And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart
from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” he said, “you
have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”… “You shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.“—Acts 1:4-5, 8
After Jesus’ resurrection, He met
with the Disciples and told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel
(Luke 16:15) but first to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power
from on high (Luke 24:49). They waited in the Upper Room until the Holy Spirit
was given on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4). Following that, they went out
with power, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word with signs
following (Mark 16:20).
Much of the church world has lived between the Resurrection
and Pentecost, having bypassed “the Upper Room” and gone forth without the
supernatural power and presence and in the fullness God intended.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the “door” that moves us
from living in the “foyer”, opening the way into the many “rooms” of God’s
household that we have not yet experienced.
The first converts in the Book of Acts asked, “What
must we do?” This was Peter’s response:
…repent,
and let every one of you be baptized [in water] in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; [born again] and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the Promise [baptism in the
Holy Spirit) is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as
many as the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)
Peter’s answer is the same for us today. Jesus is the foundation of our faith and
spiritual experience. But He has given to us three steps as foundational blocks
for personal and church growth: be saved, be baptized in water, and be baptized
in the Holy Spirit.
My testimony
I had a major encounter with the
Lord in the summer of 1966 just before my senior year of high school. Jesus revealed
Himself to me in a very dramatic way and spoke clearly to my heart that He was
calling me into the ministry. Word got around, and soon, I was getting
invitations to speak at country Baptist churches throughout the area. During
this time, I had heard that an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon people was
happening in all church denominations and around the world. People were being
filled with the Holy Spirit and experiencing the power of God and the same
miraculous works that we read about in the Bible, especially those in the Book of Acts. I was thrilled to hear
this and began to study the Scripture verses dealing with the Holy Spirit.
Then, in April of 1967, I received the baptism in the Holy
Spirit while my mother and I were praying for a friend. Kneeling and praying at
a church altar, I sensed the presence of Jesus so intimately that it seemed I
could reach out and touch Him. I stretched out my hands to the Lord and began
to give thanks and praise. Suddenly, I began to pray in another language as the
early Christians did on the Day of Pentecost, among Cornelius’ household (Acts
10:44-46), and in other places in the New Testament. I was baptized in the Holy
Spirit and knew this would be the beginning of a great adventure in my walk
with the Lord and in His service.
I began to go about praying for people and actually saw
people become healed. Jesus was more real to me than He had ever been, and I
found a new freedom and release in my spirit to pray, to worship and praise,
and to tell people about Jesus.
New Birth
The new birth is given to lost or unsaved people for the purpose of
regeneration—that is, salvation. Jesus referred to salvation as a “fountain of
water springing up unto everlasting life” (John 4:14). In the new birth, Jesus
breathes the Holy Spirit upon the human spirit, causing a person to come alive
in his fellowship and communion with God (John 3:3-8). Every Christian has the
Holy Spirit in regeneration (Rom. 8:9).
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The baptism in the Holy Spirit then
follows the new birth. Every Christian should ask the Lord to baptize him or
her with the Holy Spirit. When a Christian is baptized in the Holy Spirit, he
is not stepping into something strange and foreign to what he has already
experienced. He is simply yielding more of himself to the presence and work of
the Holy Spirit who has already come to him through salvation. The baptism in
the Holy Spirit is given to believers, Christians, for the purpose of power and
is like “rivers of water” flowing out of the Christian’s innermost being (John
7:38-39). It is the door to spiritual gifts. When a person is baptized in the
Holy Spirit, he is endued with power to witness for Christ and move in the
supernatural manifestations of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:7-11). Being baptized
in the Holy Spirit enables a person to release his own spirit with a new
freedom in praise and worship.
Examples from the Book of Acts
Pentecost
(Acts 2:1-47)
The Holy Spirit was poured out on
the believers as they waited in prayer and worship in the Upper Room. They were
all filled with the Holy Spirit and praised the Lord in tongues (other
languages) as the Holy Spirit gave them the utterance.
Samaria (Acts 8:4-17)
Philip, the evangelist, preached
Christ to the Samaritans. Multitudes received Christ. There were many miracles
as people were healed of various diseases, including those who were paralyzed
and lame. Demons came out of many. There was great joy in the city. When the Apostles
heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent Peter and John to
them who, when they had come, laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle Paul (Acts 9:1-9,
17)
After Paul’s conversion experience
on the road to Damascus, he fasted and prayed, still blinded from the
brightness of the vision he had seen. Jesus then sent a disciple named Ananias
to him who laid hands on Paul 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.
Following this, Paul went forth to preach the gospel.
