The Baptizing Work of the Holy Spirit

Transcript

GRM 535
7/20/1997
The Baptizing Work of the Holy Spirit
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

Last week we talked about water baptism and its place in our lives as believers, what the Scripture has to say about that important area. I want to talk about a matter that is related to water baptism today, related in that it precedes water baptism. I want to talk to you today about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is of utmost importance in God’s work in the world today. It is the Holy Spirit who is the focus of God’s work in hearts and lives. Jesus Christ is the center of what God is doing in the world obviously. He is the one that we proclaim. But it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God who carries the truth of God to our hearts to give us understanding, to enable us to recognize and know the truth concerning Christ causing us to turn from our sin and to believe in Jesus as our Savior to enable us and empower us to live lives that are pleasing to God.

As important as this area is, it is an area that is often misunderstood and misused. As in every area the Scripture must be our authority and our guide as we talk about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Crucial to understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit is understanding the ministry of what is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It is a subject that is mentioned in at least 11 specific passages in the New Testament. We will look at a number of these passages as we move through our study together. What I want to do is just get a grasp of the picture of what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When did it begin? What does it accomplish in the life? What are the evidences, if you will, of the baptism of the Holy Spirit?

We are going to start in the gospel of Matthew. If you would turn to Matthew chapter 3. The baptizing work of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in each of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We will just pick it up in Matthew chapter 3. The reference will be in verse 11. But there are parallel references in Mark chapter 1 verse 8, Luke chapter 3 verse 36, John chapter 1 verse 33. And they are all parallel references to this one in Matthew. And what we want to note as we begin our study in looking at several passages is to precisely recognize when the baptism of the Holy Spirit began. And we are going to find that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a unique ministry of the Spirit. It did not occur in the Old Testament. It did not occur during the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It does not occur in the gospels. The references in the gospels are prophetic, looking to a future time. So it is important that we understand when the baptism of the Spirit began.


In Matthew chapter 3 John the Baptist comes on the scene preaching repentance. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is the message of verse 2. He is the one who would come and prepare the way for the coming Messiah of Israel and as he preached repent. It was a call to recognize your sinful condition, turn from your sin, believe what God has said in His word, and believe that the Messiah is coming. When the Messiah comes, He will bring judgement. Verse 10 says that “the axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and is thrown into the fire.” So the Messiah is coming and He will judge sin. You must repent. You must believe. You must be ready. With that John was baptizing the people who responded to his message. To be baptized by John meant that you accepted John’s ministry as a prophet. You believed the message that he proclaimed from God and you were publicly identifying with John and his message in declaring that you were repenting of your sins and turning to God in preparation for His Messiah. There were those who came that wanted to be baptized by John, but he would not baptize them, though they were religious leaders, because he said they had not truly repented of their sins. They were just doing what was popular.

Then he said in verse 11, “As for me I baptize you in water for repentance but He who is coming after me [referring to the coming Messiah] is mightier than I and I am not even fit to remove His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Ghost [with the Holy Spirit] and with fire.” There you see John is saying it will be the ministry of the coming Messiah to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. I can only baptize you with water John says, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. What we want to pick up here is you note that baptism by the Holy Spirit is still future. John, Jesus said is the greatest of the prophets, but he did not baptize with the Holy Spirit. He had not been baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is yet future. And you have that same reference in Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33.

Look over at the book of Acts chapter 1. Jesus Christ has been crucified. He has been raised from the dead. He has been ministering for 40 days as the resurrected Christ to His disciples and His followers. Verse 3 tells us that of Acts chapter 1. “To these He also presented Himself alive, after His suffering by many convincing proofs appearing to them over a period of over 40 days.” Now in chapter 1 that ministry following his resurrection is about to come to the end because Christ is going to ascend to heaven and He will not return to earth bodily again until the second coming to establish His kingdom. He says to His disciples in verse 5, “John baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” Now you note these disciples had ministered with Christ, served with Him. The inner core of 11 had carried on the ministry with Him over the three years of His earthly ministry but they had not been baptized with the Holy Spirit. That was yet future. So the baptism of the Holy Spirit did not occur in the Old Testament. It did not occur through the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It will not occur for a few days yet. Even after 40 days after Christ had been raised from the dead, it still had not occurred. It will be 50 days after the crucifixion. Pentecost is 50 days after Passover. Jesus Christ crucified at Passover time. What we want to pick up here is the baptism of the Spirit is future.


