Is The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit Biblical And Authentic?
Acts 2
Many Christians have misunderstood, feared, neglected, or even refused to hear and teach on what Scripture says about the immersion (Baptism) of the Holy Spirit. God does not include such things in His word if it’s not important to Him that all believers, then and now, should know the truth.
We shouldn’t be surprised that the devil wants to stir up as much controversy as possible around the ministry and methods of the third person of the Trinity.
Seeing God’s people walking in close friendship with the Holy Spirit and being empowered by that fellowship is Satan’s worst nightmare. It would mean hundreds of millions of Jesus followers undoing all of the devil’s hard work. In fact, Acts 10:38 tells us how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit, and with power, and He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.
There are 3 positions when it comes to spiritual gifts:
• Cessationist: Gifts (like prophecy, tongues, and healings) have ceased.
• On the other end is the Pentecostal position: The gifts are in full operation and normal for every Christian.
• The Charismatic: These gifts are in existence and part of the normal ministry operations of the church, but not everyone has them.
Why does so much confusion surround the connection between baptism and the Holy Spirit?
• Baptism Into The Body Of Christ
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” 1 Corinthians 12:13
The word “by” refers to who is doing the baptizing.
When you and I experienced salvation, we were both baptized into the same body—the body of Christ. If you’ve been born again, it’s only because the Holy Spirit drew you, wooed you, convicted you of your sinful state, and made you aware of your separation from God. When you responded to that wooing by choosing Jesus, the Holy Spirit did a supernatural work of regeneration in your spirit, making you spiritually alive—now and for eternity. At that moment, you became a part of something much bigger than yourself. You became a member of the Body of Christ.
“For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4–5
• Water Baptism
We choose to experience a second baptism, this one in water.
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins… But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:1,6-7
Dead. Buried. Raised to new life. This is the wonderful symbolism of water baptism.
• Baptism In The Holy Spirit
“I indeed baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Matthew 3:11
John’s statement is one of just a handful of statements or accounts that are present in all four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. (Matthew 3:11) (Mark 1:8) (Luke 3:16) (John 1:33)
Who is doing the baptism in these verses? It’s Jesus!
What is He baptizing us in or with? The Holy Spirit!
In 1 Corinthians 12:13, the Baptizer in this case is the Holy Spirit, baptizing us into Jesus.
In the Gospels, Jesus is the baptizer, baptizing us into the Holy Spirit.
Beyond the baptism into Jesus (the new birth) and water baptism, Scripture repeatedly describes this third baptism where Jesus baptizes us into the Holy Spirit.
Jesus—the One who loved us so much He died for us—is doing the baptizing.
The third member of the Trinity—God, the Holy Spirit—is whom we are being immersed into!
“And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” John 1:33
Note the words “descending” and “remaining” in the verse. Throughout the Old Testament, we find many instances where the Holy Spirit would descend upon someone, but He did not remain. Prophets, judges, warriors, and kings all experienced short seasons where the Holy Spirit’s power and enabling came upon them.
Immediately after Jesus’s water baptism, He became the first person in history to have the Holy Spirit both descend and remain upon Him. On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the 120 gathered and remained upon them for the rest of their lives. The same thing is available to you and me.
With foreign lips and strange tongues God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose.” Isaiah 28:11-12
“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” John 16:7
The New Testament reveals four commands given to the Christian relating to the Holy Spirit.
• “Be filled with the Spirit.” Ephesians 5:18
• “Live by the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16
• “Do not grieve the Spirit.” Ephesians 4:30
• “Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19
1. Wait For The
“When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Acts 1:13-14
Mary was blessed and highly favored of God, but she needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.” Acts 2:1-6
“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.” Acts 1:4–5
Sometimes we get our “have to’s” confused with our “get to’s.”
Notice the word Promise in Jesus’s statement: the Promise of the Father. This promise isn’t a what, but a Who:
“What could this mean?” Acts 2:12
“Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ 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.” Acts 2:38–39
Peter quickly outlines three simple steps:
• Repent.
• Be water baptized.
• Receive the Holy Spirit.
Notice that Peter ends his answer by referring to the promise. Peter says that the promise belongs to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. Peter makes it clear that the promise of the Holy Spirit belongs not only to the people he’s speaking directly to, but to future generations as well (your children).
“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:14–17
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.” Acts 10:44–46
“While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ They answered, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ So Paul asked, ‘Then what baptism did you receive?’ ‘John’s baptism,’ they replied. Paul said, ‘John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.” Acts 19:1-7
2. Walk In The
• Empowerment
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
“He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father.” (the baptism of the Holy Spirit) Acts 1:4
“Repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47
• Encouragement
“Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church.” 1 Corinthians 14:4
“Now I want you all to speak in tongues.” 1 Corinthians 14:5
“I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.” 1 Corinthians 14:18
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” 1 Corinthians 14:39-40
3. Be Willing To Be filled With The
“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” John 7:37-39
Four verbs in the verse make the promise powerful: “thirst, come, drink, and flow.”
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37
How Does The Filling Of The Spirit Occur?
• Desire
• “If anyone thirsts.” John 7:37
“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:1-2
“O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.” Psalm 63:1
“I spread out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land.” Psalm 143:6
• Decision
“Let him come to Me.” John 7:37
• Dedication
“Let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37
• Delight
“Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:38
“We are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God gave to those who are obeying him.” Acts 5:32
“Gave” is past tense. “Obey” is present, ongoing tense.
Church history gives testimony to the reality of this particular ministry of the Holy Spirit throughout the history of the church.
• Tertullian recorded that it was a part of church life in the second hundred years of church history.
• John Chrysostom reported the same in the fourth century.
• Baptism in the Holy Spirit was being experienced among the monks of the thirteenth century.
• It continued in the early days of the Quakers and among the converts of John Wesley.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:4
The effect of that filling was a powerful and even miraculous testimony to the truth of Christ that resulted in 3,000 people being converted. Acts 2:41
In Acts 4:8, Peter is again filled with the Holy Spirit and speaks with such power that the Jewish leaders were amazed at his boldness in spite of his being relatively uneducated.
In Acts 4:31, other disciples were praying, and the place where they were was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 6:5, we meet Stephen who is full of faith and the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 6:8, Stephen was full of power and did wonders and signs among the people.
The leaders could not resist the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke. Acts 6:10
In Acts 9:17, Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit at his conversion, and the result was that he spoke with such extraordinary power that the Jews of Damascus were confounded. Acts 9:22
In Acts 11:24, Barnabas was full of the Holy Spirit and faith and “a large company was added to the Lord.”
In Acts 13:9, Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit as he spoke to Elymas the magician, and God gave him the extraordinary power to pronounce Elymas blind for a season. Acts 13:11