The Baptism of The Holy Spirit
In the book of Hebrews, chapter 13, Jesus promised that He would never leave or forsake us.
In the book of John, chapter 14, versus 16 – 17, Jesus also tells us that He is going to pray to the Father for another Comforter to come and live with us:
- And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
- Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
In Hebrews, He is promising us that He won’t leave us alone. And He is letting us know that part of His ministry was to come and bring us comfort through Salvation. So He was the first Comforter. But because He had to leave us to return to the Father, to complete His ministry by pouring His blood upon the mercy seat, we would have been left without Him.
God’s promises are always kept and, because He knows everything about us, He knew, and knows, that if we are alone, that if we are left alone, we can suffer from that awful feeling of abandonment and become susceptible to the attacks of our enemy, Satan. So the promise of another Comforter was to overcome that feeling of abandonment.
Now looking at the Scripture in Luke 24:49 Jesus reminded them of the promise that the Father had made to them, and gave instructions to His disciples who were gathered in the upper room.
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.
Here, the promise was the sending of the Holy Spirit himself. But it was not just the sending of this amazing third member of the holy Trinity:
(Act 2:1) And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
(Act 2:2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
(Act 2:3) And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
(Act 2:4) And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The first thing to notice here (verse two) is that the sound of a rushing mighty wind came and filled the house.
The Holy Spirit is often manifested as a wind. So His presence entered that upper room in this manner. Another thing to notice here is that Jesus’ prayer to the Father to send another Comforter (the Holy Spirit) was answered!
The second part of Jesus’ commandment was for the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they were “endued with power from on high”. And this was done when the cloven tongues sat upon each of them. It was at this point at which they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. Verse four above says “filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues,”.
The definition of the word Endue means: to invest or provide.
The Disciples were provided with the power of the Holy Spirit when the cloven tongues sat upon them.
Jesus promised in Mark 16, verse 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Whilst this is only a small portion of the gifts given to us with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, it is often presented as proof of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the evidence.
It is also particularly important that we differentiate between the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. His presence was given as “another Comforter”, keeping Jesus’ promise of not leaving us alone. The Bible makes a clear distinction between the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Filling of the Holy Spirit. They are not the same. The Bible teaches that speaking in tongues is the sign of being baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Going back to Acts 2:4, the keyword here is “filled”. To fill something is to put inside. Here is the proof that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is given as an indwelling of Him.
So, in simple summary of the presence of the Holy Spirit, when you are born again, you receive the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life as the other Comforter. When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit that is when He indwells you, lives inside of you, evidenced by speaking in tongues.
Note: There are many doctrines who are adamant that the speaking in tongues not only disappeared when the disciples died, but also that tongues are now of the devil.
If this is so, then look at the book of Mark, specifically in the 16th chapter, where He is giving His disciples the commandment better known as “The Great Commission”. Part of what He says in verse 17 is this:
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Speaking in new tongues is part of the power given to us with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and it is freely offered to all believers. This gift is not restricted at all. Any and all believers can receive this amazing gift, and it should be something that each should receive.
A Personal Testimony. By Rev. Chris
When I first became aware of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, I was serving in a Church of God ministry. There were many people in that church membership who spoke in tongues. It became something that I desired and, on more than one occasion, I had asked for prayer and the laying on of hands for the impartation of this baptism.
Even after three years, and many other requests for the laying of hands for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I had still not received this gift. At that time I was working with another ministry who also taught and encouraged speaking in tongues. As you can imagine, not having this gift, the devil kept trying to tell me that I was not worthy of receiving it. By this time I had matured enough in the Lord to know that if the devil was trying to stop me, then it was something that I should pursue more vigorously. If he didn’t want me to have it there is a really good reason why I should. So I began to pray to the Lord for this gift, to the point where I was almost demanding that He give it to me. I would walk and pray in English every day and during one of these prayer “sessions” I said to the Lord “I want this more than anything!” And, in an all but audible voice, I felt him say “More than me?” There was a tremendous amount of guilt the came upon me as I realized that my reason behind my request was a selfish one. I did not put Him first, and that I was coveting the gift more than I was respecting and desiring Him. I quickly said “No Lord! Not more than you!” I really felt bad about this selfishness.
I believe that whilst I had apologized and repented, I was given time to realize and to learn from my mistake because three days later, without the laying on of hands, I received my prayer language and spoke in tongues for the very first time. I was also gifted with more than just a few words. What came out of me was a complete and mature language. I began to see many faces of many nationalities and I began to sob from the depth of my belly, all the time speaking in tongues. I was actually doubled-over in what I can only describe as gut-wrenching pain and with such feeling of sadness at the things I was seeing; things which I did not understand. As it happened I was not entirely alone and another brother who was on a riding mower pulled up right in front of me and I was forced to stop walking and with that, I stopped praying in tongues. My friend asked me what was going on and I explained to him that I just received my prayer language and after having congratulated me he asked me what else was going on. I explained the vision of the people from all nations passing in front of me and that I was feeling deep pain and sadness. My friend simply said to me “Chris, He is showing you His heart.” So, not only did I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit that day, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, I also received the calling on my life. One, which in partnership with Elizabeth, has developed, and is continuing to do so, as Eagles Wings Ministry.
“But, you can only receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit if you are sin-free!”
Yet another false doctrinal teaching is that you can only receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit if you are sin free. So it is by the grace of God that this great gift is offered to us. He knows it’s power, He knows what it can do for us, to us, and through us.
As there is no one on this earth who is entirely sin free many doctrines conclude that the baptism of the Holy Spirit cannot be true or that it is, again, of the devil. But, that’s not what the Bible says:
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. (1st Corinthians 3:16-17)
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2nd Corinthians 6:16)
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (Again, John 14:15 – 17)
Our Father in heaven upheld Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit came to dwell upon the eart but He, as the third person of the Godhead, was not indwelling within us. (Refer back to the last line the Scripture above.) It should be understood that the Lord God Almighty would never invade us and force us to do anything, including having the Holy Spirit indwelling us without our permission. So He, the Holy Spirit will only enter into us with our permission and does so by the laying on of hands from somebody who already has this baptism. This manifestation of His presence within us is evidenced by speaking in tongues.
Further Study
What is so important about speaking in tongues? Click here