THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

  The Baptism in the Holy Spirit

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).