“THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT”
(A Series in I Corinthians)
Westgate Chapel 10/25/98 a.m. Acts 1:5
PROPOSITION: Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father in order to send the baptizing Holy Spirit as a gift for all believers.
I. introduction
- THREE weeks ago, preaching a series on I Corinthians, we arrived at chapter 12.
- VERSE 1 of that chapter says,
“Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.”
- SPIRITUAL gifts are divinely empowered means of doing the supernatural work of God in the lives of others....in ways that defy human explanation.
- THERE is a list of 9 of these gifts in I Corinthians 12 that we will be studying in the next few weeks.
* Word of wisdom.
* Word of knowledge.
* Gift of faith.
* Gifts of healing.
* Miracles.
* Prophecy.
* Distinguishing between spirits.
* Speaking in tongues.
* Interpretation of tongues.
- NOW the reason that Paul did not want the believers of Corinth to be ignorant about these spiritual gifts was because without them we are beating the air.
- WITHOUT spiritual gifts in the work of the ministry we are lost....trying to do in human wisdom and strength what only God can do by the power of His Spirit.
- NOW, these spiritual gifts are the work of the person of the Holy Spirit through yielded human vessels.
- CONCERNING the list of the gifts that we are going to be studying in I Corinthians 12, Paul says in verse 11...
“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (I Corinthians 12:11)
- WHICH is why, three weeks ago, I preached on the person of the Holy Spirit...from Genesis to Revelation.
ii. the person of the holy spirit
- IN Genesis 1:2 it is the Holy Spirit who “moved” over the waters of the deep in creative power.
- IN Genesis 6:3 it is the person of the Holy Spirit who “strives” or “contends” with man.
- IN Genesis 41:38 it is the Holy Spirit who comes on Joseph to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams.
- IN Exodus 31:3 He fills Bezalel for the building of the Tabernacle.
- IN Numbers 11:17, He fills 70 elders to assist Moses in the leadership of Israel, and they prophesy.
- IN Numbers 27:18 He comes on Joshua to take Moses’ place of leadership.
- IN Judges 6, He comes on hopeless Gideon to lead 300 of God’s people in victory over 120,000 Midianites.
- IN Judges 13:25, He stirs Samson and 1,000 Philistines were killed by one man.
- IN I Samuel 10:10-11, He came upon Saul in power to be the king of Israel....and Saul prophesied.
- LATER, when Saul failed as king, Samuel anointed a humble shepherd boy as Saul’s replacement....David.
* I Samuel 16:13 says,
“...from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.”
- THROUGHOUT the Old Testament the Holy Spirit...
* Fills.
* Stirs.
* Comes upon...isolated people enabling them to do supernatural works for the glory of the Father.
- IT is the same Holy Spirit doing the same work today in a demonstration of the power of God.
- EXCEPT today He is available to fill, or come upon all people and not just isolated individuals.
* Joel 2:28-29 says about our day,
“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.”
III. THE PROMISE of THE HOLY SPIRIT
- WHICH is why, right before He ascended to the right hand of the Father, in Acts 1:4-5, Jesus told His disciples,
“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.”
- THESE disciples were already saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit who lives in and seals all believers.
- TURN with me to John 20:22.
- BY the time we get to John 20:22, Jesus has died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins, has been raised from the dead by the Father, and has appeared to the disciples.
- AND in John 20:22 it says that Jesus,
“...breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. (23) If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”
- SO, in Acts 1:4-5, when Jesus tells these same disciples to “wait for the gift my Father promised,” and, “in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”........He is talking about something entirely different than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that every believer receives at salvation.
- THOSE 120 disciples who followed Jesus instructions and waited in the upper room for this Spirit baptism already had the Holy Spirit in residence in their lives. Jesus told them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.......back in John 20:22.
- AND now, in the upper room, guided by the indwelling Holy Spirit....
* They are united in spirit.
* They pray.
* They worship.
* Peter applies Scriptures to their situation regarding replacing Judas.
* They make leadership decisions regarding his replacement.
- SPIRIT led all those days, but waiting for a Spirit baptism that Jesus commanded them to wait for.
- THIS Spirit baptism is an immersion into a relationship with God that saturates you and overflows in power.
- THAT is what Jesus said in Acts 1:8,
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you...”
• Power to be witnesses.
• Power to live out the fruit of the Holy Spirit....in victory over sin.
• Power to do the work of God
- AND it is not a once for all “experience.”
- SINCE it is an immersion into a new and powerful relationship with God, this baptism is only a beginning.
- THIS Spirit baptism is known by several terms in the Bible....and that is not uncommon. Salvation is called being born again, redeemed, justified to name a few.
- BUT in the New Testament as in the Old, the Spirit baptism is called...
* Being filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4).
* The outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:17).
* Receiving the gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38).
* The Holy Spirit is said to have “fallen” or “come on” the Samaritans and Cornelius’ household in Acts 8 and 10.
iv. the power of the holy spirit
- THEN Acts 2:1-4 records the first Spirit baptism of the New Testament,
“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 (wind being the root of the word used for Holy Spirit) 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.(Fire from heaven on Tabernacle, Temple, and now the whole and then individual members of the Church of Jesus Christ....speaking of new order from God) (4) All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
- ALL 120 of the disciples present were baptized in the Holy Spirit. All spoke in tongues as the Spirit enabled them.....a supernatural sign to the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit.
