A. Faith toward God
B. The Doctrine of Baptisms
A. Faith toward God
Faith toward God is a natural progression from "repentance from dead works." Whereas our focus of
attention had been self, now our focus of attention is God. Dead works always interfere with faith
towards God. We have to "turn from" dead works to enable us to "turn to" God.
What is faith?
The word "faith" comes from the Greek word, "pistis," which means "firm persuasion, strong and
welcome belief; the conviction of the truth of anything."
Heb. 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
Faith is not the same as believing. Believing is a verb and it is an attitude, a condition of our heart.
Whereas, faith is a noun, it is a substance, and it is something which is purely divine and given to us
by God.
B. Baptism in 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."
1.The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the key to power in the Christian life.
It is an essential experience if we are going to forward in the Christian life and fulfill the call and work
of God for our lives.
When we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes and fills us completely. Remember,
"Baptism" comes from the Greek word "baptizo", which means total immersion (like a ship being
sunk). So being baptized in the Holy Spirit means we become completely filled, completely drenched
by the Spirit.
One helpful analogy to help us see what the baptism of the Holy Spirit accomplishes in our lives is
the following. Before we are saved, we are like a man, drowning in the ocean. Our doom is certain
and we are headed for destruction. At salvation, it is like we are rescued and placed in a lifeboat. We
are no longer drowning in sin and are no longer subject to imminent death. However, if we only sat
in a lifeboat in the ocean, we would not be accomplishing anything. The baptism in the Holy Spirit
then is like being given a motor for our lifeboat. No longer are we simply safe from death; we now
can go forward with a purpose and accomplish God's will for our lives.
This power enables us to witness. The Early Church was transformed when the Holy Spirit fell upon
them. Just a few weeks previous, all the disciples had fled from Jesus when He was about to be
arrested; Peter had denied Him; Thomas had doubted if He was really risen. After receiving the
baptism in the Holy Spirit, however, they truly did go into the entire world, preaching the
resurrection of Christ. Three thousand people were saved on the day the Holy Spirit fell (Acts 2:41).
It is the same for us today. The baptism in the Holy Spirit gives us great boldness and ability to
witness.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit also comes in the form of fire.
Mat. 3:11 "I indeed baptized you with water unto 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
John the Baptist declared that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Fire is
intricately connected to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He imparts a burning passion in our hearts to
spread the Gospel and to do His will. The fire of the Holy Spirit is the consuming passion for God's
presence and zeal to win the lost that overtakes and envelops us. It is God-given, God-breathed,
God-inspired, and it is comes with the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
If we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we will lead a powerless, fireless Christianity. God calls us
instead to a powerful life in the Spirit, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the first step to getting
there.
2.The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a Promise from Christ and the Father
Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until
you are endued with power from on high."
Jesus promised His followers they would receive the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy
Spirit. He instructed them to wait in Jerusalem until they received this power. This promise was to all
of Christ's followers for all time.
Acts 2:39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the
Lord our God will call."
Where in the Scriptures did the Father make this promise?
Isa. 44:3 – "For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My
Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring."
The Father is speaking prophetically to Christ in this verse. He promised to pour out His Spirit on
Christ's descendants. Who are those descendants? The church! We are all to receive this promise
from the Father.
Therefore, we see that the baptism in the Holy Spirit is for all believers, in all time. It was not
decided by man, but is based on the promise of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore we know
without any doubt that the baptism of the Holy Spirit and/or the accompanying gifts was only for a
limited time, but there is not a single shared of evidence for this position in Scripture. Rather, the
constant testimony of the Scripture is that the miraculous gifts of the Holy spirit are for all the
Church, for all time.
3. How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit
Like everything in God's Kingdom, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit comes through faith. God desires to
pour out His Spirit on all His followers, but we must have a receptive heart.
During the last year of His life, Jesus Himself gave us an outline of qualities we should have in order
to receive the faith for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. He was speaking of the Holy Spirit as a river of
life which would flow out of His people.
Read: John 7:37 – 39
There are three steps in receiving the Holy Spirit in this passage:
1. Thirst – we must have a desire for the Holy Spirit. If we hunger and thirst for righteousness,
we will be filled (Mat. 5:6)
2. Come – we need to come to God in our prayers and ask Him for His spirit.
3. Drink – when the Holy Spirit begins to be poured out to us, we must accept Him. If we reject
and refuse to drink, we will not receive
4. The Initial Evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The first evidence that we are baptized in the Holy Spirit is speaking in other tongues. Speaking in
tongues is the experience where we begin speaking a language that we do not know by human
means. It can be either a heavenly language, or an earthly language that we do not know. Speaking
in tongues does not come from us, but comes from the Holy Spirit. Our mouth and words are yielded
to His control.
I Cor. 14:2-4 "For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one
understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks
edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he
who prophesies edifies the church."
When the Holy Spirit filled the 120 in the upper room, they immediately began speaking in other
tongues. When they went into the streets, people from all over the nations heard the disciples
speaking in their own languages. The disciples were speaking of God in languages they themselves
did not understand. Speaking in tongues was the first outward sign that the 120 had been filled.
Read: Acts 2:4-12, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:6
Thus, speaking in tongues should always accompany the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is the outward
sign that God has completed inward reality of baptism in our lives.
I Cor. 14:18 – "I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all."
The Apostle Paul practices speaking in tongues on a continual basis. In fact, he declared he spoke in
tongues more than all the others in the church. His encouragement to believers was that we should
continue to practice praying in tongues. Paul teaches us more about this in the book of Romans.
Read: Romans 8:26
Praying in the Spirit, in unknown tongues, is a way through which the Holy Spirit is able to guide our
prayers.
5. Gifts of the Holy Spirit
After we have filled with the Holy Spirit, from speaking in tongues, we are now open to moving on in
the other gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I Cor. 14:5 – " I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied, for he who
prophesies Is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church
may receive edification."
I Cor. 12:7-10 – "But the manifestation of the Holy Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for
to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the
same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the same Spirit, to
another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another
different kinds of tongues, to another, the interpretation of tongues."
6. Ongoing Experience
Eph. 5:18 – "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but filled with the Spirit."
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is both instantaneous and progressive. In other words, there is a
moment in time where we are first filled with the Spirit (a one – time experience), but then we
should we should live a lifestyle of continually being filled. In Ephesians 5:18, the verb translated "be
filled" actually has the thought of "be being filled continually."
As we progress in our Christian life, we should always seek God for deeper experiences in the Holy
Spirit. Although, being baptized in the Holy Spirit means we are filled with the Spirit, we can receive
more as our spiritual capacity is enlarged. We should thus always be filled with more and more of
the Spirit.
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