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Bible Knowledge Bible Study
Teacher: The Holy Spirit of God
Topic: The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
We are introduced to the Spirit Baptism in the declaration, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but .... he (Christ) shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (Matt. 3:11). Christ refers to the same event in (Acts 1:5). From such references we gather the thought that while man baptizes with water, God baptizes with the Holy Ghost.
We look upon the Baptism of the Holy Ghost as very important because, "out of his (your) belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38-39). We look upon the baptism with the Holy Ghost as important also for, “by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1Cor. 12:13). Its importance is evident: (1) because it is by the Spirit that we are “all baptized into one body;” (2) because of its frequent mention in the activities of the apostolic Church; (3) because of the prominence given it by the disciples in their work.
DESIGN OF SPIRIT BAPTISM
1. It inducts penitent believers into the body of Christ.
“By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body” (1Cor. 12:13). “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Read also (Ezek. 36:25- 27; John 6:63).
2. It purifies the Christian convert in the sight of God.
Read (Ezek. 36:25-27; Tit. 3:3-7; Heb. 9:14). This thought does not conflict with John’s testimony that “the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.” The Bible contains no promise that the blood of Christ shall cleanse any heart or life that is not under the power of the Spirit. There is no such thing as a Spirit-baptized person who is not also blood-cleansed.
3. It confers power for service.
For example, note the difference in the disciples before and after Pentecost.
(Acts 1:8) is true of disciples today, as it was in apostolic times. The power of the Spirit cleans up the life, sanctifies the tongue, puts all the human powers upon the altar and in this sense makes them divine, unifies those “of like precious faith,” and puts something into the soul which leaves its impress upon the hearts and lives of others. For reference, see (Acts 1:8; 2:1-47; 10:47; Heb. 9:14).
Have You Received The Holy Ghost Since You Believed? The apostle Paul asked this very important question of twelve saved disciples of Christ, at Ephesus (Acts 19:2). They were startled by the question and answered, “We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.” Later in (Acts 19:6) “when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.”
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is power for service (Acts 1:8). Power in witnessing, not only in words but in claiming healing, deliverance, in prayer, in understanding the Word and power to overcome sin and live a victorious life. (Rom. 8:26; John 16:14; Luke 24:49; Acts 9:17-20). Even Jesus healed because He was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). It is the power for your specific ministry.
Should You Speak In Tongues? Yes this is important! because, "out of his (your) belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38-39). This is a gift from God, why would you want to refuse it? To refuse tongues is to refuse to yield yourself completely to God. If you will not yield completely, you cannot be used completely. It is important that you speak in tongues.
Speaking in tongues means speaking miraculously in a language unknown to the speaker, as the Spirit gives utterance. And out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38-39). Tongues can be classified in two ways, according to function: (1) speaking in other tongues, as a sign or evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and (2) the gift of tongues as mentioned in I Corinthians.
1. Speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance is the manifestation God has given as the definite, indisputable, supernatural witness or sign of the baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6).
It was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah as the rest and the refreshing (Isa. 28:11-12), foretold by Jesus as a sign that would follow believers of the gospel (Mark 16:17), and experienced by Jews and Gentiles alike.
2. The gift of “divers kinds of tongues,” mentioned by Paul in (1Cor. 12:1-10) and concerning which he gave regulations in (1Cor. 14:1-40), is given both for self-edification (1Cor. 14:4) and for the edification of the church (1Cor. 14:27-28).
In church meetings the gift of tongues is used to give a public message, and it is to be interpreted. Since this gift can be misused in public, it needs proper regulation (1Cor. 14:23-28). Not all believers exercise the gift of tongues, which is different in function from tongues given by God as a sign or evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. At times speaking in tongues will be an initial witness of the Holy Spirit baptism.
Paul said, “Forbid not to speak with tongues” (1Cor. 14:39) and “I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all” (1Cor. 14:18). Who dares to teach or preach to the contrary?
Who Is It For? Only for the ‘born again’ Christians. The Holy Spirit is not available to the world (the unsaved) (John 14:16-17). If you are not sure you are born again, be sure, before you seek the baptism. When you have truly become one of God’s children, then “Your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him.”(Luke 11:13).
It is not only for the apostles, or Jews, or people who lived in the days of the apostles, but for all saved people in every age (Acts 2:38-39). It is for all Christians that want a righteous life. “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matt. 5:6).
A Word of Advice. Do not seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit if you do not honestly in your heart wish to be obedient to God and want Him to guide your life.
Once we learn to tune in to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we become a target for Satan, and he may try to confuse us by supernatural leadings. We must pray for discernment, become educated in Satan’s tactics, and realize that all things supernatural do not come from God. First John 4:1 tells us to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God”. Many persons have fallen to this deception as they in ignorance thought themselves immune to attacks because of the baptism. First Peter 5:8 written to Spirit filled Christians tells us to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour”. We do not state this to discourage anyone. We have no need to fear, simply be alert to resist Satan and he will flee (James 4:7).
We also have the assurance of God’s word in Luke 11:11-13 that if God is your heavenly Father (you are born again), you will not receive anything evil when you ask of Him, but He will give you the Holy Spirit.
How to Receive The Holy Spirit. You may wish to have Spirit filled Christians lay hands on you as Paul did in (Acts 19:6) to the twelve believers at Ephesus, or you may wish to wait upon the Lord as the 120 did on the day of Pentecost in (Acts 2), or just listen to the Word of God being preached as Cornelius did in (Acts 10:44-46). You can also simply ask God for the Holy Spirit. (Luke 11:13). Praise God for His variety!
