Baptism in the Holy Spirit, Part Five

Acts 19:1-7
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, May 16, 1999
Copyright © 1999, P. G. Mathew

What Is Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

We have been considering the subject of baptism in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:1-4 we read, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly, the 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.” And in Acts 19:2 we read the question that Paul asked the Ephesian disciples, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” These are examples of baptism in the Holy Spirit.

In our previous studies we made the point that baptism in the Holy Spirit is not regeneration. In Acts 2 the Holy Spirit was poured out upon believers, not unbelievers, and we know that regeneration precedes faith. God was not regenerating the disciples when he poured out his Holy Spirit on them. The same is true of the situation in Acts 19. Paul did not ask the Ephesian disciples if they were regenerated; rather, he said, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed,” meaning after they believed in Christ.

Thus, we said that baptism in the Holy Spirit is for believers. In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” And in John 7:37-39 we read, “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ 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 been glorified.”

What, then, is baptism in the Holy Spirit? It is a direct experiencing of God’s presence. It is experimental, not just something perceived by faith only. It is something that we experience and that others will notice. And when we have this experience, we will be satisfied. After swimming in the river of the pleasure of God’s presence, we will not love the world.

Context for Baptism in the Holy Spirit

We also spoke about the context, the environment, the atmosphere in which baptism in the Holy Spirit takes place. Baptism in the Holy Spirit can happen immediately after conversion, as was true for the household of Cornelius (Acts 10), or after some time, as was true for the disciples (Acts 2), the apostle Paul (Acts 9), and the Ephesian disciples (Acts 19).

When we are seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit, we must first understand that the possibility of this experience exists today. Some modern evangelicals say that we shouldn’t seek baptism in the Holy Spirit because they think it automatically happens when a person believes in Jesus Christ. That is false. However, even though baptism in the Holy Spirit is a possibility, it is not automatic. Charles Simeon of Cambridge said, “God is willing to bestow this blessing on all who seek it.” And we mentioned some people in the history of the church who had this experience: Blaise Pascal, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, John Flavel, Charles Simeon, Andrew Murray, D. L. Moody, R. A. Torrey, H. A. Gordon, and also my parents, who were the ones to introduce me to the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Second, we must be very careful about our motivation in seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit. We should not seek it like those who are constantly traveling around, looking for another new experience that they can be very proud of. We should not seek it for the sake of power, as Simon Magus did, or seek it because we have an interest in obtaining spiritual gifts to display for our own enhancement. Our motivation in seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit should be to know Jesus Christ better—to love and know God–and nothing else.

Third, if we are seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit, we must obey God in all things. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:30. If we love God, we will obey him.

Love always seeks to please and obeys delightfully. For example, I love my cat, but the cat has a habit of coming into my room at three o’clock in the morning and making a certain noise to tell me that he wants to go outside. Now, I am the head of the house, not the cat, yet because I love the cat, I get up and obey him. That is the type of obedience I am speaking about. It is not a burden to do the cat’s bidding because I care for the cat. Or suppose a husband and wife are in bed at ten o’clock at night, and the husband asks, “Honey, did you close the garage door?” What does the wife say? “I don’t know, but I will take care of it.” Then the husband says, “Don’t worry, I will take care of it,” and then both of them will rush to take care of it. That is the obedience of love. Love delights to please and obeys with joy. This is the type of obedience we must give to God.

In John 14:23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” If we claim to love God, we must obey him in all matters that he has told us about. This means total surrender to Jesus Christ, whom we confess as Lord of our lives. If this is not true of us, then we are not ready to receive the Holy Spirit. If we are not obeying God, we are not living in the atmosphere in which the Holy Ghost will be poured out. In Acts 5:32 Peter told the Sanhedrin, “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.” We must obey God if we are sincerely seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, we must pray. In Acts 2:39 Peter told the crowd, “The promise is for you and your children,” meaning the promise of the Holy Spirit. But, again, the fulfillment of this promise is not automatic. As we seek baptism in the Holy Spirit, we must plead God’s promise to him, praying, “O God, you promised to give us your Holy Spirit.” We must pray urgently, passionately, tearfully, and with great perseverance. We must wrestle with God as Jacob did, as Elijah did, and as the Canaanite woman did, until he pours out his Spirit upon us.

The truth is, most people in the modern evangelical church are not seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit in this way. We have become so satisfied with everything else that we do not hunger and thirst for this wonderful experience with God. My prayer is that as we study this subject, we will begin to earnestly desire and seek Holy Spirit baptism.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: Assurance of Salvation

In this study we will examine the effects of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The first effect is assurance of salvation. The highest form of assurance we can have is to know that we are children of God.

This assurance is conveyed in the idea of being sealed with the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks about this in Ephesians 1:13: “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. . . .” Sealing is baptism in the Holy Spirit. When we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, God himself bears witness to us, authenticating us and certifying to us that we are his children. We can have no greater form of assurance than that, and anyone who has ever experienced this will never forget it.

The Bible speaks of several kinds of certification. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we are certifying that God is true, as we read in John 3:33, “The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful.” If we do not believe in the gospel, we are declaring that God is a liar, as we read in 1 John 5:10, “Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.”

However, God also has a certification. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, God certifies to our spirits that we are children of God. What great assurance of salvation this provides! Now, such assurance is not essential to our Christian faith. The Westminster Confession tells us that some Christians may never experience this type of assurance. But let me tell you, when you have the assurance of salvation that comes from baptism in the Holy Spirit, oh, you will be ready to die!

Paul speaks about this assurance in Romans 8:16, saying, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” What is the content of the testimony of the Holy Spirit to our spirit? That we are children of God. That is the first idea attached to being sealed with the Holy Spirit.

The second idea attached to this notion of sealing is that of ownership. When we are sealed, it indicates that we are owned by another. For example, animals are sealed with a brand to show that they belong to a certain person. In the same way, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit to indicate that we are owned by God. This should give us great joy and assurance, shouldn’t it? If we are God’s possession, we are his responsibility. God is with us and for us. He is our Protector, Provision, Savior and Life, and we have nothing to worry about because we belong to the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

The third idea attached to sealing is that of security. When we seal something, we are making it secure, just like the Romans sealed the tomb of Jesus to make it secure, although we know it wasn’t very secure against the actions of God Almighty. But when God seals you, then you are secure forever. You can go to the doctor and say, “I have this problem,” and after running many tests the doctor says, “You have cancer.” Such news can be fairly unsettling, don’t you think? But keep in mind what I just said: If God has sealed you, that knowledge will give you a peace that passes all human understanding in every situation. When the bad news comes from the doctor, you can rejoice, saying, “Yes, the news is bad, but I belong to God and therefore I am secure. No one is able to snatch me from his hand.”

When we are sealed by God, we will feel totally secure because we know that no one–no person and no power in all creation–will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is assurance of salvation we receive when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: The Love of God

The second effect of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is that the love of God is poured out in abundance into us.

In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus said the greatest commandment was to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and the second greatest commandment was to “love your neighbor as yourself.” How can we fulfill these commandments? God must pour his love into us.

In Romans 5:5 we read, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” This is speaking about a mighty effusion of God’s love–not a trickle, but God’s love being poured out into us in great quantity by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

What are the characteristics of this love? First and foremost, it is a love by which we can love God. This mighty effusion of love enables us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, thus fulfilling the first and greatest commandment. Second, it is a love by which we can love the church, meaning our brothers and sisters in Christ who are also members of his body. That includes our husbands and wives, does it not, if they are believers. We love them, not in a manufactured way, but in God’s way with God’s love poured out in abundance on us. Third, it is a love with which we can love the world, even our enemies.

The Lord Jesus said when people speak against us, curse us, or persecute us, we are to bless them. How do we do this? Through baptism in the Holy Spirit. The abundance of God’s love is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and that love, in turn, enables us to love our enemies.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: Inexpressible and Glorious Joy

The third effect of baptism in the Holy Spirit is joy. In 1 Peter 1:8 we read, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” Inexpressible and glorious joy is one of the effects we experience when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Now, when we read Peter’s words we have a tendency to think that they apply to people who are more spiritual or more sophisticated than us, but that is not true. Peter’s epistle was written to ordinary people, poor believers, who were scattered all over in Turkey. These words were not written to the intellectuals, the sophisticated, the noble, the mighty, or the powerful people of the day. Rather, they were written to ordinary human beings who, like us, had never seen or heard Jesus Christ personally. They were written to those who were experiencing persecution, troubles, and trials, including the confiscation of their properties, physical abuse, and mocking. They were written to those who had heard the gospel through Paul and others and had trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Peter said these people were rejoicing exceedingly. Peter was speaking about a joy that causes people to leap–a joy which no words can describe. These poor, persecuted people had never seen Jesus Christ, and yet they were experiencing a foretaste of heaven through their trust and faith in him as they were filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

What about you? When you read about this joy, ask yourself if this is true of your life. Do you have the inexpressible, glorious joy described here by Peter? If not, I urge you again to seek the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: A Radiant Face

The fourth effect of baptism in the Holy Spirit is that you will have a glow on your face. Why? When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you are meeting with God.

In Exodus 34 we read about Moses’ radiant face. In verse 2 God told Moses, “Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.” In verse 5 we read, “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.” There Moses was given two new tablets of God’s law, and in verse 29 we read, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.”

