Church 101: A Beginners Guide to Church
Part 8 – The Holy Spirit and Church
The Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyers Journal printed the following questions actually asked of witnesses during trial lawyers:
· The youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he?
· Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?
· How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?
· You were there until the time you left, is that true?
Some questions do not deserve an answer.
The questions about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, however, do deserve an answer.
Tonight, we are going to try to answer some of the tough questions surrounding this important subject.
This teaching has been abused by an unbalanced focus on tongues that sets up a sort of spiritual elitism—the have’s and the have nots.
-This too can cause many of us to miss all that God has for us.
A correct understanding of the Bible’s teaching on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit is like aiming the gun at the target,
Experiencing God’s fullness and power is like pulling the trigger—which only the Spirit can do.
I. Does the Old Testament address Spirit Baptism?
The Old Testament may seem like a strange place to begin our discussion of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, but it provides some important background that will help settle some of the confusion.
In the Old Testament, there are two primary functions of the Holy Spirit:
The first function of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is Power
While the Spirit’s empowering work is evident in the OT, it was limited to select individuals and in most cases “came upon” them for a relatively brief period of time for a specific purpose (prophesy, deliverance).
However, the Old Testament looks for to a new day when the Messiah, Jesus, would bring about an age when all of God’s people would receive this empowerment to do God’s work.
In Joel expresses that hope
Joel 2:28-32, “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved”
In contrast to the Old era, when the Spirit’s empowering work was limited to select individuals, the outpouring of the Spirit in this future age will extend to all God’s people and will be characterized by the Spirit’s empowering work.
The second function of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is Purification.
The Old Testament looks ahead to the Spirit’s future inner-transforming or purifying work.
This is clearly seen in Ezekiel 36:25-27:
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. 26 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. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Ezekiel is describing a new age where God would transform the hearts of His people by God’s own Spirit taking up residence in each individual.
II. What is the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
It depends on who you ask. You need to understand that biblical writers sometimes use the same words and phrases in different ways.
(ILL) For example, what if I used this phrase, “John Smith is hot.”
-What does that phrase mean? (turn to your neighbor and tell them what it means—get feedback)
What if the context was that the phrase, “John Smith is hot” was on the cover of a sports page, then what would it mean?
-What if that phrase was on the cover of People magazine’s issue of “The sexiest man alive”—what would it mean?
-What if there was a picture of John Smith furiously yelling at someone, what would it mean?
-What if a nurse had just taken his temperature and was reporting to the family how he felt?
The same phrase used by different people in different circumstances can mean different things.
1. According to Paul
1 Corinthians 12:12-13, “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Paul’s teachings on the Holy Spirit mostly emphasize the Spirit’s inner-transforming or purifying work.
Salvation – Purification
2. According to Luke,
He emphasizes, almost exclusively, the Spirit’s role in empowering the believer for service.
Luke 24:49 - 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.
Acts 1:4-8:
1On one occasion, while he [Jesus] 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” [Note: there will be a footnote in your Bible that shows that “baptized with the Holy Spirit” could also be translated “baptized in the Holy Spirit”. The preposition in the Greek can be translated “in, with, by, among or within” depending on the context. John clearly baptized people “in” water, to baptize is to dunk, immerse, submerge. This is the comparison that Jesus set up of being baptized “in” the Spirit.]
6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 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.”
Luke emphasizes the Spirit’s empowering role in the life of the believer.
3. The book of Acts uses several expressions interchangeably to describe the baptism in the Holy Spirit:
· Baptized in the Spirit (1:5; 11:16)
· Spirit coming, or falling, upon (1:8; 8:16; 10:44; 11:15; 19:6)
· Spirit poured out (2:17, 18; 10:45)
· Promise of the Father (1:4)—the Father gave the promise
· Promise of the Spirit (2:33, 29)—the Spirit is the promise
· Gift of the Spirit (2:38; 10:45; 11:17)—the Spirit is the gift
· Receiving the Spirit (8:15-20; 10:47; 19:2)
· Filled with the Spirit (2:4; 9:17)
No one term fully describes all that is involved in the experience.
The terminology is simply an attempt by Luke to help us understand better the meaning of the experience.
III. What can I expect when I am baptized in the Holy Spirit?
The short answer would be the answer Jesus gives in Acts 1:8, 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.”
We will receive God’s power to be His witness in our neighborhoods and the whole world.
Let me give you some of the abilities the Holy Spirit gives to the believer to witness
1. Boldness Under Pressure
Peter has just been thrown in prison with John for using the name of Jesus to heal a man.
The religious leaders have thrown him in jail overnight. The next day he gives this defense:
Acts 4:8-13
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is
‘the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.’
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
2. Revelation Knowledge
Peter and the disciples did not display any real insight into Scripture in relation to the mission of Jesus before the day of Pentecost.
Yet, once filled with the Spirit, Peter shows amazing insight as he relates the days events to passages from Joel and Psalms, in chapter three preaches from Deuteronomy (no easy task) and Genesis.
Revelation knowledge is the ability to understand the true meaning of Scripture as given by revelation of the Holy Spirit.
3. Inspired Speech
By this I simply mean when we speak the Holy Spirit supplies the words.
