Introduction

• Jesus comforted His disciples with the truth of the Holy Spirit.     

John 14:1 - “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

John 14:27 - Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 14:16-17 - And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 16:7 - Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

John 16:13-14 - When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Terms Used:

• parakeltos - translates two words meaning “alongside” and “called.”  The term parakletos means "called alongside to help."
• Allos - means “another of the same kind” as opposed to heteros which means “another of a different kind.”

Isaiah 11:2 - And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

Acts 1:8 – But 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.”

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.

Ephesians 5:18-19 – And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,

II.  What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit?

Matthew 3:11-12 – “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.”

Mark 1:8 – I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Luke 3:16 – John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

John 1:32-33 – And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.  I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’

Acts 1:4-5 – 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.”

Acts 11:16 – As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning.  And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 – For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.  For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

·      The word “baptize” simply means to “immerse.”

Bapto – means “to dip, to dip into, to dye” (used 4x in the New Testament)

Luke 16:24 – And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’

Baptizo – means “to dip completely, submerge, immerse, dip under”

Does not always refer to water baptism.  You can be immersed into anything.

Luke 12:50 – I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!

Galatians 3:27 – For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

III. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit – Foretold in the Old Testament

      A.  The Old Testament Prophets predicted an “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 32:14-18 – For the palace is forsaken, the populous city deserted; the hill and the watchtower will become dens forever, a joy of wild donkeys, a pasture of flocks; until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.  Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.  And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.  My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.

Isaiah 44:3-5 – For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.  They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.  This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’s’ another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and name himself by the name of Israel.

Joel 2:28-32 – “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.  Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.  “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.  The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.  And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.

Observations:

1)   This “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit would be different from the “empowering/filling” ministry of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.

·      Old Testament “empowering/filling” was specific/individual

Exodus 35:30-31 – Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,

1 Samuel 16:13 – Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.  And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward.  And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

·      Future “outpouring” would be national, universal.

Ezekiel 39:29 – And I will not hide my face anymore from them, when I pour out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, declares the Lord GOD.”

Joel 2:28-29 – “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. . . Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

·      Note:  The liquidy, watery metaphor of “outpouring”

2)   This “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit would be connected with the blessings of the New Covenant.

      Old Covenant (Mosaic Covenant

·      Highly conditional, “If/then” language

Exodus 19:5-6 – Now therefore, 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.  These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 – “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.

v.15-17 – “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.  Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field.  Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

                  New Covenant

·      Highly unconditional, “I will. . .” language

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.  But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD:  I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.  And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD.  For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Ezekiel 36:23-28 – And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them.  And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.  I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.  And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.  You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

3)   This “outpouring” of the Holy Spirit would be connected with the Spirit-anointed Messiah

      Matthew 4:1 - Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Luke 4:1 - And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

Acts 10:38 - how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.

Isaiah 11:1-3 – There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. 

Isaiah 42:1 – Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isaiah 61:1 – The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

            The Hope of Israel (from an Old Covenant perspective)

1)   There was coming a day when the Spirit would be poured out

·      National, not individual; Permanent, not temporary

2)   There was coming a day of a Spirit-dominated covenant

·      New covenant blessings; unconditional in nature

3)   There was coming a day of a Spirit-empowered Messiah

·      Anointed by the Spirit to bring in the blessings of the New Covenant

IV. The Baptism of the Spirit in the New Testament

Matthew 3:1-12 – In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.”  Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee form the wrath to come?  Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.  Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  “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 he chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

·      Question:  Is the “pouring out” of the Holy Spirit spoken of in the Old Testament the same as the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” spoken of by John?

Acts 1:4-5- 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.”

Acts 2:16-17 – But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, . . . even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

Acts 1:4-8 – 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 times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.  But 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.”

·      Main point:  The “Outpouring”/ “Baptism” of the Spirit is imminent.  It is going to happen!  And when it does, the disciples will have an international witness!

What Happened on the Day of Pentecost?

Acts 2:1-13 – But 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 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 there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.  And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.  And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “All not all these who are speaking Galileans?  And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?  Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians – we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”  And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

The Day of Pentecost Represents:

·      Inauguration of the church age!

·      Inauguration of New Covenant blessings!

·      “Pouring out/Baptism” of the Holy Spirit!

Some Major Transitions!

·      Transition from Old Covenant to New Covenant

·      Transition from nation of Israel to the unique organism of the church (international)

·      Transition from Jew to Gentile

·      Transition from Hebrew speaking to languages of “all nations” (Matthew 28:19)

      V.  When does the Baptism of the Holy Spirit Occur?

1)   Popular view: The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs after conversion.

• This view does not account for the Scriptural silence regarding instructions on how to be baptized by the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 – be filled with the Spirit. . .

Galatians 5:18 – But I say, walk by the Spirit,

1 Thessalonians 5:19 – Do not quench the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:30 – do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,

. . . but no clear instructions on how to be “baptized by the Spirit.”

2)   Biblical view:

• The baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at the moment of conversion.

1 Corinthians 12:13 – For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

• The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not repeated. There is no Biblical evidence that a believer can “lose” the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
• The baptism of the Holy Spirit is equivalent to the “pouring out of the Holy Spirit” spoken of in the Old Testament Scriptures. The New Testament makes clear that we have been made partakers of the new covenant blessings (2 Corinthians 3:6, Luke 22:20).