Ephesians 5:17-21 (AMP)
17 Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is. 18 Do not get drunk with wine, for that is wickedness (corruption, stupidity), but be filled with the [Holy] Spirit and constantly guided by Him. 19 Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [offering praise by] singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
How does the Holy Spirit relate to us as individual believers in what is called “the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?”
Although the Trinity or the Godhead is one God, when He (God) relates to the world (us), He is three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So, in the Trinity, God the Father is the supreme creator, Jesus the Son is our Saviour and the Holy Spirit is the power of God in action, our comforter and guide.
God sees believers as sinless as we belong to Jesus, and now, because Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us as our counsellor and to lead us in all truth to fulfil God’s purpose for us here on earth. Everything the Holy Spirit does is for the Glory of Jesus and, with the Holy Spirit guiding us, everything we do as believers should also be to glorify Jesus! Jesus lives in us through His Holy Spirit!
John 16:13-15 (NIV)
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible for us to bring glory to Jesus!
What is meant by the Baptism with the Holy Spirit?
Baptism with the Holy Spirit is when a believer, a born-again Christian, receives power from on high – from God.
Luke 24:49 (NIV)
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.
Matthew 3:11 (NLT)
I (John the Baptist) baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone (Jesus) is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
The verses above clearly show us that Baptism with the Holy Spirit empowers us to be effective witnesses on earth in the name of Jesus. This power enables us to do the same things Jesus did and much more!
John 14:12 (NIV)
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
The verse below tells us that Jesus had to go back to the Father in heaven after his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection so that He could send the Holy Spirit to us so that we will be fully equipped to do the ministry that the father has prepared for every one of His children to do!
John 16:7 (KJV)
Nevertheless I (Jesus) tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
In the next verse, Jesus himself tells us that he will give us power. How does he do this? Read the next section and you’ll find out!
Luke 10:19 (NIV)
I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
Who are we baptised with the Holy Spirit by?
It is Jesus who baptises us with the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:11-12 (AMP)
11 “As for me (John the Baptist), I baptize you with water because of [your] repentance [that is, because you are willing to change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret your sin and live a changed life], but He (the Messiah) who is coming after me is mightier [more powerful, more noble] than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to remove [even as His slave]; He will baptize you [who truly repent] with the Holy Spirit and [you who remain unrepentant] with fire (judgment). 12 His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat (believers) into His barn (kingdom), but He will burn up the chaff (the unrepentant) with unquenchable fire.”
In the above verse it is John the Baptist talking and the person he is referring to as the one that will come after him is Jesus.
And again, in the verse below it is confirmed that it is Jesus that baptises us with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:33 (NIV)
Exalted to the right hand of God, he (Jesus) has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.
How are we baptised with the Holy Spirit?
a. By an impartation through spiritual words, e.g. preaching or prayer.
Acts 10:44(NIV)
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.
b. By an impartation through the laying on of hands
An impartation of the Holy Spirit from one person to another by the laying on of hands.
Acts 8:17 (NIV)
Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 19:6 (NIV)
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
The speaking of tongues after the laying on of hands, is physical evidence of one being baptised with the Holy Spirit.
c. By a combination of a and b – prayer and then the laying on of hands.
d. By whatever way God choses – a sovereign move of the Holy Spirit – we cannot put God in a box!
Why is it important for Christians to be baptised with the Holy Spirit?
- To follow the example of Jesus
John 1:32 (NIV)
Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.”
- To receive power from God to enable us to be overcomers of this world in Christ Jesus and to be His witnesses to the world.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Luke 24:49 (NIV)
I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.
- To be able to do great things in the name of Jesus
Acts 1:8 – as above
- To be enabled to live life in the Spirit
Romans 8 Read the whole chapter for yourself - it will change your life!