It is important to get this fixed in your mind because people run around and talk about Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. The book of Hebrews says that is true. But that does not mean that He did the same thing in the same way every time. The baptism of the Holy Spirit did not occur in the Old Testament. It did not occur in the gospels. We have to be careful. Jesus Christ does not walk the earth in bodily form today as He did 2,000 years ago in Palestine. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We grab onto a verse and swing it around without any idea of what it means or what it is saying. In His character and nature He is unchanging. But I cannot claim that verse that He has to do the same thing in the same way.

So here the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit, the baptism with the Holy Spirit does not occur until Acts chapter 2. Now you are aware of the account in Acts chapter 2. The disciples are together and the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they speak with other tongues. We will talk about that later. And you have what is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now it is not called the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2. Turn over to Acts chapter 10. Peter is preaching at the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. This will be the first Gentiles to have the gospel preached to them and they will believe and be saved. I want you to note too and I was impressed with this again when I went through the book of Acts this week. The way that God carried out His ministry through His servants in the book of Acts was very simple. They went and simply and clearly proclaimed the truth concerning Jesus Christ and God sovereignly moved upon hearts and people were saved. Peter after referring to how unique it was that he as a Jew would come and preach to the Gentiles says in verse 38 of Acts 10, “You know of Jesus of Nazareth how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” A testimony concerning Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel.” And then in verse 39, the end of verse 39, “They put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross.” So who Jesus Christ was displayed in power when His life climaxed by His crucifixion on the cross. Verse 40 “God raised Him up on the third day.” Verses 40 and 41 this is testified by witnesses and I am one of them. Then verse 42, “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness through His name, everyone who believes in Him has received forgiveness of sins.”

You know the Church has become confused and cluttered. We are going through all kinds of rigamarole supposedly to help God get a crowd, to make it easy for people to get saved. But God’s plan in unchanging. Here is the truth concerning Christ. He was the Son of God who became a man and walked this earth. The Messiah of Israel, He was crucified on a cross, buried and raised the third day. You must recognize your sinfulness, repent, turn from your sins and believe in Him as your Savior. There is salvation no place else. I can make it no easier than that. But it is no harder than that. You can do nothing to earn it or merit it. You must simply believe Him. Peter is preaching this, and you know what happens, there is no altar call. There is no invitation. The Spirit of God takes hold of their hearts. They believe what Peter is saying and immediately they are saved. Verse 44, “While Peter was still speaking these words the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.” They began to speak with other tongues evidencing that they had received the Holy Spirit.


Now turn over to chapter 11. Chapter 11 Peter is explaining to the Jewish leaders at Jerusalem why He was preaching to Gentiles. Understand at this point Jews still had nothing to do with the Gentiles. Peter referred to that when he went to the house of Cornelius. Understand how amazing that I as a Jew would come and talk to you Gentiles. That was not done. He says in verse 15, Acts chapter 11 verse 15 Peter reiterates what happened. “As I began to speak the Holy Spirit fell upon them as He did upon us at the beginning.” Us, us Jews, us apostles at the beginning. When? Acts chapter 2. “I remembered the word of the Lord how He used to say “John baptized with water but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”” You note the end of verse 18, “God has granted to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.” Verse 17, “If God gave to them the same thing that He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.” You see they had believed the message that Peter preached and so God gave them the Holy Spirit. What we want to pick up here is Peter said it was the same gift, the baptism of the Holy Spirit that we got at the beginning back in Acts chapter 2. So Acts chapter 2 is the beginning of the work of the Holy Spirit in baptizing people. We will talk more about what that entails. But we want to have together the baptizing ministry of the Holy Spirit. When did it begin? It began in Acts chapter 2.

