Tag: Holy Spirit

Introduction to the Baptism with the Holy Spirit

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One of my favorite things thaActs-1-8-web-nivt I get to do in life is to teach people about the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, and to lead them to receive it.  I have had many opportunities to share about it in a lot of different settings, and I get to see people receive it on a regular basis.  I love it!

When I talk to Christians about the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, I get a lot of different reactions.  Some people will be afraid, or offended, or just apathetic.  Others will be more positive, ranging from curious to excited.  Somewhere in the middle there are people who either think they might have received it (but they really haven’t), or they have been wanting it for a long time but they don’t know what to do about it.

I believe that nearly all of these mindsets are caused by some form of confusion.  There is a LOT of confusion about this topic.  And although the fruit of that confusion is displayed in different ways, the root is confusion.  I also believe that there is an enemy (Eph 6:12, Mark 4:14-15) that has been actively sowing this confusion among the believers for a long time.

I am writing this series of posts about the Baptism with the Holy Spirit to combat some of this confusion.  I will be sharing scriptures that address some of the main areas of confusion, and I hope that it will help you if you are looking for answers.  The Bible is my source, and I have proven what I will be presenting through experience.

To kick things off, here is bullet list of items that will be explained in more detail later.  These are the short answers to some of the questions I get asked most often:

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit…

  • Is extremely important, and should be taught regularly in any Christian assembly
  • Is a definite event…it is not a process
  • Is not the same thing as getting saved and having the Holy Spirit come to live inside of you
  • Is accompanied by obvious evidence (the ability to speak in tongues) that is observable by any witnesses that are present
  • Has only one prerequisite:  you have to be a Christian in order to receive it
  • Is available to every Christian right now with no waiting
  • Should be viewed as a free gift, rather than a badge or a reward for service or good conduct
  • Should be viewed as a tool to be used, rather than merely an experience

I also want to give a definition, because that helps me when I am learning about a new topic:

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a definite experience, subsequent to salvation, where the believer is given supernatural power to represent Jesus more effectively.  For everyone that receives it, it includes the ability to speak in tongues.  It also includes a variety of other forms of empowerment that may vary from person to person.

Whether this makes you curious, or offended, or excited, I hope you continue reading the rest of the series.  This subject is worth the time you spend on it.  The Baptism with the Holy Spirit will change your life!

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What is the Purpose of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?

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powertools_000In this post, I am going to attempt to answer the following question:  “What is the purpose of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?”

There are a lot of ways to answer that question, and there are a lot of angles to approach this from, but the short answer is this:  It is a power tool* that helps you be more effective on your mission to represent Jesus.

(*Please note that I am not saying the Holy Spirit is a power tool.  He is God almighty, the third Person of the Trinity.  Rather, I am referring to the effect this Baptism experience has on a believer.)

For a more detailed explanation, we will examine what Jesus said about it when He was prepping His followers who were about to receive it.

In  Acts chapter 1, we get to see some of the very last words that Jesus ever spoke to His followers before He ascended to heaven.  The Baptism with the Holy Spirit was the topic.  Here is the full quote:

Acts 1:4-8

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

According to Jesus, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit brings power to the believers.  The result is that the believers will be equipped to represent Jesus better than before.

You shall receive power…

I want to take a moment to elaborate on the word “power.”  It is translated from the Greek word “dunamis” which means miraculous strength, power and ability.  In the New Testament, this word is used to describe supernatural signs, wonders, and displays of power.  It means “miracle power” or “supernatural ability.”

So the Lord is telling these disciples that they were going to receive power….power that would enable them to go beyond their natural abilities.  He was saying that miracle power would soon be given to them by the Holy Spirit.  They were about to be empowered supernaturally.

It is worth pausing here to meditate on this fact.  Jesus says that His followers would receive miraculous power and ability when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit.  He wanted His representatives to be equipped for the mission He was sending them on.  This is still true today.  He still wants His followers to be equipped in the same way…but we will deal with that in another post.