- PETER is the first to speak out boldly with a prophetic word about the Spirit baptism that the crowd had witnessed.....whereas before he had run and hidden when confronted by a chamber maid.
- HE calls for the crowd to repent, and 3,000 are added to the church....and devoted to teaching, fellowship, prayer and breaking of bread.
- GENEROSITY flows as people take care of one another.
- SIGNS and wonders characterize the life of the church (Acts 2:43).
- PEOPLE were being saved every day.
- IN Acts 4:8, when Peter faces his first serious opposition from the Sanhedrin and they call him in for interrogation....he is filled afresh with the Holy Spirit for the challenge he faces.
- IN Acts 4:31, when the opposition against the whole church escalates, they have a prayer meeting. The place where they are meeting is shaken and they are “filled (again) with the Holy Spirit and speak the word of God boldly.”
- BY Acts 8 the baptizing power of the Holy Spirit has propelled a spirit-filled deacon named Philip into evangelistic work in Samaria....with incredible results.
* He preached Christ (verse 5).
* He did miraculous signs (verse 6).
* He cast out demons (verse 7).
* And many cripples and paralytics were healed.
- AS a result of this tremendous work (gifts of the Spirit in operation), many in Samaria....
* Believed the good news of the kingdom (verse 12).
* Believed in the name of Jesus (verse 12).
* Were baptized in water....a believer’s baptism commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-19.
- SAMARITAN believers, saved, indwelt by the Holy Spirit (there is no other way to be saved), and baptized in water......but the Holy Spirit had not “come upon any of them yet.” (Verse 16)
- THERE was likely some stumbling block to faith in this setting....because it is one of few examples where Spirit baptism was through the laying on of hands (Peter and John).
- THEY receive the Spirit baptism and something so dramatic happens to them that Simon the Sorcerer wants to buy the ability to do the same thing.
* It wouldn’t have been miracles, because Philip had already been doing that in Simon’s presence.
* It wouldn’t have been healing, because that was already being done by Philip.
* It wouldn’t have been prophecy...because that was not noticeably supernatural.
* Something dramatic and obviously supernatural was the sign of their Spirit baptism in Samaria.
- IN Acts 10. Cornelius’ household was the next to experience salvation and their Spirit baptism in immediate succession.
- CORNELIUS had sent for Peter to explain the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
- VERSES 44-46 say,
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. (45) The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. (46) For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”
- THE reasoning that the Jewish believers with Peter used to accept the Gentile’s Spirit baptism as the same as theirs on the Day of Pentecost....was that they heard them speaking in tongues JUST like they had when they received their Spirit baptism.
- IN Acts 19 Paul encounters disciples in Ephesus who have believed in Christ, but had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit yet.....actually they had not been baptized in water in Jesus’ name yet either.
- THE Greek in verse 2 is literally, “having believed...did you receive the Holy Spirit?”
- THEY had not yet heard that the age of the Holy Spirit had come. That was their answer. As believing Jews (John’s baptism) they would have known about the existence of the Holy Spirit.
- VERSE 6 says,
“When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.”
v. conclusion
- TAKING these four narratives in Acts, and the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels, it is clear that what John the Baptist said about Jesus was true...
“The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.” (John 1:33)
- THAT was the same word that Jesus used in Acts 1:5,
“For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
- SO it happened for the 120 on the Day of Pentecost....and their lives were revolutionized and they turned towns upside down for Christ.
- AND it happened in Samaria.
- AND in Paul’s life when Ananias laid his hands on him.
- AND it happened in Cornelius’ household.
- AND for the first twelve believers in Ephesus.
- AND from then to our day the baptism in the Holy Spirit has always been the experience of believers somewhere on the earth.
- AND this same Spirit baptism is still available for you and me today.....and a life after your Spirit baptism of continual fillings in the person of the Holy Spirit.
- WE still need supernatural power to live passionately for God in our materialistic, selfish, godless world.
- WE still need supernatural power to witness boldly to a world made dizzy with its own lies and counterfeit spirituality.
- WE still need supernatural power to have the gifts of the Spirit in operation in our lives and families and church.
- WE still need supernatural power to have the fruit of the Spirit in evidence in our lives individually and corporately.
- JUST like the Spirit fell on Bezalel and he built, or the Spirit fell on Saul and he prophesied, or on David and he reigned....the Holy Spirit is now promised to baptize YOU!
- THIS Spirit baptism is the outpouring of the presence and power and glory of God on born again believers....to immerse and saturate you in God’s power.
- IF you are a born again believer....the Holy Spirit is already in residence in you.
- IF you are hungry and come in faith, you can be baptized in the Holy Spirit.
- IT is not tongues that you are seeking for, it is the fullness of God in baptizing power.
- IT is not the gifts of the Spirit that you are seeking for, it is the fullness and majesty and power of God to change you like Peter was changed.
- TONGUES and the gifts of the Spirit are simply the evidence that the baptism has taken place...they are not the baptism in the Holy Spirit of God.
- IF you have not been baptized in the Holy Spirit, you need to start seeking Him and receive this promised dunamis that He has for you.
- IF you were baptized in the Holy Spirit years ago, you need an fresh in-filling so that you can live in the power that He has for you.
