So far in our studies on the Holy Spirit we have seen three Greek prepositions used in regards to the work of the Holy Spirit. First of all the Holy Spirit is WITH us, PARA in the Greek, drawing us to Christ prior to our conversion.
When we surrender our lives to Christ, asking Him to be Lord and Savior of our lives, then the Holy Spirit comes IN us, or indwells us, EN is the Greek word that is used. And we saw in John 20:22, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see Jesus appear to His disciples and He breaths on them saying "Receive the Holy Spirit." At this point they were New Testament saints. The Holy Spirit was indwelling them. Today, the minute we ask Christ to be Lord and Savior of our life, the Holy Spirit indwells us!
But, in Luke 24:49 we read "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." This promise was the baptism of the Holy Spirit or the empowering for service, to be witnesses of Christ. Now the Holy Spirit was going to come UPON them, or EPI in the Greek. And we spoke in our last study what this was and is all about. What we are going to be focusing on in this study is the evidence for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Does the New Testament support this idea or is this something that has just developed over the years?
Again, man has many views regarding this issue, but lets not look to man for our answers, lets look to God through His Word. Either the evidence is there in the early church, or it isn’t. And if it is not, then we must discard this idea. But, if the Scriptures support it, then why toss away or negate what God desires to give us?
In the church today many have developed some strange ideas to what this power is all about. And because of that you see all kinds of strange and weird behavior that has been attributed to the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon a persons life. Understand this, the power that is spoken of is working in us so that we might be a witness of Christ. It is an empowerment for service. Acts 1:8 says very clearly "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." Notice that this power was not "to witness" but to "be witnesses".
Jon Courson gives us an excellent example in regards to what the power of the Holy Spirit is all about. He said "the steam in a locomotive does not exist to toot the whistle. Its purpose is to power the engine and move the train. So too, the empowering of the Spirit is not given for people to feel ‘Holy Ghost goose bumps’, emotional highs, or warm fuzzy feelings. The Spirit comes upon people in order that the message of the Gospel might be moved throughout the world." Let’s not forget that thought!
We can see in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals to empower them for service, like Moses, king Saul, king David, Gideon, Samson, and-so-on. Also, the Holy Spirit could be taken away from the Old Testament saints, that power gone in their lives as we can read of in the lives of king Saul and Samson.
We, as New Testament saints, have the Holy Spirit in us, something the Old Testament saints could not experience, for Christ had not yet come. And that can never be taken away from us. And just as the power of the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals in the Old Testament, now the Holy Spirit’s power is available to every believer today, for it was given to us, the church, on the day of Pentecost, to empower us for service unto God.
Then why is the church so anemic today? Why is the church so ineffective in its work, in its witness of Christ? Because we are trying to do the work without the power! Zechariah 4:6 says "...‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts.’" If we would not only believe that, I think most of us if not all of us do believe that intellectually, but if we would let that sink deep down into our hearts and we would apply that to our lives, we would see mountains being moved!
I like the way Vance Havner put it. He said "We will move this world not by criticism of it, nor conformity to it - but by combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God." When you study the early church, understand in just around 30 years of time or so, a few people had spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole known world! And it was not done by their might, their intellect. They had no radio, no television, no E-mail, no Internet, no movies, JUST the power of the Holy Spirit flowing in them and through them. And the result of their work, we read in Acts 17:6, "But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.’" What a testimony of lives that were changed and how it affected those around them. May that be said of us, turning our communities around to Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now we have spoken a lot about the power, but is their evidence in the Scriptures that specifically shows us this taking place? Yes there is, and in a minute we will deal with the specifics of seeing people receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts.
First of all think about this. Before Pentecost came, how brave were the disciples of Jesus? They were cowards. After the death of Jesus we see them hiding behind locked doors, fearful for their lives. At the cross we aren’t told of any disciples being their except John and some of the women. Where were all the rest of them? Probably hiding in fear, thinking they were next in line to be put to death.