You shall be witnesses…

The audience in this passage is a group of people that had been with Jesus for up to three years.  They were taught and trained by Him in person, and they had already experienced going out to represent Him (Luke 9:1-6).

Then, after His death, burial and resurrection…just before He ascended to heaven…He gave them what we call “the great commission.”  It included instructions for going out into all the world as His representatives.

However, Jesus told them not begin until they had been baptized with the Holy Spirit.  The people who had been trained by Jesus in person still needed some extra equipment.  They needed more than training, and more than experience.  There was something else He wanted them to have.  There was something else that they needed.

(Side note:  If these people needed extra equipment, then I feel very safe in saying that any believers that have not been trained in person by Jesus will need this extra equipment all the more).

What they needed was to be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  For what purpose?   They would be empowered to represent Jesus in a new way.  They would receive something that would enable them to be more effective at their mission.  They had previously been given an assignment (go into all the world…), and now they are about to be given equipment to help them do it.

This is like giving power tools to a carpenter, or like giving a calculator to an accountant.  It is a “tool” that gives you the ability to fulfill your calling more effectively.  Sure, the carpenter can build a house with hand tools.  But that same carpenter can be much more effective when he has a power saw, a drill, and a nail gun.

That leads us to the answer to our question:  What is the purpose of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?

The purpose is to give supernatural power and ability to a believer that will enable him to fulfill his calling more effectively.  It is a power tool that helps you be more effective on your mission to represent Jesus.

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Gifts of the Spirit – Manifestation of the Spirit

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One of the most helpful keys in understanding the gifts of the Holy Spirit is found in the phrase “manifestation of the Spirit.”  Paul uses this phrase in 1 Corinthians 12:7.  Here is the quote, along with some surrounding verses to provide context:

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

 

The Greek word translated “manifestation” in v7 is the word phanerosis.  It means “expression” or “manifestation.”  It means that something invisible has become visible.  It means something undetectable to our senses has become detectable.  A manifestation of the Spirit is when the invisible Holy Spirit makes Himself detectible to our senses.  It is a way that He expresses Himself to you and through you.

The nine gifts of the Spirit listed in the passage above are nine different “expressions of the Holy Spirit.”  These are nine different ways that the Holy Spirit makes Himself detectible to our senses.  In v11, we see that these expressions take place at the time of the Spirit’s choosing.  In that same verse we also see that these expressions will take place in or through whichever person He chooses at the time.

Here is a way to describe this, using and example of one of the many ways this could happen.  Let’s say that there is a group of people praying together, and the Holy Spirit decides that He wants to do something in the group.  He chooses someone from the group and gives them the means to express what He wants to happen.  It may be a prophetic message of comfort, or a nugget of divine wisdom, or any number of other things.  The “expression” is presented to the person the Holy Spirit selected, and if they choose by faith to cooperate, then the gift is exercised and the people are blessed.

Another way to describe this is through an analogy.  Each gift of the Spirit is like a firecracker.  You are handed a firecracker, and you set it on the ground, light it, and then it explodes.  Then you no longer have it because you have already used it.  (However, there is an unlimited supply of firecrackers that will be handed to you when they are needed.)

Each “spiritual gift” takes place when the Holy Spirit desires to express Himself.   That means there is no pressure on you to make something happen.  It also means that you don’t need to take a test to see what your spiritual gifts are…at least the ones in the list above.  If you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, then you have all nine of the “manifestation gifts” available to you at any time He wants to express Himself in one of these ways.  That is very exciting, to say the least.

So, what is my part?

God wants you to “pursue love and desire spiritual gifts…” (1 Cor 14:1).   In the same way that He wants us to pursue love, He also wants us to desire spiritual gifts.

