asked for, if he saw Elijah being taken away, and he did see it.

It would seem we have to take that to mean that Elisha did receive a double portion.

What would that mean? Did he have a gift beyond being a prophet? While Elijah certainly was part of some big miracles, which were results of prayer and following God’s direction, maybe he wasn’t a worker of miracles the way Elisha becomes, healing water and floating ax heads.

Some other observations we can make in the Scriptures include:

The apostles receive an anointing when the Holy Spirit falls on them at Pentecost. They later are praying, and though not recorded as asking for the Spirit, they are filled with the Spirit. They then go preaching with boldness, sent.

Other times we read something like, “Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,” as if the Holy Spirit came in a new way at just that time for the appointed purpose of the moment.