There are several ways we see this in Acts:
· Witnessing/preaching—When Peter “addressed” the crowd of mockers on the Day of Pentecost, the word for “addressed” in 2:14 is the same word translated “enabled” in 2:4 where it says that the believers were “filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
· Speaking in tongues/prophecy/Spirit-inspired praise
- In Acts 2, the Spirit inspired them to speak in tongues
- In Acts 10 they spoke in tongues and praised God
- In Acts 19 they spoke in tongues and prophesied
For too long, teaching on the baptism in the Holy Spirit has focused on speaking in tongues.
Speaking in tongues served as the evidence of receiving the Spirit in at least three cases in Acts (2, 10, 19).
Just because the book of Acts teaches that tongues are evidence of Spirit baptism does not mean that Christians should seek tongues for that purpose.
I have seen too many abuses where people are seeking tongues as the “sign” or evidence that they have been baptized in the Spirit.
- People who do not speak in tongues are made to feel like second-class Christians.
- Our desire should be the Spirit Himself and God’s purposes in this world, not merely tongues as the evidence of the Spirit.
- Most can all agree that what is most important about the experience is not the fact that when you are baptized in the Spirit that you will speak in tongues, but empowerment for mission.
If we think ourselves filled with God’s Spirit because we speak in tongues, yet neglect God’s call to evangelize the world, to stand for justice for the oppressed and for the righteousness of God’s Word, we deceive ourselves.
Truly Spirit-filled people must live their whole lives in the power of the Spirit.
If all Christians in the United States began speaking in tongues tomorrow, that would not constitute a revival.
But if all Christians in the US began loving Jesus and one another passionately enough to fulfill the Great Commission, we would experience a revival like the world has never seen before.
Therefore, it is wrong to seek tongues as a sign or evidence or as a spiritual merit badge.
But, if you seek tongues as a useful gift for private prayer and praise, than the “necessary evidence of Spirit-baptism” is not the only reason for seeking the gift.
IV. What happens when I speak in tongues?
· I speak, the Spirit supplies the words (Acts 2:4)
· I am edifying my spirit (1 Cor. 14:4)
· I can praise and worship God from the depths of my spirit (1 Cor. 14:14-17)
· I am praying Spirit-led prayers (1 Cor. 14:2).
Our quest to be empowered by the Spirit should not focus on tongues.
But we must recognize that tongues is a useful tool to draw close to God and build ourselves up spiritually so we can win this world to Jesus.
V. Who is the baptism in the Holy Spirit for?
Acts 2:39, The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
As the church moves forwarded into this new millennium, surrounded by an increasingly wicked world, it is essential that we receive the anointing of the Spirit and power.
Pentecostal theologian, Dr. Wayde Goodall writes in his book, The Blessing:
“If your employer offered you a new tool to do your job with less physical effort but more excellence and precision, would you take advantage of that offer? If a friend told you of the availability of a new program that has a great ability to assist people in their efforts to be better husbands, wives, and parents, would you be interested in the program? How about an offer of some way to improve your Christian witness or multiply your efforts for God’s kingdom? God has offered you a gift that will give you greater power than you could ever acquire naturally. Luke calls it ‘might power,’ and it will release the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.”
VI. How can I receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit?
The Scriptures do not give a formula, but the following considerations will be helpful.
Six Helpful Considerations
1. This experience is for all believers.
Joel’s prophesy, repeated by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, stresses that the outpouring of God’s Spirit is for all believers.
As we just saw above, this promise of Spirit baptism for empowerment transcends time and race.
If you are seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit, you must be convinced that this experience is for you.
2. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Gift
Luke 11:11-13
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 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!”
God is not going to give you a fake. He can’t wait to give the Holy Spirit to His children.
Note: a gift is not given because you deserve it, have fasted long enough, waited long enough … The only requirement is faith.
See it as a gift that God, your loving heavenly father, wants to give you. Don’t make it more difficult than it is.
3. God’s Spirit already lives inside me.
If you are a Christian, this is a true fact.
The Holy Spirit indwells all believers.
Therefore, Spirit-baptism is an additional work of the already indwelling Spirit.
4. I am open and receptive.
God does not baptize a person against their will.
Yieldedness to the Lord and a willingness to submit to Him will facilitate one’s being baptized in the Holy Spirit.
This is especially true of speaking in tongues.
You must cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
He does not come and possess your tongue.
Acts 2:4, “They spoke in tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
They did not generate the tongues-speaking, they responded to the prompting of the Spirit.
5. God’s timing is not always ours.
Since the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift, the timing of its giving is in the hands of the giver.
The Lord responds to believing prayer when the person is in accordance to His will.
But for reasons He does not disclose, sometimes the Lord’s timing differs from ours.
It is evident in the Book of Acts and in experience that the outpourings of the Spirit sometimes occur at unexpected times.
Consequently, a person who wishes to be baptized in the Spirit must not condemn himself or herself if the experience does not take place the way he or she thinks it should.
CONCLUSION:
I end with two questions of my own.
1. Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit? If not, look over those six considerations again, and spend time praying about them.
2. If you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit, what are you doing with it?
