Part 2 – The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Introduction Many people claim to have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit The Bible speaks of the baptism with the Holy Spirit There are many opinions concerning the baptism with the Holy Spirit Our question: What is God’s definition of the baptism with the Holy Spirit ? The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Promised Baptism with the Spirit John the Immerser says, “I immersed you with water; but He [Jesus] will immerse you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:8) “You” is undefined Read Acts 1:1-11 Here Jesus promised the immersion with the Holy Spirit The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Promised Baptism with the Spirit In Acts 1:1-11, Luke records some very significant facts necessary to define the immersion with the Holy Spirit Jesus appeared to the apostles for forty days. The events of these verses occur on that 40th day following Jesus’ resurrection Jesus gathered together the apostles. There is a big difference between apostles and disciples. Disciples are followers, while apostles are those sent out The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Promised Baptism with the Spirit Facts cont. It was the apostles whom Jesus specifically promised would be immersed with the Holy Spirit (not the 120 disciples of the upper room) Jesus promised the apostles that it would happen “not many days from now” In Acts 1:11, the two men (angels) called the eleven remaining apostles “Men of Galilee” – only the apostles were all Galileans The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost The immersion with the Holy Spirit and the events surrounding it are found in Acts 2:1-41 We will particularly focus in on verses 1- 15 Once again we need to point out some important things that happened, this time on the Day of Pentecost The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost 1) In Acts 2:1, we read, “And when the Day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” What was the Day of Pentecost? What was the one place? The Day of Pentecost was a celebration of the beginning of the harvest – it came fifty days after the feast of Passover All Jewish males were required to appear at the Temple on the Day of Pentecost; thus, the “one place” was the Temple – see Deut. 16:16 The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost Remember that Jesus was crucified during Passover week Remember that He was raised from the dead the first day of the following week Remember that He appeared 40 days following His resurrection and then ascended Therefore the events of Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost are about 10 days following the end of Acts chapter 1 The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost Jesus’ resurrection Jesus’ ascension Pentecost Passover 40 days 10 days The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost 2) In Acts 2:2-4 we find that a tremendously powerful sign came from heaven – this sign consisted of 3 things: A sound like a mighty rushing wind Tongues like fire on their heads Speaking in other languages The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost 3) We recall that Jesus had just promised 10 days earlier that the apostles would be immersed with the Holy Spirit “not many days from now” We conclude at this point that the immersion with the Holy Spirit consists of the three things spoken of in point 2 We conclude that only the apostles were immersed with the Holy Spirit The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost What is the evidence that the immersion with the Spirit consists of these three things? Jesus promised the apostles that they would be immersed with the Spirit “not many days from now” – the events of Pentecost are the only ones that fit the time frame John the Immerser had spoken that Jesus would be the One who immersed with the Spirit – in Acts 2:33, Jesus is given credit as the One who “poured forth this which you both see and hear” The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost What is the evidence that only the apostles were immersed with the Spirit? It was only to the apostles that Jesus promised the immersion with the Spirit All of those who spoke in other tongues were Galileans – the apostles were the only group which were all Galileans Peter defended the 11 against the accusation of drunkenness, not the 120 The events of Pentecost occurred in the Temple, not in the upper room – only the males were required to present themselves at the Temple The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost There are a number of groups who believe that they have received the “baptism with the Holy Spirit” When we allow God to define the “baptism with the Spirit,” it is obvious that it includes not only speaking in other languages, but also tongues like fire, and a sound like a mighty rushing wind The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Pentecost The Bible is clear that only the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost When we understand the purpose of the baptism with the Spirit, it will be clear why it happened only to the apostles at Pentecost The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius The baptism with the Holy Spirit is referred to only once more in the Bible A Roman soldier named Cornelius and his family and friends were baptized with the Spirit in an unusual situation This happening is found and explained in Acts chapters 10 and 11 The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius There are a few key things to initially note It had been at least 10-13 years since the Day of Pentecost of Acts 2 until these events in Acts 10 and 11 During these years, salvation was only available to the Jews and the Samaritans At this point in time, there was no salvation for the Gentiles (the Lord had already chosen Paul to be his apostle to the Gentiles, but the door of salvation had not yet been opened to them) The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Let’s now key in on the important points as God opened salvation to the Gentiles God began by choosing a good man. Cornelius was a Roman centurion who helped the Jews, prayed to God, and gave alms to the poor. An angel appeared to Cornelius and told him to send for Peter who was in the city of Joppa. The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Important points continued: In the meantime, the Lord was preparing Peter for the events which would follow Peter was on the rooftop praying, and he saw a vision There was let down from heaven a sheet with unclean animals which a Jew was not permitted to eat God spoke, saying, “Arise, Peter, kill and eat.” Peter refused, saying that he had never eaten anything unclean The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Important points cont. A voice answered a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” This interchange happened three times for Peter’s benefit, then the sheet was lifted back into the sky While Peter was pondering this, the Holy Spirit told him that there were some men outside, and that Peter was to go to them without misgivings The Spirit said, “I have sent them Myself” The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Important