In this school of discipleship, we have been covering in the last few lessons the foundational doctrines of our faith as laid out in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1 thru 2. We have covered repentance from dead works and faith towards God. In the last two lessons we have been looking at what is called the doctrine of baptisms. Now if you take a look at the word baptisms you can see that it’s in a plural form which means more than one.
Over the years, through my studies, I’ve found what I consider to be the three main baptisms that can be found in the scriptures. You will find the word baptism mentioned other times in the scriptures, but I conclude that you can bring those instances under the category of one of the main three baptisms. To me simplicity is the key to transformation and it’s important to understand the doctrine of baptisms because understanding baptism is transformative and foundational to our walk of faith. The three main baptisms I see in scripture are baptism into the body, baptism into water and baptism into the Holy Spirit.
The doctrine of baptism into the Holy Spirit has been a very controversial subject in the body of Christ over the years and even so today. As I’ve said in previous lessons, I’m under no illusion that I am going to fix the problem, but what I do hope to do for those of you who are following this school of discipleship is bring you some clarity on this subject so you can put into practice the life changing understanding of baptism into the Holy Spirit.
The word 'baptism' in the Greek is baptizo and simply means the process of immersion, submersion and emergence. It means to dip, to plunge, to cover completely. An example of that would be that of dying a garment. A garment of one color is baptized into the dye of a different color. The garment must be completely immersed, or submerged, into the new color in order for it to be totally changed. The baptism into the dye is literally changing the garment into a totally new garment. It’s a transformation into something brand new or as Paul coined the term new creation. This total immersion is Biblical baptism.
Baptism is a New Testament practice and the word is only used in the New Testament. Baptism refers to our identification with Christ through his death, burial, resurrection, ascension and our union with Him. The cross is our foundation lived out through faith and love which is a journey of the cruciform life of Christ in us.
The original tabernacle of Moses and later temple of Solomon was established through blood covenant by God as a means of Israel to worship the God of heaven and earth as a people chosen and set apart to worship Him alone. It was to be a declaration of who God was and that Israel was his special possession set apart out of all the nations of the earth. In Exodus chapter 19 Moses instructed the children of Israel that if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Jesus in John chapter 14 verse 6 spoke of himself as the way and the truth and the life. The people of his day would have understood what he was talking about because he was talking about the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. In the last lesson I clearly showed you that Jesus is the New Temple and we are members of that new temple. I showed you that the Brazen Altar where the blood sacrifice was made is symbolic of where we are covered or baptized into his blood and body which is the entrance into the pattern of worship as a new covenant priest dedicated to God. At the Brazen Laver the priest was completely washed at the age of 30 to enter into his service for God and daily had to wash to remain clean, sanctified and separated for service to God.
If you dig into the roots of our ancient faith, you will see the redemptive story from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to David and finally to Christ the lamb of God who was slain before the foundations of the world, is all about blood covenant. If you will peer deeply into the wisdom and power of the cross, then all of your Biblical misunderstanding will find meaning. You can’t understand the Law, the Psalms, the Prophets, the teachings of Christ or the apostolic writings establishing the new covenant without understanding the redemptive story of covenant.
The pattern of worship given to the children of Israel was holistic encompassing not just ritual cleansing, but living their whole lives in alignment with the God of covenant. The rituals of temple worship were about cleansing the priest, setting them apart to be holy so that they could have fellowship with God and perform their service to God. However, the worship mandate goes back to the mandate given to man in the garden.
In Genesis chapter 2 verse 15 God commanded Adam to cultivate and keep the garden. The Hebrew word for cultivate is abad and the Hebrew word for keep is shamar. These same Hebrew words are used to describe how the priest cared for the tabernacle of Moses. The tabernacle was a precursor to the temple of Solomon. The priests were to cultivate and keep the tabernacle. In addition, we are told that God walked in the garden during the cool of the day communing with the man. God also walked in the midst of the temple. The meaning is clear. The garden was a temple for God. Like the temple, the garden was the joining together of God’s space and man’s space - the intersection of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm.
Let’s go back to the book of Exodus to see what happened after the priest at the age of 30 was completely washed at the Bronze Laver.
Exodus chapter 29 verse 4 thru 7 says you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then you shall take the garments and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod and the breast piece and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod. And you shall set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban. You shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head and anoint him. What we see in this text is the preparation of the priest for holy service through blood sacrifice, cleansing through water and the anointing oil being poured all over the priest fully clothed in his garments that were used for service.
Now let’s compare this to our prototype Jesus as told by Matthew in chapter 3 verse 11 thru 17 of his gospel. It tells us John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness says, I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him and behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. So just like the priest at age 30 were set apart by blood, washed with water and anointed with oil in like manner, our great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek followed the same pattern.
