I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! (Gal.1:6-8)

Paul began his letter to the believers in Galatia with a stern rebuke of those who would change the character of the gospel. In the case of Galatia, men had come in after Paul had left to plant other churches and had begun to add works from the Law of Moses to the message of salvation. Paul preached grace through Christ alone while those who came after him preached Jesus plus the keeping of the Law of Moses as the path to salvation. Paul made it clear that to change the character of the gospel was to change it altogether and put the salvation of these believers at risk. The character of the gospel can be changed in other ways as well – by adding or taking away form the message.

Millions of Christians live under a gospel of grace without power. Grace is only half the good news. Power is the rest. A gospel without power is an insufficient gospel and leaves believers far short of God’s intended transformation in their lives. In Luke 4, Jesus stood in a familiar synagogue in Nazareth. There He announced and outlined his three-year mission to the world as He read from the scroll of Isaiah (Isa.61: 1-3). Preach the good news. Heal the brokenhearted. Set captives free. Release prisoners from darkness. Raise the dead. Jesus declared that He was the fulfillment of that text and then spent the next three years demonstrating that mission.

Jesus not only operationalized his mission statement for the kingdom of God on earth but also prepared others to continue the mission after his departure to sit on his throne in heaven. He sent out the twelve and the seventy, and commanded them to do what he had been doing. He then declared to his followers, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

We are to do what Jesus did. We are to offer grace and forgiveness of sins through Jesus, but also the transforming power of the kingdom of God. A gospel with power does more than forgive sins. It frees and transforms. For years I have watched faithful, forgiven Christians continue to live in bondage to anger, depression, shame, fear, and lust year after year. They have prayed, cried, repented a thousand times, and sat at the feet of counselors and pastors looking for keys to be set free. At best they have learned to manage their sin or their “issue” but have not truly found freedom. Are they forgiven? Yes. Are they saved? Yes. Are they free? No.

But God’s word says: So, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed (Jn.8:37). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom (2 Cor.3:18).   It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal. 5:1). Christ’s freedom is not just freedom from condemnation but is freedom form all the things that keep us from being Christ-like – holy, joyful, loving, compassionate, etc. Brokenness and bondage keep us living a life that falls far short of those qualities.

Every time the gospel was preached in the New Testament power and authority was on display along with the grace of God. Power allowed people not just to hear about God’s grace but to also experience it. Experiencing God always has an exponentially greater impact than only hearing about Him. Most churches enable their people to hear about God week after week. Not so many allow them to experience Him as well.

When God’s power is manifested, we experience Him. When we experience Him we are set free and changed. Where significant transformation in the lives and hearts of God’s people has not been profoundly experienced, then, perhaps, an insufficient gospel is being preached. That insufficiency, then, puts some believers’ salvation at risk.  Through the years, I have seen a number of believers give up on their faith and their walk with the Lord because they could not overcome their brokenness or bondage. They felt that God was not hearing their prayers or that they were so defective that even God didn’t care about their struggles. A gospel of power could have set them free. Paul declared, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1Cor.4:20). God is not content to simply be talked about. He wants to be experienced. May this coming be a year of greater power and “experience”  in the church and in our own lives than we have ever known before.

No matter how great the Christmas holidays, if we are sensitive to our hearts, most of us will still sense a longing for more. That feeling clearly arises when holidays have been disappointing or even hurtful but we typically chalk it up to unmet expectations, people letting us down, or losses we have experienced around this time of year. A dear friend of ours lost his wife Donya to cancer Christmas Eve morning and that feeling of loss, helplessness, and even anger at the injustice of death may be anchored to lights and Christmas carols for seasons to come.

But I believe there is more to it. For the season that was birthed out of the coming of a Savior, there is a special sense of “what ought to be in the world” – peace on earth and good will toward men. There is a sense that families should be gathered together surrounded by crackling fires, extravagant food, lighthearted laughter, and warm memories. When those things don’t appear we feel robbed. But even when they do, there still seems to be an emptiness or a longing lurking in our hearts when the last friend or family member drives away.

