The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Good Morning. Well we are going to be continuing our series The Holy Spirit & You and over the last 2 weeks we have talked about a lot of ground. In week 1 we learned about the person of the Holy Spirit, and then last week we talked about the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit. This week we are going to continue the series, and I want to talk about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit in the OT
Holy Spirit in the OT
So before we get to the Holy Spirit today I want to take us back in time, and I want us to look at the work of the Holy Spirit in the OT. Now we talk about the Holy Spirit, especially in the Acts 2 pentecost example, but the truth of the matter is that the Holy Spirit has been at work much longer than that. Turn with me if you will to the book of deuteronomy
And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Here in the book ofd Deuteronomy we see Joshua, just prior to the book of Joshua being annointed by Moses, and called of God to lead God’s people and we see this note that the spirit of God was upon him. Deuteronomy says it was a spirit of wisdom. This is the same hebrew word oo-ahh that we talked about in week one that is used to describe the spirit of God. This is the same in Genesis 1
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Spirit of God at work here in Genesis is the same SPirit, the Holy Spirit, that is at work in Joshua in Deuteronomy.
Let’s Jump ahead a bit.
And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Here we see the start of the story of Samson, just at his birth, and again here we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.....began to move insode him is how we might say that. Of course we know later what happened and the Spirit left him due to disobedience before finally coming back again after his repentance
Finally Let’s jump way ahead to the New testament and the book of Luke
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.
Here in the book of Luke we see Zacharias as he is told that he will have a child, and that child will be filled with the Spirit from birth.
That child of ourse, was John the Baptist who was called to prepare the way for the Lord.
Here we see three examples of people in the the Old Testament (or in the case of John the Baptist at least the time before Jesus) and all of them filled with the SPirit. We could certainly find other examples in scripture, but for the sake of time I am going to use just those three.
What I do want you to understand about all of these instances and many others that we could find in scripture is two-fold.
This “Spirit” filled existence allowed people to be the “voice” crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord. Being filled with the Spirit was a specific state of being, it was a special gift from God that gave the individual the power to do that which they were called to do.
The second thing that I want you to note is a general thing, but important......as we look through the Old Testament, we see the Holy Spirit resting on one person at a time. As a general statement, the SPirit of God was a singular thing that was given to one individual to carry out a specific plan of God. And of we think about the Time before up to and including Christ, that was very much the case. Turn with me to the book of Matthew
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
So even here when we look at Christ, we see the Spirit with Him, but still at this time we see the Spirit of God with Him, not as a universal or general provision. At this time God was working through specific folks to dso a specific thing and the would receive the Spirit of God to help them do what they were called to do.
Sop Let’s Skip ahead a little bit to more recent times
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Here we see
And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;
See the disciples had business to be aboput but Jesus told them that they were to wait on the Spirit of God. We talked about this a bit in week one as well.
Let’s go back just a bit and turn to John 16:12-13
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Here during the discussions of the last supper Jesus tells the disciples that He has a lot He would like to tell them, but they aren’t ready to bear them. Bear here is the same word used to say they would bear witness of Christ, it means to hear, and understand, and tell the truth of. Jesus is telling them that they aren’t ready to hear and understad and tell the truth of what God is doing yet, till the Spirit comes.
It is significant that the baptism of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is entwined with the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8). The witnessing of the disciples in response to the Great Commission did not begin until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit.
Indwelling or Baptism
Indwelling or Baptism
So let’s talk about Indwelling of the spirit vs baptism of the spirit......in many cases these get used interchangably, and they aren’t
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
Indwelling of the Holy Spirit
In Lexham’s survey of theology, the indwelling of the Spirit is defined “The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is one of the gifts of salvation by which God’s very presence, in the person of the Spirit, indwells the church corporately and Christians individually, drawing them into the life of the triune God.”
Now I want to leave this on the screen a little bit and point a few things out. First, the indwelling of the Spirit is one of the gifts of salvation. What does this mean, it means that at the time of your salvation, when you got saved, that you were indwelled by the Holy SPirit.
Romans 8:10 says it this way
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
See at the time of salvation, the power of the Holy Spirit moved in on the inside of you, and took up residence in you. That is the Spirit of God that lives on the inside of you right now, and that Spirit of God is in you individually and in the Church collectively to draw you into the life of God through sanctification. To “help” as Jesus called the Holy Spirit, to help you life the life before God that you ought to. In sanctification, God the Holy Spirit transforms Christians into the image and likeness of Christ by developing within them the fruits of the Spirit through sanctification.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
A divine act, whereby the Holy Spirit initiates Christians into realized union and communion with the glorified Jesus Christ, thus equipping and enabling them for sanctity and service
Now let’s look at a few verses here in John, and remember John we said earlier was said that he would have the Holy Spirit from birth
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
John here states that part of the reason that he baptizes with water was as a foreshadow of what was to come when the Messiah, Jesus, would baptize not with water, but with the Holy Spirit.
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
here he says the same thing.....he is baptizing with wayer, but this is a placeholder, this is a appetizer till the main event starts.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Here one more time we see the Baptism of the Holy Spirit tied to the great Commision.
So what do I want you to know about the baptism of the Holy Spirit
available....ask for it
tied to carrying out God’s plan