- For the spiritual gifts to be manifest in us and through us to others
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (NKJV)
4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
- It is the Holy Spirit that gives us ‘spiritual’ life in Christ Jesus:
James 2:26 (NIV)
As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
- The baptism with the Holy Spirit is a gift from God.
Luke 11:13 (NIV)
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
The Power You Receive from the Holy Spirit (Baptism in the Holy Spirit) that will help your daily walk as a born-again Christian.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God and through Jesus we are freely given the power of the Holy Spirit. Eagerly desire the in-filling of the Holy Spirit. God longs for us to move in power as a witness to the nations.
John 20: 22 (AMP)
And when He (Jesus) said this, He breathed on them (the disciples) and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8 (AMP)
Jesus speaking:
But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses [to tell people about Me] both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”
The Benefits we receive from being Spirit Filled:
1. He gives us spiritual life.
Job 33:4 (NIV)
The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
John 6:63 (NIV)
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.
2. He will always know where we are both physically and spiritualy, we have no place to hide.
Psalm 139:7
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
3. He is the giver of prophesy, dreams and visions.
Acts 2:17 (NIV) (Quote from Joel 2:28)
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
4. He gives us power to be effective witnesses to the world in the Name of Jesus.
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
5. He leads us on God’s path for our lives.
Psalm143:10 (NIV)
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
2 Peter 1:21 (NIV)
For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:4 (NIV) – brackets are mine
The two of them (Barnabas and Saul), sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.
6. He gives strength to our inner being (the human spirit) to accomplish the things that the Father has given us to do by faith in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:16-17a (NIV)
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
John 14:12 (NIV)
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
7. He will be our second (Jesus being the first) Advocate (one, like Jesus, who intercedes with the Father on our behalf) and he will live in us.
John 14:16-17
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
8. He is truth and will lead us in all truth. He will receive from Jesus what we need to know which will bring glory to Jesus!
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.
9. He helps us overcome our weaknesses by interceding for us in accordance with god’s will for us. If we live life in the Spirit we are assured that we are living according to the Father’s will!
Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
10. He gives us revelation directly from the Father. If we are not filled with the Spirit, we will be unable to receive God’s revelation for us in Christ Jesus!
1 Corinthians 2:9-13 (NIV)
9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—
10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
11. Through the Holy Spirit our bodies become a temple of the Holy Spirit and we are to honour God with our bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 (NIV)
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
12. When we follow the path of God’s love, the Holy Spirit gives us the gifts of the Spirit for us to use to build up and edify each other and thus bring glory to Jesus.
1 Corinthians 14:1 (AMP)
Pursue [this] love [with eagerness, make it your goal], yet earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts [to be used by believers for the benefit of the church], but especially that you may prophesy [to foretell the future, to speak a new message from God to the people].
Galatians 5:22-26 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
14. He is a ‘flame’ within us that we are instructed by Jesus to not smother, put out, be unresponsive to or quench!
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (AMP)
9 Do not quench [subdue, or be unresponsive to the working and guidance of] the [Holy] Spirit. 20 Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning].
15. He Sanctifies us and leads us, through the Word, to spiritual maturity in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 (AMP)
But we should and are [morally] obligated [as debtors] always to give thanks to God for you, believers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through the sanctifying work of the Spirit [that sets you apart for God’s purpose] and by your faith in the truth [of God’s word that leads you to spiritual maturity].
Prayer:
Abba, Father, I pray that you would fill me now with your Holy Spirit that I may be changed in my innermost being and that I follow your path for my life, move in the power of the Holy Spirit to help others and bring glory and honour to the name of Jesus. Amen.
Remember always that if we do not have love (the agape, unconditional love of God) – then we have nothing and are nothing but empty vessels! Let love be your first goal!
1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV)
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 16:14 (NKJV)
Let all that you do be done with love.
To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!
Jesus, the Name above all names!
Remember: Reading this article is no substitute for you reading and studying the Bible for yourself. I am flawed, the Bible is not!
No comments:
Post a Comment