When you are baptized in the Holy Spirit, your face will shine. Why? You have been in the presence of God. You cannot enter God’s presence and come out miserable, gloomy, and confused. (PGM) No, when you meet with God, your face will shine with the glory of the Lord. We see this idea also in Matthew 17 in the account of the transfiguration of Christ. In Matthew 17:2 we read, “There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun. . . .”

You might say, “Well, that may be true of Moses or Jesus, but not someone like me.” But in Acts 6 and 7 we find a man named Stephen who was baptized in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 6:15 we read, “All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Stephen’s face glowed with the glory of the Lord. I have seen that glow on my own mother’s face as well.

In Acts 7:54-55 we also read, “When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'” Stephen was not depressed, confused, unhappy, and miserable at this point, even though he was facing death. He was in the presence of God, and his face reflected the glory of God.

Psalm 34:5 tells us, “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” This is what will happen to us when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: Freedom of Speech

The fifth benefit of baptism in the Holy Spirit is freedom of speech. If we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, we will begin to speak about God.

In Acts 2:4 we read, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” The Holy Spirit enlightens us, tells us what to speak, and gives us the freedom to speak.

And what will we be speaking about? The mighty works of God (Acts 2:11). When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, we will not speak about how wonderful we are. No, we will speak about God and his greatness, his glory, his attributes, his majesty, and his condescension in behalf of poor men to save them. This is what the disciples declared, and that is what we will declare also.

Even naturally reticent people will be speaking forth the wonders of God. A minister once said that when people are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit performs surgery in the mouths of tongue-tied people so that they are able to speak about God.

In Acts 2:17 we read, “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. . . .” That means we will speak out about God. We will know the word of God and the Holy Spirit will give content to our speech. The Holy Spirit always glorifies Jesus Christ; thus, when we are filled with the Spirit, we will speak about Jesus Christ. This will be true in our preaching, in our regular conversation and in our prayer. No longer will we pray for one minute and then have nothing to say. The Spirit of God will enable us to pray on and on. We will lose track of time as we enjoy this glorious freedom in prayer.

This freedom in speech extends even to freedom in singing. Once, when I was pastoring a church in Canada, I was in a meeting in which we were singing, “He the pearly gates will open so that I may enter in, for he purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sin.” The Spirit of God animated the whole congregation, and we began to sing the same thing for over an hour: “For he purchased my redemption and forgave me all my sins.” What great freedom in worship we experienced that night! We all felt the anointing of God and were enjoying his presence. That is what happens when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: A Sense of Authority

The sixth effect of baptism in the Holy Spirit is that we will begin to speak and act with a sense of authority. In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus told his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We are sent by God as his ambassadors to the world. When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, we will speak with great authority, knowing that we are children of the heavenly Father and representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: Boldness and Fearlessness

The seventh effect of baptism in the Holy Spirit is boldness and fearlessness in witnessing. Many Christians are so filled with fear that they will not open their mouths to speak about Jesus Christ. If you asked such people why they don’t witness about Jesus Christ, they would say, “The world and Satan seem so great that I just close my mouth. I feel like I am nothing–less than nothing, really–and sometimes I think my God is less than nothing, too.”

What is the problem of such people? They don’t understand that God, the Creator of the ends of the earth, is sovereign and that the devil has been defeated. Yes, the devil animates the world, but he has been defeated, once for all, by Jesus Christ by his death on the cross. Thus, John could write of Christians in Revelation 12:11, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Will we will face opposition in this life? Yes. People will drag us into courts and speak against us. They may threaten us with death and even kill us. We read about this in Luke 22. But Jesus also tells us in that passage that we must not be afraid at that time because the Spirit of God will come upon us and give us wisdom to speak. Such fearlessness is a benefit of being baptized in the Holy Spirit.

What about you? Are you ashamed to say that you are a Christian? If so, you have a problem: In your estimation the world is greater than the kingdom of God. What is the solution to your problem? You need to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. When that happens, you will no longer be ashamed.

The apostles were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and we see a demonstration of their bold fearlessness in Acts 4. Peter and John were arrested and brought before the Jewish authorities, to whom they declared the gospel. In Acts 4:13 we read, “When [the authorities] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” The apostles were sent out so the rulers could confer together, and in verse 18 we read, “Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.'” This is Holy Spirit boldness.

In Acts 5 we read that Peter and other apostles were again arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. The authorities reminded them that they had strictly forbidden them from teaching about Jesus. But in verses 29-32 we read, “Then Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

Are you afraid to witness? If so, I urge you to seek baptism in the Holy Spirit. Ask God to fill you with the promised Holy Spirit so that you can speak boldly and fearlessly in every situation.

Effect of Holy Spirit Baptism: The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The eighth effect of baptism in the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit gives us certain gifts, or abilities, with which we are to carry out his will on earth. In Acts 2:4 we read, “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Here we see the disciples being baptized in the Holy Spirit and manifesting one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the gift of tongues.

