Three days after Paul’s supernatural encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, at which time Paul surrendered his life to Christ, he is filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s experience parallels that of the disciples at Pentecost. First, he experiences the new spiritual birth and is saved (Acts 9:3-19); then later he is “filled with the Holy Spirit.” Although Luke does not specifically say that Paul spoke in tongues when he received the gift of the Holy Spirit, it is reasonable to assume that he did for these reasons:
The pattern revealed in the New Testament is that a person filled with the Spirit began to speak in tongues (languages they had never learned, but spoke as the Spirit enabled them, Acts 2:4; Acts 10:14-45; Acts 10:46; Acts 11:15; Acts 19:6).
Paul himself says that he frequently spoke in tongues: “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you” (1 Corinthians 14:18).
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MY SERVANTS, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN – IN THOSE DAYS / ACTS 2:18
MY SERVANTS, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN
According to Joel’s prophecy, quoted here by Peter, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for those already in God’s kingdom – who are already “born-again” (John 3:3-4; John 3:5; John 3:6) followers of Christ. The promise applies to all male and female, who have devoted themselves to Jesus and who belong to God.
IN THOSE DAYS
Peter, quoting Joel, says that God will pour out His Spirit “in those days” (Acts 2:17) The outpouring of the Holy Spirit (when God generously sends His Spirit to fill, empower and live through His followers) and the supernatural signs and expressions that come with it cannot be limited to just the one “day” of Pentecost. The power and benefits of the Holy Spirit are available for every Christian throughout the church age. That is the entire period of time between Christ’s first coming (or more precisely surrounding His resurrection, return to heaven and sending the Holy Spirit) and His second coming (Revelation 19-20; Acts 2:39). This, of course, included the time in which we now live.
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HOLY SPIRIT CAME ON THEM AS HE HAD COME ON US AT THE BEGINNING / ACTS 11:15
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (when God generously sent His Spirit to fill and empower His followers, Acts 2:4) had set a pattern for receiving the Spirit from that point on. The baptism in the Spirit would involve a noticeable transformation in the individual from the inside out, including an expression of increased joy, Spirit-inspired praise in tongues (a language not learned by the speaker) and boldness to speak about Christ (Acts 2:4; Acts 4:31; Acts 8:15-19; Acts 10:45-47; Acts 10:46; Acts 19:6). For this reason, when Peter pointed out to the others in Jerusalem that Cornelius’ household had spoken in tongues when they received the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45-46), the Jews were convinced that God was granting salvation through Christ to the Gentiles (non-Jews, Acts 11:18). We should not assume that baptism in the Spirit has taken place if there is no outward evidence such as speaking in tongues. Nowhere in Acts is the baptism in the Holy Spirit simply assumed by faith or perception without outward evidence (Acts 8:12, Acts 8:16; Acts 19:6).
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The pouring out of the Holy Spirit by Jesus proves that He is the resurrected and exalted Messiah (Christ, Savior), who is now at the highest place of honor in heaven. There He intercedes (pleads the case) for His representatives on earth (Hebrews 7:25).
From Jesus’ baptism onward, the Spirit’s anointing was fully upon Him as the Christ (the One anointed – or commissioned and empowered- by the Spirit; Luke 3:21-22; Luke 4:1; Luke 4:14, 18-19). From His place of highest honor and authority with His Father, He now sends the same Spirit to fill and work through those who serve Him.
In pouring out the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ desire is that the Spirit will give His followers a strong sense of His presence and empower them to continue the work He started while on earth.
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Water baptism went along with the preaching of the gospel from the beginning of the church’s mission (Acts 2:38, 41). It was a ceremony used in the New Testament to make a public statement that a person was committing himself or herself fully to Jesus Christ. By going into the water “in the name of the Father…Son and …Holy Spirt” (Matthew 28:19) or “the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5), believers visibly showed their faith to the entire Christian community.
Water baptism is a response to what Christ has done for us. To be valid, true repentance (admitting and turning from our own rebellious way and surrendering to God’s direction and purposes, Acts 2:38) and a personal faith in Christ (Colossians 2:12) must come before water baptism.
