Several references in Acts speak of people being full of the Holy Spirit. Some of this is as a result of the laying on of an apostle’s hands. Stephen was stoned to death in Acts 7:59. Chapter 6 tells us that he had the hands of the Apostles laid on him. As he was being kicked, bitten, and pounded to death “being full of the Holy Spirit” he looked up into heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. This was a miracle because it violated natural law. During his defense before the Sanhedrin, his face did give the appearance of “an angel.” This is another obvious instance of a miraculous filling with the Holy Spirit as he teaches the gospel at his defense.
No one other than the Twelve were working miracles before Acts 6:6 (cf. Acts 2:43; 3:6-7; 4:31; 5:1-16), although, not a lot of time had lapsed from Acts 2 and Acts 6. Furthermore, the statement in Acts 5:12 does not necessarily attribute the miracles to the apostles directly, but indirectly as the source of the authority. Whatever we make of this, there is no supporting evidence to suggest that the seven had only received a non-miraculous measure of the Holy Spirit. There is evidence that others were intended to work miracles from the time of Pentecost forward (Mark 16:15-18; Acts 2:17-18). Why there was not more evidence of it is unclear. Probably, they needed to continue in the apostles’ teaching. This may explain why there wasn’t a mention of more miraculous power among the early saints. In addition, their gifts may have been more for their own edification and use in their private gatherings. This leaves the public display of miraculous power with the apostles in the early days at Jerusalem.
As time went on, we see more evidence of saints being “filled with the Holy Spirit”. Consistency in a language is the best approach to understanding a text. Luke uses the same word “filled” that Paul uses in Ephesians 5:18 only once (Acts 13:52). There it signifies the same thing (cf. Acts 8:39; 1 Thes. 1:6). Luke’s reference to the Spirit having “caught away Philip” is connected with the teleportation of prophets and inspired men (1 Kings 18:12, Ezek. 8:1-4, 40:1-4; John 6:16-21, 2 Cor. 12:2; Rev. 4:1-6).
Acts 6 appears to be the first mention of someone, not an apostle, being full of the Spirit. Again, this was a miraculous influence of the Holy Spirit upon men. There is no reason to assume he does not mean that in Acts 6:3 and Luke 4:1. In Acts 11:24, Luke describes Barnabas as a man “full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” The circumstances of this text are parallel to those in Acts 8:4-13. Again, there is nothing in the text that necessitates the conclusion that this is non-miraculous. On the contrary, the circumstances dictate that a Spirit-led prophet be sent into Antioch in order to confirm the saints and continue the harvest.