We see the pattern of the blood, water and the Spirit. At Jesus baptism into the Holy Spirit he was covered, consumed and lived his life completely governed by the wisdom and power of the Spirit. Baptism into the Holy Spirit is about the receiving of power for the purpose of mission. The power is to fulfill the missional mandate because that’s what Jesus said after his resurrection and before his ascension into heaven to be the High Priest of our confession. Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Jesus said you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria,and to the end of the earth.
Just like Baptism into water, Baptism into the Holy Spirit is a very controversial subject. One of the reasons there have been such divisions is because the Bible does not define 'Baptism into the Holy Spirit' strictly nor put the experience into neat little boxes that we can check off.
The rational mind likes to have everything figured out and always be in control. Baptism in the Spirit is about being endured with power and it also means being governed by the unseen hand of God.
It’s a life surrendered to the Spirit. As I’ve said in previous lessons. You don’t see Wi-Fi or 5G transmissions, but you experience the result of them. You don’t see the wind, but you can feel and see its effects. It’s the same way with the power and wisdom of the Spirit moving through our hearts and lives. It’s why it’s called the walk of faith because it’s by faith that we allow the Spirit to govern our lives.
Baptism into the Holy Spirit was the normal experience of believers in the first century church. It’s a submerging of our lives into Christ’s wisdom and power which is just a further revelation of the word of the cross. The Spirit upon our lives brings power to perform works of service and wisdom to implement the will of God. It’s the grace of God connecting us to the throne of the lamb in worship. It’s the joining together of God’s space and man’s space.
Baptism into the Holy Spirit is about being clothed in the Spirit and empowered with gifts so that we can fulfill the task that Jesus has given us. It’s all about fulfilling the will of God for our lives. As you can see this experience is extremely important for the fulfilling of the mission that Jesus gave us. It’s for that reason that the 'god of this age' has muddied the waters bringing confusion concerning this important doctrine and experience.
Let’s take a look at a theory called cessationism before I start because it’s probably the greatest hindrance out there opposing the understanding of the Baptism into the Holy Spirit.
I call it a theory because there really are no supporting text to back up the theory which in a nutshell says that apostles, prophets and the ministry of the Holy Spirit spoken of in I Corinthians chapter 12 has ceased or has come to an end with the death of the apostles and the writing of the New Testament scriptures which we call the canon of scripture or 66 books of the Bible. The main scripture that cessationism is based on is in I Corinthians chapter 13 which is a continuation from I Corinthians chapter 12 explaining the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians chapter 13 verses 8 thru 10 says, love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away, as for tongues, they will cease as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. It’s pretty clear this text when speaking of the perfect has to do with the resurrection body of the believer and the return of Christ to this earth.
As I said, cessationism is a theory and not taught in scripture, but it is a reaction to extremism in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.
If you look at the text of I Corinthians chapter 13 it’s simply saying when Jesus returns and we are changed or transformed through resurrection, at that time we won’t need spiritual gifts anymore because as 1 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 12 says for now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So we won’t need the partial gifts of revelation to help us understand because we will have the very person of Christ in our midst. Until then we need to be fully endowed with the Spirit’s wisdom and power for understanding and service.
Let’s take a look at some scriptures that talk about Baptism into the Holy Spirit. I want you to continue to look through the framework of the threefold cord of covenant which is the blood, the water and the Spirit. The controversy that surrounds Baptism into the Holy Spirit is the issue of speaking in tongues. Over the years what I’ve noticed is that we try to put God into predefined boxes and at the same time we expect all people to react to being touched, changed and transformed by the Spirit all the same way. The Bible doesn’t define the experience as clearly as people try to make it and a lot of that has to do with man’s need to control things by putting things into neat little boxes so they can understand it.
The problem is that you can’t put God into a box nor are you going to be able to understand everything that has to do with the God who created the mysteries of the universe while at the same time filling us with His Spirit.
You have to learn to live with some ambiguities and mystery especially when it comes to living the life of the Spirit. You can’t see the wind, nor can you control the wind, but you can learn to harness the wind and produce power through wind. In my short life I have discovered that we are finite which means we have limits or bounds and we are only going to understand so much this side of the second coming of Christ. It’s exactly what Paul was talking about when he said we see in part, we know in part because it’s like looking at a mirror dimly. If you want to walk in the Spirit then you will have to learn to walk by faith, trusting that the unseen God is guiding you, teaching you, empowering you and working through you in ways beyond your limited understanding.
Let’s look at the books of Acts which has been termed the Acts of the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts was written by Luke the apostle who also wrote one of the gospels. The book of Acts references the Holy Spirit over 55 times. I just want to take you through the book of Acts and specifically look at the mission Jesus referenced concerning the Spirit.