Water baptism, when experienced with faith and devotion to Jesus as the supreme authority over one’s life, is a means of receiving grace (undeserved favor, help, acceptance, and enablement) from Christ (1 Peter 3:21)
Water baptism is an outward sign and testimony of a person’s inward acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord – the Forgiver of one’s sins and Leader of one’s life. It also is a sign of the cleansing of one’s life from sin and the washing away of guilt from all offenses toward God (Acts 2:38; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21).
Water baptism symbolizes how a follower of Jesus is identifying with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead (Romans 6:1-11; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:11-12). This signifies an end (“death”) to a life of sin (Romans 6:3-4, 7, 10, 12; Colossians 3:3-14) and the beginning of a new life in Christ (Romans 6:4, 11; Colossians 2:12-13). Water baptism should indicate a commitment to a lifelong practice of turning from the evil and ungodly ways of the world (Romans 6:6, 11-13) and living a new life in the power of God’s Spirit – a life that reflects God’s standards of truth and right (Colossians 2:1-17).
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But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
PROVE THEIR REPENTANCE BY THEIR DEEDS / ACTS 26:20
Paul did not preach, as dome do, that eternal salvation requires no more than an intellectual trust or belief in Christ and His death for our sins. While good works cannot save us spiritually (Ephesians 2:8-9), the sincerity of one’s faith is proven by his or her actions. The New Testament declares that in order for individuals to be saved, they must “repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (Matthew 3:8; Luke3:8).
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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 Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER / ACTS 1:8
This is the key verse in the book of Acts. The primary purpose of the baptism in the Spirit is to provide power to communicate the message of Jesus to others. The purpose of the baptism is to receive power to deliver the message that those who do not have a personal relationship with God can receive His forgiveness, learn to follow Jesus and fulfill His purposes for their lives. The end result is that more people come to know, love and honor Jesus as Lord – the Leader and authority in their lives (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:49; John 5:23; 15:26-27).
“Power” (Greek dunamis) means more than strength or ability; it refers to a power at work or in action. Luke (in his Gospel and in Acts) points out that the Holy Spirit’s power included the authority to drive out evil spirits (to command them to release their control in people’s lives) and the anointing (empowering, commissioning) to heal the sick. These were described as the two essential signs accompanying the bold message of God’s kingdom (Luke 4:14, 18, 36: 5:17; 6:19; 9:1-1; Acts 6:8; 8:4-8, 12-13; 10:38; 14:3; 19:8-12). The baptism in the Holy Spirit is God’s way of releasing the power of the Holy Spirit into a Christian’s life.
Luke here does not relate the baptism in the Spirit to the first experience of personal spiritual salvation. He describes it as power coming upon someone who is already a follower of Christ, then working from withing him or her to effectively communicate Christ’s message.
The Holy Spirit’s primary work in proclaiming and promoting the message of Jesus has to do with how he comes upon – or “clothes” Christians with God’s power. The spirit is really the one who convinces people of their need for God’s forgiveness and the truth of how Christ’s death and resurrection makes spiritual salvation and a personal relationship with God possible (Acts 2:14-42).
YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES
The baptism in the Holy Spirit not only provides power to proclaim the message about forgiveness and new life through faith in Jesus it also increases the effectiveness of the Christian’s personal testimony or witness (Acts 13:31). It does this through the strengthening and deepening of a person’s relationship with the Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit that comes from being filled with the Spirit (John 14:26; 15:26-27; Mark 1:11).
The Holy Spirit reveals and makes more real to us the personal presence of Jesus (John 14:16-18). Responding to this inner voice or witness from the Spirit will bring us into a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus and will result in an increasing desire to love, honor, and please Him as our Savior.
The Holy Spirit witnesses both to and through Christians to convince people of God’s “righteousness” (John 16:8, 10) and “truth” (John 16:13), which “bring glory to” Jesus Christ (John 16:14). This happens through both words and actions. Those who have already received and responded to the Spirit’s testimony about Christ’s spiritually restoring work will show Christ’s character traits of love, truth, and right behavior in their lives (1 Corinthians 13).
