The Holy Spirit 02 Baptism of the Spirit — Svend Christensen

So we trust you are happy with the Lord Jesus tonight. We are the only people who have the right to be happy. You know, you're on your way to glory and your sins are forgiven, you have the blessed Holy Spirit dwelling within, you have every right to be happy.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2

Turn tonight, please, to the book of Acts, Chapter 2. Tonight we're going to speak on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or Pentecost, a big subject. Try to handle it as well as we can in the time allotted.

Remember, Sunday morning we spoke on the Holy Spirit being born of the Spirit, and apart from the Spirit we could never understand the Gospel, apart from the Spirit we'd never want to be saved, and apart from the Spirit of God doing His great work of convicting us of sin and the need to be saved, we'd never be saved.

No desire to, could never understand it. All the college and university education can in no way illuminate Jesus and you can see how to be saved. Only the Spirit of God can do that. What are we more than anyone else?

What is man? Isn't it wonderful to be in the family of the Lord? The Lord has revealed His Son to us. Then on Sunday night we spoke on the blessed coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of believers.

In the Old Testament days He came upon people in a mighty way, but David prayed, "'Take not thy Holy Spirit from me.'". That wouldn't be proper to pray today. He came upon men, He came upon even wicked men like Balaam and Saul, but the Lord Jesus said He was going to go away and He was going to send the Comforter, He was going to abide with us, and He's going to be in you, He said.

The olden days, I remember reading H. P. Barker, said it was like the days of sailing vessels. They were dependent on the outside force of the wind to give them speed, and when there was no wind they didn't go very far.

But we're living in the day when the power is within, the Spirit of God has come to dwell within us, and that's a tremendous thing that God dwelleth in the believers. Know ye not that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Now to start, we're going to read the Word of God, Acts, let's just read a verse from chapter 1, verse 4, this is taken up from Luke 24, where the Lord Jesus told them that, "'Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but e 'er ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.'".

In Acts chapter 1, he says here in verse 4,. "'And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith, He ye have heard of me.

For John truly baptized with water, for Jesus shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence.". And when we come to chapter 2, it does not mention the word baptized, but we know that this is the event the Lord Jesus promised.

And it says in chapter 2, verse 1,. "'And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.'". What a great way to gather, isn't it? God can certainly bless us today when we gather like that.

"'And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as the fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.'".

Now, we'll stop there for the time being. Now, I am convinced that today we need teaching on the Holy Spirit, sometimes because in certain areas there's been an o 'er-emphasis of the Holy Spirit, others when we have gone to the other extreme and hardly ever mentioned the Holy Spirit.

I think there are two extremes, and we need to find the scriptural balance to be as balanced as the Word of God. After all, He is God, as we saw on Sunday night. He is all the attributes of God. Peter called Him God in Acts chapter 5.

He's God the Spirit. Now, if I was to preach to you only certain aspects of the gospel, it wouldn't be the right thing just to preach unto you tonight that believing is everything. Now, there's justification, and there's many other great subjects, and including it's the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So, to give us the whole Word of God, we need to deal with it all. Now, there's only seven verses in the New Testament that mentions the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There's four given by John the Baptist, the beginning of each one of the gospels.

The first one is found in Matthew 3 .11, where John said, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

You have the same reference again in Mark 1, verse 8. I indeed baptize you with water, but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Again, the same in Luke 3 .16, a very similar verse to what you had in Matthew 1.

And then again in John chapter 1, verse 33, where John the Baptist is speaking, and I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit.

And then there's one more what we might call prophetic passage. All these were looking ahead to the Holy Spirit coming. In Acts 1, verse 5, we read that, but John truly baptized with water, but he shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Now, all these were spoken, these five scriptures were spoken before it happened. Then we have the historical passage. Of course, you have it in Acts 2, but the word is not mentioned. But if you turn to Acts 11, verse 15 and 16, where Peter recounts what took place in the house of Cornelius as he was preaching the gospel, and Peter refers here to that great event.

And you might call this a historical thing. This has taken place, and Peter is now saying, this very thing that happened in the house of Cornelius is the very same thing that happened on the day of Pentecost.

It's part of the whole great coming of the Spirit of God taking in these as we will see in a little while. In Acts 11, verse 15, and as I began to speak, Peter's telling the others about it, the Holy Spirit fell on us at the beginning.