Turn back to John’s gospel chapter 14. In John 14 we are on that last night of Jesus? life. The betrayal will occur on this evening and the subsequent crucifixion. Jesus is preparing His disciples for what is to come. He tells them as John chapter 14 begins, “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. Believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. As I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am there you may be also.” As the chapter unfolds it becomes clear that He is going to go and prepare a place but He is going to be gone for awhile because there will be another Comforter that will come and aid them while He is gone. This is not just going to be an overnight trip, gone for a few days. This is going to be extensive. Verse 16, “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever.” Another “Helper”, the Greek word is Paraclete. Compound word: para, to be alongside of; kaleo, to call. The Helper, the Comforter is the one called alongside of. He comes along side of to give whatever aid or help that is necessary. So He is a comforter but He is more than a comforter. He gives strength. He gives joy. Who is He? He is the Spirit of Truth. And I want you to note the Holy Spirit here identifies with truth. “Whom the word 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.” So here Jesus says, when I leave I am going to ask the Father to send you another comforter.

Incidentally that word another in verse 16 is a Greek word for another that means another of the same kind. It will be another comforter like I am Jesus said. Another enabler, another Helper like Me because it will be another member of the triune God. The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of truth. They already knew about the Spirit. They had experienced His ministry. The Holy Spirit had been with them. But a change is going to occur. He will be in you. So the Holy Spirit’s ministry is not only going to be to be present with them but He is going to be in them. There is a move here in intimacy. Whatever all is entailed in this it does include a depth of intimacy for the followers of Christ.


Look at verse 26, “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.” The Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send. And now note He was here but the Father is going to send Him in a unique and special way when I go to the Father. So that coming of the Holy Spirit will be unique in that it will have dimensions that it did not have before.

Incidentally the end of verse 26, “He will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I have said to you.” I still read blind commentators, spiritually blind who talk about the fact, well you know the disciples, they wrote the gospels 30, 40, 50 years after Christ’s death. I mean naturally they got confused on things. They forgot things. They said things the way they remembered them, not the way they happened. You know the problem with that, Jesus said their recall would be supernatural. It would be the Holy Spirit who would enable them to remember all that Jesus had taught. I mean how did these disciples remember all that Jesus taught? If I gave you a test on my sermon when you left today, a fair number would probably flunk. How would you like to take a test on a sermon I preached 30 years ago? I would flunk. But these disciples remember. How? The Holy Spirit who would be in them would supernaturally bring it back to their mind exactly as it was said. That’s the explanation.

Look over in chapter 15 verse 26, “But when the Helper comes whom I will send to you whom the Father, that is the Spirit of truth.” I want you to note here the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of truth, because He is also going to be the Spirit of unity. But He will never be the Spirit of unity at the expense of the Spirit of truth because that is part of what he is. “When the helper comes whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of the Father and you will bear witness.” In Acts chapter 1 Jesus said to the disciples, “And you shall receive . . . after the Spirit comes upon you and you shall be My witnesses.” It will be the Holy Spirit who testifies concerning Christ speaking through those who now have the indwelling Spirit bearing witness to Jesus Christ. This is one of the ongoing evidence of the work of the Spirit in the life, the person speaking of Jesus Christ and bearing witness of Him.

In chapter 16 verse 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 comes to you but if I go, I will send Him to you.” You note, Jesus said that there is a step going to be taken here that it would be preferable and more beneficial for these disciples that Jesus personally leave and go to heaven so that the Holy Spirit can come. Why? When the Holy Spirit comes He will have a unique ministry indwelling them. Christ was present with them on the earth. The Holy Spirit was present during that time. But when Jesus ascended to heaven He would send the Holy Spirit to move into their lives. There would be a depth and intimacy that had not been previously experienced. “When He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgement.” Verse 13, “But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” We are studying the New Testament which is a result of that work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ in penning our New Testament. So you have that future ministry of the Holy Spirit.


