Let's begin this study in prayer...
Mark 1:7-11And this was his [John's] message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, He saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are My Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased."
Now that we are horn again and baptized into Jesus Christ, we find
that our Lord does not stop here. He also empowers us to become
effective witnesses for Him and His Kingdom. He does this through the
baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I. INTRODUCTION - PROPHECY OF JOHN
Matthew 3:1-11
Notice vs 11 "...He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
Now let us go to,
John 1:29-34
Notice vs 33 "...will baptize with the Holy Spirit."
II. THE BAPTISM
With the above prophecies in mind, let us now begin our study by
reading the account of the time when Jesus Christ breathed the Holy
Spirit into His disciples,
John 20:19-23
Important points:
1. This occurred before Jesus ascended into Heaven.
2. This is what occurs to each and everyone of us when we become a
believer. Remember, this is the time when His disciples are now
believers (i.e. saved) or born again. To see this, let us
remember that up until this point in time they knew who Jesus is
and spoke of Him as Lord. However, now they see Him raised from
the dead, i.e. the Living Christ, hence fulfilling requirements
of,
Romans 10:9-10
QUESTION: Is this the baptism that Jesus was to perform? Is this
the fulfillment of what John the Baptist prophesied?
Well, in order to find out let us go and read what Jesus said to
His disciples during one of the days after His resurrection,
A. THE PROMISED BAPTISM
Acts 1:4-9
Notice: 4 ... not to leave Jerusalem
5 ... to be baptized with the Holy Spirit
8 ... to receive power
Now, let us go and read about the,
B. FULFILLMENT - PENTECOST
Acts 2:1-21
OBSERVATION: This event occurred after Jesus ascended into Heaven,
hence not the same as when He (Jesus) breathed on the disciples for
the new birth.
QUESTION: Was the baptism of the Holy Spirit only to occur at this
time at Pentecost? and was it only for the Apostles?
Well, let us look to the scripture and find out?
C. OTHER BAPTISMS
1. PETER AND JOHN IN SAMARIA
Acts 8:9-17
2. PETER AT CORNELIUS'S HOUSE
What is extremely important about this account is that
Cornelius and his household are Gentiles. Also noteworthy
is that this was Peter's first experience with a Gentile.
And so let us begin our reading in,
Acts 10:34-46
Now for completeness, let us read how the disciples now
baptized Cornelius and his household in water,
Acts 10:47-48
3. PAUL AT EPHESUS
Acts 19:1-7
QUESTION: What about today? What about you and me?
Well, we find our answer clearly stated in Peter's response
to those who on that day of Pentecost had witnessed the
baptism of the Holy Spirit upon him (Peter and the rest of
the disciples with him).
Acts 2:37-39
Notice vs 39 "the promise is for:"
a. you ... those at the time of Pentecost.
b. their children
c. those far away
d. all whom the Lord will call.
QUESTION: What can I expect? What will happen?
Well, in order to find out let us review some of the functions that
the Holy Spirit will perform in and through us ... OK?
III. SOME OF THE HOLY SPIRIT'S FUNCTIONS
A. AS A RESULT OF OUR NEW BIRTH
It turns out as we saw in some of our previous studies the fact
that we are born again and have the Holy Spirit living and
dwelling within us, He
1. PROVIDES HIS FRUITS IN AND THROUGH US
We find this given to us through the instruction provided
to us in the letter of Galatians which exhorts the
believers to live by the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-24
We also find that,
2. HE TEACHES US ABOUT THE THINGS OF GOD
To see this, let us read,
1 Corinthians 2:12
Now let us move on and review some of the Holy Spirit's
functions in and through us,
B. AS A RESULT OF HIS (HOLY SPIRIT'S) BAPTISM
First of all, He
1. PROVIDES US WITH SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To see this, let us read some of them in,
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
And as Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem, we
find that the Holy Spirit also,
2. PROVIDES US POWER TO BEAR WITNESS OF JESUS CHRIST
To see this, let us first go and read about,
a. THE PROMISE
Acts 1:8
As an example of this power. let us go and read the
account of Peter and John with the Sanhedrin after
they were arrested for healing a crippled beggar and
preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
b. PETER AND JOHN
Acts 4:1-20
Notice vs 8 "...filled with the Holy
Spirit..."
13
20 "...(they) can not help speaking
about what (they saw) and
heard."
This is fine and dandy for then. But what about now? How is one
baptized in the Holy Spirit? How does this come about? Well, to find
out let us return to the scriptures.
IV. THE HOW TO
First of all we must realize that,
A. JESUS BAPTIZES US IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
To see this, let us again read what John the Baptist said when
the people wanted to know if John was the Christ that was to
come. However, this time let us read from the Gospel according
to Luke,
Luke 3:15-16
Now as we read the Bible, we find that Jesus Christ baptizes us
with the Holy Spirit in various ways. So let us go and read some
of them.
B. RECORDED SITUATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM
1. WHILE HEARING THE GOSPEL
We saw this happen during the account of Peter at
Cornelius' household.
Acts 10:44-46
2. DURING PRAYER
To see this, let us read what happened after Peter and
John were released from prison after their encounter with
the Sanhedrin. Now what is extremely interesting about this
account is that it teaches us that the Holy Spirit can fill
us more than once.
Acts 4:23-31
Notice vs 31 Remember Pentecost had already
happened.
3. THROUGH THE LAYING ON OF HANDS
We saw this when we read what happened when Peter and John
were in Samaria.
Acts 8:17
Finally, we find that there are times when
4. HE JUST COMES UPON/WITHIN US
In fact this is the most common method that we read about
happening in the Old Testament. Some examples of this are:
a. WHEN GOD CALLED EZEKIEL TO BE HIS PROPHET
Ezekiel 2:1-2
b. AT THE TIME WHEN GOD SELECTED SAUL TO BE KING
1 Samuel 10:9-11
And for our New Testament,
c. THE DAY OF PENTECOST
Acts 2:1-4
However, even though our Lord and God chooses the way and time
for our baptism in the Holy Spirit, He encourages us to pray and
ask Him for this baptism. To see this let us read one of our
Lord Jesus Christ's teaching about prayer.
Luke 11:1-13
V. CLOSING
QUESTION: So what is the purpose of this study? What is the point to
be made? Well it is summarized by the words of instruction that the
Apostle Peter gave to those (and us) who had seen the effects of the
Holy Spirit during the day of Pentecost.
Acts 2:37-39
Let's end this study in prayer...
Ephesians 4:2-6Be completely humble and gentile; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Read the book by John Sweet, Jr.
Send e-mail to John Sweet... Internet address is jsweetj@jsweetj.cnc.net Send e-mail to web page curator... Internet address is kenzy@kenzy.com
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