WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT...
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11).

"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God" (John 1:32-34).

The baptism in the Holy Ghost is a crisis experience just as our initial conversion experience was. We cannot be gradually baptized in the Holy Spirit, just as we cannot be gradually baptized in water. Certainly we can be gradually filled with God's Spirit, but one day that "filling" will spill over into a baptism or complete immersion in the Holy Ghost. Many believe they need not ask for this experience because they think they receive the Holy Spirit at conversion. While this is true in the sense that the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and in us, to plant the seed of life in Christ, it is not true that we are completely filled with His Spirit unless we ask for it. "...How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).

Many people have been "born again" and have the Holy Spirit working in their lives, but have never received the baptism in the Holy Ghost which equips them for service and gives them the power needed to overcome in Christ. "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence...But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:5 and 8).

If you, as a Christian, have not known the power of God in being able to overcome sin, to witness and to know God in His fullness, then you need to ask God for the baptism in the Holy Ghost. There were also Christians in Paul's day who did not know about the power that was available to them. We find this recorded in Acts 19:2-6:

"He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."

This Scripture clearly shows us there is more than one kind of baptism. These Christians had received water baptism, but not the Holy Ghost baptism until Paul laid his hands on them and prayed. We also see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit accompany this baptism, as they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Another account of this taking place is found in Acts 8:14-20: "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money."

HOLY SPIRIT IS A GIFT

Still again we find an account of the gift of the Holy Spirit being given in

Acts 11:14-17
"Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. For as much then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"

God's gift of the Holy Ghost is promised to us today and not just for the saints back then as we find Peter saying, "...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39). The Holy Ghost is God's gift to us. As we are baptized in His Spirit we will find that we will experience the gift of speaking in tongues, plus all the other gifts of the Spirit when needed, if we continue to follow Him(I Corinthians 12, 13 and 14). These are God's gifts of power to enable us to accomplish the task to which we have been commissioned. Although the gift has been abused by many, we should not take lightly the Lord's words to us in John 7:37b-39,

"...Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

Acts 2:2-4 says, "And when the day of Pentecost was 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 all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

If the disciples of the Lord needed to be filled with the Holy Ghost then, how much more do we need to be filled in our day? We should not allow what other men think or say about the Baptism in the Holy Ghost to prevent us from seeking this wonderful blessing. We should seek the Lord with an humble heart for the truth of what is written in the Bible and ask Him to baptize us in the Holy Spirit. We can trust Him to show us the truth if we come to Him with an open heart and mind with a willingness to obey Him.

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him (Acts 5:28-32)."

Great post Chad. If Jesus Himself needed to be baptised in the Holy Spirit how much more do we need to be. Acts 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
One we piece of wisdom I was given about the baptism in the Holy Spirit - it doesn't make us a better Christian, just a better equipped one.

We definately need the Holy Spirit in our lives and evangelicalism seems to of developed two veiws about this.

One is that represented by Pentecostals and Charasmatic and the second is the veiw that at salvation a person is baptised by the Spirit into the body of Christ 1 Cor 12: 13 and has to surrender daily to the indwelling Spirit, making the fulness of the Spirit similar if not synonomous to sanctification.

I sort of agree with both of these veiws. I believe the filling of the Spirit is available to all believers as they surrender to God's will and seek, thirst and pray for it. I think there is also an element of sanctification and personal holiness involved, which is so often divorced from the experience by Pentecostals/Charasmatics.

R A Torrey who followed D L Moody as a great evangelist was filled/baptised with the Spirit, with mighty results, when he believed what the word said about and recieved it by faith with no discernible change or experience; other than hundreds of thousands of souls were saved through his preaching.

Moody on the other hand had a mighty crises type experience of the baptism of the Spirit after seeking God for a year, even though he was already winning more souls than anyone else.

I think if you limit the Holy Spirit to working in one way or the other you make a big mistake. A good book to illustrate the work of the Spirit is "Deeper experiences of famous Christians" by J Gilchrist Lawson. It contains short biographies of famous Christians and there experiences with the Holy Spirit.

In Exodus 33:16, when Moses was talking with God about leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, he asked God that His presence go with them. Then he asked God a question that each of us must ask ourselves daily: "What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" When you got born again, your appearance did not change. You still look very much like all other people. On the other hand, because you do look pretty much like everyone else, you need something to distinguish you from them. What might that be?

Well, it must be something tangible that they can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. Obviously, it would be your words and your deeds (and your face ). The thing that most distinguishes you from unbelievers is the gift of holy spirit, God’s divine nature resident within you since the moment of your new birth. But people cannot see holy spirit. What they can see are the nine fruit of the spirit and the nine manifestations of the spirit—if these are evident in your life. When others thereby see the love of Jesus Christ in you, they may open their hearts and allow you in, hoping that they can have the good things they see in you.

As you choose to live heart-to-heart with the Lord Jesus in the light of his love, he will transform you from the inside out and you will reflect his glory in a way that other people notice and are attracted by (2 Cor. 3:18). Those with eyes to see and ears to hear will take hold of the truth you offer them. 2 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV ) is pregnant with principle:

"Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God."

The "secret" ways are those things within our own hearts that we are afraid to expose to the light. The "shameful" ways are behaviors we know are contrary to God’s will. Notice that renouncing these "ways" is vital to correctly handling God’s Word without distorting it.