It is important to have this perspective, and to remember that this whole thing was His idea.  It is not something you are trying to earn, and it is not something that you need to try to talk Him into doing.  He already wants to do this with you.  It seems like Holy Spirit enjoys expressing Himself to us and through us.  It also seems like He is willing to take action more than we realize.  He likes “handing us firecrackers.”

If you want to grow in the gifts of the Spirit, you should talk to Him about it.  You should get to know Him better and spend time in relationship with Him.   It has been my experience that the more I get to know Him, the more often I seem to recognize when He is about to do something.   As I learn to discern His voice better, I am able to participate in whatever He is doing more often.  That is not a prerequisite, but it is very helpful.

You can ask Him to train you to recognize His voice, and you can deepen your relationship with Him by intentionally including Him in your daily activities.  Talk to Him.  Tell Him what you are thinking about.  Ask Him for advice about whatever issues you are facing, or whatever decisions you are making.  Develop a habit of being mindful that He is always with you to help you.  One of His names is ‘The Helper.”

It also seems that there are certain situations where He becomes particularly passionate about making Himself tangible to us.  He will bring out the gifts when there is a need that can be met by Him.  For my wife and I, we operate in the gifts most often when we are ministering to someone that is is need of divine rescue, or when we are helping to equip other believers.

Start taking steps of faith, and go out to meet the needs of others.  This is pursuing love and desiring spiritual gifts.  This puts you in a position where you can join in with whatever Holy Spirit is doing.

“Thank you Holy Spirit that you want to express Yourself through me.  Teach me how to recognize Your voice and join in with whatever You are doing.  Amen!”

Speaking in Tongues…what are we saying?

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When God inaugurated the church on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, speaking in tongues was part of the kickoff celebration.  Every believer that was there was speaking in tongues.  It was given as a free gift to every follower of Jesus.  And this gift is still available to every follower of Jesus.

Speaking in tongues is a way to communicate with God that goes beyond the limits of the human intellect.  Without supernatural revelation from the Holy Spirit, we don’t normally know the exact content of what we are saying when we speak in tongues.  However, we can see from Scripture that it will usually fall into one of three general categories.  Those are categories are:  praise, prayer, and proclamation/declaration.

 

PRAISE

Acts 10:44-46

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.  And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.  For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.  Then Peter answered…

1 Corinthians 14:15-17

What is the conclusion then?  I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding.  I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.  Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say?  For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

Ephesians 5:18-19

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,  speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord…

 

Speaking in tongues is a wonderful way to praise and glorify the Lord.  It allows your spirit (the part of you that was born again) to give glory and honor to God in ways that you are not capable of when you are limited by your human brain.  This is likely a part of what Jesus was talking about in John 4, when He told the woman at the well “the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”

Personally, this is one of my favorite ways to worship Jesus.  It gives me a way to express things to Him with my spirit that go beyond mental abilities.  Sometimes, I just run out of words in my natural mind, so I go into the spirit and give Him glory supernaturally.

 

PRAYER

 

1 Corinthians 14:15

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

 

Ephesians 6:18

…praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–

 

Romans 8:26-27

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

 

Speaking in tongues gives you a way to pray when you need to go beyond your rational intellect.  When you don’t know how to pray, or even what to pray for, then pray in the spirit.  That is one of the reasons God gives us this ability.  He knows that we need it, and He wants us to use it.

I use this very often, and often I get to see tangible results.  Through praying in tongues, I can receive insight and wisdom for different situations.  It is tool that God has given me to use when these situations arise.  Sometimes I see things in a new light, sometimes I get revelation on things I didn’t even know I was asking about, which is extremely exciting and awe-inspiring..  This is because I am praying with my spirit, and not with my natural mind.  There are things that are revealed to us in our spirit that our natural minds do not comprehend without some supernatural assistance (see 1 Corinthians 2:14).

We should take Paul’s advice. We should pray in tongues, and we should pray in English (or whatever your natural language is). It is good to do both. It is biblical to do both. It is effective to do both.

