The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, pt. 1
Lighthouse Assembly of God
7/27/08 and 8/3/08
Pastor Greg Tabor
Introduction
This week and next week we will be looking at the Doctrine of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Doctrine of the Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. We are a Pentecostal Church. We are at least associated with a Pentecostal fellowship of Churches called the Assemblies of God. If you and I attend what was started as a Pentecostal Church, and if our Church associates itself with a larger body of Pentecostal Churches, then it would be logical for us to understand what is meant by Pentecostal and to either grasp hold of this, or reject it and go our separate ways.
My goal is that you and I revisit (or for some for the first time visit) the doctrines that led to the founding of this fellowship of Churches called the Assemblies of God. Furthermore, my goal is that these doctrines are either reaffirmed in our hearts or that we are convinced that these doctrines are Biblical truth and that their application to our lives changes our lives forever as well as the lives of those we encounter.
Article VII in the Statement of Fundamental Truths sets out the Assemblies of God’s position on the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It begins by saying:
“All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
If we are entitled to this and should ardently expect and earnestly seek this, then we must first be convinced that it is real and that our position on it is more than what some evangelicals state, merely part of the conversion experience.
To prove this doctrine is real and that it is for you today, I am going to divide my message up into three points each starting with the letter “P.” They are “Promise,” “Purpose,” “Perpetual.” Let’s begin with “Promise.”
Promise
Let’s first of all look at two Old Testament passages:
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel 36:25-27 NIV
Anthony Palma writes, “The promise is clearly related to the New Testament concept of regeneration. Paul speaks about “the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5), echoing Jesus’ statement about the need to be “born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5). The transformation that takes place with the new birth results in an altered lifestyle, made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Spirit dwells within all believers (Rom. 8:9,14-16; 1 Cor. 6:19); therefore the idea of a believer without the Holy Spirit is a contradiction in terms.” (The Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Perspective p.96).
Let’s stop here before we move on. We see a prophecy here concerning the indwelling Spirit. When someone becomes a Christian they are indwelt by the Spirit. Romans 8:9b NIV, “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.” There is no way as a Pentecostal that I would ever say that someone professing Christ who has not been baptized with the Holy Spirit with the initial physical evidence of speaking in tongues does not have the Spirit already indwelling within them. You cannot be a Christian without the Holy Spirit having taken up residence within you.
But we need to contrast this passage in Ezekiel with another Old Testament prophecy that Luke records as being fulfilled in Acts 2. Acts 2:17-21 has Peter quoting Joel 2:28-32. Listen to what he says:
““‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” (NIV)
Anthony Palma comments on this:
“Joel’s prophecy is quite different from Ezekiel’s. It does not talk about inner transformation, a changed lifestyle, or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Lord says, “’I will pour out my Spirit on all people’” (2:28). The result will be very dramatic – the recipients will prophesy, dream, and see visions.” (The Holy Spirit: A Pentecostal Perspective. p.97).
Two different aspects of the Spirit’s working are shown by these two different prophecies. Both are promised, but both focus on different workings. The one we are focusing on this morning is the one in Joel, because it is the one that Peter links with the occurrence on the Day of Pentecost.
Obviously the first part of the text is easy for us to see the application to that outpouring in Jerusalem. Peter saw “tongues” as a form of prophecy that fulfilled Joel’s prophecy. Tongues are inspired speech. What happened on the Day of Pentecost was a “firstfruits” of the Church Age that would result in the following verses of the text. The part of the prophecy quoted in Acts 2:21 is the purpose of the outpouring. The outpouring of the Spirit is so that we might be a light to the nations so that many will be saved.
I wanted to first of all this morning make you aware of a Promise foretold in the pages of the Old Testament and fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost that was in addition to the experience of salvation.
Before we move on let’s continue to establish this experience as a subsequent work to salvation by looking at the examples given in the book of Acts. In Acts 2, the upper room was not filled with unregenerate people, but disciples of Christ. Look now at the example of Acts 8, the Samaritan Pentecost:
“12But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
“14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)
Here we have men and women who “believed” and were water baptized. The Church in Jerusalem “heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God” and sent Peter and John. These were believers. They’d already been water baptized. BUT the text tells us that the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them and that Peter and John prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit and they did so. This reception cannot possibly mean that these believers who were saved by faith needed Peter and John to pray for them to have the Holy Spirit indwell in them. If the Holy Spirit wasn’t already indwelling in them, then they weren’t saved. This is clearly talking about being baptized in the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 9 we have Saul visited by Christ on the road to Damascus. Acts 9:17-19 NIV reads:
“17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and 19after taking some food, he regained his strength.”
