Covenant Love Discipleship

Lesson Seven – BAPTISM IN HOLY SPIRIT by Jeff Tyler

“…but be filled with the Spirit….” Ephesians 5:18

There are three distinct parts to God, which are commonly called the Godhead. They are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This whole issue of Holy Spirit is one of the most controversial topics in the church world in this present time. It is a very sensitive issue, indeed, from His very existence to what He does, causes, and how He works. Unfortunately, there is a lot of false doctrine and extremes on both sides of this hot issue.

On one side, many churches, preachers, and whole denominations believe that the Holy Spirit is not for today. Some teach that the initial outpouring was intended only for the first and early Church. Some even teach that it is demonic, or having come from demons. But on the flip side, some teach that you cannot be saved without being baptized in it. Our hope today in this lesson is to give you a very balanced and open teaching concerning Holy Spirit and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. And we want to say publicly that we love the Body of Christ and all its different parts, and we offer grace and acceptance in spite of what any of our differences may be. There is room for all of us who believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as our Lord and Savior in God’s Kingdom.

NOTE: This will be one of the longer single lessons, so we encourage you to study this more than once to process it and take it all in. Please, meditate on this lesson.

In Old Testament Days and at creation, Holy Spirit was in existence. He came upon men but did not dwell in them. But Prophets predicted that this would change.

“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: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” Joel 2 28-29

Jesus Himself, as well as John the Baptist, predicted an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

“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….” Matthew 3:11 (John the Baptist)

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

John 16:7 (Jesus Christ) John 14:16, John 14:26, 15:26

Then on the Day of Pentecost, it happened. The initial outpouring on all men. Holy Spirit, God’s very presence, would now actually baptize and dwell in people.

“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. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Act 1:4-8

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy….”

Acts 2:1-18

I want to stop here and make an important point. A man cannot be saved without the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught much on this in John 3, and we encourage you to study that particular chapter at length and in depth. Upon salvation, Holy Spirit comes to live in us. The Spirit is what regenerates us and comes to dwell in us. Therefore, this causes us to make two more important points. First, there is a second work of grace called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. And secondly, people can actually be saved without being Baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The First Church were already believers, and had been for a while, when they were suddenly baptized on the Day of Pentecost. This proves that there are two distinct works of grace available to all mankind – salvation, and then Holy Spirit Baptism for believers. Also, when the Apostle Paul was healed in Acts chapter 9, it says just before that in verse 17 that not only would he be healed of blindness, but that he would also be filled with the Holy Ghost. Note in this passage, that Paul has been fasting and is a believer in Yeshua (Jesus) due to his experience on the Road to Damascus. It is later when he is baptized both in water and in the Holy Ghost.

Years later, the Early Church ran into this several times as recorded in the Book of Acts.

“And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” Acts 19:1-6

So what is this Baptism in the Spirit? We assure you that it has never stopped in all of history, and that it is for all people, including you. Scripture says that it is an empowerment for you. When you pray and ask Holy Spirit to baptize you, you must believe that it is immediate, and it is the awaited Promise of the Father. Also, you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of concerning the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We’ll get back to this in a moment.

People get hung up on “Speaking in Tongues”. They also get hung up on the difference between their personal prayer language as opposed to the “Gifts of Tongues and Interpretation” spoken of in I Corinthians 12. These are two completely separate things. One of the eventual evidences that one has been Baptized in Holy Spirit is that they speak in another language, which we commonly call Speaking in Tongues. This is not the same thing as Gift used to edify the entire Body. It is uniquely personal to you.

The issue here, is that this is not about tongues, but about the Spirit. It is all about receiving more from God and being empowered by the Spirit. Tongues will come only as an eventual sign that one has been filled and Baptized in Holy Spirit. We have it backwards many times in the Church. Do not seek Tongues, but seek the Spirit.

Another common misconception is that one must be in Church to receive this Baptism. I personally know of several people who received the Baptism and then several days or weeks later began to speak in other tongues in everyday normal places in their lives. I know of two who got their prayer language while in the shower and the bathtub. While it is very holy and very personal, one can be very surprised as to where God will manifest the Baptism or the evidence thereof.

Also, those Disciples on the Day of Pentecost were accused of being drunk. Drunkenness in the Spirit still occurs today. One can feel so happy and euphoric that they can be mistaken for being intoxicated. They actually are. They have been intoxicated with the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit coming into your life in fullness will change everything.

Some of the Greek and Hebrew in the original text of the Bible actually says to continue being filled with Holy Spirit. You will have the initial infilling, but then we encourage you to take your responsibility and keep being filled up. There is more than one infilling for you.

So we come full circle around to the big question for this lesson. How do I be baptized in the Spirit? Simply focus your eyes on Jesus and Him alone. Get your focus totally on Him alone and go into deep worship. God has promised to give you this Baptism. It is the Promise of the Father, another Comforter. Begin to ask God to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. Believe that He is. Tell Him you want more of Him and everything He has for you and that you want to be empowered with more of God. You want to be closer. Do not come out of this mode until you feel released. This is a beautiful time of closeness and intimacy with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Go just as long as you can.

Now, that is the process of being filled. Sometime at this moment, or maybe sometime later, you will feel some burning, and you will sense phrases or syllables or sounds that you do not understand. They will seem so silly to you. They could even be as simple as da-da-da or ti-ti-ti, or so forth. Go ahead and speak those out. This is the evidence of the fact you have been Baptized in Holy Spirit. And do not be concerned with how you receive it. Some, like me, were extremely quiet when they received their prayer language. Others are very loud and boisterous, doing cartwheels so to speak.

As stated, I have prayed with many people who were so filled up that they even became drunk. God ruined them the night they were Baptized. However, they did not get their prayer language as evidence for some time later on their own. My experience was that I was in a Church and praying in the altars. In my mind’s eye, I saw a marquee sign with streaming strange syllables. I began to read those out loud over and over again. The next thing I knew was that I was speaking in tongues. I had been Baptized in the Spirit, but now had the evidence.

Fear is the greatest enemy of being Baptized in Holy Spirit. If you care what people think or how you will look or act, chances are you are not ready to receive. Also, remember that this is a gift. All you have to do is receive it. And while God does completely take over some people and they speak in tongues or prophesy involuntarily, that is very rare. Usually, we have to mouth what we are sensing inside us. So we do have a part to play.

So there you have it. The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Godhead. He indwells men upon their belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and salvation. He is promised from the Father for all who desire a Baptism in God for empowerment and more of the Lord! God is awesome! We encourage you to seek the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

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