PART ONE:
THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT – WHAT IT IS

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is so important to the life and ministry of the believer. In order to give you a sound biblical understanding of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I have put together the sequence of events that mark the timeline leading up to Pentecost and beyond. These are Holy Spirit Chronicles.

THE EDICT

The most wonderful sound ever heard was about to fall on the ears of the tens of thousands of people gathered in the Temple courts at Jerusalem. The final rituals of a national festival were taking place. All eyes followed a golden vessel filled with water and wine. A drink offering was ready to be poured out to the Lord.

A priest lifted the gleaming vessel in the sunshine and paused. Silence fell as the people strained to hear the sacred water splashing into a bronze bowl at the altar. Then came the interruption: a voice not known for 1,000 years. A voice that made the spine tingle. It was the voice of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was the Word Who had spoken in the beginning and called forth heaven and earth into existence. Now, at Jerusalem, He stood and issued a royal and Divine edict, changing the dispensation of God:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, 38).

STREAMS IN THE DESERT

“Rivers of living water!” Not bottles, but rivers, fresh, lively, sparkling, abundant and unending. Some people live for what comes out of a bottle. The world’s supermarkets have very little that is fresh. Prepackaged pleasure is big business, with canned music, films and books. Television provides the highlights of life for millions of people as they watch others live or pretending to live. This even includes children, who forget how to play.

LIVE NOW!

People are always “going to” live . . . after things change, after working hours, when they have money, when they get married, retire or go on holiday. Jesus came to give us life NOW. NO WAITING but wherever we are and whatever we are doing. He makes life live.

HISTORICAL BLACKBOARD

God wrote His plan for Israel while they were in the wilderness across a blackboard 40 years wide. The Israelites did not have to drink stale, flat water from skins. The Lord opened bubbling streams from a rock (Exodus 17:1-7). The Temple drink offering was a celebration in memory of that wilderness water (Numbers 20:1-13). Jesus, however, gave it a new and glorious meaning – a symbol of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

ONLY JESUS

THIS JESUS! Nobody else had ever dared to make such an amazing claim and to then fulfill it. He would ascend to glory, where Creation began, and change the order of things. Something not known before would surge from heaven to earth. He called it “the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4 KJV). THE promise. Out of over 8,000 promises in God’s Word, the designation of THE promise makes it stand out singularly and significantly alone. Christ made it His own promise. The Father’s gift to Him is His gift to us, as John the Baptist said:

“I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon Whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God” (John 1:33, 34).

WHEN WORDS FAIL

John used a different expression here instead of “rivers of living water.” Scripture has many other terms such as: Being baptized in holy fire (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16); “endued with power” (Luke 24:49); anointed with the oil of God; immersed in the Spirit; “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 NIV); walking, praying or living in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25; Romans 8:26); our bodies being temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19); having “another Comforter” besides Christ Himself (John 14:16 KJV).

PICTURE GALLERY

These are sketches, but color and details have to be added. The Bible is a picture gallery of the Holy Spirit in operation; it portrays signs, wonders and miracles. It shows men looking as if “they had been with Jesus,” the world turned upside down, and people coming to “know the Lord” and enjoying a new experience. These were not just religious enthusiasts or church-goers, but a new breed with vibrant faith. Paul says that God “ . . . made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions . . . ” (Ephesians 2:5 NIV) and that we are “ . . . strengthened with all power according to His glorious might” (Colossians 1:11 NIV). The Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised it:

“’But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you’” (Acts 1:8).

We, as born again believers, are special; we are saints, and the baptism in the Spirit is Christ’s next major experience for us. Jesus alone made it possible when He died, rose and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. What a gift!

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The Lord does not send publicity by heavenly mail to tell us who He is. The works performed by His Spirit are seen on earth. The Holy Spirit is a Person; He is God in action. Creation came as “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Then, when God chose His servants, the power of the Holy Spirit rested upon them:

“Then Moses said to the Israelites, ‘See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills . . . And He has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others’” (Exodus 35:30, 31, 34 NIV).

“The Spirit of the Lord came upon him [Othniel], and he judged Israel” (Judges 3:10).

The Spirit “clothed Gideon with Himself” (Judges 6:34 AMP), and Gideon defended Israel (Judges 6:11–8:35). The Spirit moved Samson to acts of supernatural strength (Judges 13:1–16:31). The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephtha and delivered Israel’s foes into his hands (Judges 11:1–12:7).

