Salvation of the Soul of Man, continued
BAPTISM
OF THE
HOLY
SPIRIT
The infilling of the Holy
Spirit (Baptism of the Holy Spirit) may be one of the greatest controversies of
Christianity. It comes after the
born again experience and is the power of God in our lives. God the Father desires all believers to
receive the power of the Holy Spirit since it is an important part of the
sanctification process.
Just as with any gift from
God the Baptism of the Holy Spirit must be believed and received. We always have the choice to say,
“No.” Some people have
been taught that it is “not for us today,” or that “it is of
the devil.” Scriptures will
prove that it is from God, and that as believers desiring to be all that we can
be for God, that we need the power that comes from being baptized with the Holy
Spirit.
GOD’S WAYS HIGHER
THAN OUR WAYS
God’s plans, purposes,
ways, and methods can be found in His Word, if people will ask Him to reveal
His Word to them, and then read
the Bible. We must actively seek
the truth:
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship Him in spirit and in truth.
John 4:23-24.
Human (carnal, fleshly)
reasoning will never uncover the complete truth without a revelation from
God. The so-called “Age of
Enlightenment” in which human reasoning is exalted is abominable to God. We cannot figure out or work by our
salvation by good works:
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it
is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so
be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
.. Romans 8:6-9.
We must rely totally on God
for all our knowledge about Him, because He reveals Himself through His Word,
which is revelation.
Most people think they have
received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when they ask Jesus to “come into
their hearts.” This is not
necessarily true. Refer again to
Acts 8:14-17. A “conversion
experience” is a new birth
of the spirit in which the believer becomes a new creature by the work
of the Holy Spirit. The spirit of
man is made alive and responsive to God, but not yet empowered with the
Holy Spirit.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away: behold all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17.
... no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost. I Corinthians 12:3.
The new birth is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. The new birth provides guidance, instruction,
and protection by the Holy Spirit.
But the new believer needs power from God to be obedient to all His
commands, to overcome the “flesh,” to rightly divide the word of
truth, and to be a witness.
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. John 3:5.
The work of the Holy Spirit
is not complete with the new birth.
That is the beginning.
The Lord wants every believer to be filled with power from on high to
walk the path of righteousness.
Another ministry of the
Holy Spirit is to baptize the believer - to fill the believer totally with
Himself.
The Baptism of the Holy
Spirit is filling up to the “bursting point” of God’s Holy
Spirit. It is like filling a 1/2
gallon container with a gallon of “living water” (John 7:38-39),
and it spills over into other tongues and Spiritual Gifts. It is “power from on high”
to overcome sin, to live a life obedient to the Word of God, and for service in
the Lord.
FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
And it shall come to pass
in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour
out in those days of my Spirit: and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:17-18.
The above verse was quoted by
Peter from Joel 2:28-29 which prophesied the Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy
Spirit. To all appearances, it
seemed to these early apostles as if they were living in the last days. However, it was really the beginning of
the “last days.” There
have been several revivals of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit over the centuries
since the Day of Pentecost. The
most recent movement began in the 1970’s called the Full Gospel or the
Charismatic Renewal (Greek: charisma meaning
“gifts”).
Isaiah 28:11-12 prophesied
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from God:
For with stammering lips and another tongue will he [God]
speak to this people.
To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may
cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing; yet they would not
hear. Isaiah 28:11-12.
This passage from Isaiah was
quoted by Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians. 14:21) when he instructed
them in the purpose of speaking in other tongues, both privately and in the
church. Note that this is God
speaking to His people, and that it is refreshing and restful. People who have experienced this will
tell you that it is both an exhilarating and peaceful experience for God to
speak through them. Also note that
there are two ways of referring to speaking in tongues: with stammering lips
and with another tongue. Sometimes
people will experience a combination of both: the person’s jaw and tongue
will be stuttering rapidly and/or the person will be speaking an actual
language, with voice inflection and punctuation.
Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a
deeper speech than thou canst perceive, of a stammering tongue, that thou canst
not understand. Isaiah 33:19.
Isaiah says these people are
not fierce. Christians are
admonished “to be as wise as serpents but be as harmless as doves”
(Matthew 10:16). And note also that this “deeper
speech” cannot be understood by human reasoning. The only way it can be understood is
for God to give the Gift of Interpretation (1 Corinthians. 12:10). We must rely totally on God for all our
knowledge about Him.
John the Baptist prophesied
the First Coming of the Lord:
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but
he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Matthew 3:11.
Before His Ascension, Jesus
commissioned His followers and told them how they are to serve Him:
And he said unto them, go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils:
they shall speak with new tongues. (emphasis mine)
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they
shall recover. Mark 16:15-18.
Notice that speaking with new
tongues is one of several signs that should follow believers. Next, Jesus told them what they are to
do before they could carry out his great commission:
And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you:
but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on
high. Luke 24:49.
In Acts 1:4-8, we find that
the apostles are tarrying, and they probably don’t know exactly what to
expect. They knew that the Holy
Ghost and fire had been promised to them, but they had clouded understanding
about how this was to be.