Baptism into the Spirit is a main theme flowing out of the message of the cross and not just a sidetrack. It’s why the enemy has muddy the waters because of its vital importance to fulfilling the Great Commission and our personal missional mandate as a priest walking through this corrupt age. In Acts chapter 1 verse 8 Jesus said you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
The entire mission of the body of Christ is summed up in this statement that Jesus uttered.
Peter said it this way, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. It’s the Spirit that gives us his wisdom and power to proclaim, teach and demonstrate the excellencies of the river flowing from the throne of the lamb. The baptism in the Holy Spirit flows from the word of the cross and it is foundational to our faith.
Let me show you Paul’s understanding before we proceed to the book of Acts. Paul’s epistle to the Corinthian church had a lot of instruction and correction in it because the Corinthians were separating around their favorite preacher, discriminating against the poor concerning the Lords’ Supper, taking each other to court and misusing the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. It had become a pretty dysfunctional group of believers that had left the foundations of the cross and sound apostolic doctrine. The main things that Jesus commissioned his church to focus upon were no longer the main things in the church in Corinth and it was causing some major problems which Paul was addressing through his correspondence to them.
He says in the first chapter of Corinthians when I came to you, brothers, I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Paul was helping them to see that the whole foundation is laid on Christ, the foundation. Out of the cross and from the throne of the lamb flows the power of God.
The Holy Spirit is the eternal God and when we partake of the Spirit, we are partaking of the powers of the age to come, the very same power that Jesus walked in performing healings, delivering people from evil spirits, performing miracles, receiving words of knowledge and prophetic utterances. Paul goes on to talk about the wisdom of the Spirit flowing from the cross in chapter 2 of Corinthians. Paul tells us that the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Do you hear what Paul just said? You can’t understand the thoughts of God except by the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, our Helper and the one who empowers us for ministry.
Let’s now look at the book of Acts. The disciples were instructed by Jesus before he ascended to his heavenly throne to wait in Jerusalem. He told them ‘I am sending the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high’. After Christ's resurrection and before his ascension in Acts chapter 1 verse 3 thru 11 it says that Jesus presented himself alive to many people after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you heard from me for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So, when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
Jesus reiterates what John said concerning the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, saying that the outpouring of the Spirit would open the church age and the fire of the Spirit would close the church age.
Paul further clarifies this understanding and when we get into resurrection from the dead, I’ll expound on this truth in coming lessons. The baptism into fire is connected to and part of the baptism into the Holy Spirit, but fire has to do with the judgment, sifting and shaking. Baptism into fire happens throughout the church age, but its main purpose is at the end of the age which Jesus called the beginning of birth pangs wrapping up this church age, at the return of Christ and bringing us into the 1,000 year reign of Christ upon this earth after his return.
To those who say Jesus is done with the Jewish people, land of Israel, city of Jerusalem and covenants of promise given to the Jewish people: I’m going to let the words of Christ speak for themselves.
Jesus confirmed that the kingdom will be restored to Israel and the Davidic king Jesus will rule the nations from the city of Jerusalem.
He confirmed it by saying ‘it is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. Jesus said hey guys don’t focus on Israel’s restoration right now because the Father is going to fulfill his promise to Abraham’s children, but we are just in the first leg of a marathon that is just about to start. Right now, I want you to focus on being filled, empowered and captivated by my Spirit so you can fulfill my mission. Jesus was saying focus on your mission and let me take care of fulfilling my covenant promises.
So, Jesus ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. The apostles and all of the disciples numbering 120 were in the upper room praying and waiting. It had been 50 days since the feast of Passover when Jesus was sacrificed and 10 days since Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father. Acts chapter 2 opens the curtain to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The temple veil was rent from top to bottom in Jerusalem at Jesus' death. Now he has ascended into the heavenly temple and having been seated down on the throne of Power, he pours out the promise of the Father upon his royal priesthood.
Acts chapter 2 verse 1 thru 13 says when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now if you read this entire text you will see that the outpouring of the Spirit was accompanied with supernatural utterances of tongues and they were accused of being drunk.
The birth of the community of the faithful was quite dramatic since it was God breathing His life into earthen vessels, creating His temple or dwelling place in the heart of man.
If we look back to Genesis and Exodus, we’ll see a similar pattern. Genesis chapter 2 verse 7 says the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living soul. God’s Spirit was poured into the man so that he could be in communion with Him Spirit to spirit. It was the joining together of God’s space and man’s space - the intersection of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm.