After these judges, the prophet Samuel guided an entire nation for a lifetime. How? “Holy men of God spoke {as they were} moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). The prophet Micah testified, “I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord” (Micah 3:8 KJV).

These are portraits of the Holy Spirit. This is that Spirit whom Christ promised: the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge, creative, empowering, healing, the Spirit of strength, confidence, and virtue.

God’s power is not a kind of supercharge for people already gifted with great personality and drive, but is for those who need it–the weak and the unknown. “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).

FOUR GREAT PICTURES

Four of the pictures in the Bible gallery should be examined carefully.

THE PROPHET’S WISH

The first picture: Moses put his hands on 70 elders at the Tent of Meeting, and the Spirit of God came upon them. At that moment back in the camp, Eldad and Medad were also endued and began to prophesy. A young man ran to tell Moses. Joshua thought Moses should have a monopoly on prophesying and urged, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” Far from objecting, Moses said, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11:24-29 NIV).

Seventy at once! That was the most for over 1,200 years. The experience was rare, usually temporary and only for individuals. However, Moses’ wish lay in many hearts while long centuries passed.

BRIGHT SKIES

The second picture: The Temple Solomon had built was in full operation, but sin had weakened the nation. A prophet stood in Jerusalem, bringing a warning of judgment. Through the telescope of prophecy, Joel had seen distant skies black with war clouds, terror and destruction, with Israel laid waste which, as we now know, proved Joel a true prophet. However, Joel was telling Israel more. Beyond the gathering storm, he saw bright skies, not merely recovery, but a wonderful New Thing.

“And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke’” (Joel 2:28-30 NIV).

ALL PRIVILEGED

In those days, young slave girls poured water on the hands of their mistresses to wash them, but God promised to pour out His Spirit even on those servants. In fact, this prophecy meant that the HOLY SPIRIT WOULD BE POURED OUT WORLDWIDE UPON ALL MANNER OF PEOPLE regardless of their station in life.

This was sensational. What He had once granted to only a handful of His chosen servants would be a privilege everyone could call his own. It was too hard for many to imagine or believe. But God said it, and His Word stands forever.

A PROPHET IN LEATHER GARMENTS

The third picture: John the Baptist, in leather clothing, stood on the bank of the Jordan River. He was the first prophet of God in 400 years. Crowds came out to hear him and be baptized. His thunderous message called on Israel to repent and prepare because the long awaited Coming One would appear.

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One who is more powerful than I, Whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Matthew 3:11 NIV).

NO ORDINARY BAPTIST

Twenty-four hours later, among the candidates for baptism, John saw a young man wading through the waters and stood aghast: “YOU! JESUS! I am not worthy to baptize You. You should baptize me!” God had shown John that Jesus was that promised “One who was to come” (Matthew 11:3; Luke 7:19, 20 NIV). He would perform a rite far greater than John in the Jordan. Jesus the Baptist would not use a physical element, water, but heavenly fire, which is a spiritual element. John stood in the cold waters of the Jordan, but Jesus stood in a river of liquid fire. John had baptized for a few short days; Jesus would baptize down through the ages–not just one group on the Day of Pentecost, but “all flesh.” He is doing so even now, some 700,000 days later!

PROMISE KEEPERS

The fourth picture: Fearing the authorities who had executed Jesus, 120 disciples came together quietly. Jesus had said, “Stay in the city [Jerusalem] until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49 NIV). They sat and waited, and the world forgot them. Nothing happened; no marvels occurred. Everything seemed so ordinary.

DAYS OF PENTECOST

The tenth day was a Sunday, the Feast of Weeks, also called Pentecost. At nine in the morning, a Temple priest lifted the bread of the first fruits and waved it before the Lord. As if this were a signal for the ascended Christ, a divine tornado tore through the skies above Jerusalem.

Jesus Himself had broken through the heavens in His shattering and victorious Ascension. Now through the opened skies there was a Descension. The Holy Spirit came, demonstrating that the way into the heavens was open. Praise God, it has never been closed since! When the curtain of the Temple was ripped as Jesus died, the priests probably tried to stitch it together again. Nobody can stitch up this rent in the heavens–not even the devil and all his minions. It is a new and living way, open forever.

AMBER FLAMES

Moses saw God as fire in the bush. Now through this door of glory, which no man could shut, the same fire, the Holy Spirit, came. Amber flames settled in burning beauty upon the head of each waiting disciple. Glory that filled all heaven now crowded into the breasts of those present. The Holy Spirit was in them and on them. Men had never experienced it before. There were no words to describe it. This was unutterable. Then God gave them words, new tongues and languages to tell “the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11 KJV) like inspired psalmists.

COMFORTED

The explanation is simple: The disciples belonged to Christ. He said so, and as long as He was with them on earth, they could do marvelous works. Then He ascended to God, and they felt lonely and frightened. However, the Lord had made a promise: He would send another Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).

The word “comforter” (paraclete) implies “someone walking by your side.” For three and a half years, Jesus was with them day and night, teaching them and giving them hope for this life and eternity. These peasants had comforting news from the Master–Christ Himself. But in His absence physically on earth, they would need another person to step in that role of Comforter–the Third Person of the Trinity, The Holy Spirit.

THE HELPER IS HERE!

The word “Helper” suggests someone readily available to give assistance when necessary. Jesus had been by their sides for over three years, and He was their first great Helper, Companion and Comforter. Then that other Person, another Helper, the Holy Spirit, came on the Day of Pentecost. It was like having Jesus with them again, and they could carry out the Great Commission to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, cast out devils and work wonders as before–in short, the work of witnessing, which is the privilege and responsibility of every born-again person (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15-18).

JOINT HEIRS

The same situation exists for us. We are joint heirs of the same promise. First, we must come to Christ and give ourselves to Him, and then we can receive the power baptism. Our very lives should be evidence of His Resurrection. It is more than talk that is needed–it is people manifesting the fullness of the Spirit.

DIPPED IN FIRE

The word “baptism” did not have a religious meaning originally. It is from the trade of dyeing fabrics. The English equivalent is ‘dipping.’ The cloth or garment is dipped into the dye, and the cloth takes on the color or character of the dye. When Christ baptizes us in the Spirit, we partake of the “color” or character of the Spirit, partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). The Spirit is in us, and we are in the Spirit. We are people of the Holy Spirit. Dipped in Fire!

THE BAPTISM AND OTHER WORKINGS

SALVATION AND MORE

We receive salvation and are born again through the Holy Spirit. But that is not the end of His work. His activities are manifold. He empowers us for witnessing. The baptism in the Spirit means that people saved by grace and born again can have new experiences and become Spirit-energized witnesses for Christ.

NOT AN OPTION

How necessary is the baptism of the Holy Spirit? It was vital even for the disciples who had healed the sick and cast out demons. That was possible only as long as Christ was by their sides. The Lord Jesus told them to wait until they were endued with the Spirit before they went forth into the fields for service. Mary, the mother of Christ, was one example. She had certainly known the Holy Spirit in her life to bring about the birth of Jesus, but she too waited at Jerusalem for this further work of the Spirit, called “the promise of the Father.” If she needed it, we all do (Acts 1:4 KJV).

ENDUED WITH POWER

It was not just seeing Jesus or hearing His voice which made the disciples the great people they were, because “some believed and some doubted” (Matthew 28:17; Mark 16:13, 14; Luke 24:41), but it happened through the Holy Spirit baptism. They shut the door when they met for fear of the Jews (John 20:19). They certainly did not shout in the streets, “Jesus is alive!” They met secretly, at first away in Galilee, and they even went fishing (John 21). All that changed, however, on the Day of Pentecost. Instead of their being afraid of the Jewish crowds, the crowds trembled before them and cried out, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 NIV). This was as Jesus said:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses . . . to the ends of the earth’” (Acts 1:8 NIV).

HOW IT FIRST HAPPENED

A SOUND FROM HEAVEN

Now we look again at the fourth picture:

“When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).

NO EMPTY PROMISES

What Divine power and glory! This second chapter of Acts is noisy and action-packed. The heavenly Father does not make empty promises, just to build up our hopes and then laugh at us. Christ had said, “Go into all the world . . . ” (Mark 16:15 NIV). The moment those “tongues of fire” touched their heads it put the “go” into them. God acted, and then they acted. Divine action caused human reaction, which is why this book is called the Acts of the Apostles.

THE OUTFLOW

There was an inflow from heaven, and there had to be an outflow. “Out of his heart shall flow rivers” (John 7:38), not just “into.” It was not for emotional satisfaction. The disciples did not say, “Let us have a prayer meeting for power like this every week.” They never again asked for power for themselves, because they knew that they had it already. The apostle Peter said to the cripple at the Gate Beautiful, “What I do have I give to you” (Acts 3:6 NIV).

