Bible Study – Baptism of the Holy Spirit
What Jesus Christ said about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit:
In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, “If you them being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
In Luke 24:49 Jesus said: “Behold I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.”
Jesus said in John 14:16 (KJV) “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever.”
In Acts 1:4-5 Jesus commanded the believers to not go anywhere, but to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father, which was the Baptism of the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 1:8: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Five Times Believers were Filled with the Spirit or Prayed in Tongues in the Book of Acts:
The Day of Pentecost
1. Acts 2: 1-4 When the Day of Pentecost has fully come, they were al with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them cloven tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
Acts 2:11 – …”We hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice, and said to them, (in Acts 2:17-18): “Men of Judea and all that dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will put out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams; and on My menservants and on Me maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.'”
- Acts 8:14-20 Now the Apostle who was in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone of whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.” Simon saw them and heard them praying in tongues and he wanted that same power that Peter and John had so that he could charge people for this gift and make money because he was a sorcerer.
- Acts 9:17-18 And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he arose and was baptized.” Now it does not say that he was speaking in tongues in Acts 9:17-18, but he must have begun speaking with tongues because in 1 Corin. 14:18 Paul said, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all.”
- Acts 10:46 on the Gentiles – And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.”
- Acts 19:6 In Ephesus – “And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”
The Bible says in Hebrew 13:8 that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever. The power of praying in tongues that was done in the book of Acts back then and it is the same power that Jesus wants for Christians to have and use for His glory today.
The Key to Know: There Are Two Types of Speaking in Tongues
The first type is for all believers. It is called speaking in tongues. It is also called your “Heavenly prayer language” or praying in tongues. What Paul was saying is that since no one can understand what you are saying, it is better to pray in tongues to edify yourself in your own private time with the Lord, like during your personal devotions. You can pray in tongues whenever you want to according to your own will to pray out the perfect will of God for your life or for others.
The second type is the gift of tongues. This gift of tongues is only as God wills. In a church service, usually after praise and worship when there is a holy silence, the Lord may move upon a person to speak out a tongue. Then God will enable them to speak out the interpretation or if God has not given them the interpretation, then God will move on someone else to interpret that tongue so that the whole church body can be edified.
If there is a gift of tongues spoken out and there is also an interpretation, then that is equal to prophesy or a prophetic word. Many times in a church service (usually after the praise and worship when there is a holy hush), if the Pastor is open to the gift of prophesy, then he will allow a church member who has the gift of prophecy to speak out a prophetic word to edify, encourage and comfort the whole church. There are no tongues and interpretation because the prophecy is already in English, so they can all understand.
In the chapter of 1 Corinthians 14 Paul was teaching the Corinthian believers the difference between these two types of tongues and how they should be used in a church service:
I Corin. 14:4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.
1 Corin 14:13-15 and v. 18 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding….I thank my God I speak in tongues more than you all.