Now when we come back to chapter 1. Within a few days of the baptizing of the Holy Spirit which will be the initial work of the Spirit to mark the beginning of the new work in the hearts of those who believe. It begins in Acts chapter 2 as we saw. Now what does it mean? Come over to I Corinthians chapter 12. What is the significance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit? I Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13 is probably the key verse on the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And I want you to note the context. Pick up with verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 12. “For even as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body though they are one body, so also is Christ.” So we have a physical comparison with a physical reality. Your physical body is one body but it has many parts, fingers, arms, eyes, ears and so on. One body, many parts. So also is Christ’s. And we are contemplating here is the spiritual body of Christ. Those who have a relationship with Christ form His body. Verse 13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” One Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God takes us and places us into the one body of Christ, that spiritual body. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Jew or a Greek, slave or free. All made to drink of one Spirit. We partake of the Holy Spirit and we take Him in. He becomes part of us, indwells us. So when the Holy Spirit places you into the body of Christ, He also comes into you and you partake of Him. That fulfills what Jesus said in John chapter 7 for those who believe in Him. “Out of their innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” This He spoke of the Holy Spirit who would be given to those who believe in Him, to indwell them.

“For the body is not one member but many.” Now you note here. The Holy Spirit is taking people from different backgrounds, from different nationalities, different races and He places them into the body of Christ. That is the Church. The Church is the body of Christ. So when did the baptism of the Holy Spirit begin? Acts chapter 2. So when did the Church begin? Acts chapter 2. It is the baptism of the Spirit that makes you part of the Body of Christ. I scratch my head. I still read commentators; I still have people tell me that the Church existed in the Old Testament. I say no it is the baptism of the Spirit that places you into the Church, the body of Christ. We don’t have time to go through the passages that would show the Church is the Body of Christ what we are talking about. It is a major, major exegetical fallacy to place the Church in the Old Testament. The Church didn’t begin until Acts chapter 2 because that is when the baptism of the Holy Spirit began. So we have to be clear on some of these basic truths and not be blown about because someone says something and oh, I think that makes sense. It may make sense, but it may not be biblical. It has to be put under the search light of Scripture. The Church did not begin until Acts chapter 2. Israel was an earthly nation. There were people saved before Acts chapter 2. But nobody was part of the Church because the baptism of the Holy Spirit had not begun as we have seen.


Incidentally you can come over to Galatians chapter 3. You see a similar kind of context. In Galatians chapter 3, verse 26, “For you are all sons of God, through faith in Jesus Christ.” You see how you become a member of the family of God by faith in Christ, believing the message concerning Him, the gospel of Christ. “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.” There is the expression, “baptized into Christ.” “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; you are all one in Christ.” You note what the baptism of the Holy Spirit does. It joins us in a relationship of oneness with others who have believed in Christ. There is a spiritual bond in unity of a depth and strength and kind that exists in no other place in no other relationship. It is a depth of relationship that supersedes even a husband and wife relationship, which would be the closest of relationships among human beings.

We have a spiritual bond of oneness. Now I want you to note, this spiritual bond of oneness takes place as the Holy Spirit of God places us into the body of Christ. But the Spirit of God was identified repeatedly as the Spirit of Truth. We read that in John chapter 14, the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of Truth, and I say this because there are people today that want to emphasize unity, and people need to get together and the churches need to get together; we need to play down our doctrinal differences. Well wait a minute. The unity that the Spirit of Truth produces is never at the expense of truth. The Spirit of Truth joins us in a relationship of oneness. It is a relationship of oneness in the truth. And I would understand that this unity is manifest in the local churches as Paul is writing to the churches at Galatia, in writing to the church at Corinth. Does that mean I not one with believers who are not part of this church? No, I am. With other true believers in the city, with other true believers wherever they are in the world, I have a relationship of oneness. But the expression of that oneness takes place in this body primarily.

