Acts 2:4
The
Baptism with the Holy Spirit as an experience that
believers in Jesus may receive as taught by most Pentecostal and Full
Gospel Churches
is not taught in a number of other churches and movements. The Roman
Catholic
Church and some other churches teach that the baptism with the Spirit
is
received at the rebirth. Some churches of the Reformation teach that
the
baptism with the Holy Spirit was once and for all given to the church
on the
feast of Pentecost in Jerusalem, (Acts chapter 2).
The Filling or Baptism was and
is the
empowering through the Holy Spirit
The
experience on Pentecost of the first apostles in
Jerusalem in Acts chapter 2 was without a doubt the empowering of
already
reborn believers. We cannot maintain that the apostles were at that
time not
yet reborn believers for they already believed for some years with
their whole heart
in Jesus as the Son of God and since Golgotha they believed that He had
died
for the remission of their sins and the reconciliation with God, and
they
believed that He was also glorified in heaven. One dares to say that
they
believed with much more sincerity than many Christians today. However,
they
were not yet empowered by the Spirit for their commission to go into
the world
and testify about Jesus. This empowering took place on that memorable
day of
Pentecost in Jerusalem.
About the rebirth and baptism
with
the Holy Spirit
The Baptism
with the Holy Spirit was given to believers that were together in
unity; they
all received. Later experiences in the book of Acts and in teachings in
some
letters of the apostle Paul make it clear that this filling with the
Spirit was
given to believers in the churches. That is a reason why we can teach
that the
experience of the filling or baptism with the Spirit can be an example
for all
believers and be experienced by them. The rebirth can be followed by a
baptism
with the Spirit to motivate and empower the believers. That the rebirth
and the
baptism with the Holy Spirit may sometimes be experienced at the same
time is
possible, though often they are separate experiences and can clearly be
distinguished from each other. The gifts that the Holy Spirit imparts
in the
believer enable him to functional and purposeful service in the Church,
the
body of Christ. Read about the gifts of the Spirit the passage 1
Corinthians
12:1-11. You can also order my lesson about the gifts of the Spirit.
The manifestation of the baptism
or
filling with the Holy Spirit
On
that first day of Pentecost in Jerusalem the Holy
Spirit came with phenomena of tongues of fire and with the sound of a
strong
wind. John the Baptist had prophesied more than thirty years earlier
that the
Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, (Luke 3:16).
This was
exactly what the disciples experienced on Pentecost in Jerusalem. This
outpouring of the Spirit was the beginning of the promise of Jesus and
of the
prophecy of Joel, (Joel 2:28,29).
The
tongues as of fire that placed themselves on the
disciples – Acts 2:3 – were undoubtedly symbolical of the power
wherewith the
disciples were going to be inspired and equipped by the Spirit to
minister and
testify of Jesus. It is however also Scriptural to think of the
cleansing fire
of the Spirit so that the disciples were going to testify with clean
hearts.
Notice the admonition of Paul in Romans 12:11 to be fervent in spirit,
the
Greek word translated as fervent could be translated as fiery. James
warns for
unholy fire on the tongue, (James 3:5,6), which is of course in sharp
contrast
with holy and godly speaking through the Holy Spirit.
The
sound as of a powerful rushing mighty wind speaks of the enormous,
invisible
power of the Holy Spirit. He is uncontrollable and overpowering as the
wind.
When a wind is blowing with some force you can attempt to resist it but
you can
also allow yourself to be pushed by it, it all depends on which
direction you
want to go; with him or against him (John 3:8). Both the Hebrew word ‘ruach’ and the Greek word ‘pneuma’ can
have various meanings, such
as wind, air, breath or the nonphysical part of a personal being, God
or man.
The word is also used for the being of God, for He is pure spirit,
(John 4:24).
In Closing
1. Did you receive a
clear Baptism
with the Holy Spirit. If yes, tell me about it.
2.
If not, you can share your feelings about it or ask
for prayer.
For
questions or prayer write to. e-mailadres:
info@tjderuiter.nl