The Baptism in the Holy Spirit

Two weeks ago, we studied important biblical information regarding our knowledge of and our experience in the Holy Spirit.

This message looked at the gift, the giver, and how the gift is received. We determined that the gift is the Holy Spirit. We determined the giver is both God and Jesus. We determined that the Holy Spirit is received at the moment a person is saved and the moment a person is baptized in the Holy Spirit. All of these “determinations” are backed by Scripture.

We know that we can both know of and experience the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. And what we also know is in that experience, there is inward AND outward evidence of His work in our lives.

Inwardly, the Holy Spirit moves in the moment we become believers. He becomes, as Jesus described Him, our helper or advocate. The Spirit of God literally resides within the heart of Christians bringing peace, comfort, wisdom, discernment, guidance, counsel, and so on. Again, this is the result of God pouring out His Spirit on all people in the last days… we are living in those last days!

Outwardly, the Holy Spirit baptizes believers for the purpose of empowering testimony… for the purpose of empowering their witness for Christ. In all cases in the New Testament, Spirit baptism resulted in empowered speech. Spirit Baptism is NOT given for the sake of inward reflection but for outward proclamation. As made clear in Acts 1:8 by Jesus Himself, believers “receive power” for the sake of our local AND global witness.

What we believe is that there are two reception experiences available to all who believe in Christ Jesus as Lord. The first occurs at salvation. The second occurs through Spirit baptism.

This view of Spirit Baptism being a separate experience looks very closely at the purpose of this second experience. Commentators suggest this purpose includes sanctification, assurance of salvation, empowerment for service, the outward flow of love from believer’s lives, and other reasons. Emphasis is placed on baptism in the Spirit being an experience that can be perceived… that can be viewed by others… and one knows when it happens.

Tonight, we are going to study the second reception… tonight we study what it means to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and why believers should be open to and seeking this very important baptism in their walk with Jesus Christ.

As mentioned before, we are living in the last days, the days in which God promised to pour out His Spirit upon all people. In these last days, we need all of God’s Spirit we can get! And not for our benefit but for the glory of God! These last days are days in which the church can shine… days in which the faith of true believers stand out from the secular ideals of this world. Church… trouble is on the horizon… but these are the days in which Acts 2:17 “Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” These are the days in which Acts 2:21 “...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

These words were true when they were spoken by Peter in Acts 2 and they are true today! And remember… these words were spoken by Peter to a skeptical crowd AFTER he has recieved the baptism in the Holy Spirit! Scripture says about three thousand people became believers as a result!

Spirit Baptism is available for all believers. If you are saved… If you are a Christian, then you are eligible to receive this amazing gift of empowerment. What does it mean to be baptized in the Spirit? Why should we seek this gift from God? We will look at and answer these questions as we dive into the topic of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.

What Does it Mean to be Baptized?

In its raw definition, baptize, or baptizo in the original language, means to immerse. Most commonly baptism is associated with water baptism. It signifies a religious rite for ritual cleansing.

Baptism in water is something we do as a church… the the footstep of Christ. In baptism, we fully submerge the individual in water and raise them back up. This is symbolic of what Christ has done in their lives.

As the person goes under the water, it symbolizes the death of their old self. That old person, including their sin, is now crucified with Christ.

As the person is raised out of the water, this is symbolic of our resurrection in Christ. Sin and the old self is left in the grave and what now lives is because of Christ. Through immersion, NOT ONE PART OF THE PERSON IS LEFT UNAFFECTED. The old is truly gone and the new has truly come!

But what about Spirit baptism? What does it mean to be baptized or “fully immersed” in the Holy Spirit?

Interestingly enough, the term “baptism” in the Spirit is not used in the Bible. However… the term “baptize” in or with the Spirit is used For instance, when John spoke of Jesus’ near arrival in Luke 3:16, he made it clear saying, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Now, to be clear, this baptism in the Spirit spoken of by John was NOT a replacement to being baptized in water but is an additional baptism every believer can experience in Christ.

The term “baptize in the Spirit” is used six times in the Gospels and in Acts. Those references are on the screen now. Some scholars would also hold that Paul uses this term in 1 Corinthians 12:13.