When I was away a few weeks ago, I met with many believers in another city in another state. We had a relationship of oneness together. It was a oneness joined together primarily by our same commitment to truth. But the expression of the oneness in truth takes place as we meet together as the local church, expressing God’s work in our lives in this place. All that goes on in that oneness, expresses the work of the Spirit of Truth in making us one in Christ. Some people, they come, all they can squeeze in is an hour in the morning, do you know why? They are strangers meeting with someone else’s family. You know the last thing I want to do is go to someone else’s family reunion. I mean here you are having a family reunion you are looking forward to it, you can’t wait to be together, you are going to see your mother and dad, or your children, your grandchildren, cousin, wonderful! Don’t invite me. You want to sit around at someone else’s family reunion? You say, I don’t belong to this family.

That is the way some people are when they come to church. They may come to this church, well this is a family get together of those who have been brought together as the sons of God by the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit. Some people it is all they can do to put up with an hour or an hour and a half on Sunday morning. Let me out. Back on Sunday night? Oh, heaven forbid, I have got things to do. They don’t enjoy being together. The real problem is a spiritual one. They are going through some religious activity, but they have no relationship that draws them together. It is a chore. I have to make myself do it. And I want to do as little as I can. But you know if you really that relationship with the living God, a relationship with God’s people, it is a joy to be together. So, He brought us together in a relationship of oneness, but it is always in the context of truth. Ephesians 4 speaks about it, later in English it says, “speaking the truth in love.” Literally it is “truthing in love.”


“Truthing in love,” our oneness is expressed in our love for one another, but that is always in the context of truth. Look over to Romans chapter 6, Romans chapter 6. We have to speed up a little bit I think. Romans chapter 6 unfold the details of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Verse 3, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death.” Now by one Spirit we have all been baptized into one body, which is the body of Christ, I Corinthians 12:13. Now here when he says, “we have all been baptized into Christ Jesus,” he is talking about Spirit baptism. That is what placed you into Christ. Now water baptism is to be an expression of that on the physical level. But the root identification occurred with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. “We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” So you see what happens. Remember when we talked about water baptism we said it involves an identification. John’s preaching, those who were baptized by John were identifying with John and his message. When we are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit we are identifying with Jesus Christ and the salvation provided by God the Father in His Son, Jesus Christ and brought to us by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. So spiritually when you believe the gospel, the Spirit of God identifies you spiritually with Jesus Christ. So God views you as having died when Christ died. That pays the penalty for your sins for the penalty for sin is death. God says you were spiritually identified with Christ when He died, when He was buried.

But note it doesn’t stop there. “When He was raised from the dead to newness of life.” One of the things that happens when you truly believe in Jesus Christ is your life is transformed. Look at what Paul said here in verse 5. “If we have becomes united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.” The work of the Spirit to identify us with Christ’s death, in His burial and His resurrection to newness of life. How does this doctrine get promoted in the Church that you can have forgiveness of sins by believing in Christ and you are identified with Him in His death and in His burial and God leaves you there unless you decide you would like a new life? Absurd. The baptizing work of the Holy Spirit identifies you with Christ in His death, in His burial and His resurrection. So you have new life, joined in life with other sons of God in the family of God as members of the body of Christ, the Church. So the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit and we are going to come to in the book of Colossians on Sunday morning when we get to chapter 2 verse 12 which is another reference to the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. We won’t turn there since we will get there at a future study. It is the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit that makes you one with Jesus Christ. And it makes you one with others who have believed in Jesus Christ. And it enables us to function together with the new life He has given us in serving Him.


