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What is the Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

Jesus called it the promise of the father. (Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.) This promise had been given through the Old Testament prophet Joel when he said, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:” Joel 2:28)

This promise was reconfirmed through John the Baptist, who said that he would baptize with water, but that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. (Mat 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:)

(And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.)

The baptism of the Holy Spirit was a promise given by the Father some eight hundred years before Jesus was born into the human family. That promise was still valid and waiting to be fulfilled in Jesus’ time. Acts, chapter two, tells of the fulfillment of this beautiful promise, but extends that promise to anyone who will receive it. (Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.) That means you!

Why should I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus commanded His disciples to receive it. (Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.)

If the baptism of the Holy Spirit was important enough for the apostles that Jesus would command them to receive it, the command is equally as strong for us. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul expresses that this baptism is still a command of God, … be filled with the Spirit.

What is the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus said that the baptism in the Holy Spirit gives us power to witness. (Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.)

If you want to witness for Jesus, you must receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This power to witness can be seen in at least four areas;

The Holy Spirit can give you the words to say when you witness. (Luke 12:11 – 12 And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.)

The Holy Spirit can give you boldness to witness. (Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.)

The Holy Spirit can empower you to do miracles which testify of God’s love and power. (Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,)

The Holy Spirit gives you the ability to live a life which exemplifies Jesus. (Gal 5:22 – 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.)

Who can receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus said that the world could not receive the Holy Spirit, but anyone who knows God is a candidate for this blessing. (John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.)

If you have never asked Jesus into your life, do it now. Let Him give you new life and make you ready to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.)

(2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.)

Jesus said that you must ask the heavenly father for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He said that you should ask with the same amount of confidence that we ask our earthly fathers for gifts. If you do this, you will receive!

(If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? Luke 11:11 - 13)

What will happen when I receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Jesus said that a river of living water would spring forth from you inner being. (In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:37 – 29 This river of living water brings with it a new tongue of praise and glory to God. In the book of Acts, many experiences of the baptism of the Holy Spirit are recounted, and the consistent witness is that these believers spoke with other tongues. (Acts 2:4; 10:44-46; 19:6) you should remember that the believer has to speak as the Holy Spirit gives the utterance. (Acts 2:4), so when you feel that river of living water springing up within your spirit, do not be afraid to speak out the new language of the Holy Spirit. It may sound foolish at first, but it is God’s new gift to you… not something you have made up, or a trick of the devil.

If you ask your heavenly father for the gift he has promised you, He will see that you receive it!