Going back to the example verse in Luke 3:16, the phrase “Baptize in the Spirit” originated with John the baptist. John’s proclamation about baptism in the Holy Spirit was born out of the context of baptism in water so it is important that we study that context tonight.

Looking at the surrounding verses of Luke 3:16, we see clearly that the result of Spirit Baptism was predicted to be the separation of the chaff and the wheat.

Look at verse 17, “17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Water baptism is a public profession of faith, but was still not very efficient at making this distinction… but the baptism is the Spirit would be… and we’re going to see this in Scripture.

Consider for a moment what Christ said regarding this separation - the chaff from the wheat. He said in Luke 12:49, “I have come to bring fire on the earth...” and this was said in context with the teaching of what? Division not peace… And what was it that was going to cause this spoken of division? The Gospel message. The divide would be between those who accept Christ… and those who reject Christ.

Jesus said in Luke 12:51 “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.” Jesus came and, in a sense, drew a line in the sand. He set the standard. He made it clear what it took to be a disciple - to deny self, take up your cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23).

So go back to John’s statement… the baptism in the Spirit helps in the separation of the chaff from the wheat. This is a baptism of fire… Holy Spirit fire… that empowers the witness of believers. THAT TESTIMONY, that Gospel testimony, is what will bring the separation or division. As the fire is poured out through the empowered preaching and teaching of the Word, the chaff will be burnt up by “unquenchable;e fire” while the wheat is gathered in His barn.

No other word has the power. No other “truth” can bring such a division. Only the Word, who is Jesus, is capable of such a division. This Word divides us from our sin and from the consequence of sin. This Word divides us from the pattern of this broken world and from secular ideals. This Word UNITES us with the Father, unites us with wisdom, unites us with peace, hope, love, freedom, and blessing. This Word, through His redeeming blood, unites us with eternal life.

Although it is God’s desire for all to come to repentance, not everyone will accept the Word. The responsibility of empowered believers is to present the Word to the world.

Baptism in the Spirit is TOTAL immersion in the Holy Spirit that results in empowered witness testifying of the Gospel of grace.

Holy Spirit baptism is NOT for the cause of speaking in tongues. It is NOT for the cause of having excited and emotional church services. It is NOT for the cause of making us feel good or giving us goose bumps. It goes much deeper than that.

We obediently pursue water baptism as a public profession of our faith in Jesus Christ. I pray we humbly seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit to empower our daily vocalized profession of the Gospel message.

Why Do I Need to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit?

This is the question where I think many people get hung up. What benefit do I receive from Spirit Baptism? If the Holy Spirit lives in me because I am saved… why do I need to seek more?

First, I fear we have this backwards. We are a consumer nation… our culture has moved from being producers to being consumers and it has had damaging effects. This same mindset is beginning to trickle into churches and into church members. “I’m okay with doing church so long as church is doing something for me.”

In recent years, we have seen churches move to a seeker sensitive agenda embracing methods of ministry labeled as “attractional models.” The idea is we want the church to feel good… to look good… to be sensitive to the needs of those who might be looking for a church home. On the surface, this might sound okay… but it comes with very dangerous underlying trends.

For instance… polish and performance has taken the place of presence. Schedule and strategy leaves no room for Spirit spontaneity. In some cases, money has become the mission and ministry comes second to budgets, buildings, and bodies in the seats. Churches are feeding the consumer mindset… giving only what itching ears want to hear. There is no separating of the chaff from the wheat… and the end result is everyone is at risk of getting burned!

THERE IS NO EARTHLY SUBSTITUTION FOR THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

I need the baptism in the Holy Spirit because I fully recognize that my life… is no longer about me… but is about what God has for me! I was baptized in water because I want to the world to know that Christ has saved me! I was baptized in the Spirit because I want the world to know that Christ came to save them! I desire to be an empowered witness for Jesus!

No amount of polish, no amount of performance, no amount of planning or strategy even comes close to the power the Holy Spirit brings to our witness!

Church… in these last days we are seeing more and more people facing the effects of spiritual brokenness and sin. People are looking for hope, people are looking for answers… and Christ has offered a baptism that empowers us… the church… to deliver the answer this world is looking for.

