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Transcript 234A — Understanding the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Good evening. I'd like to ask a question about baptism in the Holy Spirit, if you could explain how it works, as far as speaking in tongues is concerned? And also some scriptures backing up the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I understand that the Holy Spirit is a free gift of God, upon accepting Jesus Christ. And so I just wondered, why would a person have to be specially baptized in the Holy Spirit? And I'd like to take my answer on the radio.
HC: All right. Fine. Good night.
Our caller has raised a question concerning what the Bible means by baptism in the Holy Spirit, and how that might relate to tongues. Actually, there is no relationship, let's first of all talk about baptism in the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament God used four signs particularly to officially declare what salvation really was, or pointing to salvation.
There was circumcision. And that would indicate that even as the foreskin of a person's body was cut off, so we must have the foreskin of our heart cut off. We must be cut away from our flesh and its sinful lusts. Or another expression that was used was the burnt offering. They would offer a meal offering or an animal sacrifice as a burnt offering. And that was pointing to Christ, who became our burnt offering.
A third sign was that of the shedding of blood, of a turtledove, or a lamb, or an ox, pointing to the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fact that Christ would endure the wrath of God for our sins.
A fourth sign that was used in the Old Testament was that of water ablutions, again to ceremonially indicate that a person had been cleansed of his sins. Now that particular sign, the washing in water, was picked up by God as the language that would speak about what salvation constituted following Pentecost.
Actually, there was a shift, a very slight shift, in the impact of salvation after Pentecost. Basically, salvation was not changed. In order to be saved, one had to have his sins washed away, one had to become born again, one had to become a new creature in Christ. He had to experience the resurrection of his soul. And the Holy Spirit, who incidentally is eternal God, would be given to the person who had become saved.
But following Pentecost, or beginning with Pentecost, God added one additional dimension, and that is, since at Pentecost God began His work to evangelize the world, and in His program to evangelize the world He would utilize every born again believer, by qualifying him at the point of salvation to be an evangelist, or to be a witness, therefore God utilized a different expression in talking about salvation. Christ began to talk about being baptized in the Holy Spirit.
We read this, for example, in the Gospel of John and in the Gospel of Luke or Matthew. But the last time we read about it is in Acts 1. Jesus is saying there in verse 5, "For John baptized with water [that's speaking of one of the Old Testament signs, because John the Baptist was a prophet who was on the Old Testament side of the cross], but before many days you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit." That is, before many days you will become qualified in My New Testament program of not only being saved, but being ready to be a witness. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit in the sense that you will be qualified to be a witness for Me. And this would be characteristic of every New Testament believer.
And so when we are saved, we can speak of the fact that we have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. The word baptize means to wash or to cleanse, to purify. And therefore it denotes that our sins have been washed away, and we have become identified with the Holy Spirit, in His New Testament program to evangelize the world. We are filled with the Spirit from the time that we are saved, and that is a phrase that simply says that we have become qualified to be a witness. That is what baptism in the Holy Spirit has to do with.
Now it has nothing to do with miracles or signs or wonders, or whatever. It is true that when God first begin His program to evangelize the world, in the four areas particularly singled out by Christ to the disciples, God did at least one miracle to indicate to them that He meant exactly what He said, and also to give us further insights into the nature of His program to evangelize the world.
And so in Acts 1:8 He said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And so we find in the Book of Acts one illustration in each of these places of a special miracle, to indicate that God meant exactly this, that this is where the Word of God was to be sent, in God's program to evangelize the world.
Jerusalem of course is the record of Pentecost, in Acts 2. Samaria is the record of Acts 8, when the Samaritans believed. Judea is the record of Acts 10, when the family of Cornelius was saved. They were Romans, they were Gentiles, living up in Cyceria. And in Acts 19 we read about the twelve Ephesians who were saved, and that is the record of the ends of all the earth.
Having done that, we never find another miracle that occurs at the time that we are saved.
Now when we talk about tongues, we're talking about something altogether different. In the letter of Paul to the church at Corinth, in the 12th and 13th and 14th chapters, we do find that in that early church there was a phenomenon known as tongues, or speaking in an unknown language. This was a gift that was given to a few in the church at Corinth, including Paul, whereby certain individuals would receive information from God in an unknown language. It bears no relationship to baptism in the Holy Spirit. That is, this was not a gift that was bestowed upon them at the time they were saved. This was simply a gift that did occur in the church at Corinth to various believers there.
And they were instructed to pray that they might interpret. The purpose of interpreting was so that this information that was given to them from God might also be available to the whole congregation. This was a possible phenomenon in that day, because God had not completed the Bible as yet. The holy scriptures that they had had been written down and consisted primarily of the Old Testament. Slowly on letters of Paul were being circulated among the churches. But fundamentally, they had only the Old Testament. And God was still providing information in addition. Peter received a vision. The apostle John received visions on the island of Patmos. Paul received visions. Agabus received a vision. This was possible in that day because the Bible was not complete.
But then, approximately AD 95, God completed the Bible. God is the author of the Bible, and in the last chapter of the Bible He declared in Revelation 22:18: "If anyone adds to the words of this book, I will add to him the plagues written herein." And with that statement God closed off the possibility of any further information coming from God outside of what He had already written in His Word, the Bible. From that point on we would never expect anyone to receive a vision from God, a voice, a tongue, or whatever, because God would not violate His own rules. God has declared, "I've given you the Word now." Effectively He is saying to us, "I've given you My Word, the revelation of My will. Now you are to study it, you are to be obedient to it." And so we are not to expect any phenomenon like that which has occurred at various times during the time when the Bible was not yet completed, when individuals received visions, or when they spoke in a tongue.
Now there are people throughout the New Testament period, following AD 95, who have declared that they did receive a vision. And some of these have been written up, and they sound very glorious, and they sound very meaningful. And there are people today who still claim they receive visions, and there are people who say that they speak in tongues.
Well, all of this activity may take place. But based upon what the Bible declares, we know that it cannot be from God. It might be out of their own minds. It might be hallucinatory. Our minds are very tricky, you know. Or it might even be from an evil source.
And so we must not expect this gift today. Now anyone at all can be baptized in the Holy Sprit, if he will recognize that he is a sinner, that he is under the wrath of God because of his sins, and that there's no way that he can help himself out of this terrible situation in which he finds himself. And if he will call upon God for mercy, and if he will begin to trust in what the Bible declares concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, that He will forgive his sins if he will trust in Him, then he too can be saved. And when he is saved, when he is born again, then he has been baptized in the Holy Spirit. His sins have been washed away, and he has become identified with the Holy Spirit in His New Testament program to evangelize the world.
More than that, the Holy Spirit has taken up his abode within him.
Well, thank you for that question.