That being the case as Romans 6 would make clear, as I Corinthians 13 make clear, everyone who is a believer in Christ has been baptized with the Holy Spirit. As a part of the initial work of salvation when by God’s grace you hear the gospel (you are a sinner, Christ died to pay the penalty for your sins, He was raised in victory over sin) when you believe that turning from your sins you trust in Christ, you are identified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and thus placed into the body of Christ. The Spirit of God now indwells you to carry out His purposes. The baptism of the Spirit occurs at one time. You only need to be identified with Christ in the death, burial and resurrection once. That pays the penalty for sin for all time. That is the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. You need only to be placed into the body of Christ once. My children only needed to be born into my family once.

There are other works of the Spirit like the filling of the Spirit that can occur and does occur simultaneously with the baptism of the Holy Spirit but it is not the same as the baptism of the Holy Spirt. Be careful, some men like D. L Moody, R. A Torrey were confused. They made the baptism of the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit synonymous, and they got them into confusion on the work of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit has to do with His control in your life. We are commanded to be baptized by the Holy Spirit in Ephesians chapter 5. We are never commanded to be filled with the Spirit, never commanded to be baptized with the Spirit. The filling of the Spirit is an ongoing ministry as He controls my life and is to control my life. Every believer has been baptized with the Spirit. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in I Corinthians 12:15 and said, “By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” But the Corinthians had a variety of problems they had to deal with as Christians. That didn’t mean that they needed to get baptized with the Spirit. They needed to live under the control of the Spirit who had baptized them and now indwelt them. Any teaching that promotes the baptism of the Spirit as a subsequent work of the Spirit often confuses the work of the Spirit of the book of Acts.

And I want to talk a little bit about the work of the Spirit in the book of Acts, particularly what is the evidence of the baptism of the Spirit. Some would say it is the gift of speaking in tongues. And so when a person is baptized with the Spirit, he begins to speak in tongues. That is a Pentecostal view and many of the modern-day Charismatics hold to this. It comes from the book of Acts. Let’s go to the book of Acts quickly. We do have a separate message on this. So if you want more detail than the highlights you can get the tape. Acts chapter 2. When the Holy Spirit came upon them verse 4, “they were filled with the Holy Spirit.” It occurred simultaneously to the baptism because the Holy Spirit had taken complete control of them. They will be filled again and again through the book of Acts. But this is the only time they will be baptized. “They began to speak with other tongues.” We have glossolalia. The word for tongue here is glossa, glossa. Now glossa means tongue, physical tongue in your body, in your mouth. This would be the word, glossa. We talk about glossolalia. Well the word glossa tongue, laleo to speak. Glossolalia is the speaking in tongues. They spoke with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance.


Now down in verse 6, “When this sound occurred the multitude came together. They were bewildered because they were each one hearing them speak in his own language,” “dialectos”. Dialect as we carry it over into English, their own language. It is also used in verse 8. “How is it that we hear them in our own language to which we were born?” Then it gives some of the languages, the language of the Parthians, the Meads, the Elamites and so on. So it always refers to a language or a native language. Used that way in other passages in Acts as well. There doesn’t seem to be any debate at least in my general looking over again that in Acts chapter 2 the tongues they spoke in were earthly languages. This is the first mention of tongues as a gift of the Spirit like this and a ministry of the Spirit. I would take it that sets the precedent for what follows.