2 Corinthians 4:2 makes it clear that renouncing internal deviation from the character of Christ is the key to externally manifesting his heart to others. As we live in the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ," that is, the "treasure" of the Word in our hearts, we are "living epistles" of God’s Word and we give those who need it an alternative to the bondage brought on by their current belief systems.

- christian educational

"And You Shall Receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and you shall be witnesses of me both in Judea, in Samaria and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Acts 1:8

Chad,you are what many people are looking for,what a great post!! I strongly differed with a certain preacher over the first and second Baptism,Iam happy that I was right about it coz the Bible is very open clear on the Baptism of water and that of the Holy ghost.
God bless you Man of God.

Originally Posted by Pastor moses

Chad,you are what many people are looking for,what a great post!! I strongly differed with a certain preacher over the first and second Baptism,Iam happy that I was right about it coz the Bible is very open clear on the Baptism of water and that of the Holy ghost.
God bless you Man of God.

1Co 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Co 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
1Co 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1Co 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

The above scripture is the best example of this...as Paul is saying we should not be ignorant. All were baptised in the cloud (spirit) and in the sea (water) unto Moses.

God bless

it's interesting. I have been wondering about this stuff for the longest time every. I got answers from God. there's a cool book called "the walk of the Spirit, the Walk of Power, the vital role of speaking in tongues" by dave Roberson. it's a great book and it tells you how important it is to speak in tongues and have your own prayer closet. Well if you guys want, search it up, he'll send the book for free to you. well God bless you all. i love you.
your sister, Tanya

Originally Posted by Chad

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT...
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire" (Matthew 3:11).

"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God" (John 1:32-34).

The baptism in the Holy Ghost is a crisis experience just as our initial conversion experience was. We cannot be gradually baptized in the Holy Spirit, just as we cannot be gradually baptized in water. Certainly we can be gradually filled with God's Spirit, but one day that "filling" will spill over into a baptism or complete immersion in the Holy Ghost. Many believe they need not ask for this experience because they think they receive the Holy Spirit at conversion. While this is true in the sense that the Holy Spirit comes upon us, and in us, to plant the seed of life in Christ, it is not true that we are completely filled with His Spirit unless we ask for it. "...How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" (Luke 11:13).

Many people have been "born again" and have the Holy Spirit working in their lives, but have never received the baptism in the Holy Ghost which equips them for service and gives them the power needed to overcome in Christ. "For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence...But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:5 and 8).

If you, as a Christian, have not known the power of God in being able to overcome sin, to witness and to know God in His fullness, then you need to ask God for the baptism in the Holy Ghost. There were also Christians in Paul's day who did not know about the power that was available to them. We find this recorded in Acts 19:2-6:

"He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied."

This Scripture clearly shows us there is more than one kind of baptism. These Christians had received water baptism, but not the Holy Ghost baptism until Paul laid his hands on them and prayed. We also see that the gifts of the Holy Spirit accompany this baptism, as they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Another account of this taking place is found in Acts 8:14-20: "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money."

HOLY SPIRIT IS A GIFT

Still again we find an account of the gift of the Holy Spirit being given in

Acts 11:14-17
"Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. For as much then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"

God's gift of the Holy Ghost is promised to us today and not just for the saints back then as we find Peter saying, "...Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:38-39). The Holy Ghost is God's gift to us. As we are baptized in His Spirit we will find that we will experience the gift of speaking in tongues, plus all the other gifts of the Spirit when needed, if we continue to follow Him(I Corinthians 12, 13 and 14). These are God's gifts of power to enable us to accomplish the task to which we have been commissioned. Although the gift has been abused by many, we should not take lightly the Lord's words to us in John 7:37b-39,

"...Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

Acts 2:2-4 says, "And when the day of Pentecost was 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 all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

If the disciples of the Lord needed to be filled with the Holy Ghost then, how much more do we need to be filled in our day? We should not allow what other men think or say about the Baptism in the Holy Ghost to prevent us from seeking this wonderful blessing. We should seek the Lord with an humble heart for the truth of what is written in the Bible and ask Him to baptize us in the Holy Spirit. We can trust Him to show us the truth if we come to Him with an open heart and mind with a willingness to obey Him.

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him (Acts 5:28-32)."

I'm 69 years old. The first fourty-six years of my life were spent being pretty much a nominal Christian. I went to church every Sunday and I tried to "be good". But spirituality stayed inside the church building. It never went home with me.

I came to Christ in 1983 and in the first days of my walk, I was told to seek the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. I'm glad I did. What a blessing it has been. The Baptism led to my being delivered from alcohol dependency. I have seen several of the spiritual gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 operating in my life. What a joy it is to be used to minister God's love to others. Plus, family relationships that were nearly destroyed by alcoholic behavior are being restored.

In seeking The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, you are making a committment of service to God. It is this service that has given me a real sense of purpose for the very first time.

SLE

Originally Posted by Princess487

it's interesting. I have been wondering about this stuff for the longest time every. I got answers from God. there's a cool book called "the walk of the Spirit, the Walk of Power, the vital role of speaking in tongues" by dave Roberson. it's a great book and it tells you how important it is to speak in tongues and have your own prayer closet. Well if you guys want, search it up, he'll send the book for free to you. well God bless you all. i love you.
your sister, Tanya

There is also a book called "They Speak with Other Tongues" by John Sherrill. It may be out of print by now, but it should still be available in libraries.

SLE

I've been desiring to speak in tongues. How long does it take to receive this gift or manifestation?