The Baptism in the Holy Spirit by Don Murphy 05

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The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
by Don Murphy
05/15/2011

     Each of the four Gospels and the Book of Acts tell us that Jesus will baptize us in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33, Acts 1:5). So it must be very important!
     What does it mean to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Is it a onetime event that occurs when we are water baptized? Some people think so.
     If we change the word ‘baptize’ to ‘immerse’ we can understand it better. The Greek word translated as ‘baptize’ means to immerse. When a person is baptized in the water they are immersed in the water to symbolize their cleansing from sin. Water baptism is a quick, onetime event.
     When a born again child of God is baptized in the Holy Spirit they are baptized (immersed) in the Holy Spirit of God. This experience is meant to be an ongoing event, a supernatural experience of God’s love, joy and peace during our entire life here on earth (Romans 14:17, Gal 5:22-23). It is the good news that Jesus preached!
     The Book of Acts describes this wonderful experience. Before the apostles received this baptism, this immersion in the Holy Spirit, they were fearful and hid behind closed doors (John 20:19, 26).
    After their immersion in God’s Holy Spirit, they were very bold and they quickly let the world know that they were disciples of the Master, Lord Jesus (Acts 2:4, 2:14, 3:12, 4:8, 5:21, etc). This baptism truly gave them power, as Jesus said that it would (Acts 1:8). Many signs and wonders were performed by the disciples (Acts 3:7, 5:12-16).
     This is just as Jesus said it would be: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12)
     It was not just the apostles who demonstrated the supernatural power given through their immersion in the Holy Spirit; this immersion in the power of God is for all born again believers even to this day. For example, Philip in Samaria displayed the supernatural power of God and won many people to follow Jesus (Acts 8:6).
     Jesus told us that the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the immersion in His Spirit, would give us the power to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), and not only by displaying the supernatural power of God to heal the sick like He did but also by showing the love of God to the world by the fruits of His Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23).
     We consist of a spirit, soul and body (1 Thess 5:23). The immersion in the Spirit of God gives new life to our spirit by giving our spirit the ability to pray to God (1 Cor 14:2). This is usually called praying in tongues and is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit to His people (1 Cor 12:7-10), a gift that God wants everyone to have (1 Cor 14:5). The Bible teaches us that when a person prays in a tongue, they are praying to God and no one understands them (1 Cor 14:2) unless they have the Holy Spirit’s gift of interpretation (1 Cor 12:10, 14:5, 13). This praying in tongues edifies the disciple (1 Cor 14:4) and is a wonderful Gift.
     Jesus said, “True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”   (John 4:23-24)
     The immersion in the Holy Spirit, called the baptism in the Holy Spirit, causes a transfiguration in the life of the believer, changing him into the person that God wants him to be, if he accepts it and submits to it throughout the rest of his life. He lives in the love, joy and peace that God gives him (Rom 14:17). He will know that he has been immersed in the Holy Spirit and will show it by manifesting the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12, Gal 5).
     A result of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the inner joy that it gives a person. As we see Acts 2:4, 4:31 and 10:46, when people receive the baptism, they are so full of joy that they express their joy in singing and praying from their spirits. Paul says that the kingdom of God is righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17 also Romans 15:13, Galatians 5:22).
     An important consideration when thinking about the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that the Spirit may often do things in different ways, He is like the wind, Jesus said (John 3:8). And also consider that all of the New Testament was written by men who probably spoke in tongues.

Bible Passages

     Here are some of the passages in the New Testament that refer to the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Study them carefully so that you will have a clear understanding of this baptism, this immersion into God, as taught by Jesus in John 15:1-17.

Matthew 3:11
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Mark 1:8
“I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Mark 16:17
“These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;”

Luke 3:16
John said, “I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Luke 11:13
“how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

John 1:33
“He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’”

John 3:3-8
Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again... no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

John 7:38-39
“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 16:13
“When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

Acts 1:5
“John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 1:8
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

Acts 2:2-4
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Note:
(1 Cor 12:7, 10 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given... speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. 1 Cor 14:2 Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.)

Acts 2:6, 11
When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken... “we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

Acts 2:13-16
Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.” Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!”

Acts 2:38-39
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 8:12-18
When they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands...

Acts 10:44-46
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

Acts 11:16
“I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'”

Acts 19:6
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Romans 8:26
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

Romans 14:17
The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:7-11
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

1 Corinthians 14:4
A person who speaks in a tongue edifies himself

1 Corinthians 14:14-15
If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.

1 Corinthians 14:27-28
If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

1 Corinthians 14:39
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.

Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Jude 1:20
But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit.

How Do I Receive The Baptism In The Holy Spirit?

     You only have to do two things. First, once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior you just have to ask God to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you” (Luke 11:9).
     Second, believe you have in fact received this gift from God. The apostle Paul, writing to the Galatians, said, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:2). The answer, obviously, is faith. You have to believe that if you ask, you will receive.
     Pray this prayer if you sincerely desire to receive the baptism in God's Holy Spirit:
“Heavenly Father, at this moment I come to You. I thank You that Jesus saved me. I pray that the Holy Spirit might come upon me. Lord Jesus, baptize me now in the Holy Spirit. I receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit right now by faith in Your Word. May the anointing, the glory, and the power of God come upon me and into my life right now? May I be empowered for service from this day forward? Thank You, Lord Jesus, for baptizing me in Your Holy Spirit. Amen.”
     Now, having asked and received, begin to practice the power of the Spirit. An ideal place to begin is where the first apostles did, praising God in a new language. To do this, begin praising God out loud in whatever words come to you. Tell Him how much you love Him. Thank Him, worship Him, and yield your voice to Him. Now let Him give you new words of praise you never heard before. Praise Him with those words, too. You'll find that this can be a very rewarding experience of communication with God that will build up your faith. Continue to pray to God each day in the language that the Holy Spirit has given you. Remember that this ‘prayer language’ is just one of the gifts that God wants to give you through the baptism in His Spirit.