Jesus’ words before his Ascension are repeated again:
And being assembled together with them, commanded them
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the
Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water: but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of
him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the father hath put in his own power.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost
is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judaea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Acts
1:4-8.
Try to imagine the people who
participated in this first Pentecost.
They were probably considered absolutely crazy by most of their friends
and relatives. But they had faith
in what Jesus had told them. Jesus
said to tarry, so they were tarrying, because if Jesus had said something was
going to happen, they believed Him.
Remember that Jesus appeared in bodily form to his disciples after His
Resurrection to instruct them.
They waited in faith for this “power from on high.”
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they
were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a
rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of
fire, and it sat upon each of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men,
out of every nation under heaven.
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came
together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his
own language.
And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to
another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein
we were born? (Acts 2:1-8).
All these believers were filled with the Holy Ghost, and all began to speak with other tongues, and that they
spoke in tongues as the Spirit led them.
In other words, the Holy Spirit rather than the individual person is
motivating the speech. The phrase
“noised abroad” can have two interpretations: the first being that
the news traveled a great distance, the second being that it was noisy and
attracted attention. Can you
imagine 120 people all praising God in a different language? The noise would have been
noticeable. Acts 2:12-18 continues
the story:
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying
one to another, What meaneth this?
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his
voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at
Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is
but the third hour of the day.
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel:
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall
dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour
out in those days of my Spirit: and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:12-18.
The third hour of the day was
only 9:00 in the morning, and yet those believers appeared drunk with new
wine. Anyone who has experienced
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit will tell you that many times the Spirit will
fill a person with so much joy and peace that it is a drunken, light-headed
feeling. But alcohol falls far
short of this experience in the Holy Spirit.
Now look at Acts
8:14-17. A little time has passed
since the first spectacular Baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of
Pentecost. The apostles have been
exercising the power that Jesus gave to them in the Baptism, and they have been
preaching the Gospel and baptizing new believers:
Now then the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard
that Samaria had received the word of God, [emphasis mine] then sent unto them Peter and
John:
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that
they might receive the Holy Ghost:
(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus).
Then laid they their hands on them and they received
the Holy Ghost. Acts 8:14-17.
Notice the difference
between believers and “Spirit-filled” believers. Peter and John realized that the job
had not been completed if new believers had received just the good news
(Gospel) about Jesus. They also
needed “power from on high” to help them follow Jesus.
Of special significance is
the 10th chapter of Acts in which the house of Cornelius the Centurion received
the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In
a vision, an angel of God appeared to Cornelius, a devout Gentile, and told him
to locate a man named Peter to come preach to him and members of his household. In the meantime, Peter received a
vision in which God told him that all believers of Jesus, whether Jew
(circumcision) or Gentile (uncircumcision), are cleansed and receive a
spiritual circumcision, and are therefore welcomed by God into His
Kingdom. So Peter went with the
servants to Cornelius’ house.
He began to preach the word of God:
While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell
on all them which heard the word.
And they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify
God... (emphasis mine) Acts 10:44-46.
In the next chapter of Acts
Peter was severely criticized by the Jewish believers. Up until that time, all apostles and
disciples believed that the Gospel was for the Jews only (the Chosen People of
Israel, the circumcised). But
Peter had not laid hands on these people of Cornelius’ house to receive
the Holy Spirit, as is the usual way of imparting the Spirit. But God had demonstrated that He wanted
all who believed in Him to receive His Holy Spirit, and not just those who had been circumcised
according to Jewish law.
Look at Acts 19:2-6. Paul met some believers:
He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost
since ye believed? And they said
unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost...
And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Ghost
came on them: and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. Acts 19:2-6.
Why would Paul even ask new
believers, “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?”? Because
he had not heard them speak in tongues. Tongues is the evidence that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit has been received. You cannot be certain that a believer
is filled with the Holy Spirit unless unless you hear that believer speak in
tongues. Notice that many
scripture references confirm this.
When a person asks for the
Baptism of the Holy Spirit, that person will receive by faith believing that
God is a good God and gives the Holy Spirit to any believer who asks (Matthew
7:7-11, Luke 11:13). If speaking
in tongues does not manifest immediately, that person should continue believing
that they have received and continue thanking the Lord. Tongues will eventually manifest.
Be prepared to answer the
following questions:
1. What does the word “baptism” mean?
2. Isaiah 28:12 prophesied that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
with evidence of speaking in tongues will bring __________ and ____________ to
the believer.
3. What are the two manifestations of speaking in tongues by
the Holy Spirit?
4. Isaiah 33:19 also called speaking in tongues __________
__________ that could not be perceived.
5. John the Baptist prophesied that God would baptize believers
with the Holy Ghost and with _________.
6. After Jesus ascended to heaven, the disciples waited
obediently in Jerusalem for _________ from on high.
7. Are all believers “Spirit-filled”? Explain.
8. What is the evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
9. What does the word “carnal” mean?
10. “To be carnally minded is _________, but to be
spiritually minded is __________ and _____________.
11. Are all believers filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment they are born
again?
12. What is necessary to properly understand the scriptures?