Lesson 52: The Baptism In The Holy Spirit

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (John 7:37).

Our Lesson 52: The Baptism In The Holy Spirit is obtained from the book of Acts 2:1-40.

The Baptism with the Holy Ghost is a definite experience, subsequent to sanctification, whereby the believer is anointed with the power of God and energized for service. It is one of the cardinal doctrines of the word of God. It plays a very vital role in the spiritual life and service of every believer.

There have been many unscriptural extremes and fanaticism in some circles regarding the practice or manifestations of the Holy Ghost baptism both in the individual believer’s life and in corporate worship, necessitating a balanced teaching on the subject.

Some so-called believers are at sea concerning what constitutes victorious Christian living. A good number of people have tried to live the Christian life in the energy of the flesh. Some who started in the spirit are now relapsing into formalism.

The Baptism in the Holy Spirit, the third work of grace, is vital and central to victorious Christian living and effective Christian service.

Endurance with power from on high makes a great difference in a believer’s life. The feeble believer becomes dynamic, the lukewarm becomes aggressive in evangelism, while ordinary believers become mighty instruments in the hands of God.

It is so easy to lay claim to knowing so much about the Holy Spirit and yet lose sight of the possibilities of the power of the Holy Ghost. We take so much for granted while we grieve, despise, or quench the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost before He began His public ministry and did His mighty works of healing and deliverance by the power of the Spirit.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18, 19). “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” (Acts 10:38).

Our text centers on what can be said to be one of the most important events in the history of the early Church. Pentecost is the most important event in the history of the early Church. Pentecost is the most important event in the Book of Acts. It was that momentous event that precipitated all the acts which we read about in the Acts of the Apostles.

The disciples were all prepared for the enduement with power from on high, “and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). The Holy Ghost came, and there was evidence.

The first evidence was speaking in an unknown tongue. The second piece of evidence was the accompanying power. Peter, one of the disciples who had just received the Holy Ghost, spoke with power, fresh anointing, and unusual but Spirit-imbued boldness. Thus, the early Church was launched with dynamic Christian living and ministry.

The Baptism with the Holy Ghost made a great difference in the life of the disciples of the Lord. They were transformed into different men after they came upon them at Pentecost. Before Pentecost, they were seen huddled together behind closed doors “for fear of the Jews”.

But they could not be kept behind prison doors and they became as bold as lions and stood before their persecutors in the power of the Holy Ghost (John 20:19; Acts 5:17-20; 4:19,20). In the ninth verse of our text, Luke tells us that very many people came from various places to worship the Lord and to call upon His name:

“Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews, and Proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:9-11).

All these people had come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. And Jesus wanted His apostles and disciples to wait until this glorious day so that a great occasion of miraculous conversion would take place among the people that came to the feast.

The Lord told His disciples: “But ye shall receive power; after that, the Holy Ghost comes upon you.” The word “power” in the original is “Dunamis”. It is from this word we got the English word for the powerful engine – Dynamo. The statement means that you will receive the dynamite of God that will make you an effective and powerful witness of the Lord’s saving grace. When they were baptized and endowed with power on the day of Pentecost, the disciples knew that it was a fulfillment of the promise of the Lord.

“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” of Peter made all those who were present understand that it was in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy:

“But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel, And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18).

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not the same as salvation. There are those who deceive themselves, saying that because they are saved, they are automatically baptized in the Holy Ghost.

It is also wrong for anyone to feel that because he has not received the baptism of the Holy Spirit he has not been saved. The New Birth experience is different and distinct from salvation. Jesus told His disciples that their names were written in heaven which means that they were saved. Yet He told them to tarry in Jerusalem so that they could receive the Holy Ghost.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is different from sanctification. Sanctification removes the Adamic nature. It brings about purity of heart, intention, and purpose in your life, whereas the baptism of the Holy Spirit is power from on high for service. And truly we see that this mark of unity was manifested in the lives of the apostles after they were sanctified, in Acts 2:1:

“When the day of Pentecost fully came, they were all with one accord in one place”.

One accord means one mind, one spirit, one judgment, one intention, and one consideration for holy, sacred things; having one consecration to the service of the Lord.

What are the prerequisites for receiving the baptism with the Holy Ghost? You must know that you are a child of God and that you are a member of the body of Christ. You must be settled on the fact that you are in the Kingdom of God already. You have to be saved first, then you must be sanctified before you are ready for the Holy Spirit Baptism.

“For, I, will take you from among the heathen, gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:24-26).

This reference highlights the necessary preparation a seeker should make before the Holy Spirit can descend on him in a measure.

Before you ask for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, be sure that you are saved and sanctified. When you are sanctified, you will have the unity of the Spirit with believers. There will be no envy or jealousy; there will be nothing within you that defiles. Your heart will be pure and cleansed and your life will conform to what the Bible teaches.

Finally, you must also be thirsty, for the Bible says: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink” (John 7:37). Are you thirsty? Do you want the Lord to fill you? Then call upon the Lord and you will receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Have faith in God. Jesus said:

“If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Luke 11:13; Matthew 7:8).

There is a need for caution among Pentecostals on the doctrine of Baptism with the Holy Ghost. We should go only as far as the Bible goes and no further. Our experiences and practices must conform to the principles and teachings of Scripture. There are Pentecostals who profess to be baptized with the Holy Ghost without its accompanying power.

The “tongues” of some people are too monotonous, repetitive, and shallow to be classified as powerful evidence of the Spirit’s Baptism. Some even go as far as copying the pattern of other people while others “speak in tongues” in such a way that is completely unintelligible. Although those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit are supposed to speak in an unknown tongue this does not mean that every “speaking in tongues is genuine, powerful and refreshing”.