In Exodus, it shows us once Moses had the children of Israel construct the tabernacle then he was instructed by God to anoint with oil the tent of meeting, the priest, the furniture and all the utensils used for sacrifices. Exodus chapter 40 ends describing the work of the Spirit during Israel's journey of faith in the wilderness. The cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. It was their protection from the desert sun, the fire provided heat, it gave light and the manna from heaven was their daily provision sustaining them. It speaks of our daily dependence on the Spirit in our lives.
A pattern is established in the creation of man, the creation of the nation of Israel and the anointing of the Messiah. The Holy Spirit being poured out upon the body of Christ follows this same pattern. The blood set them free from the world’s system symbolized by Egypt, the waters of baptism separated them from the world system and the Spirit or cloud covered them, led them and directed their journeys for the fulfilling of the will of God.
Baptism into the Holy Spirit is about living the cruciform life because we are completely reliant on the Spirit to be able to fulfill the will of the Father.
Let’s look at Acts chapter 4 verse 31. Peter and John were put in jail for the healing of a lame man. The next day they were let out and told not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus anymore to which they said they were going to obey God and not man when it came to preaching the gospel. When they were released, they went to a prayer meeting at a friend’s house and prayed. It then says, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. In this text we see the Spirit was poured upon them after conversion, but with no tongues mentioned. Tongues are not mentioned, but it says the disciples were given boldness to speak about the gospel.
In Acts chapter 7 we see Stephen, the first martyr of the newly formed church, give the Jewish leaders a history lesson concerning the nation of Israel and ends his sermon saying, you stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. Now when they heard these things they were enraged and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
I can imagine as Paul laid his cloak down being an authoritative witness to Stephen’s death, he must have been affected by the Spirit because soon afterwards we see him transformed into the man God called him to be.
Phillip the evangelist in Acts chapter 8 saw great results of his preaching in Samaria and after many were saved, healed and delivered from evil spirits he sent for Peter and John who came to visit. In verses 14 thru 17 he says that when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. So, these disciples had been saved, were baptized into Christ Body at conversion and then were baptized into water. Then when Peter and John laid their hands on them it says they received the Holy Spirit. So here we see the receiving of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands after conversion with no tongues mentioned.
In Acts chapter 9 we see the story of Paul’s conversion on the way to Damascus. He was blinded by the appearance of Christ to him and Jesus sent Ananias to pray for him. It says in verses 17 thru 18 that Ananias entered the house where Paul was at. And laying his hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit and tongues are not mentioned. However, we know from Paul’s writings that praying in tongues was one of his regular habits and part of his daily spiritual discipline.
Acts chapter 10 starts out with Peter having a vision and ends with the expansion of the church into gentile territory which had not happened at this scale. The Holy Spirit sent Peter to the house of Cornelius a Gentile to preach and verses 44 thru 47 says while Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? In this text they believed in Christ while Peter was still preaching, the Holy Spirit filled them, they began to speak in tongues, prophesy and then were baptized into water.
In Acts chapter 13 Paul and Barnabas had great success preaching the gospel in Antioch Pisidia in the local Synagogue. The crowds were so big the second sabbath as they were sharing it says the ruling Jews became jealous and began to oppose them. It says in verses 49 thru 52 that the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues is not mentioned.
In Acts chapter 19 Paul found some disciples in Ephesus. And he said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, into what then were you baptized? They said, into John’s baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. So here we see they believed in the Lord Jesus, were baptized into water, Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them then they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
As we look at all of these texts two things become quite obvious to me. Number one you can’t box in the Holy Spirit and number two being filled with the Spirit is part of living the cruciform life following in the footsteps of our master.
The necessity of being filled with the Spirit on a continual basis cannot be understated. Paul told us that the message of the cross is both the wisdom and power of God. As I’ve said before, the message of the cross is not just Christ's death, but his resurrection, ascension and return. It’s when Christ ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father that he poured out His Spirit upon the community of the faithful from the heavenly tabernacle. The heavenly realm and earthly realm are connected by the blood, water and Spirit since he is our head and we are His body. The very same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that we need to be filled with daily.
To sum this lesson up. The baptism into the Holy Spirit is a submerging of our lives into Christ’s wisdom and power and just a further revelation of the word of the cross. The Spirit upon our lives brings power to perform works of service and wisdom to implement the will of God. It’s the grace of God connecting us to the throne of the lamb in worship. It’s the joining together of God’s space and man’s space - the intersection of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm so that we can fulfill the mandate given to man. Baptism into the Holy Spirit is about being clothed in the Spirit and empowered with gifts so that we can do works of ministry. In the next lesson we’ll take a deeper look into the necessity to live a life empowered by the Spirit daily being filled on a continuous basis with the powers of the age to come.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 16 - Living the Spirit Filled Life
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