I believe that little prick of emptiness is a longing for heaven that God has placed in our hearts. Christmas, at its best, gives us a faint echo of the way things ought to be and the way things are in heaven. Joy to the world can only come from heaven. Our Father’s intention was that we would live in harmony, abundance, and joy. His intention was that people who loved one another would never be separated by death or distance. His intention was that people would live in safety and in communities where people felt at home, supported, and connected. The world, even at its best, falls short of heaven’s promise.

But there are moments around Christmas when we can sense the presence of heaven. Perhaps, we sense it in a warm hug given and held by people we love or a Christmas card reminding us of friends far away. Perhaps, we sense in it children’s laughter or the warm smiles of family and friends around the table as we share the fellowship of lovingly prepared food. Perhaps, we sense heaven’s peace in the quiet of a chilly night with Christmas lights in the distance or when we notice God’s stars in the sky for the first time in a long time. Perhaps, we even sense heaven in the excitement of packages being unwrapped and the surprises that emerge. All of that, speaks to me of heaven and the longing we have is to be home where every day feels like Christmas and the family is all together without the brokenness or bitterness of this world intruding on God’s plan.

If this Christmas left you a little empty or left a vague feeling of disappointment, you are not alone and you are not defective. Ultimately, it is the Father calling you home and the promise that your hunger for love, laughter, and security will some day be satisfied for all those who are in Jesus – the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God and Everlasting Father (Isa.9:6). When Christmas falls short it is not God letting us down. It is the sin that violates every intention of God that gets in the way, but when Christmas blesses in even the smallest ways that is a gift from heaven, purchased by the blood of the Lamb, calling us home. Pay attention to the blessings rather than the disappointments for each blessing is a touch from Jesus.

It’s Christmas Eve. Today millions of believers around the world will be finding ways to celebrate and remember the Father’s great gift of his Son to the world he created.   Such an act reveals or continues to confirm a number of things about the Father that we must remember in both good times and bad. The first revelation is the depth of God’s love for people – both the saved and the lost. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son” (Jn.3:16).

The incarnation of God – Immanuel, God with us – is a greater miracle than the creation of the universe. How does the infinite become finite? How does the one through whom, for whom, and by whom all things were made and hold together (see Col.1:16-17) shrink himself down, lay aside the powers of deity, and entrust himself to any part of humanity that has demonstrated its moral failings over and over again? It’s a remarkable thing that God would become part of his creation and play by the same rules as mere man with so much on the line. God loves but he is also a daring God.

Perhaps, it was necessary. I love Philip Yancey’s analogy in his book, The Jesus I Never Knew. He tells the story of taking care of fish in his aquarium. He talks about how he lovingly prepares a place for his fish to live, how he creates a safe and perfect environment for them, how he cleans the water, adjusts the temperature and feeds them every day. He is their protector, provider and sustainer. And yet, each day at his approach they run and hide with no seeming awareness of his good intentions. Yancey explains that he would have to become one of them to communicate who this great shadow is that hovers over their world from time to time and the good will he has in his heart toward them In essence, that is what Jesus did for us. However fearful we may have thought God to be, Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.” Jesus shrunk himself down, took on bodily form, and spoke our language so that some, at least, might stop running and hiding from the very one who loves and cares for us.

Even more remarkable is the fact that the Father, Son, and Spirit all knew that this Christ-child was born to suffer a tragic and painful death. The death of Jesus was no surprise. John tells us in Revelation 13 that Jesus was the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Every animal sacrifice, every Passover lamb slaughtered since the Exodus pointed to the stark reality that an innocent one would have to die for the sins of the guilty so that man could be reunited with his God once again. Knowing what awaited him, Jesus was still willing to be born into a world bent on his destruction.