Raise your hands to the Lord, close your eyes and let your heart and thoughts dwell on Jesus, be happy in Jesus, as you ask your Father in heaven for what He has promised you. Start praising His name, raise your voice to Him. He will not force you to speak in tongues. As the Lord places a strange word in your heart and spirit, speak it out boldly, your lips may stammer, but as you boldly repeat the word, the Spirit will give you more words. Sometimes only a few words come initially, but as you continue to speak forth in faith the Lord will give you a complete vocabulary with which to praise God.
The New Language. The new language which the Spirit has given us is not only a sign or evidence of the reception of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, but also of His continuing presence. You do not have to wait for a special ‘anointing’ or sense of presence of the Holy Spirit to pray in tongues. It can be used at will and should be used continually to build yourself up. God’s gifts are given for a purpose. It is very important to pray in tongues. Practice this new language of the Spirit until it becomes as natural as breathing. As you do, you will experience a new peace and joy in the Lord God. Remember, while you are using your new language, "out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water." (John 7:38-39).
God’s Word tells us that praying in the Spirit ‘edifies’ us, or builds us up in the Lord (1Cor. 14:4). God’s Word tells us also that we build up our faith by praying in the Holy Ghost (Jude 20). You will later find this is one of your weapons in repelling the attacks of satan.
The Gifts Of The Spirit. St. Paul lists in First Corinthians 12, nine gifts or manifestations of the Spirit. These are the supernatural tools or equipment for Christian service. Any Spirit filled Christian can manifest any of these gifts as the Spirit directs.
1. The Word of Wisdom is a supernaturally given revelation of God’s direction and guidance for a specific situation. It tells us what God wants us to do about the situation.
2. The Word of Knowledge is a revelation of a piece of information which cannot be known in a natural way. It is God’s diagnosis of a problem, a sickness, or other situation.
3. The Gift of Faith is an instantaneous complete assurance of God’s willingness and ability to act in a given situation. Faith cancels doubt and this is essential to the gifts of healing and working of miracles.
4. Gifts of Healing are special anointings of the Holy Spirit which enable us to bring God’s healing power to those who are sick.
5. The Working of Miracles is a special momentary gift of authority which enables us to perform miracles in the name of Jesus Christ.
6. Discerning of Spirits is a supernatural gift which enables us to discern the difference between the Holy Spirit, the human spirit, and evil spirits. It is not the discerning of character nor of faults.
7. The Gift of Prophecy is an anointing of the Holy Spirit to speak the words of God. It is always for our direction, upbuilding and encouragement. Sometimes it may be for predicting future events, if God wants us to know them.
8. The Gift of Tongues is a supernatural means of God’s communication with His people. It is a message given in a language unknown to the speaker and is always used in conjunction with the gift of interpretation. The gift of tongues is not to be confused with the use of tongues as the sign of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, or with tongues used in private prayer and intercession, or with some foreign language used as a means of communication between people.
9. The Gift of Interpretation of Tongues gives back in ones own language the meaning of what was said in the gift of tongues. These two gifts operating together are equivalent to prophecy.
The exercise of any of these gifts requires cooperation between us and the Holy Spirit. He gives the gifts as He wills. He lets people know in a variety of ways when they are to exercise one of them. For the spoken gifts He will sometimes put in our heart the first few words. In the case of healing often the hands begin to feel anointed. To heal, work miracles, or cast out demons we must be willing to lay on hands, or speak the command.
The Fruit Of The Spirit. Immediately when we receive the gift of the Spirit He begins some house cleaning in our lives. Things which used to bother us no longer do so. Fears, irritations and resentments begin to fall away. We begin to see people differently, more as God sees them.
The Spirit will also show us some more obstinate wrongs in our lives, some sins we hardly realized were there. When He does this we have two alternatives. We can put up a fight, making life miserable for us, or we can turn these things over to Him to be removed and replaced with better things. If we choose the latter, He will continue this process with one thing at a time, just as fast as we will let Him until we become mature persons, made over into His image.
We do not try to make ourselves over. We have already tried that unsuccessfully all our lives. The Holy Spirit is in the sanctifying business. He is the one who can clean up our lives. All we have to do is let Him.
Our Proper Response To God’s Love.
1. To accept for ourselves these manifestations of His love; forgiveness for our sins, healing for our bodies, minds, and spirits and deliverance from all forces of evil.
2. To act as His agents in bringing these manifestations of His love to others.
3. To love God in return, to praise Him in the Spirit as commanded by Christ, “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
(John 4:24) Use your tongues to praise Him daily in your spirit which now has a language to express it’s love of Him.
The gifts are tools for manifesting the love of God. But on the other hand, love is necessary for the proper use of the gifts. The apostle Paul emphasizes this in (1Cor. 13) by saying that if we speak “with tongues of men and angels” and exhibit many of the other gifts, such as prophecy, word of knowledge, faith, miracles, etc., but do not use these in love (to edify or help our neighbor) our ministry is worthless. God’s gifts can be used or abused. We fulfill all of God’s commandment to us when we use spiritual gifts to the glory of God and for the benefit of His creatures.
The great gift of the Father, through whom He obtained salvation and brought it near to us, is the Son. On the other hand, the great gift of the Son, whom He sends to us from the Father to apply to us an inner and effectual salvation, is the Holy Spirit. As the Son reveals and glorifies the Father, so the Spirit reveals and glorifies the Son. The Spirit is in us to transfer to us the life and the salvation that are prepared in Jesus, and He makes them wholly ours. Jesus who is in heaven is made present in us-dwells in us-by the Spirit.
Never think of living as a Christian without the indwelling of the Spirit. Take pains to have your heart filled with the faith that the Spirit dwells in you and will do His mighty work, for through faith the Spirit comes and works. Have a great reverence for the work of the Spirit in you. Seek Him daily to believe, to obey, to trust, and He will take and make known to you all that there is in Jesus. God Bless. Peace and Love. Amen.
Minister George Condry
(Jeremiah 3:15)
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