This baptism is NOT reserved for preachers, teachers, or church volunteers. It is available to all believers as they carry out the great commission. If you desire to see your coworkers saved, you need the baptism! If you desire to see your family saved, you need the baptism! If you desire to see your neighbors, your friends, your classmates, and yes… even your enemies saved… YOU NEED THE BAPTISM!

And here’s the deal… it really shouldn’t be based off our desire… but off God’s desire. God’s desire is for all to come to repentance. That truth right there is good enough for me. If that’s what God wants, that’s what we should want. If God is pouring out an empowerment to help in that mission, then I am open to receiving it.

In light of this… there is something I feel that needs a bit of correction when it comes to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. For too long, I fear the emphasis of the baptism has been misdirected. For too long, I fear the focus has been on tongues instead of the empowerment.

We believe that speaking in other tongues is the initial physical evidence of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Why? Because that is what the pattern in Scripture reveals. When people received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, they spoke in tongues.

Over the years, speaking in tongues became the emphasis and I feel this has had some unfortunate consequences. Look at Jesus’ words again in Acts 1:8. He says you will receive power when the Spirit comes on you and you will be His witnesses. The focus here was NEVER on speaking in other tongues, but was placed on receiving the empowerment from God.

Yes, speaking in tongues comes with Spirit baptism but it’s not tongues that we are seeking, but the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

The unfortunate consequences I mentioned before are a misdirect of what the baptism is all about. If you talk to people on the street and mention you are Pentecostal, you might hear, “You’re one of those tongue-talking believers” or “that Holy Spirit baptism stuff is weird.” Even in Peter’s day the general public didn’t know quite what to do with what took place in Acts 2. But Peter didn’t back down nor did he place the focus on the observed miracle. He placed the emphasis on the outpouring of the Spirit.

Speaking in tongues is not a moment in which God takes control of your muscle movements and makes you do or say strange things. It is a moment when you speak in faith regarding what the Spirit is placing in your heart. Why did God choose tongues as the initial physical evidence? My opinion suggests because it is out of the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). Watch this: Your mouth gives evidence of the Spirit that dwells within your heart. When your heart is overflowing with the Holy Spirit.... well your mouth cannot help but give evidence of the overflow!

Wrap Up

What does it mean to be baptized? Why do you need the baptism in the Holy Spirit?

To be baptized in the Spirit is to be immersed in the Spirit. We are living in the last days. Christ has commissioned His church to spread the Gospel. The Spirit empowers the church in its efforts to spread the Gospel… the efforts that will ultimately separate the chaff from the wheat.

The baptism is NOT something we receive resulting from a preacher or evangelist blowing in your face, shouting prayers over you, pushing on your forehead, or having you repeat funny words after them. It is NOT anything that any person on this earth can give you. It is a gift from God… a gift ANY born again believer can receive today that will empower your witness for Christ.

2021 is here and I believe it is going to be a year like no other. We might see some similarities to 2020 regarding the challenges we face… but I believe God is preparing to do something big… REALLY BIG… that will require His church to be receptive to and empowered by His Spirit.

In Peter’s day, they had no idea what was ahead after Christ ascended into heaven. All they knew was Jesus instructed them not to leave Jerusalem until they had received the baptism in the Spirit. After that, it was somewhat of a mystery. But the moment the outpouring took place, an observable difference could be seen in Peter’s life. He went from denying Christ to proclaiming Christ to the same people who had crucified Christ! From there, the spreading of the Gospel was UNSTOPPABLE. The culture around them tried to shut it down… but the influence of the church only grew stronger.

The Spirit made all the difference. The empowerment made all the difference. I pray that through your life and through the life of this church, the spreading of the Gospel will be UNSTOPPABLE! The key is the empowerment. Do you know this empowerment? Have you received this empowerment? If not… do you desire to receive this empowerment?

If you know Christ, this power is for you… for His glory. It’s simple church. If you want the gift, then reach out and receive it. Open yourself up to what God desires to pour into your life.

Do not get fixated on other things… just focus on receiving the promised gift from God. And As He pours the Spirit in… speak in faith. Receive and speak in faith. After all, as we spread the Gospel message is that not what we are doing… speaking in faith? Receive the Baptism in the Spirit! God… Pour into your people the promised gift!