|
What did John the Baptist mean when he said, "He [Jesus] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 3:11). At the conclusion of His earthly ministry, Jesus referred to John's statement (Acts 1:5); and Peter, in reporting on the events in the home of Cornelius, also repeated the statement (Acts 11:16).
The baptism in the Spirit is subsequent to and distinct from the new birth. Scripture makes it clear there is an experience in which the Holy Spirit baptizes believers into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13), and there is the experience in which Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11). These cannot refer to the same experience since the agent who does the baptizing and the element into which the candidate is baptized are different in each case.
The distinctiveness of the experiences is illustrated in several places. The case of the Ephesian disciples is an example. After they stated they had experienced only John's baptism (Acts 19:3), Paul explained they were to believe on Christ Jesus. Then these disciples were baptized in water, after which Paul laid hands on them and the Holy Spirit came on them. The lapse of time was brief between these disciples' believing on Christ and the Holy Spirit's coming upon them, but it was long enough for them to be baptized in water. The baptism in the Spirit was distinct from and subsequent to salvation.
The baptism in the Spirit is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. The scriptural ideal for the believer is to be continually filled with the Spirit. The Baptism is the crisis experience which introduces the believer to the process experience of living a Spirit-filled life.
The expression initial physical evidence of the Baptism refers to the first outward sign that the Holy Spirit has come in filling power. A study of Scripture indicates there was a physical sign by which observers knew that believers had been baptized in the Holy Spirit. The evidence always occurred at the very time the believers were baptized in the Spirit and not on some future occasion.
In the home of Cornelius there was convincing evidence of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48). Later, when Peter was called upon to explain to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem his ministry in the home of Cornelius, he referred to observable evidence of the believers being baptized in the Holy Spirit. He cited this as the reason why he arranged for the believers to be baptized in water (Acts 11:15-17).
While speaking in tongues has initial evidential value, it is designed by God to be much more than evidence of a past experience. It also continues to bring enrichment to the individual believer in personal devotions, and to the congregation when accompanied by the interpretation of tongues.
Speaking with other tongues refers to the ability the Holy Spirit gives believers to speak in languages they have not learned. The word translated "tongues" in Acts is the same word used in 1 Corinthians and refers to actual languages of men or of angels (1 Corinthians 13:1). There is no justification for interpreting the word as strange or ecstatic sounds. In New Testament times, as in our own, there were people who heard and understood the speaking with tongues.
Speaking with other tongues as the Holy Spirit gives utterance means that believers speak in another language by the enablement of the Holy Spirit. The word translated "utterance," as M. R. Vincent observes, is "a peculiar word and purposely chosen to denote clear, loud utterance under the miraculous impulse." James Strong points out that the word also includes the idea of enunciating plainly.
The ability is not achieved through a heightened emotional state or through the repetition of words and phrases. It is not the result of imitating the sounds made by others. To the contrary, human effort to speak with tongues only stands in the way of the utterance the Holy Spirit gives. The believer speaks only by the supernatural and motivational power of the Spirit. He needs only to respond in faith and speak out as the Spirit gives the utterance. Any manipulative technique for receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit is without Biblical pattern or propriety.
|