FIRE GOSPEL

Nor did they just sit, appointing a chairman and passing resolutions on social problems. They could not contain themselves! They had to be up and doing. Peter stood, electrified. And the Christian age began; the world heard the first Gospel sermon. Of course, it was a Fire Gospel.

FRUITFUL EVANGELISM

The result? Three thousand people received salvation. That was the reason for Pentecost. In fact, the Trinity, the whole Godhead, set the plans of salvation and evangelism into motion. The Father joined with the ascended Lord to send the Spirit to save a lost world (Isaiah 48:16). That is the main purpose of the baptism in the Spirit. That is what God is doing: saving people. What are we doing? This baptism is not for thrills, but to help us work alongside the Lord. We know why Jesus and the Holy Spirit came. Why are WE here?

THE HOLY SPIRIT DIFFERENCE

What a day Pentecost was! “Rivers” flowed that eventually flooded the Roman Empire. People sigh and wish they were back in the days of the Early Church, but it was neither the days nor the men which made the times special. It was the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Without it, the disciples would probably have gone back to being fishermen in Galilee and grown old telling tales of strange events when they were young. Instead, they changed the world. That baptism is for all today.

FOR TODAY

Some people want to deprive believers today, saying the baptism in the Spirit with signs following was only for the first believers “until the Church got under way;” they suggest that we have to manage without the miraculous gifts of those believers. That would make the Early Christians an elite group, as if we could not be Christians in the way they were. However, not a word in the Bible suggests such a thing. It is a theory invented by unbelief. In fact, when Paul went to Ephesus 20 years after the Church had been well planted, 12 people were baptized in the Spirit (Acts 19:6, 7).

PENTECOST FOR ALL GENERATIONS

Every generation needs Pentecost. In A.D. 30, the world population was one hundred million. Today it is over seven billion and growing rapidly. Ten times more people today than in the first century do not know about Jesus. The Church still needs planting. Unbelief and complete ignorance of God exist everywhere. Surely our need for the power of the Holy Spirit is far more desperate.

Therefore, I want to explain to you carefully, from the Bible itself, why and how that same baptism is for us today. Read what Peter preached to the multitude on the Day of Pentecost, under the anointing of the Spirit, when he explained who could be baptized in 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 2:39).

TO YOU

First, Peter said it is “to you,” the very people he had just accused saying, “Ye have taken [Jesus], and by wicked hands have crucified and slain [Him]” (Acts 2:23 KJV). Yet he announced, “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” (Acts 2:38 NIV). These were the same people that Jesus had called “an evil generation” (Luke 11:29), “faithless and perverse” (Matthew 17:17; Luke 9:41).

TO YOUR CHILDREN

Second, he said it is “to your children,” the next generation. Some people would not become parents until later. It could be that 100 years after the Day of Pentecost, people would receive this blessing and speak in tongues. One woman mentioned in Luke 2:36 had been a widow for 84 years. However, the word “children” referred not only to their families, but also to their descendants, that is, the children of Israel.

TO ALL THAT ARE FAR OFF

Third, Peter said, “to all that are far off,” that is, in time and distance, at the ends of the earth where Christ had commissioned the Church to take the Gospel (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16). This would take many years, far beyond the apostolic age. New Zealand, for example, would be one of the ends of the earth; no missionary arrived there until 1814. Indeed, the task is not completed even today; therefore, we still need that same power.

TO EVERYONE WHOM THE LORD OUR GOD CALLS

Fourth, Peter hammered it home, “every one whom the Lord our God calls to Him.” Those “God calls” are those who come to Christ. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him” (John 6:44 NIV). All believers are called and are promised the same gift of the Holy Spirit that Peter and his 119 friends had just received. Do what the disciples did, and you will get what the disciples got. Believe God’s promises are given to us all, “And be not drunk with wine . . . but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18 KJV).

DIRECT FROM JESUS

Only Jesus is the Baptizer, nobody else. Do not settle for a secondhand experience. Have your own Pentecost. Do not try to cash in on someone else’s experience in a charismatic meeting. The fire of the Holy Spirit did not arrive in one big, general flame so that all could gather and warm themselves, conducting cozy conferences. Rather, it came in separate “tongues,” little flames that “sat upon each of them” (Acts 2:3). This was very significant. Those tongues of fire were in fact potent and portable power stations which would move with the people wherever they went.

AGLOW WITH THE SPIRIT

We live in a spiritually dark and cold world. The best way not to freeze is to be aglow with the Holy Spirit. God will light a fire on the altar of your own heart so that you can be a fire-starter. Warm others; do not depend on others to warm you!