In Acts chapter 10, when Peter preached at the house of Cornelius and the Holy Spirit fell upon Him and these Jews weren’t even sure they ought to be preaching to the Gentiles. Do you think if these Gentiles just started babbling, yaka aya allah saya olla sallah boo hoo walla waba weba that the Jews would say, “they got the same thing we did.” Not on your life. You understand nonsense speech, I think that is the very word used in the Charismatic dictionary I was reading on this subject this week. Nonsense speech had been going on for centuries, right down into New Testament times. Hundreds of years before the New Testament, nonsense babble speech was practiced by the oracles of Sibel and some others who were involved in those things. So you can be sure that those Gentiles had to have the exact same experience and manifest it in the same way for these Jews to believe that it was the same thing, because they were well aware of the pagan practices of nonsense, non-language babble. If, and I think it was so, Acts chapter 8 when the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit as a result of believing in Christ, they too manifested that they had the spirit. Doesn’t say that they spoke in tongues, but probably they did because that is the evidence. In Acts chapter 19 we are told that the disciples of John, when they received the Spirit through Paul spoke with other tongues. And what I am saying is in Acts it seems to me that the evidence is overwhelming that they were speaking in earthly languages. The word tongues is used other places in the Bibles either to refer to your physical tongue or to the language. The book of Revelation, “people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” What is that talking about? All nationalities, all races, all languages. No doubt that is the way it is used in Acts chapter 2. And I say this because that resolves the question; I can find no one who can support that people are getting the gift of speaking in foreign languages without studying it. I hear all the secondary accounts as you do. But even Pentecostal’s and Charismatics have to acknowledge that they have not been able to validate such things. Oh I hear them preach on t.v. and say, “when we were in this part of the world and I was preaching, and someone stood up and started to speak in this and someone started to speak in this.” Someone takes a tape recorder there and all of a sudden it never happens. So it can’t be verified.

Years ago John Sherell, himself a charismatic, wrote a book They Speak With Other Tongues, and he went all over the world and analyzed tapes and everything and he could not find any place where languages were being spoken. So I say then, whatever is going on today does not fit the biblical pattern. The Pentecostal dictionary I was reading acknowledged the Mormons practice babble speech and have since their founding in the 1800's down to today. Many other pagan groups do, so we need to be careful that we don’t become gullible. Somebody stands up and starts to babble in incoherent syllables, we say, “it is the gift of tongues!” Well, what do the Mormons have? Not the gift of tongues but they sound just alike. There have been books written, William Simara, They Speak With Other Tongues, other languages, other tongues, I forget the exact title. He is an unbelieving linguist. He has analyzed this stuff all over the world. He finds that it is a characteristic from Africa to Iceland. They all manifest the same pattern, people speak in incoherent syllables that are, the syllables are characteristic of their native language. But they have none of the make-up of a true language. People want to say, well you have to speak in tongues. Well, you have to speak in biblical tongues if you are going to do it, and that rules out everything that is going on.

You note what happened. In Acts chapter 2 the Jews get the Spirit, in Acts chapter 8 the Samaritans get the Spirit, in Acts chapter 10 the Gentiles get the Spirit, and in Acts chapter 19 the disciples of John, the most outstanding of the prophets, get the Spirit. What does it do? It unites these diverse groups into one entity under the apostle’s authority and doctrine, in fact the Spirit is not given in Acts chapter 8 to the Samaritan until the Apostles come. That solidified the church, it is not necessarily the ongoing pattern. There is a gift of the Spirit given. 1 Corinthians talks about it, in 1Corinthians 12:13 and 14. Even there it would have to be a language I take it, same word, tongues. In fact, you have to turn to 1 Corinthians 14. I watched these preachers, and they are preaching away and all of a sudden they go off and then they go back to talking and supposedly they have spoken in tongues of some kind. 1 Corinthians 12:13 and 14. I could have practiced that a little more. Give me time, give me time.

Look at verse 21 of 1 Corinthians 14. And in 1 Corinthians 12:13 and 14 Paul has been talking about the gifts and he has been talking about speaking in tongues. Then he quotes from the Old Testament verse 21, Isaiah chapter 28 verse 11, “In the Law it is written “by men of strange tongues and the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, even so they will not listen to me,” says the Lord.” He quotes Isaiah there. Isaiah was talking about the language of the Assyrians so right in the context the strange tongues doesn’t refer to some kind of incoherent babble. It refers to a known, earthly language.