 

PROCLAMATION/DECLARATION

 

Acts 2:4,11b

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance….

…”we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”

 

1 Corinthians 14:2

For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries (Greek musterion: the hidden wisdom of God).

 

There will be times when you are speaking in tongues that you are announcing how awesome our God is.  You may also be declaring His wisdom into a situation.  You are making declarations that our God is mighty, and you are speaking His will out into the earth.

Sometimes, even though you can’t understand it, you can tell when you are doing this because of what is going on inside of you, and because of the way your speech changes tone.  You will notice that you are not speaking in a way that sounds like you are asking for help.  Instead, you are speaking with authority and you sense that something powerful is happening.  It can sometimes be accompanied by strong emotion and forcefulness, almost like the way a police office would deal with a criminal who is resisting arrest.  This can difficult to describe to someone who has never experienced it, but if you have done this before you will know exactly what I am talking about.

 

SUMMARY

These are three general descriptions of things you might be doing when you are speaking in tongues:  praise, prayer, and proclamation.  Praying in the spirit is not limited to these three, but these cover a large part of what is going on while you do it.  The more you pray in the spirit, the more you will experience each of these.  All of them are great, and all of them are for us to use in our life.

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How Jesus Did Miracles

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I believe that the material you are about to read contains information about our Lord Jesus that will completely transform the way you look at our Creator.   These truths are among the most precious and sacred treasures I have ever come across.  I hope this blesses you.

Acts 10:38 – God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

This passage of Scripture is Peter’s summary of the life of Jesus.  He tells us what Jesus did, and how He did it.

It is just one sentence, but I believe it is one of the most important sentences that a human being can ever spend time thinking about.  I want to divide it into two parts, and examine each part individually.

 PART 1: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power…”

Jesus is God.  He was God throughout eternity past, He is God right now, and He is God throughout eternity in the future.  Whatever it means to be God, that’s what Jesus is.

He is…

  • Omnipotent (all powerful, never gets tired, never gets hungry, etc)
  • Omnipresent (everywhere at once, doesn’t have to travel from place to place)
  • Omniscient (all wise and all knowing, never caught by surprise)

Those are three words we use to try describe some of God’s “attributes.”  They all apply to Jesus, because Jesus is God.

However, 2000 years ago Jesus “came to earth” on a mission.  Contrary to popular belief, it was not a finger-pointing mission, but rather a rescue mission (John 3:17).  Part of the rescue mission involves Him subjecting Himself to the limitations of a mere human being.  He became a man.  Or, another way of saying it…He came to earth as a man in a physical body with self-imposed limits on His abilities.   Here are some scriptures that bring out this point:

Philippians 2:5-8 – Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

Hebrews 2:17-18 – Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

Jesus chose to become a man, and to subject himself to the same limits you and I have.  For example, while He was on the earth in a human body…

  • He had to walk from place to place.  He wasn’t everywhere at the same time.  He was not exercising His omnipresence.
  • There were things He didn’t know (Mark 13:32). He was not exercising His omniscience.
  • He got tired and hungry (John 4:6). He was not exercising His omnipotence.

So, even though He is God, He put himself in our shoes and made Himself subject to our limitations.  He was born as a human infant with a human brain and body, and grew up having to learn how to talk and how to walk like any other human.

We don’t really know much of the first 30 years of His life, other than the fact that He worked as a carpenter, and He had a remarkable grasp of the Scriptures.  But that is about it.  He was not performing any miracles or healings or anything very far out of the ordinary.

Then, something happened.  He came to be baptized by John in the Jordan river.  When He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended on Him (Luke 3:21-22).  At this point in His life, things changed dramatically.  He began to do things that ordinary people can’t do.

Before this day in His life, He had done zero miracles.  In the three years that followed this day, He did so many miracles that one eyewitness made this statement:

John 21:25 – And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen

Something changed when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, and it was noticeable immediately to people around him.  Look at the way the people in His hometown reacted:

 Mark 6:1-3 – Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.  When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.  “Where did this man get these things?” they asked.  “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter?  Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,Judas and Simon?  Aren’t his sisters here with us?”  And they took offense at him.

Their reaction shows that something was VERY different now.  They were not used to Him teaching like this and doing miracles.

We are told in Luke 4:14 and Luke 4:18 that Jesus is now walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.  That is the reason for the sudden change.  When the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, Jesus went from living within the limits of a “regular person” (and I say that reverently) to living as a “regular person” who has the Spirit of God working through Him to demonstrate miraculous power.

The miracles and healings were a result of a human being (Jesus) cooperating with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit provided the power and the ability for Jesus to do miracles, heal people, cast out demons, calm storms, raise the dead, multiply food, teach with authority, walk on water, know people’s thoughts, and so on.

This is exciting news for us, because the same Holy Spirit that enabled Jesus to do miracles is the same Holy Spirit that lives in every single believer.  Jesus explicitly tells us in John 14:12 that anyone that believes in Him will do the same things (and even greater things) that He was doing.  More on this later….

PART 2: “…who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil (and that’s what He wants us to do too).  Healing is good.  It is good to heal people.  Oppression and sickness are bad.  That should be obvious to anyone that has any kind of ability to read and comprehend simple statements.

Jesus didn’t go around telling the sick people that God made them sick to teach them patience or to deepen their piety.  That is not considered “doing good.”  He didn’t tell them that their diseases were part of some mysterious plan, and that they needed to remain sick because it wasn’t God’s will to heal them right now.  Jesus didn’t do that, and He doesn’t want us doing that either.  That is the opposite of “doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil.”

Jesus demonstrated the power of God with authority.  He commanded sickness to leave.  He commanded people’s bodies to be healed.  He commanded demons to go.  That is good.

Jesus healed sick people, and he cast demons out of people that were under demonic influence.  This is called “healing all who were oppressed by the devil.”  Again, that is called “doing good.”

Notice that sickness is not from God.  Sickness is oppression from the devil.  In the beginning, God made earth and mankind without sickness.  There was no disease in the Garden of Eden.  Sickness became a part of our life on earth when Adam sinned and gave his dominion away to the devil.  Sickness is not part of God’s plan for your life.  It is a part of the devil’s plan for your life.  God’s plan is that we imitate Jesus and do what He would do…drive out sickness by the power of the same Holy Spirit that worked in Him….the same Holy Spirit that lives in each of us who believe.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and He gave us the authority to do the same.  He said that we would do the same works that he did, and even greater works because He was returning to His Father (John 14:12). When Jesus returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He poured out the Holy Spirit on the church (Acts 2:33), and then they starting doing the same things Jesus had been doing.

The great commission includes instructions to heal the sick and cast out demons (Mark 16). It also includes instructions to make disciples and teach them to do what Jesus taught the original disciples to do: heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the gospel.

Somewhere through history, it seems like a lot of the church has forgotten about this.  In the days of the early church, the news about Jesus spread because His followers were doing miracles, healing sick people, and and setting people free from demonic oppression.  They were not relying on clever marketing gimmicks, good music, or attempts to be culturally relevant.  They were demonstrating the Kingdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the same Holy Spirit that lives in every Christian, and He is no less powerful today than He was 2000 years ago.

Do you want to represent Jesus through miracles and healing the sick?  Study the life of Jesus, take a leap of faith, and begin to imitate Him.  Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.  Do not be afraid to make mistakes.  Learn as you go.  Do not be afraid to look stupid or be embarrassed.  The Holy Spirit is not only your teacher, but He is also your comforter, your counselor, and your friend.  He will help you.

Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.  He did this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

That same Holy Spirit (and that same power) lives inside of every Christian.  And every Christian has been commissioned to do good and heal the sick.   We have been given the same mission that Jesus demonstrated, and we have been given the same supernatural equipment to accomplish the mission.

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