“Gifts Of The
Spirit, Part 3: Finishing Up The
Baptism Of The Holy Spirit”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we continued our study on the gifts of the Holy
Spirit and we looked particularly upon the fruits of the ‘Baptism of the Holy
Spirit’
1.1.1.
We saw that the history of God’s moving
mightily in the church has really been the history of the ‘Baptism of the Holy
Spirit’
1.1.2.
We saw that the ‘Baptism Of The Holy Spirit has been called ‘The Second Blessing’ or the ‘Second Work of the Holy Spirit’
1.1.2.1.
We saw that we don’t want to
limit God to just performing a ‘second’ work in our lives, but rather we want
Him to always be doing a new work in our lives
1.1.3.
We saw that the purpose of the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ was not
primarily to give us incredible experiences but rather that He empower us that
we might be used mightily by Him
1.1.4.
We then looked at the experiential knowledge of God that occurs with
the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’
1.1.4.1.
We saw that men of God in times past often spoke their experience with
the baptism as working in them such that suddenly they
knew more about God at that moment than the combined total of all of their
previous experiences
1.1.4.2.
People also have testified that they felt the presence and glory of God in such a way that they had not words to
describe it
1.1.4.3.
We saw how that the scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit will produce
an ‘assurance’ of our salvation
1.1.4.4.
We saw that the scriptures also teach about the Holy Spirit producing the love of God being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
1.1.5.
We then looked at the
phenomena That Accompanies The Baptism Of The Holy Spirit
1.1.5.1.
We saw from the scriptures
that the gift of tongues often accompanied this experience
1.1.5.2.
We also saw that the
experiences produced by the Holy Spirit produced a variety of results and gifts
being dispensed
2.
In this study, I’d like to finish up on the subject of the ‘Baptism of
the Holy Spirit’ and give us a background for discussing the various gifts of
the Holy Spirit which He gives to His people
3.
I want to emphasize first of all that in all that we speak of regarding
the Holy Spirit, that we are not speaking of an impersonal force or action that
is produced of God, for the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and just as much a
personal entity in His own right as the Father or the Son. The scriptures speak of Him always as being
a person, and never as being impersonal or a force.
3.1.
We
see this many times in the scriptures.
We see from these verses in the New Testament spoken by Jesus that the
Holy Spirit is always referred to as ‘He’ not ‘it’
3.1.1.
John 14:16-17, “16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you
another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but
you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.””
3.1.2.
John 14:26, “26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all that I said to you.””
3.1.3.
John 16:7-11, “7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go
away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I
will send Him to you. 8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world
concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they
do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the
Father, and you no longer behold Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the
ruler of this world has been judged.””
3.2.
Likewise, Jesus taught us that when the Holy Spirit came that His
purpose would be to glorify Jesus, not to emphasize Himself.
3.3.
It is important that we realize that the Holy Spirit is a person, for
He already lives in your life if you are a Christian, and any work that is
produced by Him in your life is produced by a person. In that sense then, we can say that we already have the third
person of the Trinity living in our lives.
However, this does not mean that:
3.3.1.
We have the fullness of His power flowing in and through our lives, nor
all of the gifts that He might want to produce in our lives over time.
3.3.2.
He has all of us at His service, our full commitment.
3.3.2.1.
As we saw in our first of these studies on the gifts, there are things
that we can do to both hinder and help the Holy Spirit be able to use as an
instrument of God.
3.3.2.1.1.
We can quench the Holy Spirit by not allowing Him to do whatever He
wants to do through our lives.
3.3.2.1.2.
We can grieve the Holy Spirit away by not being obedient to things that
we know are part of His will for our life.
3.3.2.1.3.
We can and should ask Him to fill and baptize us and give us gifts.
3.3.2.1.4.
We can walk in faith and trust in the Lord.
4.
In order to present a background for the working and use of the gifts
of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, there are three principles that I
want to bring out and perhaps re-emphasize:
The Nature of the church, The Purpose of the church, and The Function of
the church
4.1.
The Nature of the church
4.1.1.
As we have seen already in this study, the church is not a
‘religious organization’ primarily, but rather it is a spiritual organism that
is attached to its head which is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12:27).
4.1.1.1.
It is crucial for any church to be properly taught in regard to this
matter because most of the problems in churches which get off track are a
result of not understanding this, as well as the other two principles.
4.1.1.2.
Many churches spend all of their time involved only in the ‘function’
of the church, and not realizing that it is a spiritual organism attached to
and dependent upon it’s head, Jesus Christ, they look to the resources of the
flesh and wisdom of man for it’s functioning.
4.1.1.2.1.
There is so much energy of the flesh in churches. One person once said, ‘In the early church, if the
Holy Spirit were missing from the church, 90% of all that they did would cease,
however in the church today if the Holy Spirit were missing, only 10% of what
it does would cease to occur’.
4.1.1.3.
I know of many churches that do
not pray before board meetings and committee meetings, and during those
meetings what is discussed is what each person thinks should occur in the
church. What plans they should
implement, etc. However, if the church
is in reality a spiritual organism, then every meeting that involves any
strategy and planning must be dependent upon looking to Jesus as the head, and
praying and seeking His will.
4.1.1.4.
Well, not only must the body of Christ look to Christ as the head of
the church since it is in reality a spiritual organism in which Christ is the
head, it must also be taught thoroughly of the fact that the body of Christ is
also interdependent upon each of it’s members, for it cannot function properly
without the proper working of each different member.
4.2.
The Purpose of the church
4.2.1.
Before Jesus ascended up to heaven after His resurrection, He gathered
His church together and gave them what has been called, ‘The Great Commission’,
and in doing so Jesus established what is the purpose for His church.
4.2.1.1.
Matthew 28:18-20, “18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority
has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 “Go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you;
and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
4.2.2.
There are then two aspects that make up the purpose of the church,
‘making disciples’ and ‘teaching all that Jesus’ has commanded us’.
4.2.2.1.
We are to win souls and then disciple them so that they can be used
mightily by the Lord.
4.2.3.
Again, many times in the church today the leaders have not really sat
down and understood what is the purpose of the church. Many churches exist then for many other
purposes than that which Jesus gave to the church:
4.2.3.1.
In order to meet some social need or program.
4.2.3.2.
Community relief or effort.
4.2.3.3.
Seek spiritual and emotional experiences.
4.2.3.4.
The fellowship and companionship needs of it’s people.
4.2.3.5.
Follow some hobby horse doctrine or particular type of ministry.
4.2.3.6.
Etc.
4.3.
The Function of the church
4.3.1.
The function of the church then flows out of it’s nature and
purpose. For it is out of being a
spiritual organism that is connected to the head Jesus Christ and has it’s
purpose to make disciples and teach them to observe all that Jesus’ commanded
us, that it is to engage in ministries that will bring about it’s purpose: the winning of souls and discipling of
believers.
5.
Finishing up on the subject of the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’
5.1.
We have looked at the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ as being a ‘Second
Work’ of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, the experiential fruits
of the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’, the purpose of the Baptism of the Holy
Spirit, and the necessity of the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ in the lives of
those who would be used mightily by God, and now I want to look at a couple of
other areas:
5.1.1.
Who can receive the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’?
5.1.1.1.
In Acts 2:38-39, after the Holy Spirit had made a huge sound and
had fallen upon the 120 disciples gathered together causing them to speaking in
tongues as flames of fire appeared over their heads, and after Peter had
preached an incredibly powerful gospel sermon to the people who rushed to see
what had happened, Peter then told the people what they should do in response
to these events, and in so doing he told them that the Holy Spirit is for ‘all’
believers in all eras, “38 And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is
for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our
God shall call to Himself.””
5.1.1.1.1.
By all responsible means of interpreting scripture, in these verses the
‘promise’ which Peter is speaking of is the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’, and
he says here that this promise is for them, their children, and for all who are
far off, even as many as the Lord shall call to Himself.
5.1.1.1.2.
Christ wants to baptize each believer in the Holy Spirit.
5.1.2.
How is the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ to be received in a believer’s
life?
5.1.2.1.
We are to ask for the Holy Spirit
5.1.2.1.1.
We already looked at Luke 11:13 as teaching us that God will
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him for this, “13 “If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall
your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?””
5.1.2.1.2.
In James 4:2, James wrote for us a principle concerning prayer
when he said under inspiration of the Holy Spirit that if do not have something
it is because we have not asked for it, “2 You lust and do not have; so
you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and
quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”
5.1.2.2.
The ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ is to be received by faith.
5.1.2.2.1.
In Galatians 3:2, Paul asked the believers in Galatia a question
that reveals that those who were ‘Baptized in the Holy Spirit’ received Him ‘in
faith’ or ‘by faith’, “2 This is the only thing I want to find out from
you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with
faith?”
5.1.2.2.2.
Chuck Smith often talks about there being two different types of faith, and though we will talk
about this more in depth at another time, I want to introduce the subject here.
5.1.2.2.2.1.
Passive Faith
5.1.2.2.2.1.1.
We can believe that God ‘can’ or ‘is able’ to do a certain thing. For instance we may believe that God has the
ability to heal a person with a heart condition that we are praying for,
however this is as far as our faith goes.
Although this type of faith is important, this isn’t the type of faith
by which I believe that the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ can be received.
5.1.2.2.2.2.
Active Faith
5.1.2.2.2.2.1.
This is where we not only believe that God can heal a man whom we are
praying for with a heart condition, for instance, but we are also believe that
in this situation that He ‘is’ going to heal them. In this situation this is where our faith is released.
5.1.2.2.2.2.1.1.
I believe that the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ is normally meant to be
received as we pray to God with ‘Active Faith’ trusting that He will baptize us
in this way.
5.1.2.2.2.2.1.2.
Chuck once was discussing ‘faith healers’ who were off track in their
theology who in some cases may have had legitimate healings from God occur
during their services and the reason for this happening was not because of the
faith healer but because of the person’s faith being released and he believing
that God would heal him. This may
possibly have occurred at times. In
fact, I know of one instance myself where this may have happened.
6.
The Gift of Tongues
6.1.
Since we have already talked a bit about the gift of tongues, and since
those who were ‘Baptized by the Holy Spirit’ in the book of Acts often had this
gift accompany their baptism, I thought that we should discuss the gift of
tongues a bit here.
6.2.
As we have seen in this study, when the Holy Spirit fell upon the church in the
second chapter of Acts, the believers were all together and worshipping the
Lord. Then, when the Holy Spirit fell upon them,
they began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance,
however it is important that we realize that they were speaking to God and
worshipping Him as we see from Acts 2:11 we read that the people were
marveling as they were hearing the disciples ‘speaking the mighty deeds of
God’.
6.2.1.
In 1 Cor. 14:2, we read that Paul mentions also there that the
one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to man but to God, and therefore he
is either worshipping, singing to God, or praying in a tongue, “2 For one
who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God; for no one
understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.”
6.2.1.1.
Many times in the Pentecostal churches I have been to I have seen that
a person spoke in a tongue, and then someone else stood up to interpret the
tongue, however what he interpreted was a prophesy from God for it was directed
to the people. However, if the person
who is speaking in a tongue is speaking to God, then this prophesy was not an
interpretation of that tongue, though it may have been a legitimate prophesy
that was spoken.
6.2.1.2.
As we continue there in 1 Cor. 14, we read that Paul exhorts the people
that in the general assembly of the church that they are not all to be speaking
in tongues at one time because an unsaved or ungifted man might come in to the
church and think that you are all mad.
Plus, what the church primarily needs is edification, and edification of
the body occurs when there are understandable things that are spoken and
taught, not when there is chaos as people all around are speaking in unknown
languages. Thus, Paul says in 1 Cor.
14:2-4 that the one who speaks in a tongue does so for ‘self-edification’,
and this then is it’s real benefit, “2 For one who speaks in a tongue
does not speak to men, but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he
speaks mysteries. 3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and
exhortation and consolation. 4 One who
speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church.”
6.2.1.2.1.
Because this gift of tongues is not meant to be something that all
believers are to be exercising at the same time during the general assemblies,
and yet it is good for the fact that a person is self-edified through the use
of this tongue, the gift of tongues is meant primarily for a person to use
during his quiet times and in his own prayer closet.
6.2.1.2.1.1.
Many believers throughout the centuries have been given this very
valuable gift of tongues for their person self-edification which it brings into
a believer’s life.
6.2.1.2.2.
Paul tells the church there in 1 Cor. 14 that if someone does not
interpret a tongue when a person speaks, that the person is to then just speak
quietly to God, for the church is to be edified through understandable things
that are spoken or taught.
6.2.2.
There is also a situation that can occur where we may not know what we
should pray for, and we can pray for this request in tongues knowing that God
will lead us to pray according to His will.
6.2.3.
I do want to mention here that Pastor Chuck has taught that if you feel
that you would like to receive the gift of tongues that you should ask God for
it, and that it is most likely that the Lord does want to give you this gift
since self-edification is an important thing in a believer’s life. Pastor Chuck also has taught that in order
to receive this gift, after praying that you should try to speak to God ‘in
faith’, and that again when your faith is the active-type and is released, and
it is God’s will for you to have this gift, you will begin to speak in tongues.
7.
The Church needs to emphasize the teaching about the working, baptism,
and gifts of the Holy Spirit
7.1.
Spurgeon once said that when the church declines that the leaders should preach
much truth about the Holy Spirit in order to see that work revive, “I
believe, brethren, that whenever the church of God declines, one of the most
effectual ways of reviving her is to preach much truth concerning the Holy
Spirit. After all, He is the very
breath of the church. Where the Spirit
of God is, is power. If the Spirit be
withdrawn, then the vitality of the godliness begins to decline and we are
backbiting. Let us turn to the Spirit
of God crying, “Quicken me in Thy way”.
If we sorrowfully perceive that any church is growing lukewarm, be it
our prayer that the Holy Spirit may work graciously for its revival. Let us return to the Lord. Let us seek again to be baptized into the
Holy Spirit and into fire, and we shall yet, again, behold the wonderful works
of the Lord. He sets before us an open
door and if we enter not, we ourselves are to be blamed.”
8.
More testimonies of the ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’
8.1.
Chuck Smith quotes from Charles Finney’s autobiography of his
experience in being ‘Baptized in the Holy Spirit’, “Just before evening,
the thought took possession in my mind that as soon as I was left alone in the
new office I would try to pray again, that I was not going to abandon the
subject of religion and give it up. And
therefore, although I had no longer had any concern about my soul, still I
would continue to pray. By evening we
got the books and furniture adjusted and I made up in the open fireplace a good
fire, hoping to spend the evening alone.
Just at dark Squire Wright, seeing that everything was adjusted, bade me
goodnight and sent to his home. I
accompanied him to the door and as I closed the door and turned around, my
heart seemed to be liquid within me.
All my feelings seemed to rise and flow out. And the utterance of my heart was, I want to pour out my whole
soul unto God. The rising of my soul
was so great that I rushed into the room back of the front office to pray. There was no fire and no light in the room
and nevertheless it appeared to me as if it were perfectly light. As I went in and shut the door after me, it
seemed as if I met the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. It did not occur to me then, nor did it for
sometime afterwards, that it was wholly a mental state. On the contrary, it seemed to me that I saw
him as I would see any other man. He
said nothing, but he looked at me in such a manner as to break me right down at
his feet. I’ve always since regarded
this as a most remarkable state of mind, for it seemed to be a reality. I fell down at his feet and poured out my
soul to him. I wept aloud like a child,
and I made such confession as I could with my choked utterance. It seemed to me that I bathed his feet with
my tears and yet I had no distinct impression that I touched him, that I
recollect. I must have continued in
this state for a good while, but my mind was too much absorbed with the
interview to recollect anything that I said.
But I know as soon as my mind became calm enough to break off from the
interview, I returned to the front office and found that the fire that I had
made of large wood was nearly burned out.
But as I turned and was about to take a seat by fire, I received a mighty
baptism of the Holy Spirit-without any expectation of it, without ever having
the thought in my mind that there was any such thing for me. Without any recollection that I had ever
heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended
on me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression like a wave of
electricity going through and through me.
Indeed, it seemed to come in waves and waves of liquid love, for I could
not express it any other way. It seemed
like the very breath of God. I cannot
recollect distinctly, but it seemed to fan me like immense wings. No words can express the wonderful love that
was shed abroad in my heart. I wept
aloud with joy and love. I do not know
but I should say I literally bellowed out the unutterable gushings of my
heart. The waves came over me and over
me one after another until I recollect I cried out, “I shall die if these waves
continue to pass over me”. I said,
“Lord, I cannot bear anymore”. And yet
I had no fear of death.”