Then, lean in that I, the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water, for ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So there you have the word mentioned. Then the other scripture that we might call a doctrinal verse is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 13.

1 Corinthians 12, verse 13, for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. That's true today.

That was true of the Corinthians even though they were not present. It was still true of them. It incorporated them by one Spirit that we all baptized into that one body. Now, Pentecost is the beginning or the inauguration of a new thing that came.

It was the beginning of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ upon earth. You remember when the Lord Jesus was here in Matthew 16, verse 18, he said, I will build my church. The church was yet future. Sometimes people have disagreements about when the church started.

I don't think it's very hard to come to a scriptural conclusion, and I just want you to turn to two verses again to verify that. John, rather, chapter 7, John 7 and 39. For this spake he, he spoke about them receiving the Spirit, and that he would indwell them, and verse 39 says,.

And if they give the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because, here's the reason, that Jesus was not yet glorified. That's why the Spirit was not given.

He was not yet glorified. Then in John 16, verse 7, and these are very important verses, foundational verses, Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

Now, you cannot have a body on earth until you have a head in heaven, and when the Lord Jesus went back to heaven, he said, I'm going to send you the Comforter, and that's exactly what he did, and when the Comforter came, that was the inauguration of the body of Christ upon earth.

That was the beginning of that new thing. As it were, 120 people went up into the upper room, and as only one came down, they were all baptized into the one body. They were all just fused together to become that one body of the Lord Jesus Christ, and tonight, dear friends, I believe every one of us that are saved here, we have been brought unto that great event of being baptized by that one Spirit into the one body, and we are members one of another.

Isn't that great? We belong to the greatest family in the world, a wonderful family. Now, in the time of the Pentecost, and we'll deal with that in a moment, but I believe it took in these four communities.

The Four Communities United by the Spirit

What you have here in Acts 2, the Jewish community, then if you turn to Acts 8, it takes in the Samaritans. Remember, there were no dealings between the Jews and the Samaritans, so when Philip went down there and preached in a great multitude of people who were saved, the church at Jerusalem, they sent down Peter and John.

You'll see that in verse 14 of Acts 8, and who they sent in verse 15. When they were come down, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. They had not received the Holy Spirit, because I believe had they received the Holy Spirit, there would have been two separate churches, the Samaritan church and the Jewish church, and there would have been division from the beginning.

But they had to come down and pray for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for shed he was fallen upon none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then laid at their hands, that which identifies them with the church at Jerusalem, they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

So that took in the Samaritan believers. Acts chapter 10, where Peter is sent forth by Cornelius, an angel that appeared to him. The angel could not preach the gospel to the house of Cornelius, so he sent for Peter, and Peter came.

And I tell you, he preached to a great attentive audience that day. Oh, what a God that people have had desire to hear all that God has to say to us today, like they did. And it says there in verse 43, referring to the Lord Jesus, "...to him give all the prophets witness," the whole Old Testament, "...witness to the Lord Jesus, that through his name whosoever believeth," and if there's someone here tonight and you're not saved, whosoever means you.

Takes in you. If you really believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it says, then you'll receive remission of the forgiveness of sins. And that's the only way you can have your sins forgiven. No man upon earth can forgive your sins.

Only God can forgive sins. You're just sent to put your faith in the Lord Jesus. He was saying like he did to that faulty man that led down to the roofs, "...thus thy sins be forgiven thee.". You'll be forgiven tonight, and when he forgives you, he says, I'll remember your sins no more.

They're blotted out as far as the east is from the west. That's the kind of salvation God gives us. Tremendous, isn't it? And then it says, "...while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them that heard the word.".

All of them that heard the word. Notice that. That's the Gentiles, and that's true ever since. When people hear the word, and the Holy Spirit uses that word to convict them, they receive the Lord Jesus.

And the moment you receive the Lord Jesus, you receive the spirit of Ephesians 1, and verses 13 and 14, upon believing. The very moment you believe, you receive. It's instant. And that's what happened here.

And they received the Holy Spirit, and they all heard him speak with languages and magnify God. And when Peter refers to that, he says the same thing that happened to us at the beginning when a Pentecost happened to the Gentiles.

That takes in the Gentile community. And then there's only one other incident, and I want to draw the attention, never in the book of Acts did it ever happen to an individual. It was always a collective group, because this is a historical event that was to take place that we'll try to show you from the Word of God.

Acts 19. In this chapter, you get the teaching on the meaning of John's baptism, but we're not talking about that tonight. But Paul came there to Ephesus, and he found certain disciples, and the first thing he asked them, have you received the Holy Spirit?

Well, they said, we haven't even heard of the Holy Spirit. They didn't know a thing about it. Well, unto what were you baptized is the question, unto John's baptism. Oh, then what did they do? John only baptized to repentance, that those that were baptized should believe on him that he should come after them, which was Christ Jesus.

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and when Paul, notice that, had laid hands, identifying with them, upon them the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied.

And all the men were but twelve. Now, that's the last time you find that in the book of Acts. Now, I want to say that the book of Acts was a transitional period from Judaism into Christianity, and this, I believe, takes in, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes in these four communities.

Pentecost as the Fulfillment of Levitical Prophecy

Now, I believe another thing in connection will happen at Pentecost if you turn back to Leviticus, chapter 23. It was the fulfillment of the prophetic type given to us in the book of Leviticus, chapter 23.

Now, you'll notice in verse 5 of Leviticus, chapter 23, in the fourteenth day of the first month at even, is the Lord's Passover. Now, the Lord's Passover speaks of Christ's death for us. Christ's Passover has been sacrificed for us, says Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5.

Then, you go down to verse 9 of Leviticus, chapter 22, and the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I have given you, ye shall reap the harvest thereof.

Then ye shall bring a sheep of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest, and he shall the sheep thereof before the Lord to be accepted for you on the morrow after the Sabbath.". Notice that. The morrow after the Sabbath.

That's the first day of the week. Now, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, we have that fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. It says there in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20,. "...but now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.".

He was that first sheep that was raised. He was the firstfruit, verse 23. "...but after every man in his own order, Christ the firstfruit. Afterward, then, there did Christ have his coming.". His resurrection guarantees our resurrection.

One of these days is going to be the great resurrecting morning, the first resurrection. The dead and Christ will be raised, and we together are going to be caught up. Are you ready? Would you like to go tonight?

Wouldn't that be wonderful? He's coming. Back to Leviticus 23. Now, down to verse 15,. "...and ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheep of the way of offering.".

Notice that. "...from the day that ye brought the sheep of the way of offering, seven Sabbaths.". That's 49 days. "...seven Sabbaths shall be complete, even unto the morrow after the seventh Sabbath ye shall number fifty days, and ye shall offer a new offering unto the Lord.

When the day of Pentecost was fully come...". Pentecost means fifty. Fifty days after the waving of the firstfruit, the sheep, that's when this was to take place. That picture is to us fifty days after the Lord's resurrection.

It meant that He appeared forty days, showed Himself alive, and many infallible fruit bloomed out, and then He went back to heaven. He told them to wait for the promise of the Father. Ten days after, He sent the Comforter on the fiftieth day after the waving of that first sheep of the harvest.

My, there's the fulfillment. I believe the believers who are certain and doubtful want, of course, praying. No doubt praying as the Lord Jesus we may do tonight. Before the Holy Spirit came, He told the disciples to pray for the Holy Spirit, but now He came in fulfillment, not just of their praying, but because of the fulfillment of the word of God in the Old Testament in Leviticus chapter 23.

Christ's Promises Concerning the Comforter

Now, I'd like you to turn to some of the other promises that were fulfilled. Turn to the gospel of John. Pentecost, the fiftieth day, the blessed Comforter came. Just like John the Baptist had promised in those four verses we gave you in Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John.

And in Acts chapter 1, these verses were completely fulfilled in the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of God came. Now, John's gospel, chapter 14 again. Let's just look very briefly at these verses as we pass by.

John 14, verse 16 and 17. Remember, the Lord is as good at His word. Had He not said, and shall He not do it? Oh yes, He keeps His word. There's one thing about God, He's able to keep His word. Sometimes we promise something, and through some circumstances we're not able to keep our word.

Not that we wouldn't like to, but we're not able. We're human sometimes. We fail, we can't do it, but not so with God. And the Lord Jesus said, when I go and I'll pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter that He may abide with you.

How long? Forever. That word is often used in the word of God. I love that because it's the same as with the sealing of the Holy Spirit we're speaking on next time. It's forever. Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it see'd Him not, neither know'd Him.

But ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and He shall be in you. You remember He promised it in John chapter 4 to the woman that's a marrier, how that the water He was going to give was going to be a spring dwelling up in you.

He promised in John chapter 7. He promised now if you turn to also here in verse 26 of chapter 14, but the comforter which is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things.

Notice the personality of the Holy Spirit, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I send unto you. Chapter 15 and verse 26. But when the comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me, and ye shall bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning.

And then down in chapter 16, we read verse 7, we'll read verse 8. When He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. And I tell you, friend, tonight the Spirit of God wants to convict you of your sin if you're here as an unsaved person.

He wants you to realize the Lord Jesus bear you a sin in His own foreign retreat, so you'd never come under judgment. He came to convict of righteousness. All we like sheep, we have gone astray. We're all unrighteous.

We've all turned our own way. But the Lord Jesus, He came, and He revealed the righteousness of God, perfect righteousness, and it can be put to your account if you put your trust in Him and of judgment.

I tell you, Satan, he's going to be judged in the coming day, and all those that neglect the Lord Jesus are going to be cast into the same lake of fire. But again, the Lord Jesus, He came, and He fulfilled everything God ever desired, and He can indeed save you, so you'll never come into judgment.

He also justified God in every way. Verse 12,. And yet are many things to say unto you, and ye cannot bear them now, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come. He will guide you into all truth, and He shall speak.

He shall not speak of Himself, but whatever He shall hear, shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. You have the epistles in the book of Revelation all here. He shall glorify Me, He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.

All things that the Father had of Mine, therefore said I, that He shall take of Mine, and shall show it unto you. We'll deal more about that in the future. I just want to read these verses to show these are the promises of the Lord Jesus, and they were fulfilled when the bed of God came, when the day of Pentecost was fully come.

Miracles Before Pentecost and the Need for the Spirit's Power

Now, the promises made before that during the three and a half years from John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus was here, even before the bed of God. I want to just make this point very clear. The disciples did some tremendous miracles while the Lord Jesus was with them.

It tells us in the Word of God, in Luke 9, verse 6, for instance,. And they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere. It also tells us that they had authority over all devils and to cure diseases.

There was something they could do, because the Lord was working with them. In Mark 9, verse 28, it says this,. And when he was come unto the home, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast them out?

You remember, they came down from the Mount of Transfiguration, and he said, Unto this kind can come forth by nothing but by prayer and fasting. He didn't say to them, Now you need the baptism of the Holy Spirit to do this, or that experience that sometimes people talk about.

But he said, This time only comes forth by prayer and fasting. But they did some remarkable things before Pentecost while the Lord Jesus was present with them. But he said, Now before you will have the power within you, I have to go back to heaven.

And that's what he did. And when the Pentecost came, and I believe it's like Calvary, it was a one forever event. Turn to the book of Hebrews, chapter 9 and 10. There's two or three verses there. I think if we can realize that as you think of Leviticus chapter 23, that's the one Passover, that's the first fruit.

Then there's the Pentecost, 50 days. Christ died brought upon the cross. How often does he have to die? Let's read it in Hebrews, chapter 9, verse 26. But now once in the end of the world had he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

It's been put away. You can't put it away again, can you? He appeared once. Chapter 10, verse 10. By the will, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for the twelve.

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice forever for sin, forever sat down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he had perfected how far along?

Forever. Them that are sanctified. Calvary only appeared once, once in the end of the age. So the Holy Spirit of God only came once, never to be repeated. How often did the U .S. Constitution have to be written up?

It was written back, I think, it was 1776. Just once. If you're born in the United States today, you come in under the good of that, and that's the same as tender cards. By one spirit have we all baptized into one body.

Oh, blessed be God for that! And those kind of Christians that Corwin was saying, no, you're not, that your bodies are the temple of the living God. It's to them, he wrote, ye who have all been baptized, all of them.

You'll notice it doesn't say just those of you that are spiritual. Look at that verse in 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, and verse 13. For by one spirit are we all baptized. Writing to carnal believers, but calling into one body, whether we be Jew or Gentile, whether we be born afree and have been all made to drink into one spirit.

That's very simple and clear, isn't it? Very, very wonderful to have that. Now, what are some of the other purposes of Calvary, or tender cards? Well, it is a cause to give the disciples power. No question about that.

Ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit, Lord, hath come upon you. And God wants us to enjoy the presence and the power of the Spirit of God. That's why on Friday night, Lord willing, we're going to speak about the filling or the control of the Holy Spirit.

God wants us to enjoy that liberty and power. The leather killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. The Spirit of the Lord gives liberty and freedom and power, and you only have to read the book of Acts to see the freedom they have.

See the boldness they receive. Think of Peter when a little maid could back him down. Aren't you one of his? Peter says, I never knew him. The man that hath said these are of them I deny you, Lord, but not Peter.

You can depend on me. I'll even go into debt with you, Lord. Remember how a young maiden probably made him turn pale and shake all over. And he went back to some of his old habits of cursing. Sometimes these old sins come out, you know.

But on the day of Pentecost, a different Peter then, isn't it? What does he, in Acts chapter 2, look at this man. Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. Then Peter said of them, repent and be baptized. Every one of you knows before that I wanted the scripture.

In verse 30, it speaks about the verse, I was going to think about where they were. They were just cut to the heart, and they cried out, what must we do? And thank you. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and bread and what shall we do?

But oh, he pointed right at them. And said, you have taken the Lord Jesus, and you have with wicked hands taken and crucified them, and so on. He charged them with their guilt. Think of that angel-like face of Stephen that wouldn't back down one moment when those men full of hatred and anger came upon him, running toward him, gnashing with their teeth all stones in their hands.

But Stephen, bold as a lion, he says, I see Jesus. Oh, he reflected his faith too, didn't he? Oh, the Spirit of God makes a difference. Remember in Acts chapter 4, when these men had been thrown in jail and other things, and there was terrible persecution, and that great prayer meeting, chapter 4, the place was shaking, remember?

And there was one thing they prayed for. They didn't pray that God would remove the emperor and give them a more lenient government and all these things that some of the modern Christians are looking for.

For they prayed that they would have holy boldness to meet the need of the hour, and God met them. Yes, the Holy Spirit gave them great power. Now, I want to emphasize in closing that the great object of the baptism of the Holy Spirit was the formation of the body, a one-fall event that followed the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, to fulfill his promise, the type given in the Old Testament, the promise by John the Baptist, the promise by the Lord Jesus.

It was all this to be fulfilled, to come and bring the believers that were, you might say, individual people into one, fuse them into one body, the body of Christ upon earth, the bride of Christ, his building, baptized together by the blessed Holy Spirit.

Salvation, Spirit Baptism, and the Believer's New Life

And I believe tonight, friends, that that great event has included every believer, just like the Constitution includes every American born here. So everyone that's been born of the Spirit, and that's where it all begins.

The Lord Jesus said, you must be born again. And how am I born again? Simply by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. There's no question about it.

Whosever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. The moment you receive him as your only hope, as your only righteousness, the moment you take him as your substitute that died for you upon the cross and rose again the third day, the moment you receive him, that moment you're also baptized by the Spirit of God into the body of Christ.

You're born of the Spirit at that very moment, and you're sealed with the Holy Spirit. You have the earnestness of the Holy Spirit. Many wonderful things happen when you receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

The wonderful thing is your sins are forgiven, you have the gift of eternal life, and you can have the joy of the Lord in your soul. Joy unspeakable and full of glory. People like to have a good time and have something really, you know, you know, when you have this, you have it inside.

You don't have to wait for the wind to blow once in a while. You have the presence of the Spirit of God continually dwelling in your heart. The thing is, we need to let him have all of us. He's God, and he wants to control our lives.

This is Barnum's closing word of prayer. Father, we thank thee for the blessed Holy Spirit. Thank you for thy holy word. We thank thee that he hath come. We thank thee when we receive the Lord Jesus. We receive this wonderful Comforter to indwell us, the one who can lead us into all truth, the one that can keep and empower us, give us victory.

We thank thee for the blessed Comforter. Our Father, we just commend ourselves to thee. Help us to live out and allow thee. May the Spirit of God indeed so glorify Christ, and may the life of Christ be evident in and through us.

May we not try to live this in our own strength, but may we allow the blessed Spirit to live his life, the life of the Lord Jesus, in and through us. We pray for his glory and for his sake, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.