I am what is called a cessationalist. I believe some of the gifts have ceased. I believe the evidence is overwhelming. Number one: no one has been able to demonstrate the existence of a biblical gift of tongues in the world in the last 2000 years by the own acknowledgment of the writers who do believe it exists today. They do not pick up babble speech until the third century and then it is by a heretical group as part of their worship. And it comes down through the church in that. You know the modern-day Pentecostal movement began in the beginning of this century. They believed that people that got up and spoke in quote tongues were speaking a dialect of Chinese. They believed it was an earthly language. In fact, they sent missionaries to China because they thought they won’t have to bother learning the language. That can just go over there and speak. They went over there and babbled and not one Chinese person understood a syllable that they were saying. Dismal failure.


We are not talking about tongues in particular but I want you to understand what the baptism of the Spirit entails. Because one confusion, you know your bad doctrine always catches up to you and does you in. The baptism of the Spirit it that supernatural work of God that when you believe the gospel the Spirit of God identifies you with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection to newness of life. He gives you new life. “If any man be in Christ he is a new creature.” Why? He died with Christ. You were raised with Christ to a new person. You are brought into a relationship of oneness with the eternal God and with others who have believed in Him. What holds this church together? The supernatural work of the Spirit of truth has brought us together into a relationship of oneness. Not every physical person who attends here has that relationship but every person who has believed in Jesus Christ has that relationship. That is true not only in this church but wherever they have believed. That ought to be a great comfort to us because that baptizing work of the Spirit is the beginning of that unique work of the Spirit in my heart and life. When He placed me into Christ and into the body of Christ, He took up residence within me to be the empowering, enabling Spirit who will be with me in every situation to comfort me, to strengthen me, to empower me to do what God would have me do, my enabler.

It is a tragedy and a travesty that the Church is chasing after the world today. I read you a letter and we touched on this, from a psychiatrist, a few weeks ago. And I fear it reflects much of what is pervading the Church and that is unbelievers who come up with good ideas to try to deal with problems they have been unable to handle. The reason they have been unable to handle them is they do not have the indwelling, enabling Helper, the Holy Spirit who gives new life and in that new life be given enabling power. I am not saying there are not struggles and difficulties. Paul had them. Every believer has them. But I am saying He is sufficient. And under pressure, under trial we don’t need to break and run and look for help in other places. I need at that time to turn to Him and lay hold of Him and find His sufficiency sufficient for me. It is good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn to trust in Him more. You know I can learn that more than David. I have the indwelling Spirit of God who has placed me into the body of Christ. I have a power and an enablement and an intimacy with God that is almost overwhelming. My desire is to live experientially then in this reality for me day by day. So, the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit, we ought to claim it in a sense of understanding it as a biblical truth and appreciating what it means for our walk and live in light of what that baptizing work of the Spirit means to us as individuals and as God’s people together. Let’s pray together.

Thank You Lord for who You are. Lord, so much in the wonders of Your unfolding plan of redemption goes beyond what we can piece together and yet so much of it is clear and what is clear is awesome and overwhelming that we as a result of the finished work of Your Son should be brought into a relationship of oneness that we would abide in You and You abide in us, that we would have the Helper, the paraclete who would be with us forever, that we would enjoy a oneness in our relationship to one another because of the awesome oneness we have with You, that this Spirit would empower and enable. Lord, may we not live as beggars. May we not be characterized by timidity and cowardice. May the presence of the Spirit manifest itself as He has given liberty in each of us to display the beauty and power of Your work, an ongoing process. And Lord, for those who are here today who struggle, Lord they struggle because they do not know You, they struggle because they are separated from You, the God of salvation and power. They attempt in their own strength to deal with the overwhelming situations of life and it causes despair and hopelessness. Lord, in Your grace cause them to see the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ who offers them freedom, provides for them what they can not provide for themselves. Lord, may they believe in this wonderful Savior and experience the power of Your salvation, the baptizing ministry of the Spirit and His indwelling presence for all time. We pray in Jesus? name, amen.