Why shouldn’t we take this to be a salvation experience? Ananias calling Paul “Brother Saul” may be an acknowledgement of Paul’s conversion. Also, Ananias didn’t come to preach the Gospel to Paul but rather to pray for him to be filled. Anthony Palma points out that as far as the terminology being filled with the Spirit goes, “The Scriptures nowhere use this terminology as a synonym for being saved.” Paul was baptized with the Holy Spirit, not saved in this instance. This again demonstrates a subsequent to salvation Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
In Acts 10 at Cornelius’ house, the situation is unique in that regeneration and Baptism in the Holy Spirit seem to have happened simultaneously. However, this being the case, there still had to have been repentance and faith prior to Baptism in the Holy Spirit, even if no time lapse need occur. Remember, this Baptism in the Holy Spirit is for empowerment, not cleansing. Therefore, the working of the Spirit in regeneration still needed to occur prior to the Spirit Baptism.
Now, let’s read Acts 19:1-7 NIV:
“1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and 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.” 3So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4Paul 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.” 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.”
Were these men Christians? Two things lead us to believe they were. First of all, Luke mentions “some disciples.” If they were John the Baptist’s disciples, why wasn’t that mentioned? Instead Luke writes “some disciples.” Secondly, Paul acknowledges that they were believers by his question in verse 2. They had believed. Paul wanted to know about their reception of the Holy Spirit. And from Paul’s writings on the Spirit we know that a believer cannot be a believer without the Spirit so he is not asking them whether the Spirit accompanied their salvation. It is obvious he is asking them about their being baptized in the Holy Spirit. He then baptizes them with water and then they are prayed for and receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. This seems like an obvious case for subsequence just like the Samaritan outpouring was.
It is so important that you pour over these texts to see for yourself the difference. It is also important to consider that Luke is teaching a different aspect of the Spirit’s work in his writings than Paul. Luke focuses mainly on the power for service, while Paul spends more time in his epistles on the Spirit’s work in salvation and ongoing sanctification (although he certainly does deal with the charismatic workings of the Spirit).
It is also important that we understand what each writer intends when they use certain terminology. For instance, John’s Gospel has a receiving of the Spirit in John 20:22 that is at a different time and place of that in Acts 2. These cannot be the same instances and Acts 2 cannot be merely a repeat of John 20:22. Therefore, while John uses the same terminology as Luke, they are not referring to the same thing. John may be referring to regeneration.
What we have in Acts is a definite pattern teaching us that being filled with the Spirit is a subsequent experience to salvation and is normative for every believer. It is the promise of the Father and we should not be afraid to ask for it. In fact Luke, in Luke 11:11-13 bids us to do just that:
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (NIV)
Purpose
Let’s look at Jesus’ words in Acts 1:4-8 NIV:
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
What I want to bring out here this morning is that this Promise prophesied through Joel was given for a reason. What was that reason? Empowerment. While tongues are important and are the sign of the Baptism, you and I can so overemphasize “tongues” that we miss the point of the experience to begin with. John Wyckoff quotes an early Pentecostal, E.S. Williams, stating, “We would do well to not overstress tongues…That which is of first importance is ‘power from on high.’”(Systematic Theology, p.450).
This power is to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. As we flip the pages of the Book of Acts, the history of the early Church, we see a pattern of relying on the Spirit’s empowerment. Listen to the following verses from Luke’s history of the Church and ask yourself if Luke’s record is teaching a pattern for Christian living empowered by the Spirit:
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Acts 2:4 NIV
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people!” Acts 4:8 NIV
“After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:31 NIV
“Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” Acts 6:3 NIV
“They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” Acts 6:5 NIV
“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” Acts 6:8 NIV
“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:55 NIV
“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 8:15-17 NIV
“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”” Acts 9:17 NIV
“He [Barnabas] was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Acts 11:24 NIV, (Brackets Mine)
“Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said…” Acts 13:9 NIV
“And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:52 NIV
“When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.” Acts 19:6 NIV
These people were filled and experience subsequent fillings of the Spirit. They stayed full of the Spirit. And they accomplished great and mighty things. We cannot separate the Baptism in the Holy Spirit from the mission of taking the Gospel to the far corners of the world. It is for this purpose the Baptism was given. It was given as empowerment for service and will enhance our lives in every avenue.
Gordon L. Anderson, in his article "Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Initial Evidence, and a New Model", wrote the following that is insightful:
“On November 20, 1998, Pentecostal scholar Vinson Synan presented a paper to the Evangelical Theological Society entitled, “Policy Decisions on Tongues As an Indicator of Future Church Growth.” Synan demonstrates in his paper that Pentecostals have been dramatically more successful in planting and growing churches than those who have rejected the Pentecostal understanding of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the necessity of speaking in tongues. His statistics are drawn from the development of Pentecostal missions in the 20th century. In Chile, the Methodists grew to approximately 5,000 members, while the Pentecostals grew to 2,371,000. In Brazil, the Baptists grew to 1,050,000, while the Pentecostals grew to over 21 million. Worldwide, the Christian and Missionary Alliance grew to 1.9 million, while the Assemblies of God has surpassed 25 million. More current year statistics (2003) show that Assemblies of God worldwide members and adherents have grown to nearly 48 million, not including the nearly 2.7 million adherents in the U.S.