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the starting point through which Spirit-filled Christians (those who have received Christ and have God’s Spirit living within them) receive the power to communicate Christ’s message with great effectiveness. This includes the ability to convince people of their spiritual lostness apart from Christ, their accountability to God and their need to get right with Him (John 16:8). This awareness will affect those who proclaim Christ’s message as well as those who receive that message (Acts 2:39-40).
The baptism in the Holy Spirit can be given only to those who have turned toward God in true repentance (admitting and expressing true remorse for sin, turning from their own way, and submitting to Jesus’ leadership, Acts 2:38; 3:26; Matthew 3:2). The power of the baptism is maintained by the same sincere devotion to Jesus Christ and His purposes (Acts 5:32).
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a baptism (an immersion) into the Spirit who is holy (“Spirit of holiness,” Romans 1:4). God’s holiness refers to His purity, perfection, spiritual completeness, and separation from evil. This means that if we have truly submitted to God and His Spirit is at work in us in all His fullness, our lives will become saturated with His character traits. As a result, we will be more like Christ and be an example of His holiness.
In light of these Biblical truths, those who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit will have a strong desire to please Christ in everything they do. That is because the baptism in the Spirit complements (completes, fills up) the saving and spiritually purifying work of the Holy Spirit in Christians’ lives. Those who claim to have experienced the fullness (the baptism) of the Spirit yet live in a way that is contrary to the character of God’s Holy spirit, are revealing the fact they do not
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15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
SUFFER FOR MY NAME / ACTS 9:15-16
Saul’s (Paul’s) spiritual transformation not only involved a commission to preach the message of Christ, but also a call to suffer for the cause of Christ. In Christ’s kingdom, suffering for His sake is a sign of God’s highest favor (Acts 14:22; Matthew 5:11-12; Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12). It is often the way to a truly fruitful and effective ministry (John 12:24; 2 Corinthians 1:3-6), and it results in great reward in heaven (Matthew 5:12; 2 Timothy 2:12). A follower of Christ must experience this process of “dying to self” (rejecting and becoming unresponsive to sin and selfish desires) on a daily basis (Romans 6:2-11; 8:10-14; 1 Corinthians 15:31). “Dying to self” allows believers to experience God’s life flowing through them, bringing God’s love and salvation to others (Romans 8:17-18, 36-37; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12).
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But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
THEY BELIEVED … THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST / ACTS 8:12
The Samaritans had fully met the conditions for receiving spiritual salvation and were Christians before the Spirit came upon them.
They “believed” and were “baptized” (Acts 2:38). Two facts make it clear that the faith of the Samaritans was genuine saving faith (the kind that gave them a legitimate personal relationship with God).
Both Philip (Acts 8:12) and the apostles (Acts 8:14; 14:4) considered the Samaritans’ faith to be valid.
The Samaritans publicly acknowledged their commitment to Christ by water baptism. Scripture affirms that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38). The baptism did not save them, but it was a means of identifying with Jesus (Romans 6:4) and publicly testifying to their faith in Christ. As a result of that faith, they had been spiritually “born again” (John 3:3-6) and had the Holy spirit living within them (Romans 8:9).
Their receiving the Holy Spirit several days later (Acts 8:17) was not for salvation. It was rather a receiving of the Spirit as the disciples did at Pentecost, to equip them with power to serve Christ and spread His message (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:4). Luke uses the term “receive the Spirit” mainly in an empowering sense (Acts1:8; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:17; Acts 10:47; Acts 19:2), not in the sense of spiritual salvation.
Some have taught that the Samaritans’ faith was not a spiritually saving and renewing faith (the kind that brought them into a personal relationship with Christ). However, it is unreasonable to believe that Philip, a man full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3-5), would baptize, heal, and command demons to come out of people whose faith he thought was not genuine.
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When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
WHEN THEY HEARD THIS / ACTS 11:18
Peter’s speech silenced all objection (Acts 11:4-18). God had baptized the Gentiles (people of other nationalities who were not Jewish) in the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:45) with the convincing evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 10:46). This was the only sign they needed to accept the Gentiles’ experience as authentic and real without a doubt.
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