Cornelius’ Household (Acts
10:44-48; 11:12-18)
While Peter was preaching at
Cornelius’ household, everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and
spoke in tongues. Peter said,
As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as upon us at the
beginning (at Pentecost). Then I
remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, “John indeed baptized with water,
but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.“
Ephesus (Acts 19:1-6)
Paul came upon some believers in
Ephesus. When Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they
spoke with tongues and prophesied.
Other Examples (Gal. 3:2-5; Rom.
12:6; 15:18-19; 1 Cor. 12, 14; Heb. 2:3-4)
Although the Book of Acts itself does not give the accounts of other churches
receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit, we are certain that every church
received the blessing. For example, the Acts
makes no reference to Galatia, Rome, or Corinth receiving the gift of the Holy
Spirit, yet the Apostle Paul—in his epistles to these churches—proves they had
experienced the Holy Spirit by his references to “gifts”, “spiritual gifts”,
“gifts of the Holy Spirit”, “manifestations of the Holy Spirit”, and “receiving
the Spirit.”
For All to Come (Acts 2:38-38)
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is
for all believers of all time. After the first Christians were baptized in the
Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, Peter concluded his sermon with these
words:
Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus for the
remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the
Promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as
the Lord our God will call.
Why receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
1.
You will be obeying Jesus’ command (Luke 24:49).
2.
You will be following the pattern set by the
first Christians in the Book of Acts.
3.
It will make the presence of Jesus more real to
you. It will help you to have more intimate fellowship with Him (John 14:16-21;
15:26).
4.
It will empower you to be a more effective
witness for Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8; 4:31-33; 5:32; John 15:26-27).
5.
It will release your spirit to be more free in
praise and worship (1 Cor. 14:14-18).
6.
It will release your spirit to move in the
manifestations of the Holy Spirit and to experience the power of God (1 Cor.
12:1; Acts 4:31, 33).
7.
It will release you into more effective prayer
and intercession (Rom. 8:26, 27; 1 Cor. 14:4).
8.
It will release a greater sensitivity to the
Holy Spirit to hear His voice and be led by Him.
9.
It will cause the Bible to come alive to you
because of the Spirit’s presence to enlighten and because you can now identify
with more of the Bible; you will understand it as being contemporary for today
rather than relegating large portions of it as only for the first Christians.
10.
It will help to intensify the purging process in
your life (Luke 3:16-17).
11.
It will lay the foundation for your spiritual
growth.
Our Responsibility
The baptism in the Holy Spirit—that
is, being filled with the Holy Spirit—releases in us the potential for all the
wonderful things listed above. But we can be filled with the Holy Spirit and
still not bear the fruit or walk in the gifts. The Holy Spirit does not force
Himself or His works upon us. In order for the Spirit of God to produce in us
and perform through us all of those things for which He is sent, it is
necessary for us to receive Him in faith, present ourselves to Him, yield to
Him, obey Him, and walk in Him. We hinder the Holy Spirit and prevent the fruit
and gifts by resisting, quenching, and grieving the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51; 1 Thess.
5:19; Eph. 4:30; Isa. 63:10).
Being Filled with the Holy Spirit
Repent... be baptized... and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit...”
—Acts 2:38, 39
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is
not something you have to beg and plead for. It is a command to obey. God does
not command something and then refuse it to us. This baptism is “for all who
are afar off, as many as the Lord our God shall call.” This means the Lord
intends for every Christian to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a “gift.” A gift is
received by grace, not merit. We do not earn a gift; it is free. If you had to
earn it, it would not be a gift. You do not have to “become holy enough” to
receive it. You simply have to be a disciple, a genuine Christian.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a “promise.” A promise is
a word that must be believed. A promise is received by faith, not by works. You
do not “do things” in order to receive the promise. You simply believe the one
who made the promise.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is received like salvation—that
is, by grace through faith (Eph. 2:7-8). If God shows such love, mercy, and
grace to sinners by forgiving them, receiving them just as they are, and coming
to live in them upon salvation, how much more will He fill with the Holy Spirit
and empower those who are His and in whom He has already come to dwell (Rom. 5:1-10)?
We can ask and receive without fear
I have known people who were afraid
to ask. They were worried about “getting the wrong thing”… as if the devil
could throw an evil spirit into the event. The same Holy Spirit who comes to us
in salvation comes to fill us when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit. The
devil has no access or part in this. We must believe the words of Jesus:
So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek
and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks
receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a
son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if
he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks
for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to
give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give
the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:9-13)
How Christians in the Bible Received the Holy Spirit
On the Day of Pentecost, believers
were filled with the Holy Spirit while they were praying and worshipping (Acts
2:1-4). In Cornelius’ household, they were attentively listening to a sermon
(Acts 10:44-45). In other instances, the Holy Spirit was given through the
laying on of hands (Acts 8:17; 9:17; 19:6).
