- It is the FIRST infilling of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
2.It is RECEIVING GOD’S POWER TO BE WITNESSES:
Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Is there any relationship between this baptism and speaking in tongues?
In the five cases of people being baptised in the Holy Spirit that are recorded for us we see the following:
- On the Day of Pentecost: Acts 2:1-4; 1:5-8; “they began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance”.
- In Samaria: Acts 8:5-24 It does not say, but do you think Simon saw in verse 18? It could have been tongues?
- In Damascus: Paul’s experience. Acts 9:17-19 It does not say that he spoke in tongues or that he did not. But according to 1 Corinthians 14:18 we know that Paul spoke in tongues,
- In Caesarea: in the house of Cornelius: Acts 10:44-48. “they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God”. v46.
- In Ephesus: Acts 19:1-7; “they spoke with tongues and prophesied”.v6.
What conclusions can we draw?
* There is a relationship between the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. In three cases they definitely did speak in tongues and in the other two cases there possibility that they did.
* Therefore, when people receive this baptism in the Holy Spirit today we should expect the same result.
* My experience is that if we pray for people and they do not experience the gift immediately but we send them home thanking Jesus for baptizing them in the Holy Spirit they usually obtain this release in their “Quiet Time” very soon. But if we send them home saying, “You didn’t speak in tongues and therefore you didn’t receive the baptism”, invariably this causes incredible difficulties.
* I further believe that as we continue to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit we can all experience all of His gifts. 1 Corinthians 12:6 says, “it is the same God who worketh ALL (of the gifts and operations) IN ALL (of His children)”
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