points cont. Peter and six Jewish Christian brethren accompanying him arrived at Caesarea Cornelius fell at his feet to worship him Peter stood him up and told him not worship him, saying, “I too am just a man” Peter apologized for breaking Jewish law in being there, but told them that God had commanded him to come The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Important points cont. Cornelius had his family and friends assembled to hear Peter, so he preached to them Peter testified that Jesus had been raised from the dead, and that He was the Messiah As Peter came to the close of his message, a very strange thing happened (Acts 10:44-48) While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles who were there The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Important points cont. The Jewish Christians were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out upon the Gentiles also They were hearing them speaking in tongues and glorifying God As a result, Peter’s reaction was that no one could forbid water to be immersed who had “received the Spirit just as we did” Peter ordered them to be immersed in the name of Jesus The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius What is it that happened to these Gentiles? Something amazing – that much is sure There is not enough information in Acts 10 to give us the complete picture However, the story is recounted in Acts 11, and there we find enough facts to put everything into focus The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Facts from Acts 11 When Peter went back to Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians took him to task for visiting the Gentiles and eating with them Because of the 1500 years of Old Testament history impressing upon the Jews that they were to be a separate people, these Jewish Christians needed an explanation from Peter The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Facts from Acts 11 Peter recounted how the angel had appeared to Cornelius, telling him to send for Peter, who would “speak words to you by which you will be saved” (Acts 11:14) Peter pointed out that he had seen a vision communicating that the Gentiles were no longer to be considered “unholy” He then communicated that while he was preaching, the Holy Spirit “fell on them, just as He did upon us at the beginning” The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Acts 11:15 is a key verse in understanding the baptism with the Holy Spirit There are three main thoughts to consider 1) Peter said that the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles as on “us at the beginning.” When was the beginning? The beginning was the Day of Pentecost, 30 AD On that day the apostles were baptized with the Spirit, and the church had its beginning The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius 2) Peter points out that something happened to “them” just as on “us at the beginning” The “us” is very clearly, from the record of Acts 1 and 2, the apostles 3) Peter further points out that the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles “just” as He did on “us at the beginning” When someone uses the word “just” in this context, it means “in exactly the same way” The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Point 3) cont. We recall that 3 things happened to the apostles on the Day of Pentecost There was a sound like a mighty, rushing wind There were tongues like fire resting on each of them Each one spoke in other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance When Peter says that it “fell on them just as on us at the beginning, we know that all three of the above were present, although not all details are recorded The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius In Acts 11:16 Peter defines what happened “And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit’ ” Peter in this way tells that the household of Cornelius was baptized with the Spirit The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius A few extra things to think about Peter did not say that the Holy Spirit fell upon the Gentiles just as He did on everyone who was converted Instead he said that the Spirit fell upon the Gentiles just as He did upon “us at the beginning” This amazing happening that he hadn’t seen for 10+ years triggered within Peter’s memory the promise that Jesus had once made concerning the baptism with the Spirit The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius We now understand what Peter meant in Acts 10:47 Jesus had baptized Cornelius and his household with the Holy Spirit just as He had the apostles on the Day of Pentecost some 10 years previous Peter then explains in Acts 11:17, “If God therefore gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Peter, as a result of this sign, understood that he couldn’t stand in God’s way He recognized that God was going to make the way of salvation open to the Gentiles, no matter what Peter thought about it Peter also realized that he was not to call “unclean” the Gentiles which the Lord was now calling cleansed The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit The Household of Cornelius Peter recounted these happenings to the Jewish Christians back in Jerusalem It was after hearing that the Gentiles had been baptized in the Spirit, that they, too, were willing to get on board with God’s plan They glorified God, saying, “Well, then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18) The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Purpose of the Baptism with the Spirit 1) On the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the result of the Spirit being poured out on the apostles was that all of the Jews in the Temple “came together” (Acts 2:6) Peter then preached the first gospel sermon, giving the terms of salvation under the New Covenant As a result, 3000 were immersed in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and the church began with power At Pentecost, the purpose of the baptism with the Spirit was to be a tremendous sign for the Jews To get them to gather to hear the good news To help them believe when they heard the message The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Holy Spirit Purpose of the Baptism with the Spirit 2) Cornelius’ household was also baptized with the Spirit as a sign for those of Jewish background Because of Jewish prejudice against the Gentiles, the sign was first to remove Peter’s unwillingness to have the Gentiles immersed in water The sign also provided evidence to Jewish Christians in other locations that Gentiles were acceptable to God In the case of Cornelius, the baptism of the Spirit wasn’t for their benefit at all, but was for the benefit of Jewish Christians The Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Baptism with the Spirit Purpose of the Baptism with the Spirit 3) Jesus had given a special promise to Peter “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:19) On the Day of Pentecost, Peter used the keys to open the door of salvation to the Jews after the sign of the baptism with the Spirit At the house of Cornelius, Peter again used the keys to open the door of salvation to the Gentiles after the sign of the baptism with the Spirit The Baptism with the Spirit

