The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Is the Spirit's baptism a separate event after becoming a Christian?

This is a clip from a full podcast episode teaching I did a few years ago. It emphasizes that receiving the Holy Spirit is an ongoing experience that happens in addition to salvation. I examine various examples from the Scriptures, including the disciples' experience, the day of Pentecost, and examples from the book of Acts. I also highlight Jesus' example of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. The main takeaway is that believers need to continually seek the power and presence of the Holy Spirit to fulfill their calling and live rightly before God.

Video Timestamps

00:00Introduction: The Need to be Filled with the Holy Spirit

00:55The Disciples' Experience

03:44The Day of Pentecost

04:41Examples from the Book of Acts

07:34Jesus' Example

08:59Conclusion: The ongoing need for the Holy Spirit's power

Video Transcript

Presence Pioneers (00:00.206)

When we get saved, we receive the Spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. But I believe the Bible teaches that we need to be filled with the Spirit or baptized with the Holy Spirit of God. This is something that happens in addition to salvation. And it's an ongoing experience, I believe, where we are filled and baptized and constantly refreshed by.

the power of the Holy Spirit, but many times we don't even ask. We don't even know how to receive it. And so that's what I want to help us with tonight. And if you're a leader, I hope that you'll take this teaching and pass it on to your communities and see a greater measure of the Holy Spirit's power and activity in the communities that you're a part of. So let's look at a couple of examples in the scriptures where you see the baptism of the Holy Spirit happening after people are already

born of the Spirit or they're already saved. We're going to start with the disciples of Jesus. After Jesus is resurrected and he's about to ascend to heaven, there's a couple of interesting things that happen. In John chapter 20 verse 22, it says, when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Spirit. So this is very interesting. Jesus is resurrected.

And he comes to his disciples, he's giving them some instructions and then it says he breathes on them, receive the Holy Spirit. But wait, because in Luke 24, 49, Jesus, before he's ascended says, behold, I'm sending the promise of my father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. And what we're going to see here in Acts chapter one is that that clothed with power from on high is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

So my question here is why did Jesus breathe on them to receive the Holy Spirit, but said to also wait for the Holy Spirit? Did they receive the Holy Spirit or did they not? Acts chapter one, verses four and five. Again, I told you, I'm going to go through a lot of scripture today. So, so bear with me while staying there. 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.

Presence Pioneers (02:18.637)

but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So Luke in Luke in the book of Luke chapter 24, uh, talks about Jesus said to wait until they were clothed with power from on high. Luke again, writing in Acts chapter one reemphasizes it, but this time he calls that clothed with power from on high, baptizing in the Holy Spirit. And of course that's what happened.

at the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. So in John, Jesus breathes upon them. I believe this is symbolic of us and it wasn't symbolic for them because they of course did receive the Holy Spirit just as we do when we come to Christ. We put our faith in Jesus at salvation. We receive a deposit of the Holy Spirit inside of us, indwelling Spirit of God in us. And I believe that's what's happening in John 20.

22 because they couldn't be Christians yet because Jesus hasn't hadn't resurrected yet, even though they had faith. So now that he was resurrected, he could breathe in them to receive the Spirit of God, just as we do at the time of salvation. But even though they had received that Spirit of God in John 20 22, they still were instructed to wait for the power of God, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which was going to come at Pentecost. So it's very clearly two different things.

for two different purposes here that Jesus is giving them. Now in Acts chapter two, of course, this is the story of Pentecost when God pours out the Holy Spirit on the church. It says, when the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind. It filled the house where they were sitting, divided tongues of fire appeared on them and rested each one of them. And they were

filled with the Holy Spirit. So there's another way of saying it. You have clothes with power, you have baptized in the Holy Spirit, you have filled with the Spirit. And it says they begin to speak in tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So you see here with the disciples two separate, unique and distinct encounters with the Holy Spirit after Jesus was resurrected. Acts chapter eight, there's a couple of other great examples in the book of Acts. In Acts chapter eight,

Presence Pioneers (04:41.581)

Uh, Philip comes to Samaria and he's with the Samaritans. And in verse 12, it says, this, it says, they believed Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. And they were baptized both men and women. Okay. So that's pretty clear. They believed they were baptized. They were Christians. They were believers. They were followers of Jesus at that point in verse 12. Now, verse 14.

It says, when the apostles at Jerusalem heard 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 yet. So they believed they were, they were saved. They received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which happens at salvation. But it says the spirit of God had not fallen on them yet. They had been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They had been baptized in water.

Then it says they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. They were baptized in water, but they were not baptized in the Holy Spirit, which happened after they believed. All right. So the Samaritans are an example. The Ephesians are an example. In Acts chapter 19, says this in verse one, said there he found some disciples and he said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? Now that's a

pretty stunning question. If we believe that you get the Holy Spirit when you believe, what did he mean when he says, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe? Okay. So obviously you don't receive the Holy Spirit in the way he's referring to when you believe there's something else that we can receive. It's the baptism of the Holy Spirit that God wants to empower his church with not just the witness of his spirit in our hearts, but the, the baptizing of us with his power.

so that we can do the ministry that God's called us to do and live rightly before him. So a couple of verses down, still in Acts chapter 19, it says, on hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. Okay. So they believed, but he said, did you receive the Holy Spirit? No. So he, he laid his hands on them. They received the.

Presence Pioneers (07:07.085)

the power of God, they begin to speak in tongues and to prophesy. Now Jesus, as the final example here, Jesus was born of the Spirit, right? He was literally conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary, Matthew 1, 18. Jesus didn't have to be born again, right? Because He never sinned. So we have to be born again. And when we are born again, we are born of the Spirit, we receive the Holy Spirit.

Jesus didn't have to be born again because he was born of the spirit and he was holy and perfect and righteous. He never fell into sin. So Jesus from birth was born of the Holy Spirit and had the spirit of God in him. He was, you know, God is God. And so Jesus was born. That's why he and John the Baptist, when they were babies in the womb, John the Baptist reacted to Jesus because he was born of the spirit and was not born into sin at all. Like we are.

And so Jesus didn't have to get saved. He was already quote unquote saved, right? He was already born of the spirit. But in Matthew chapter three, we know Jesus was baptized in water by John the Baptist, right? And what happened when he was baptized in water? It says when he was baptized, Matthew three 16, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were open to him and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove.

and coming to rest on him. So he was born of the Spirit from the inside out. Jesus was filled with the Spirit, but the Spirit of God came on him. Even Jesus Christ was receiving the Holy Spirit on him as a man, as an example to us that we need to receive the power of the Holy Spirit and be baptized in the Holy Spirit. So I hope you're beginning to see clearly in the scriptures.

that there's something after we are saved where the Holy Spirit wants to continue to baptize us, to fill us, to empower us with His presence and His power coming upon us and enabling us, empowering us, and doing us with His Spirit, with His presence in order to do all that God's called us to do.