These statistics cannot be ignored. These accomplishments are the reason that Fuller Seminary undertook a study of Pentecostal missions that has drawn attention to the spectacular success of Pentecostal ministry. Other scholars are drawing similar conclusions. Philip Jenkins, distinguished professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University, recently wrote a new book, The Next Christendom, in which he demonstrates that the growth patterns of the Pentecostals will make the 21st century a Pentecostal century. Pentecostal ministry is not slightly more effective. It makes a dramatic difference. The baptism in the Holy Spirit provides a significant amount of power for supernatural ministry resulting in striking accomplishments for the Kingdom.”
There is no doubt that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the Promise of the Father, prophesied by Joel, John the Baptist and Jesus, empowered the early Church and has recently revived the Church in the 20th and 21st centuries to a greater effectiveness in evangelism.
John W. Wyckoff, writer of The Baptism in the Holy Spirit in the book Systematic Theology put out by Logion Press and edited by Stanley Horton, a well-known Assemblies of God scholar, wrote,
“In the spring of 1984 I attended a graduate-level History of American Christianity course at Baylor University. In one class session the guest lecturer was the noted church historian Edwin Gaustad. During a discussion period a fellow classmate asked Gaustad a question. It went something like the following: When we get into the next century and church historians look back at our present century, what will they say was the most significant development in American Christianity during the twentieth century? Without hesitation, Gaustad’s answer was the rise and growth of the Pentecostal movement.”
Reliance on the power and person of the Holy Spirit has made Pentecostals the largest group of Christians second only to Roman Catholics.
Before we move to the next point let’s listen to Gordon Anderson again:
“All that is needed to clarify the Pentecostal understanding of the baptism in the Holy Spirit and its relationship to other schools of thought is the fact Pentecostals do not believe all power and gifting for ministry occur only after the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Non-Pentecostals are certainly spiritually enabled for ministry. But the baptism in the Holy Spirit confers dramatically more power for ministry, especially in the supernatural realm of miracles, signs, and wonders; ministries that promote the apostolic or missionary call to plant the church and minister in the supernatural.”
Perpetual
My points seem to overlap and are not rigidly divided. I’ve already mentioned various texts of people being filled with the Spirit initially and continuing to stay that way as well as times of being filled again. We have five examples in Acts of groups or people being filled with the Spirit. We also have examples of people filled or full of the Spirit operating in ministry. Let me point to two texts that are important for us to think on at this point.
Acts 2:38-39 NIV reads:
“Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.””
The perpetual or ongoing nature of this Gift is stated from the beginning. This was to be for all generations throughout the Church Age. It wasn’t supposed to be for a season.
Not only should all generations receive the Spirit, but all those receiving the Spirit need to realize that this isn’t simply a one time experience and then that’s it. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians gives this command in Ephesians 5:18: “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” Stanley Horton writes, “we are to keep being filled with the Spirit (5:18). This (as the Greek indicates) is not a one-time experience, but a continued filling or (better) repeated fillings, as the Book of Acts suggest.” (What the Bible Says About the Holy Spirit, p.244). Acts 4:31 states, “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” This was in direct answer to their request in verses 29 and 30, which state: “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” It seems evident from Scripture that we need to stay full of the Spirit. We do not believe ‘once filled, always filled.’ As one scholar stated, Paul wouldn’t have told us to be continually filled with the Spirit if there wasn’t the possibility of running empty.
Conclusion
Today, I hope you learned that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Promise distinct from salvation. Its purpose is to empower us for service, literally to empower us to be witnesses to the world. And this empowerment is a promise for not only the original 120, but for all Christians of the entire Church Age. And we, like Stephen, Paul, Peter and Barnabas, are to be full of the Spirit. Being filled, staying full and receiving special infillings from time to time will empower us to speak the Word of God boldly. It will provide for us dramatically more power, as evidenced by the evangelistic explosion Pentecostals are seeing worldwide.
My challenge to you is the question Paul asked the Ephesian disciples: Have you received since you believed? And if not, then why not? And if not now, then when?
Next week we will deal with the initial physical evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, which is tongues. Speaking in tongues is a hot topic, so you won’t want to miss the message. This week, if you’ve become convinced of this work of the Spirit, then I encourage you to begin seeking God for this Baptism. Don’t wait, except if you are “waiting” on God.
