The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit Series

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit Part 2

Acts 2:1-13

(From Steve Meenho Kang, Live by the Spirit (Bloomington, IN: Westbow Press, 2022)

Currently we are going through the message series, “The Holy Spirit.”

During this series, we are examining things that are related to the work of the Holy Spirit.

First week, we talked about “the person of the Holy Spirit.”

Today we will talk about “the baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Many Christians attend worship services, small group, and Bible studies.

But they are not experiencing God in their lives.

They do not experience the joy and power of God in their lives.

They long for passion, joy, and peace, but they do not experience them.

They want to have a living relationship with God, but they only maintain a superficial relationship with God.

God feels so distant.

We know that God wants to do more with us than what is going on now.

There are scars that He wants to heal.

There are insights that He longs to reveal.

There are powers that He wants to give.

But we do not experience these works of God.

Why?

Even though God wants us to experience Him in our lives, this will not happen automatically—unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

After His resurrection, just before He ascended, Jesus gave this prediction.

Acts 1:4-5 say this:

4 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus told them that He would send the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the disciples must stay in Jerusalem and be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Then on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down and filled the place where the disciples were, and they were all baptized by the Holy Spirit.

Before we go any further, I would like to explain what the baptism of the Holy Spirit is.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the initial coming of the Holy Spirit to a person.

Historically, this took place at Pentecost.

But today, it takes place whenever a person trusts Jesus and is born again.

When a person believes Jesus, God baptizes the person with the Holy Spirit once and for all.

That person does not need to be rebaptized over and over.

It is once and for all experience.

After the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit, then the person must do what is necessary to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.

And that is the topic that we will think about next week.

In Acts 2, the disciples were baptized by the Holy Spirit.

And these are some things that we must know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I. We must be aware of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (vv. 1-4).

Verses 1-4 say this.

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The day of Pentecost had arrived, and the Holy Spirit came down upon these Christians.

They were baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Some supernatural signs were demonstrated when the Holy Spirit came—a sound, a sight, and strange language.

There was a sound like the blowing of a violent wind that came from heaven.

What seemed to be tongues of fire came and rest on each one of them.

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they began to speak in other languages.

These three supernatural signs demonstrated that the Holy Spirit had come.

Once they were baptized with the Holy Spirit, they were no longer the same.

They had the power to overcome their weaknesses.

They had the power to overcome their sins.

They were able to witness Jesus boldly, heal the sick, and cast out demons.

When they were baptized by the Holy Spirit, they experienced God’s power in their lives.

But nowadays why do so many Christians live powerlessly?

It is because they do not know that they have the Holy Spirit in them.

They are just like those Christians in Ephesus.

In Acts 19:2, Paul went to Ephesus and met some people who believed in God.

He 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.”