-BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
As we see in the book of acts (the only
record that we have) the early Christians or the early Christians or the early church
received the Holy Spirit as a subsequent experience to their conversion . Read Acts
2:1-21;Acts 8:4-17;Acts 9:1-19;Acts 10:1-46; Acts 19:1-8.The above passage indicate the
same truth . 'Have you received the Holy Spirit since (after)you believed ' was the
question of the apostles to the early church .
Nobody can deny the fact that the
one hundred and twenty in the upper room prior to the day of Pentecost were all believers
in Jesus Christ . Read the account of the revival in Samaria "The Holy Spirit had not
yet fallen in any of them ,but they had only been baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus .
Then they laid their laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit
"(Acts 8 : 16,17).God sent Ananias , an obscure disciple , to Paul who was a convert
on the road to Damascus ,not only for Paul's sight to be restored but that he might
"be filled with the Holy Spirit " (Acts 9:17) This happened after Paul's
conversion and not before . As far as the disciples in Ephesus concerned Paul never
questioned their conversion, but asked them "Did you receive the Holy Spirit since
you believed "(Acts 19 : 1-8). They answered "No" and also said that they
never heard of the Holy Spirit . Then the twelve men of Ephesus received the Holy Spirit
and began praising God in tongues and prophesied . Conversion is an experience when a non
-believer turns into a believer in JESUS CHRIST . Whereas the Baptism in the baptism in
Holy Spirit converts the believer into a MIGHTY SAMSON!. When the Holy Spirit came upon
Samson, the ordinary man became a mighty man . "you shall receive POWER when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witness "(Acts 1 : 8)
There the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
is a necessary experience and a Must for a believer according to the scriptures .
The Baptism in
the Holy Spirit is accompanied with speaking in Tongues or not ?
Another central issue in the Baptism
in the Holy Spirit is called "Glossolalia" or speaking in tongues . The question
is ,' does a person have to speak in tongues in order to receive the Baptism in the Holy
Spirit ?'
The answer to that question is
"you don't have to ,you get to ! "Speaking in tongues comes along
with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit . It is a complete package.
One common objection is that I Cor.
12:30 "Do all speak in tongues ?"And Paul's instructions in I Cor 14:27 , "
If any speak in a tongue let there be at the most three "But what Paul is teaching
here is misunderstood . Paul's teachings in those verses does not refer to the ability
to speak in tongues which comes when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit . Paul is speaking
of the gifts of the Spirit which God has set in the church , explaining not all spirit
-based believers have the same ministry . Paul is also advising how the gifts of
the Spirit especially the language gifts to be operative in the churches .
Notice ,how Paul also says,
"now I want you all to speak in tongues " I Cor. 14 :5 . How Paul contradict
what he said in the same chapter . He only criticizes the misuse of that gift.
When we examine the Book of Acts
,the people baptized in the Holy Spirit ended up in speaking in tongues. No one was left
out.
Another objection
ofte0n expressed
about speaking in tongues is that that on the day of Pentecost the tongues were in
languages understood by those present and listening ,but today's tongues are just
emotional gibberish and not a divine manifestation . But the truth is that today's
speaking in tongues is miraculous and that many times the spoken languages are recognized
. It is a proven fact and is recorded in many instances all over the world . Why not every
time ?This is because on the day of Pentecost if you read the book of Acts ,people from
all over the world were assembled in Jerusalem when the first instance of Baptism in the
Holy Spirit took place .Now it is not the case .
So I can speak in tongues . What
good is it ?
The believer at the moment of being
baptized in the Holy Spirit receives supernaturally a language to praise God and magnify
God. Man does the speaking while the Holy Spirit furnishes the words. Acts 2: 4
Essentially the baptism in the Holy
Spirit is comprised of two parts: