Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Tongues
Baptism in the Holy Spirit and Tongues
I wrote this for a friend who just received the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and thought I’d share it here.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is tied to the Feast of Pentecost in the Old Testament (OT) (Acts 2), just as Passover is tied to the death of Jesus Christ (Exodus 12, John 1:29).
Here is an overview of the Holy Spirit’s ministry.
We find the Trinity throughout the OT with its first mention in Genesis 1:26: Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” The Holy Spirit’s first mention is Genesis 1:2: The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The difference between the OT and the NT (New Testament) regarding the Holy Spirit is that in the OT He would come uponpeople and in the NT He came in to dwell permanently. In the OT He would come upon people only for various tasks. There are a handful of times (maybe 5) where the Bible says that the Holy Spirit came within someone and when He did come in, He came in for a task not to stay. Under the New Covenant (NC) when He came in He changed our nature, thus we were born again—a completely new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.)
With that in mind let’s look at the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit differs from being born again. In John 20:22 we read: And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This was right after Jesus had risen from the dead and is the first mention of anyone being born again. The disciple received the Holy Spirit and were indwelt by Him (born again). However, to these same disciples Jesus said to go to Jerusalem and they’d get the Baptism in the Holy Spirit:
Acts 1:1-5, 8 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. 4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now…” 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.”
This Promise of the Father is reference to the fulfillment of Feast of Pentecost in Acts 2 (people today call this Pentecost, hence where the word “Pentecostal” comes from). In Acts 2:1-4 we read that the Holy Spirit came and filled these same people who were breathed on in John 20. This was another experience prophesied way back in Joel 2:28-29 and then through John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8. Luke 3:16, John 1:33) and by Jesus (Acts 1:5). The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is largely associated with speaking in tongues. Speaking in tongues accompanied the first time the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2. Further into Acts, tongues accompanied many, not all, times the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (also called being filled with the Holy Spirit) is mentioned.
Everyone who is baptized in the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues though not all do. In 1 Corinthians 14 we find the greatest explanation of tongues and its benefit to the Christian. Tongues is also called “praying with my spirit” in 1 Corinthians 14. Tongues is not the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, but is accompanies the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Some people are confused over the gift of tongues that must be interpreted versus the pray language of tongues. Let’s look at the prayer language first.
The prayer language (praying with/in my/the spirit) is available to all as Paul says that he wished that everyone spoke in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:5). Consider that as Paul wrote he was inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), so though it was Paul saying he wished… it really is God’s desire that all speak with tongues. The prayer language of tongues is what was seen and experience on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). There were 120 people in the upper room praying together and no one interpreted the tongues. They spoke in tongues and the Holy Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:4).
Now let’s deal with the tongue that must be interpreted. First, 1 Corinthians 12:30 asks: Do all speak with tongues? 1 Corinthians 14:27-28 further discusses the gift of tongues and its usage in the church “service”: If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be two or at the most three, each in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God. This gift of tongues must be interpreted, and yet in Acts 2:1-4 tongues was not interpreted. Paul states that in the church “service” all things are to be done for edification, decently and in order, and with regard to those around you. So if someone speaks in their prayer language of tongues with no interpretation then how are others edified? But, if someone speaks in tongues and it is interpreted, bumping it up to the level of a prophecy, then others are edified. That is the difference between the prayer language versus the gift used in the church. The prayer language edifies the individual, while the gift used in the church, when it is interpreted, edifies the church.