In 1 Corinthians 12:7 we read, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good,” and in verse 11 we read, “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” The Holy Spirit gives various gifts to his people according to his sovereign will and for the work he wants them to accomplish. We will speak further about the gifts of the Spirit in another study, but we must realize now that these gifts are another benefit of baptism in the Holy Spirit.

When Does Baptism Take Place?

Having studied the effects of baptism in the Holy Spirit, let us now ask the question, “When does baptism in the Holy Spirit take place?” Dr. Lloyd-Jones discusses this question in his book, Joy Unspeakable (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable: Power and Renewal in the Holy Spirit, edited by Christopher Catherwood [Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1984).

First, he says it may take place when we are praying. Now, Dr. Lloyd-Jones is not speaking of prayer as a formal, superficial, unfeeling, hurried, mumbo-jumbo-type prayer to God. No, he is speaking about earnest prayer–wrestling with God, praying with prayer, hungering and thirsting after God and telling him, “I will not let you go unless you bless me. I have no other hope. You are the way and you are the only way.”

In the context of such prayer, whether in the home or in the church, whether in a worship service or a prayer meeting, God may baptize us in the Holy Spirit. While we are praying, God will come and embrace us, taking us up to him and granting us a deep sense of his love, bearing witness to our souls that we are his children. When this happens to us, we will not fear.

We can also be baptized in the Holy Spirit while we are reading the Scriptures–oh, not in a hurried, formal, dutiful way, but as we are diligently, earnestly, and prayerfully examining the word of God. When this happens to us, all of a sudden God’s word will become food for our souls, providing us with total satisfaction.

We can be baptized in the Holy Spirit while we are singing. As I said before, I was singing at a meeting in Canada, and God came upon me in a powerful way. When this happens to us, our souls will be ravished as we understand the magnitude of the love God has for us.

We can be baptized in the Holy Spirit while the word is being preached. While we are sitting in the church listening to the word, it can happen, and we will never forget about it. That is why whenever we come to God, whether privately or publicly, we must come with great expectation, asking God to do whatever he wants in our lives at that time. God coming to us will make all the difference as we listen to the preaching of the word.

We can also be baptized in the Holy Spirit while we are doing our ordinary work. Have you ever thought of that? We can be washing dishes, changing diapers, answering the telephone, and the Spirit of God may come upon us in the midst of those activities.

We can be baptized in the Holy Spirit when we repent of our sins. Whenever we are convicted of sins and turn away from them, that provides the context in which God may pour out his Holy Spirit upon us.

We can be baptized in the Holy Spirit whenever we engaged in performing special acts of self-denial, whether fasting, selling a piece of property and giving it to God, or whatever else God demands of us. As we sacrifice for God, the Holy Spirit may come upon us in the way we are describing.

We may be baptized in the Holy Spirit in connection with a great trouble or grief or pain or disability. Thus, whenever we encounter a Satanic attack, an illness, a financial reversal, or a family disruption, we must realize that it is not the end of the world. God often uses such opportunities to baptize us in the Holy Spirit.

We may also be baptized in the Holy Spirit during a time of national or universal distress. Dr. Lloyd-Jones mentions that in certain countries God baptized people in the Holy Spirit just prior to war breaking out. When people are facing such serious problems, God may pour out his Spirit upon them to sustain them and equip them for troubling days ahead.

We may also be baptized in the Holy Spirit on our deathbeds. Dr. Lloyd-Jones refers to Edward Payson, a nineteenth century American minister, who was baptized in the Holy Spirit on his deathbed. In those days, when a person was dying, pastors and elders would come and ask questions in reference to his salvation. As Edward Payson lay dying, someone asked him, “Do you feel reconciled?” meaning reconciled to God and ready to die. What did Payson say? “Oh, that is too cold. I rejoice, I triumph; and this happiness will endure as long as God himself, for it consists in admiring and adoring him” (Joy Unspeakable, pp. 243-44). Then he continued, “I can find no words to express my happiness. I seem to be swimming in a river of pleasure which is carrying me on to the great Fountain.” Certainly Payson was baptized in the Holy Spirit, even though he was dying.

What About You?

In conclusion, let me ask you: Do you desire to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? How great is your desire, your hunger, your thirst for God, for the living God? If we are honest, we must confess, “O God, my thirst is not all that great and my hunger is not all that great. It seems my desire is for this world and the things of this world, not for God. That is what is looming large in my consciousness. But, O God, have mercy upon me! Drive out the world that I may see you and love you. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Oh, may we desire nothing else but God! May there be nothing between my soul and my Savior.

Are you seeking baptism in the Holy Spirit? Then I beseech you to repent and obey totally and completely. I beseech you to pray earnestly and believe that God will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. The source of all our joy is God. May he help us to swim in the river of the pleasure of his presence, even this day. Amen.