When Jesus was being taken captive, being brought to the house of the high priest, Peter followed at a distance, he didn’t want to be noticed or recognized as a follower of Jesus. And when a young girl confronted him on being a disciple of Jesus, as Peter was warming himself by the enemies fire, Peter denies that he even knows Jesus. Three times Peter was questioned and three times he denied the Lord. He was afraid to be identified with Him, thinking he would be put to death because of that relationship, or at least severely punished for it.
But after the Holy Spirit came upon Peter and the other disciples in the upper room, their lives were changed. Now they had boldness to speak the truths of God. Now they had the power to be witnesses of Christ. In fact, all the disciples were put to death for their faith except John who died of natural causes. And they all died horrible deaths, burned at the stake, beheaded, torn apart, skinned alive, and-so-on. Even Peter, who at one time denied the Lord because he feared the consequences of that relationship, was put to death on a cross, dying upside down. There is only one thing that can explain that kind of change, and that is the power of the Holy Spirit that came upon them!
With the remainder of our time we are going to look at and study this event, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in the early church. In fact, we will start with its beginning on the day of Pentecost and then look at several instances in which this event took place in the early church.
A LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE IN THE EARLY CHURCH
1. THE DAY OF PENTECOST - ACTS 2
Jesus appeared for 40 days in His resurrection body before ascending up into heaven. And before He ascended into heaven He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that power from on high that would come upon their lives. We see that 10 days later that 120 of His disciples were waiting in Jerusalem, and we read beginning in verse 1 of Acts chapter 2, "Now when the Day of Pentecost had 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 the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language." Acts 2:1-6.
Now I want you to notice something that is very important here. What were they doing when the Holy Spirit fell upon them? Just sitting there! In the church today it seems that people are being worked up into some chaotic frenzy so that the Holy Spirit will empower them. That is foolish and unbiblical. Nowhere do we see any bizarre behavior related to the baptizing of the Holy Spirit.
Also, these tongues of fire are only spoken of here, on the day of Pentecost. We see no other mention of them. And I believe that this was a one time event, the tongues of fire, not speaking in tongues!
It is after this that frail, weak Peter, who was afraid to say he was a disciple of Jesus at one time, now speaks with boldness the message of Christ. And he doesn’t pull any punches but lays it all out and the people listen and they are cut to the heart, they are convicted. Peter says beginning in verse 16 of Acts chapter 2, "But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.’" Acts 2:16-18.
And out of this witness, out of Peter pointing them to Jesus, 3,000 people got saved as the Holy Spirit worked on the hearts of the people through the preaching of the Word of God. The church got started with a bang. One last point that I find interesting, when the Law was given we saw 3,000 people lose their lives, and here, as grace was poured out, we see 3,000 souls saved! And we see here the boldness of Peter to speak the Word of God as he was empowered by the Holy Spirit.
2. A REFILLING OF THE SPIRIT - ACTS 4
As strange as it sounds, in Acts chapter 4 we see Peter and John in trouble for healing a lame man who was lame since birth. And instead of rejoicing, the religious leaders locked Peter and John up. And finally, after they could find no real reason to keep them any longer, they threatened Peter and John and told them not to speak or teach of this Jesus any longer. And Peter and John said in Acts 4:19-20, "...‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’"
And at this point the religious leaders threw their hands up in the air, not knowing what else to do, for the people were praising God because of this lame man being healed.
Now notice, as they were released, what took place beginning in verse 23 of Acts chapter 4. We read "And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: ‘Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ.’ For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all." Acts 4:23-33.
These people that were gathered together here in Acts chapter 4 were basically the same people that had gathered together on the day of Pentecost. And yet, here we see them filled once again with the Holy Spirit. And the result of that refilling is they spoke the Word of God with boldness and they gave witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Understand this, the purpose of the empowering of the Spirit is not that we might speak in tongues. The purpose of the power of the Spirit coming upon an individual is that they might be bold witnesses of Christ! And like the disciples back then, we too need the refilling of the Holy Spirit in our lives to accomplish the work we are called to do.
3. BAPTISM INTO THE BODY AND THEN THE BAPTISM WITH THE SPIRIT AT A LATER TIME - ACTS 8
After Stephen was stoned to death for his faith in Christ, Saul began to persecute the church hard and heavy, scattering believers everywhere, but not quenching the Good News they spoke of. And Philip begins to do a work in Samaria and in Acts chapter 8, beginning in verse 5 we read, "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city...But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized." Acts 8:5-8, 12.
Here we see revival break out and as these people got saved, they are then baptized. And as news came to Jerusalem of what was happening in Samaria, they sent Peter and John to see if they could help out in any way. How would you like those guys coming to help at an outreach! And we read in verse 14 of Acts chapter 8, "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit." Acts 8:14-17.
You see, they were baptized into the body of Christ through the witnessing of Philip, and they were full of joy but they were not empowered for service until Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed for them. And at this point their lives changed, something was different and Simon who previously practiced sorcery wanted that power. We don’t know what they did, but it was visible enough for everyone around them to see it. Their lives were truly a witness of Christ! And so we see these people get saved, they are water baptized, and as Peter and John arrive on the scene, they are then baptized in the Holy Spirit.
4. SAUL’S CONVERSION AND EMPOWERMENT - ACTS 9
In Acts chapter 9 Saul is on his way to Damascus to bring those who were of the Way, Christians, back to Jerusalem with him, bound with chains. But on the way Saul encounters the Lord. We read of this beginning in verse 3 of Acts chapter 9, "And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’" Acts 9:3-6.
Now I believe that Saul got saved here when he encountered the Lord, somewhere between the lines. The reason I say that is two-fold. First, Saul asked the Lord, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" And secondly, he was praying in verse 11. I think Paul is converted at this point, waiting in Damascus on Straight street for further instructions.
And the Lord brings Ananias into the picture, even though he did not want to go and see Saul, for word got out how he was persecuting the saints of God. So the Lord explains further to Ananias that Saul is now a chosen vessel of His, and will bear His name before both Jew and gentile. It is hard to argue with the Lord when He explains it like that but we still do argue at times, but Ananias didn’t.
We read beginning in verse 17 of Acts chapter 9, "And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus." Acts 9:17-19.
I think this once again shows us that the empowering of God’s Spirit is subsequent to salvation. Saul became a believer on the road to Damascus, and he was empowered with the Spirit of God in Damascus. The result of that in His life is not what many teach today. There is nothing mentioned of Paul speaking in tongues here, although the Scriptures do tell us that Paul did speak in tongues. But what we see here is when the Spirit of God came upon him, he was changed. We read in Acts 9:20-22, "Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ." Paul spoke the Word of God with Boldness!
5. BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT THE SAME TIME AS THEIR CONVERSION - ACTS 10
In Acts chapter 10 we read of a man named Cornelius, who was in Caesarea, and was an Italian centurion, and was in charge of 100 soldiers. And this man feared God, he was a good man, and he even prayed to God, and yet he was not saved. He recognized, along with his family, the emptiness of the Roman gods and wanted to know the true and living God. And as he opens his heart to the drawing of the Holy Spirit, seeking the true God, we see God speak to his heart in a vision.
And in this vision Cornelius is told to send for Peter, who was in Joppa at this time, and "He will tell you what you must do." What is Peter going to do when he arrives there in Caesarea? Share the Good News of the Gospel, he will share Christ with Cornelius. Why? Because he was seeking God, and God said in Jeremiah 29:13, "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."
Now as they go to find Peter, he is praying on the housetop, which were functional back then and even today, and as he prayed he became hungry and he fell asleep. And God gives Peter a vision of a sheet full of unclean animals coming down and he says to Peter "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." Acts 10:13. But Peter says "Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything unclean." Acts 10:14. Now you can’t say "Not so, Lord!" You see, how can you call Him Lord and not do the things He is telling you to do? But Peter, like us did just that.
And we see this occur 3 times, this sheet coming down with unclean animals upon it. And the Lord said to him "What God has cleansed [or declared clean] you must not call common." Acts 10:15. And as Peter is pondering these things, not sure what is meant by it all, these 3 men come from the house of Cornelius, and knock on Peter’s door. Notice, God worked on both sides and the message was confirmed.
Now God is really working on Peter’s heart here. You see, according to the Law, a Jew could not allow gentiles into their home for any reason, for they would be unclean. But Peter allows them in, knowing this is from God. On the following day they head to Caesarea, and upon their arrival, Cornelius is waiting with his house packed with family and friends, all waiting to hear the Good News that Peter was coming with. Cornelius wanted his family and friends to hear what he was going to hear.
And Peter launches into a sermon, pointing Cornelius and all who were in his house to Jesus Christ. And we read beginning in verse 44 of Acts chapter 10, "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, ‘Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days." Acts 10:44-48.
Notice, as the Word of God was being spoken, the Holy Spirit moved upon their hearts. The Spirit moves through the teaching of the Word, that is the biblical pattern! They didn’t have to learn how to speak in tongues, they didn’t have to practice it, but the Holy Spirit came upon them as they gave their lives to Christ and they spoke in tongues and magnified God. Here we see their salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurring at the same time, and then, after all of this, they were then baptized in water!
And in Acts chapter 11 Peter defends what took place in the house of a gentile before the apostles and brethren in Judea. And the walls of separation between Jew and gentile were being broken down by the power of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of people. We read in Acts 11:16-18 Peter saying, "Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ‘If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?’ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, ‘Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.’"
6. SALVATION AND THEN THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY THE LAYING ON OF HANDS - ACTS 19
In this portion of Scripture, Paul is on his third missionary journey, and in the city of Ephesus he encounters some disciples that were dry and lifeless. And Paul says to them in Acts 19:2-4, "he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? So they said to him, ‘We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said to them, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ So they said, ‘Into John's baptism.’ Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’"
Now I don’t believe this group of people were saved yet, they were baptized into John’s baptism of repentance, but they had not believed on the Lord Jesus as yet. And so Paul shares with them and the result is found beginning in verse 5 of Acts 19. We read "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve in all." Acts 19:5-7.
We see here that they got saved, baptized into the body of Christ, and then Paul laid hands upon them and the Holy Spirit came upon them empowering them and we see that they too spoke in tongues and also prophesied this time. Now don’t think that you must speak in tongues to have this empowering. This power is to be witnesses of Christ and is manifested in our daily life, what we do, what we say, and how we live.
I think you can clearly see that not only in the lives of the disciples of Christ, but in the early church there was an empowering for service that is just as important in our lives today as it was back then. There is a subsequent work to be done after we are saved, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that work that Jesus gives to us. And as we have seen, it can occur at the same time as you are saved, right after you are saved, even a period of time later, after you are saved, and you can be refilled by God’s Spirit for the work He has called you to do. As Paul said in Ephesians 5:18, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit." Paul is saying to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit as you yield to Him and the result of that is seen in the following verses of Ephesians chapter 5. We read beginning in verse 19, "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God."
In closing, listen to what R. A. Torrey has to say in his book THE PERSON & WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:
"A man may be regenerated by the Holy Spirit and still not be baptized with the Holy Spirit. In regeneration there is the impartation of life by the Spirit’s power, and the one who receives it is saved; in baptism with the Holy Spirit, there is the impartation of power, and the one who receives it is fitted for service...Men who are baptized with the Holy Spirit do not talk much about self but much about God and especially much about Christ...To sum up everything that has been said about the results of the baptism with the Holy Spirit: the baptism with the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God coming upon the believer, filling his mind with a real apprehension of truth, especially of Christ, taking possession of his faculties, imparting to him gifts not otherwise his but which qualify him for the service to which God has called him."
(pp. 150, 168).
Receive all that God desires to give us, not negating anything found in His Word because of our biases. Ask God to pour His Spirit upon you, and believe it by faith, and you shall receive the power you need in your life as you surrender to His leading. And remember, the Spirit coming upon us does not cause us to toot our whistle and blow our horns, but to move the Gospel message forward by transforming our lives and using them as a witness to the lost.