On top of that rests God’s greatest gamble of all – free will. I believe free will is a necessary extension of love. God is love and love is never satisfied until love is returned. And for love to be love, it must be chosen not programmed in. For God to be loved by man, man must also be able to reject him. That is apparently true for the angels as well. The rejection of God is the door through which all evil comes into the world. To disallow evil is to disallow choice which is to disallow love. The irony is that in order for love to exist, God must allow free will to hurt the very ones he loves. Jesus would experience both love and hate, both tender embrace and the nails of Calvary. But to reclaim those who would return God’s love, heaven was willing to subject Jesus to the free will of man and for Jesus to face life on the same playing field as the rest of us.

On that field he was born into a poor, working class family in an obscure village in Israel. His mother and father were subjected to suspicion and shame due to the unlikely circumstances of Mary’s pregnancy. He wasn’t born into a palace surrounded by the best Jewish doctors available but in a stable with no friends or family at hand. When threatened to be slaughtered by Herod, angels didn’t take out the wicked king, but instead the little family, carrying the hope of the world, became refugees to Egypt where they hid for several years. He was loved by many but judged and hated by many more. He found friends but also betrayal. Jesus became like us, entered our aquarium, and eventually took our place on a cross. On the night of that entrance angels declared, “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Lk.2:11).

The Christmas story is truly the risk of love and God becoming one of us so that we might finally understand who had been moving over this aquarium we call earth.   May we run to him rather than hiding from his presence on this Christmas Eve.

When I first came to Christ I was part of a denomination that prided itself on Biblical knowledge and a commitment to be “biblical” in everything they did which is a value every believer should hold. However, because of their approach to biblical interpretation, they held great reservations about Christmas. There were no Christmas trees or decorations to be seen in any faithful church that belonged to that fellowship. No sermons on the birth of Christ were ever presented in the month of December just to make a point. The idea was that nothing religious should be connected to the holiday season.

These devout believers blacklisted Christmas as an ancient pagan holiday “baptized” by the Catholics centuries ago or because there is no biblical command or authorization for the holiday. To celebrate Christmas was to embrace something pagan or to “go beyond that which was written.” They argued that nowhere in scripture were we commanded to celebrate Christmas (or Easter for that matter) and doing so would violate scripture. The odd thing was that many of these faithful families would participate in the secular side of Christmas but would not celebrate the birth of Christ in relation to the season.   Any impulse or yearning to do so shrouded the season with a vague feeling of guilt or participation in some kind of ancient pagan ritual. Since my early days as a believer I have continued to discover other fellowships that also maintain those “anti-Christmas” positions although those groups may be dwindling.

For many years now I have embraced celebrating Christmas. For any of you who suffer from doubts about Christmas as day to celebrate Jesus or know those who do, I want to share my theology about that with you, hoping to brighten your holidays.

First of all, I will readily agree that scripture does not command us to keep Christmas. We have no definite date for the birth of Jesus and no record that the first century church did so in any way. If celebrating a season or a day that is not “authorized by command in scripture” is adding to that which is written and adding to that which is written is always sin, then keeping Christmas might just be sin. However, God is not religious and the heart behind many things is what makes it acceptable to the Father or unacceptable.

The gospels make it clear that on the last Passover Jesus and his followers met together to share the Passover meal, two elements of which were appropriated by Jesus as a memorial we call the Lord’s Supper or communion. In that meal, Jesus took a cup of wine (probably several times) and declared that in years to come it would represent his blood – the blood of the new covenant. I may have missed it, but nowhere in Old Testament do I find a command to drink wine at Passover. I see roasted lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread (Ex.12:8) but no wine. The cups of wine were added through the years by religious leaders as symbolic reminders of spiritual promises and events but I do not see wine “authorized” or commanded in scripture. Yet Jesus freely participated and even appropriated that “tradition of men” into sacred communion. To participate in something that is not specifically commanded in scripture cannot always be wrong or be sin or Jesus sinned. If something honors God or points us toward Jesus in the spirit of scripture, we may be on solid ground even if it is not specifically commanded.