The Baptism with the Spirit Purpose of the Baptism with the Spirit The only purpose of the baptism with the Spirit was to be a sign from heaven First to begin the church Then to open salvation to the Gentiles In both cases the sign was for the benefit of Jews watching, and not for the benefit of those baptized with the Spirit The Baptism with the Spirit

The Baptism with the Spirit Purpose of the Baptism with the Spirit Evidence for our conclusion: Jesus promised the apostles power at the same time as the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). There is no evidence that Cornelius received any extra power upon his baptism with the Spirit It was necessary for Cornelius and his household to be immersed in water in Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) The Baptism with the Spirit

The Baptism with the Spirit Purpose of the Baptism with the Spirit Evidence for our conclusions cont. There is no evidence that Paul was ever baptized with the Spirit, yet he had all the power of an apostle of Jesus Christ There is no record in the Scripture of any other baptism with the Spirit (some confuse “gifts of the Spirit” with “baptism with the Spirit”) If it were for the benefit of the receiver, we would expect the baptism with the Spirit to continue to be present in the inspired record of the church If it were simply a sign to begin the church and open salvation to the Gentiles, we would not expect to find it occurring again; and this is what we find The Baptism with the Spirit

The Baptism with the Spirit Summary The baptism with the Holy Spirit was an overwhelming sign from heaven consisting of three things: Sound like a mighty rushing wind Tongues like fire Speaking in other tongues The Baptism with the Spirit

The Baptism with the Spirit Summary The baptism with the Spirit was for the benefit of Jewish people both times it occurred The first time – the apostles – was a sign to Jews in the Temple, so that the church could begin with great power The second time – Cornelius – was a sign to Jewish Christians that Gentiles could also be saved Baptism with the Spirit was not a substitute for, and did not negate the necessity of immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins The Baptism with the Spirit

Part 3 – The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit Into what then were you baptized? The Holy Spirit Part 3 – The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit