In John 20, Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” but then told them a few days later that they should stay in Jerusalem until they were baptized with the Spirit. This suggests that we can receive the Holy Spirit but then have an additional measure of the Spirit available to us at a different time. The best way to understand this this is to associate “Baptism with the Spirit” with power. In the first chapter of Acts, Luke tells us, “On one occasion, while he (Jesus) was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit…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” (Acts 1:4-5,8).

In this text Jesus, clearly associates baptism with the Spirit with power for witnessing. We see that demonstration throughout the book of Acts. On the Day of Pentecost, we see it manifested through boldness, preaching, and a miraculous gift of tongues. If those manifestations of the Spirit only came after the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost then what was the Spirit the disciples received in John 20?

I think it helps to understand that the Holy Spirit has two broad functions or ministries in the life of each believer. One is transformation while the other is empowerment for ministry.

When we come to faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within each of us and begins to transform our hearts, our minds, and our character to make us more and more like Jesus. First of all, he gives life to our spirits that have been dead in sin (see Eph.2:4-5).

Secondly, he begins to give us an understanding of spiritual things. “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they can only be discerned through the Spirit” (1 Cor.2:14).

Thirdly, he begins to bear his fruit or character in our lives. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal.5:22-23). For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)” (Eph.5:8-9).

One part of the Christian life is simply to walk in righteousness as Jesus walked in righteousness. We are to become godly people with the character of Jesus reflected in each of us. We are to be salt and light in a world of darkness. We are to care for the poor and the hurting and even love our enemies. All of these things reflect the heart and character of Christ and without his Spirit we cannot overcome the flesh (our fallen nature) to become like him in our heart as well as our actions. But there is more to the Christian life.

Jesus established a pattern for establishing the kingdom of God on this earth. “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (Mt.9:35). Wherever he went, Jesus preached the kingdom of God and then demonstrated it. He then commanded his followers to do the same. “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt.10:7-9).   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. More about that in my next blog.

 For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezek.36:24 -27)

The Old Testament is full of promises regarding an increase in the move and ministry of God’s Spirit such as the one quoted above. Joel also spoke of a great “pouring out of God’s Spirit” that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost in Acts 1-2. As we read the gospels, the promise is moved from the backburner where it has simmered for centuries and placed on the front the burner so that it began to boil. In my last blog, I listed several scriptures that raised some important issues about the “baptism of the Spirit” and which also give us some insights into the biblical meaning of that phrase. Let’s begin to connect some of those dots now.

John the Baptist came to prepare hearts for the coming of Messiah. When asked if he himself were the Messiah he clearly said that he was not. He also clearly pointed them to one greater than himself who would not just baptize with water, as John was doing, but would also baptize with the Holy Spirit. This was such an important mark of the Messiah that it is mentioned in all four gospels (Mt. 3:11; Mk.1:8; Luke 3:16; Jn. 1:33).

The obvious question that every serious Jew had to be asking was when was this “baptism” going to take place and what would it look like? In John 7, Jesus spoke of rivers of living water flowing from within believers. John explained that Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit whom believers were later to receive because Jesus had not yet been glorified and had not yet released the Spirit.

The “promise of the Spirit” then would come only after Jesus was glorified. John is not saying that there was no ministry or work of the Spirit at that time because the Spirit had been evident and working since Genesis 1:2 when he was brooding over the chaos of earth. The Spirit is powerfully evident in the lives of the prophets, the judges, and the great men and women of the Old Testament. He had also landed on Jesus himself at his baptism by John. This “promise of the Spirit” then was not just the coming of the Spirit because he had already come but it would be an unprecedented manifestation of the Spirit called a “baptism.” This “baptism” would occur after the glorification of Jesus.

Another hint is given in John 14:16-17. Jesus, speaking about the Spirit, told his disciples, “the Spirit lives with you and will be in you.” Prepositions are important. Jesus described the Spirit as being with believers at the time but pointed to a time when the Spirit would be in them. This indicates that the Spirit had ministered to and through believers but would soon actually take up residence within believers as a result of Christ’s sacrifice.

Then, in John 20:19-22, an interesting thing takes place. This incident occurs after the resurrection when Jesus is making multiple appearances to his followers. In this section, Jesus appeared to his disciples – a term used for all of his followers and not just his apostles. In this appearance, Jesus commissions them by saying, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” We are then told that Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” Was that the baptism of the Spirit? Apparently, it was not because a short time later in Acts 1:5, Jesus told his followers to stay in Jerusalem where, in a few days, they would then be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So…what did they receive when Jesus breathed on them? We’ll discuss that in my next blog. Until then, be blessed in Him.

We just finished a Sunday morning class that was a mini-course on the Holy Spirit at our church. The last module of the study is always on the “Baptism of the Spirit.” The conversations are always interesting as people from various faith backgrounds talk about their understanding of the topic. Their understanding falls on a continuum that runs from “any talk about the Baptism of the Spirit is definitely from the devil” to “the baptism of the Spirit is when you fall on the ground, shake all over like your being electrocuted, and jump up speaking in tongues.”

Having heard some of those conversations this morning I thought I might discuss “Holy Spirit baptism” in a brief series to see if I can make biblical sense of it for you. It is an important topic that we should all understand because it is something that Jesus purchased for each of us with his blood. Anything that Jesus purchased for us that we leave sitting on the shelf somehow takes away from his amazing sacrifice. As we begin, I want you to notice that this baptism in the Spirit brought almost immediate transformation to the lives of the disciples. One minute they were hiding from the Jews, and in the next minute they were standing in the temple courts preaching Jesus to the very people who had crucified him only fifty days earlier. If we want to experience that kind of transformation, we need to understand this baptism.

Let me begin by listing a few key verses from the gospels and from Acts that will raise some important questions and frame our brief study. I will bold face some important phrases within the texts.

I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Mt.3:11

I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Mk.1:8

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. Jn.7:38-39

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—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. Jn.14:16-17

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.     Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Jn.20:19-22

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:4-5

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. Acts 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. Acts 2:1-4

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.Acts 2:16-17

These verses form a sequence that will give us a great deal of insight for a biblical view of baptism with or in the Holy Spirit. I encourage you to spend some time looking at these verses and others related to the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. I believe that by looking at these you will begin to sense some truths about the baptism of the Spirit. Be sure to look at each verse in detail noting verb tenses, prepositions, and so forth. I will begin to discuss these verses in my next blog. You may want to print these verses off for reference as we look at them this week. I n addition, be sure to ask the Holy Spirit for revelation about this baptism. Blessings!