The apostle Paul also speaks to the issue of “holy days” not strictly authorized in scripture. As a former Pharisee, he certainly was sensitive to “going beyond that which is written.” Yet he says, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Rom.14:4-5). Paul makes it clear that if I want to celebrate Christmas unto the Lord I have the Lord’s permission and if I want to disregard it all together I also have his permission. The biblical principle is not to I judge those who hold a different view or insist that others hold the same view as I do. Our freedom in Christ allows either approach as long as I am doing what I do unto the Lord.

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Thirdly, Christmas in the spiritual sense reflects the nature of God. God loves to remember and celebrate! All through scripture, God’s nature is reflected in festivals for the faithful in which they were to remember what God had done for his people and to celebrate – not just for a day but for weeks! Joy is a constant quality of the kingdom and a fruit of the Spirit. Even under the Law of Moses, joy and celebration were to mark the people of God. “Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is sacred to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh.8: 9-10).

To me, Christmas passes the litmus test for remembrance, joy, celebration and an event that points us to the goodness of God in Jesus. We are also commanded to give honor to whom honor is due and Jesus certainly deserves to be honored. So…let’s celebrate as the angels and shepherds celebrated the entry of God into the world and have a very merry Christmas!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.     Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Lk.2:10-11)

The birth of Christ was declared to be good news by the angles who announced his birth. Good news, of course, is the definition of the word gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of Jesus Christ. In this verse, the idea is linked to the title of Savior. If you’re drowning and someone shows up on the scene who can save you – that’s good news. A world drowning in sin and hopelessness needed some good news and that was Jesus! It is still the same today.

The declaration of good news by angels to shepherds in the gospel of Luke was not the first use of that term related to Jesus. In Isaiah 61, the prophet who spoke often of the coming Messiah, declared on behalf of the one who would come, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn” (Isa.61:1-2). This is one of the great Messianic prophecies and it gives us some significant insights into the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Somehow in the past 200 years the gospel of Jesus for many has simply become the message that Jesus died for our sins so that we could be forgiven and live forever in heaven. If that was all the gospel promised, that would be more than enough but the truth is that it offers much more. The “good news” referenced in Isaiah 61 includes the healing of broken hearts, freedom from every form of bondage including sin, release for those who have been imprisoned in spiritual darkness, and the declaration that God is for us rather than against us. Too many believers have lived a Christian life believing that the extent of Christ’s power in their lives was forgiveness. As a result, they live forgiven but not transformed. They live as if freedom from bondage, addictions, fear, depression, and all the other things that hinder the witness of believers is only available after their funeral. They seem to believe that forgiveness is for now but transformation only comes in heaven. But that is not the gospel.

The good news the shepherds heard 2000 years ago was that not only will your sins be forgiven in Christ but the power of Christ will make you into a new creation in this world as well as the world to come. If you were to read the next few verses of the Isaiah 61 passage you would see the word “instead” mentioned several times. The prophecy promises that when Jesus came the lives of people would be drastically changed. In Christ they would exchange ashes for a crown of beauty, mourning for the oil of gladness, and despair for a garment of praise. In each life there would be radical reversals – not just the forgiveness of sin but radical transformation.

Yet how many of us know long-time believers whose lives and conditions are hardly different from those who don’t know Jesus at all. Sometimes, they remain in the same condition in which they met Jesus because they don’t know what has been made available to them through the cross. The announcement of angels that a Savior had been born was intended to communicate that this Savior would not only deliver them from sin but also from their brokenness and their bondage. That is a gift worth celebrating. That is a gift you definitely want to unwrap and yet many believers leave most of the packages Christ has purchased for them under the tree. They leave the gifts unclaimed because they don’t know what’s in the boxes nor do they know that those presents are for them. This Christmas you may want to seriously consider all the gifts in heaven with your name on them and begin to confidently ask God to release those gifts into your life because in the Kingdom of Heaven, every day is a day to celebrate Jesus and every day is Christmas.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isa.7:14). For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. (Isa.9:6-7)

These are two of the great Messianic prophecies of Isaiah that are traditionally connected to Christmas. Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 in relation to the birth of Jesus (Mt.1:23) as one of the definitive signs that the Messiah had come. These verses reveal the mind of God regarding the birth of his son and give us some insights that should be recalled at Christmas.

First of all, Jesus is God. Through the prophets, God wanted us to know that he was coming and that he would be coming as a man. Immanuel is descriptive because it means “God with us.” From this side of the cross and the resurrection the idea that God came in the flesh is still difficult to wrap our minds around but before the cross and the revelation of the New Testament it would seem impossible to understand.

The Jewish view of God was one of power and glory rather than in infant who needed to have his diaper changed by a teenage girl from the backwaters of Galilee. Isaiah’s vision perfectly depicts the Jewish revelation of God. “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa.6:1-3). To make the incarnation even more difficult to grasp, John tells us that the glorious one Isaiah saw in his vision was Jesus (see Jn.12:41). Imagine now the Word of God seated on a throne in heaven, huge in stature and glory, surrounded by powerful angels singing his praises. Now imagine that same God being reduced and somehow poured into the womb of a tiny Jewish girl.

Even more amazing than the miracle of an infinite God becoming a finite human is the willingness of God himself to do such a thing for a fallen race. Why would such a God come to live among us and to be one of us? In the book by the same name, Job cries out to God and asks, “Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a man” (Job 10:4-5). His complaint was that God was judging him without really knowing what it was like to be a man subject to weakness, pain, and temptation. After the birth of Christ, that complaint was answered because God would experientially know exactly what it was like to be a man subject to all the hurts, disappointments, and losses of this world.

In addition, Isaiah confirmed that Jesus was God’s greatest and most perfect gift to his people. “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” Certainly, we did not deserve salvation. Certainly God was not obligated to do anything for us. And yet, the God who is love was compelled by his love to give himself in the form of a son to ultimately make things right in a world that had gone terribly wrong.

Not only would Jesus answer our sin problem by his sacrifice but he would also rise from the dead to take his place again on the throne he had occupied when Isaiah got his glimpse of heaven. From that moment on Jesus assumed the title and role of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is already the Prince of Peace and Wonderful Counselor to those who know him and we are moving toward his return when all the earth will be under his rule. There is a mystery about the Trinity for Jesus will also be known not only as Mighty God but Everlasting Father whose rule will be without end and whose imprint will be that of peace. That peace was declared at his birth by angels who sang, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men upon whom his favor rests” (Lk.2:14). The incredible gift that brings peace to those who believe now and to an entire world later – that is the spirit of Christmas. I hope you will find some time for peace during this season for Jesus is our peace.

One of my favorite authors is Philip Yancey. As far as I can tell, his theology would not at all be charismatic but he has insights into the word and into spiritual things that are fresh, honest and thought provoking. One such insight is found in his book, The Jesus I Never Knew. As Christmas is upon us I want to share a lengthy quote from his book and then make a few observations that come to me as a result of his thoughts.

Sorting through the stack of cards that arrived out our house last Christmas, I note that all kinds of symbols have edged their way into the celebration. Overwhelmingly, the landscape scenes render New England towns, buried in snow, usually with the added touch of a horse-drawn sleigh. On other cards, animals frolic: not only reindeer but chipmunks, raccoons, cardinals, and cute gray mice. One card shows an African lion reclining with a foreleg draped affectionately around a lamb. Angels have made a huge comeback in recent years, and Hallmark and American Greetings now feature them prominently, though as demure, cuddly-looking creatures, not the type that would ever need to announce “Fear not!” The explicitly religious cards focus on the holy family, and you can tell at a glance these folks are different. They seem unruffled and serene. Bright gold halos, like crowns from another world, hover just over their heads. Inside, the cards stress words like love, goodwill, cheer, happiness and warmth. It is a fine thing, I suppose, that we honor a sacred holiday with such homey sentiments. And yet when I turn to the gospel accounts of the first Christmas, I hear a very different tone and sense mainly disruption at work. (Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, p.29; Zondervan)

As I read this chapter again, I am reminded by Yancey and my own thoughts about how intrusive God can be and should be in our lives. Most of us like life to move along at our pace, according our plans and our prayers simply ask God to pave the way for our desires. However, the biblical pattern is somewhat different.

Mary’s world was turned upside down in a moment by an angelic visitation announcing that she would soon be pregnant by the Holy Spirit even though she was only promised to Joseph. Joseph, having decided to divorce his “unfaithful fiancé,” had his plans abruptly reversed by an angelic visit of his own. He would share Mary’s “shame” with her. Sleepy shepherds spending another uneventful night in the fields around Bethlehem were jarred awake in a moment and terrified when the heavens exploded with the glory of God and angels sang. Even wise men from the east were shown a star that somehow compelled them to take a long, difficult journey to find this new king and then to sneak quietly out of the country to avoid Herod’s wrath that had been stirred suddenly by the unexpected announcement of the birth of a new king in Herod’s territory.

Most of us are committed to comfort and doing things for God when the doing is convenient. We like to plan our steps and then enlist God to smooth the way. But in my experience, the big things God wants to do in each life usually require an intrusion that challenges us to drop what we are doing, shelve our plans, and go with God – or simply miss our destiny. Think of how intrusive Jesus was. “Come and follow me!” Leave your boats, your career, even your family on a moment’s notice to take up the call on God has placed on your life. That seems to be God’s approach. A burning bush for Moses. A voice in the night for the boy Samuel. A prophet calling David out of the pastures and pouring oil on his head. A staggering light for Saul of Tarsus at midday. Each was unexpected. Each was intrusive. Each was incredibly inconvenient and in some ways made no earthly sense. Each changed a life and the world forever.

The Christmas story is a series of intrusions that often led to hardship before it led to glory. Here is the question Christmas raises for each of us. Are we open to God’s intrusions or do we turn Him down? Would we be willing to let God have his way in our own lives and at a moment’s notice start down a road never contemplated – even if it is just a five-minute journey to pray for a stranger or to tell someone about Jesus? And before we think about God’s inconvenient intrusions into our own lives, think of God’s own intrusion into the peace and order of heaven when suddenly the Word of God laid aside his glory and his deity and became a small and helpless child who parachuted alone into a world of poverty, danger, disease, sin and persecutions for our sake. That intrusion pointed toward a cross. And yet each of these intrusions led not only to moments or days of hardship but also to world changing encounters orchestrated by the Father.

If we have any hunger for greatness or significance in the kingdom of God we must be open to intrusions – sometimes taking a small bite out of our day and at other times changing the entire course of our lives. My dual nature wants to do something great in the kingdom of God for Jesus while at the same time wants comfort, predictability, and security like a hobbit in the Shire. The question for the day is always which part of me will I follow. Will I embrace God’s surprising intrusions or turn them down as I continue on my own agenda. Christmas dares me to go with God.

In studying the baptism of the Spirit, we should remember that God often provides normative processes and principles for how he works in people but he is not bound to formulas. As we move through the book of Acts we recognize that there were normative manifestations when the Spirit fell on or filled believers. The gift of tongues seems to have been imparted on several occasions (Acts 2, 10). Sometimes prophecy broke out. Boldness to declare the name of Jesus was almost always a recorded result as well as a host of miracles that demonstrated the kingdom of God and the reality of the King. Each of these manifestations reflected Christ’s statement to his disciples in Acts 1 that they would be baptized with the Spirit and receive power to be his witnesses.

Many charismatic churches today believe that speaking tongues is the single evidence or experience for having been baptized in the Spirit. Many believe that “the baptism” must manifest in tongues, in “falling out” in the Spirit, laughing uncontrollably, weeping uncontrollably, or feeling power surging through your body like an electric current. In my experience, all of these can be manifestations of the power of the Spirit falling on a person but we should not limit or define how the Spirit manifests himself after imparting power for ministry to a believer.

Most of the churches that want to see extreme manifestations of the Spirit as proof of being filled with the Spirit would say that no one could operate in healing, deliverance, prophecy, words of knowledge, tongues, miracles, etc. without being baptized in the Spirit. I would agree that baptism or empowering must come first but not always with extreme manifestations of the Spirit. Certainly, spiritual gifts are bestowed and empowered by the Holy Spirit. But I know many believers who operate powerfully in these gifts but have never “fallen out” in the Spirit or felt electricity surging through their bodies and not all speak in tongues.

In 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 Paul gives extended teachings on spiritual gifts that include the “power” gifts of tongues, prophecy, healings, knowledge, miracles, interpretations, etc. in the same list as wisdom, mercy, administration, giving, serving, etc. along with teaching, worship, and evangelism and no one would require extreme manifestations of the Spirit before believing that individuals were operating in these gifts. In addition, Paul never suggests that these gifts are given or received in fundamentally different ways.

To be honest, most of us desire an extreme manifestation of the Spirit because it helps us to have faith that the Spirit has truly done something powerful within us for healing or for empowering. However, we must still be willing to live by faith and not by sight even when it comes to receiving from the Spirit. The evidence of the Spirit’s work in us, including baptism, may manifest over time as we recognize an increase in boldness, effectiveness, the ability to hear God, insights into scripture, a hunger for spiritual things, etc. It may also manifest in response to prayers we have offered up year after year for a spiritual gift that we have desired. That gift may begin to manifest in small ways and slowly and then develop as we use the gift rather than exploding on us as tongues did for the believers at Pentecost.

Remember, I do believe that many individuals have those extreme experiences when they receive the baptism of the Spirit but I also believe that the baptism can occur in more subtle forms. In the kingdom, fruit is the best evidence of what we have received and the fruit of new spiritual gifts, an increase in the effectiveness of gifts we already possess, an increase in boldness, or an upgrade in intimacy with the Father is evidence that we have received the baptism or a new filling. Like most things in the kingdom, we receive those things by asking with faith and then being open to how God responds. The gift of tonguesis certainly one evidence of “the baptism” but is not the only evidence. Wherever and however we operate in the power of the Spirit is ultimately evidence that we have received a baptism and, perhaps, subsequent baptisms for fillings.

Again, I believe the baptism of the Spirit is typically used to describe the first time we are infused with power or spiritual gifts but there will be fillings or more immersions in the Spirit to come. I believe we should always hunger for more, pursue more, and ask for more in our lifelong walk with Jesus and in special moments when we need a turbo-charge from the Spirit we may receive an unexpected filling. Be blessed and be baptized. If you want the baptism of the Spirit ask Jesus for it and then receive what he gives you by faith. If you are not satisfied, keep asking.

Acts 2 describes the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy that God would pour out his Spirit on all people. We know from the words of Jesus that this “pouring out” is closely associated with the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the power that would be imparted through that baptism. The question is whether that was a one-time event for the early church or whether it is available to believers today. We might also ask whether it is a one-time experience for believers or whether it can be experienced multiple times. Let me list several scriptures that may give us some insights to these questions. Notice the language in the scriptures and the ways in which the Spirit manifested in these believers.

Acts 2:1-8                   

 “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them…(emphasis added)

Acts 4:23-24, 29-31

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God…Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. (emphasis added)

Acts 10:44-48

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (emphasis added)

Acts 8:14-18             

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. (emphasis added)

Acts 19:1-7                

 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (emphasis added)

As you look at these verses, several things become apparent. Several phrases seem to be used interchangeably that describe the same experience. In Acts 2, the moment that tongues of fire appeared over the disciples and they began to speak in tongues is obviously the moment that Jesus had pointed them to when they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit and receive power for witnessing. In this text, baptism with the Spirit is described as being filled with the Spirit. The same language is used in Acts 4 when the same people who were filled in Acts 2 seem to be filled again. Both “fillings” resulted in miraculous signs and boldness to declare the word of God. In Acts 10, the Spirit is poured out even on the Gentiles so they are experiencing the same manifestation that the Jews experienced on Pentecost. The result was speaking in tongues and praising God just as the disciples had done on Pentecost as well. This “baptism with the Spirit” is also described as the Spirit coming on those believers and having been received by those believers. The same language is used in Acts 8 when the Samaritans responded to the gospel and again in Acts 19 in Corinth.

It appears that “baptism with the Spirit” is a moment when the Spirit comes upon a believer in abundance and when the believer receives something from the Spirit not previously given. The idea of receiving suggests that the believer is open to the experience and, perhaps, even desires more of the Spirit or more of what the Spirit offers than what he/she has already received. This idea parallels 1 Corinthians 12-14 where Paul discusses spiritual gifts (a form of empowerment by the Holy Spirit) and tells us that the Spirit distributes those gifts as he determines and invites believers to ask for more.

In summary, the baptism with the Spirit seems to be a moment when the Spirit falls on a believer and imparts power for ministry in some form. The fact that Jesus said that those who had faith in him would do what he had done and even more, requires that the baptism of the Spirit (the empowering of the Spirit) is still available today. It is often referred to as being filled with the Spirit or the Spirit coming on us or falling on us and can happen multiple times. It seems that our first experience of being filled is often called “baptism with the Spirit” and, indeed, a level of spiritual power or gifts remain in us from that point forward although the Spirit may add to that or magnify what is in us when circumstances call for it.

So what about tongues and prophecy and other miracles being manifested when the Spirit first empowers us? I will talk about that in my next blog.

The expression of power to destroy the works of the devil is inherent in the kingdom of God and is part of the ministry of the Spirit through us. Baptism with the Spirit is directly related to such power. Bill Johnson says that a gospel without power is no gospel at all. I agree. The New Testament model for preaching the gospel was the declaration that the Kingdom of God had come followed by a demonstration of that truth. Jesus declared, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you” (Lk.11:20). When John the Baptist began to question whether Jesus was truly the Messiah, Jesus told John’s followers, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.     Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Mt.11:4-6).

It’s interesting that Jesus did not fit the preconceptions of even John the Baptist when it came to the fulfillment of his mission. Some were being tempted to fall away because Jesus was not using the methodology of the world (power and politics) to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. Today, many believers are much more comfortable with the strategies of the world to build churches than the power of the Spirit. Many church leaders are glad to bring on great music, great sound, state of the art media, celebrity testimonies, and global television productions but balk immediately at the thought of healings, deliverance, and raising people from the dead.

John tells us that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn.3:8). Those works were unbelief, disease, demonic oppression, death before God’s appointed times, bondage, physical disabilities, etc. We know those are the works of the devil because those are the very things Jesus reversed over and over again in his ministry and then gifted his church to do the same. To destroy those works requires power and authority.

Jesus told his disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received power when the Spirit came upon them. Having received that power they would then be equipped to be his witnesses throughout the world. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is closely associated with the “pouring out of the Spirit” in Acts 2. Jesus told his disciples to wait. They waited together as they had been instructed. Suddenly the sound of a violent wind was heard, fire appeared above the heads of the believers, they began to speak in languages they had not learned, and boldness entered into their hearts. Peter’s explanation for the event was that Joel’s prophecy had finally been fulfilled. “No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘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. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:16-18).

In Acts 1:5, Jesus told his disciples that they would be baptized in the Spirit in a few days and that the Spirit would release power in them when they received that baptism. Power was manifested when the Spirit was poured out so the baptism of the Spirit is closely associated with the fulfillment of Joel 2. A close study of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament reveals that the Holy Spirit healed, raised the dead, prophesied, imparted supernatural power, performed miracles, produced dreams, and everything we see him doing in the New Testament. In the O.T., however, the Spirit was reserved for a few prophets, priests, kings, and judges. In the book of Acts that power is poured out in abundance and made available to every believer. In addition, the Holy Spirit takes up residence and goes to work maturing believers so that their character might match the gifts and power God places within them.

I believe this “pouring out of the Spirit on all flesh (all believers)” was the historic moment when the baptism of the Spirit was made available to every believer. Beginning at that moment, every follower of Jesus has the potential to receive great power from the Holy Spirit for boldness and miracles as we bear witness to the reality of Jesus to those around us. (More about that power today in my next blog).